Policy development consultant

Oxfam is a global movement of people, working together to end the injustice of poverty through campaigning and responding to the needs of the poor. Oxfam has been working in Lebanon since 1993 providing humanitarian assistance to crisis-affected populations and promoting economic justice, good governance, and women’s rights, in close partnership with local actors.

With funding from the Kingdom of Belgium, Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD), Oxfam in Lebanon (OiL) is implementing the project “Empowering vulnerable communities: A holistic approach to resilience in Tripoli” in partnership with UTOPIA and SHIFT Social Innovation Hub.

The project aims to contribute to addressing the root causes of fragility and vulnerability of refugee and host communities in Lebanon. This is expected to enhance the resilience of vulnerable refugee and Lebanese individuals, communities, and structures in Tripoli.

Oxfam has been working in Tripoli for over a decade, responding to chronic poverty, repeated shocks, and institutional gaps in social protection. In 2020, Oxfam published “Without a Net”, a policy paper examining the shortcomings of social assistance and social protection systems in Tripoli.

Since then, Lebanon has experienced a prolonged economic collapse, compounded by shrinking humanitarian funding and the continued absence of a functioning national social protection system. In this context, short-term cash assistance has become a central, and often repeated, response to chronic urban vulnerability.

While evidence consistently shows that cash assistance plays a critical role in meeting basic needs and reducing immediate stress, less is known about whether, and under what conditions, layering additional support onto cash (such as training or apprenticeships) alters households’ exposure to future risk in a context where long-term solutions remain out of reach.

Under a recent Oxfam-supported DGD project in Tripoli, beneficiaries received different combinations of support within the same programme cycle:

• cash assistance only.
• cash combined with training and capacity building.
• cash combined with training and apprenticeship opportunities.

This creates a rare opportunity to examine, within a single project and context, the added value and limitations of cash-plus approaches.

1. SPECIFICATION OF SERVICES REQUIRED

Oxfam seeks to recruit a consultant to lead the development of a policy brief on social assistance in prolonged urban crisis settings, drawing on evidence from Tripoli.

The consultancy aims to assess whether and how cash-plus approaches extend the protective effects of cash beyond immediate consumption; identify which groups benefit most, and where cash-plus offers limited or no added value; and   generate realistic, evidence-based recommendations for humanitarian cash and social assistance programming under constrained funding conditions.

The consultant is expected to:

• A. a brief Literature Review and Conceptual Framing (2-3 pages)
  • Conduct a focused literature review on cash-plus approaches in humanitarian and urban crisis contexts.
  • Review Oxfam’s “Without a Net” (2020) policy paper and relevant programme documentation.
  • Refine the analytical framework for the policy brief, aligned with Oxfam’s protection, gender, and social cohesion priorities.
• B. Data Collection Design
  • Design light-touch, policy-relevant data collection tools aligned with the agreed concept, including:
    • Short qualitative interview guides.
    • FGD discussion guides.
    • KII guides for programme staff and frontline actors.
  • Ensure tools capture:
    • Post-assistance trajectories.
    • Perceived stability, planning horizons, and risk.
    • Mechanisms of change (what helped, what did not).
    • Feasibility and cost-effectiveness perceptions.
  • Coordinate closely with Oxfam to align tools with ongoing endline data collection where relevant.
• C.  Data Collection Support
  • Support Oxfam in piloting and finalizing tools.
  • Provide guidance to field teams on sampling and data collection approaches.
  • Participate in selected interviews or FGDs if required (remote or in-person)
• D. Data Analysis
  • Analyse qualitative and available quantitative programme data across three cohorts:
    • Cash-only.
    • Cash + training.
    • Cash + training + apprenticeship.
  • Conduct comparative analysis focusing on:
    • Stability and planning.
    • Post-assistance coping and risk.
    • Perceived added value and limitations of cash-plus.
• E. Policy Brief Development
  • Draft a concise, evidence-based policy brief (approx. 8–10 pages), including:
    • Key findings.
    • Comparative insights across cohorts.
    • Realistic design and targeting lessons.
    • Policy-relevant recommendations.
• F. Dissemination and Engagement
  • Support the preparation of dissemination materials (eg.key messages).
  • Co-lead, with Oxfam to facilitate one policy roundtable to present findings and engage donors, NGOs, and coordination actors.
  • Contribute to a second dissemination event or targeted bilateral discussions as agreed

The consultant is expected to respond to two rounds of feedback by Oxfam on each of the data collection tools and the policy development.

If the consultant wishes to propose modifications to the specification (which may provide a better way to achieve Oxfam´s objectives) these must be considered as an alternative offer. The consultant must make alternative offers in a separate letter to accompany the offer. OXFAM is under no obligation to accept alternative offers.

The company/ individual(s) should have the following competencies:

Essential

• Prior experience working in humanitarian cash and social assistance policy analysis in Lebanon
• Strong qualitative research and analytical skills
• Excellent communications skills in English and Arabic
• Experience translating programme evidence into policy-relevant outputs
• A familiarity with urban crisis contexts and protracted displacement.
• Flexibility and ability to take initiative
• Availability to start immediately

1. APPLICATION PROCESS

Submission instructions

Quotations and applications must reach Oxfam no later than 1 March 2026 at midnight (Beirut time).

Responses must be submitted in English, electronically to: lebanonprocurement@oxfam.org.uk

The subject of the mail should be: [Policy development consultant – Proposal Submission + [Name of bidder]]

Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent up to 2 days before the submission deadline in writing. The (anonymised) questions will be answered to all applicants.