Job Description
Job Description
1. Introduction
Displacement in Zimbabwe occurs in different but sometimes overlapping contexts. Mining and other development projects may require land acquisition or restrict access to land and resources. Infrastructure, energy, water, conservation, commercial agriculture, urban renewal and other public- or private-sector projects may cause physical or economic displacement. Floods, cyclones, drought-related hazards, dam failures, fires, epidemics and other disasters may require temporary evacuation, prolonged displacement or permanent planned relocation.
Transition-mineral investments remain an important part of the evidence base. Experiences associated with mining in different locations have raised concerns about consultation, transparency, compensation, livelihood disruption, access to land and natural resources, grievance handling, and the differentiated effects of displacement on women and other groups at heightened risk. These experiences illustrate the need for consistent national standards, but the same safeguards should not be confined to the mining sector.
Development-induced and disaster-induced displacement have different legal triggers, responsible actors, timeframes and risk profiles. Nevertheless, affected people require a common minimum standard of protection: prevention or minimisation of displacement; meaningful participation and access to information; lawful and non-discriminatory decision-making; secure tenure; adequate housing; replacement-cost compensation where applicable; livelihood restoration; protection of cultural and social ties; accessible grievance and remedy mechanisms; and long-term monitoring.
The Model Guidelines should therefore provide an integrated national framework while clearly identifying context-specific procedures. They should address physical displacement, economic displacement and restrictions on access to livelihood resources, whether temporary or permanent and whether or not affected persons hold formally registered title. They should also address displacement in anticipation of disasters, emergency evacuation, transitional shelter, return, local integration and planned relocation when return is unsafe, unlawful or impracticable.
2. Purpose of the Assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to conduct an independent legal and policy review of the draft Model Guidelines and to revise and finalise them as practical, rights-based guidelines applicable to:
• mining-induced displacement, including transition-mineral and other mining projects;
• other development-induced displacements arising from public or private projects, including infrastructure, energy, water, urban development, conservation, commercial agriculture and similar land-based investments; and
• disaster-induced displacement, including evacuation, temporary displacement, return, local integration and planned relocation.
The consultant will ensure that the final Model Guidelines are legally sound, internally consistent, accessible to intended users, aligned with Zimbabwe's constitutional and statutory framework, and informed by relevant regional and international standards.
3. Objectives
The specific objectives are to:
• Review the draft Model Guidelines from constitutional, legal, policy and institutional perspectives,
standardizing terminology throughout the document by using the legally and editorially appropriate terms 'Guidelines' and 'Model Guidelines'.
• Broaden the substantive scope of the draft Model guidelines beyond mining-induced displacement to encompass other development-induced displacement and disaster-induced displacement, clarify common minimum safeguards and develop tailored procedures for each displacement context [ including both physical and economic displacement such as loss of or restricted access to land, housing, water, grazing areas, cultural resources, trading spaces and other livelihood assets].
• Clarify institutional mandates, coordination arrangements and responsibilities of State institutions, local authorities, businesses, humanitarian and development actors, traditional leaders and oversight bodies in relation to resettlements
• Review provisions on prevention, participation, valuation, compensation, livelihood restoration, tenure security, vulnerable and marginalised groups, grievance mechanisms, remedy, monitoring and accountability and produce final, implementable Model Guidelines supported by a concise legal and policy review memorandum and a stakeholder feedback response matrix.
4. Target Users of the Model Guidelines
4.1 Government and public institutions
The Model Guidelines will support ministries and departments responsible for lands, mines, environment, local government, housing, public works, infrastructure, energy, water, agriculture, social welfare, civil protection and human rights; Parliament and policymakers; rural and urban local authorities; regulatory bodies; and independent commissions, including the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
4.2 Private-sector and project actors
The Model Guidelines will guide mining companies, investors, developers, contractors, financiers, consultants and operators in planning and implementing rights-respecting land acquisition, displacement, relocation, compensation and livelihood restoration processes.
4.3 Disaster-risk management, humanitarian and development actors
The Model Guidelines will assist civil protection structures, humanitarian organisations, development partners and service providers involved in evacuation, emergency shelter, recovery, reconstruction, durable solutions and planned relocation.
4.4 Communities, civil society and professional actors
The Model Guidelines will provide affected people, host communities, civil society organisations, community-based organisations, traditional and community leaders, legal practitioners, valuers, planners and other professionals with a practical advocacy, implementation and accountability tools
Duties and Responsibilities
5. Scope of Work
The consultant will undertake the following tasks.
5.1 Inception and document review
• Review the draft Model Guidelines, relevant stakeholder submissions, consultation records, field findings and supporting documents supplied by the organization.
• Prepare an inception note setting out the consultant's understanding of the assignment, proposed analytical framework, work plan, document requirements and any issues requiring early resolution.
5.2 Legal and policy analysis
• Map and analyse Zimbabwe's applicable constitutional, legislative, regulatory, policy and institutional framework governing property, land acquisition, housing, compensation, environmental and social assessment, mining, local government, civil protection, disaster-risk management and access to justice.
• Identify gaps, overlaps, inconsistencies, mandate ambiguities and implementation risks, including differences between compulsory acquisition, negotiated acquisition, project-related displacement, emergency evacuation and planned relocation.
• Assess alignment with relevant African and international human rights, responsible business conduct, environmental and social safeguard, disaster-risk reduction and internal-displacement standards.
• Recommend how the Model Guidelines should interact with existing law and policy without purporting to amend legislation or create powers that competent authorities do not possess.
5.3 Scope expansion and substantive revision
• Develop a clear taxonomy covering physical displacement, economic displacement, temporary displacement, evacuation, relocation, resettlement, return, local integration, planned relocation, host communities, livelihood restoration and replacement cost.
• Establish cross-cutting minimum safeguards that apply to all forms of displacement.
• Develop differentiated pathways, decision criteria and procedural steps for mining-induced, other development-induced and disaster-induced displacement.
• Address persons without formal title, customary tenure, tenants, occupiers, informal traders, workers, users of common-property resources and mobile or seasonally dependent livelihood groups.
• Integrate gender-responsive, age-sensitive, disability-inclusive and culturally appropriate measures, with particular attention to children, older persons, persons with disabilities, women-headed households and other persons at heightened risk.
• Strengthen provisions on host-community impacts, social cohesion, community infrastructure, public services, cultural heritage, graves and sacred sites.
5.4 Institutional, procedural and accountability framework
• Clarify the roles, responsibilities and coordination obligations of responsible authorities and non-State actors before, during and after displacement.
• Set out procedural requirements for screening, alternatives analysis, impact assessment, eligibility and census processes, cut-off dates where appropriate, consultation, disclosure, valuation, compensation, relocation planning, livelihood restoration, implementation and completion audits.
• Define emergency-specific safeguards for evacuation, registration, family unity, protection, shelter, essential services, property access, communication, return and decisions on permanent relocation.
• Develop accessible grievance, appeal, mediation and remedy pathways, including measures to prevent retaliation and to enable independent review.
• Propose monitoring indicators, reporting requirements and post-relocation support arrangements capable of measuring whether living standards and livelihoods have been restored or improved.
5.5 Consultation and validation
• Engage selected legal, policy, technical and stakeholder experts agreed with ZELO to test the legality, clarity and practicality of proposed revisions.
• Present the revised draft at a validation session convened by ZELO and systematically address the feedback received.
• Prepare a response matrix recording substantive comments, the action taken and the reason where a recommendation is not adopted.
6. Guiding Legal and Policy Framework
The consultant will identify and analyse the most relevant instruments in force at the time of the assignment. The review should include, as applicable:
• the Constitution of Zimbabwe and relevant national laws, regulations, policies and institutional mandates;
• the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other applicable African Union instruments and jurisprudence;
• the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and relevant guidance on development-based evictions, displacement and planned relocation;
• the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and relevant durable-solutions and disaster-displacement frameworks;
• the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and relevant OECD responsible business conduct standards;
• IFC Performance Standard 5 and its Guidance Note, as well as other relevant environmental and social safeguard standards; and
• relevant regional, comparative and sector-specific good practice, adapted to Zimbabwe's legal and institutional context.
The final Model Guidelines must clearly distinguish binding Zimbabwean legal requirements from recommended good practice and international standards.
7. Methodology, expected deliverables, indicative workplan and reporting
The assignment will use a primarily qualitative legal and policy methodology comprising:
• a structured desk review of the draft Model Guidelines, laws, policies, case law, institutional mandates, reports and applicable standards;
• a gap and consistency analysis covering legal validity, policy coherence, institutional feasibility, rights protection and practical implementation;
• targeted consultations with agreed stakeholders and subject-matter experts;
• comparative review of selected regional and international approaches, with careful adaptation to Zimbabwe;
• iterative drafting, including an annotated draft or issue matrix for discussion with ZELO; and
No. Deliverable Minimum content/description
1 Inception note Approach, analytical framework, work plan, document request and preliminary issues that will be anchored by the review and revision of the model guidelines .
2 Legal and policy review matrix Applied framework that identified gaps, conflicts and risks, and recommended revisions.
3 Revised draft Model Guidelines A complete, internally consistent draft covering mining-induced, other development-induced and disaster-induced displacement.
The consultant will report to the organization’s designated programme lead. The precise timetable will be agreed at inception but not exceeding 3 (three) weeks. The consultant should propose a realistic sequence covering inception, legal and policy review, submission of the revised draft, and finalization.
6 Final Model Guidelines A clean, version in word format ready for publishing, after incorporating agreed feedback, submitted together with a version showing changes if requested by the organization.
Qualifications and Experience
8. Consultant Qualifications and Experience
The consultant should:
• have an advanced degree in law, public policy, human rights, development studies, disaster-risk management or a closely related field;
• demonstrate substantial knowledge of Zimbabwean constitutional, land, environmental, mining, local-government, compulsory-acquisition, housing and/or disaster-management law and policy; displacement/resettlement, compensation, livelihood restoration, internal displacement, disaster risk reduction and responsible business conduct issues and regulatory frameworks.
• demonstrate proven experience in legal and policy drafting, legislative or regulatory analysis, and the development of operational guidelines;
• be familiar with applicable African and international human rights and environmental and social safeguard standards;
• have experience facilitating multi-stakeholder review processes and incorporating divergent feedback;
• possess excellent analytical, drafting and communication skills in English. Knowledge of relevant local languages will be an advantage.
How to Apply
Interested consultants should submit a concise technical proposal demonstrating their understanding of the assignment and proposed approach, a financial proposal, an up-to-date curriculum vitae, and examples of relevant legal or policy review work to procurementzw@gmail.com on or before 2 September 2026. The consultancy title should be clearly indicated in the subject line.