Consultancy to Transcribe the Recordings and Proceedings of the Rivers, Rights, Resilience Forum

Shaping a stronger Oxfam for people living in poverty.

Department Purpose

Transboundary Rivers of South Asia Phase 2: Rivers Rights Resilience (T2:3R) is a regional programme implemented by Oxfam that aims to improve cooperation in governing shared water resources and strengthen resilience to climate change among riparian communities in the transboundary Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins.  The programme, supported by the Swedish Government, builds on the work of Phase 1, implemented from 2017 to 2021. The T2:3R programme, launched in 2022, works directly with communities in selected locations across the transboundary Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River basins in multiple countries.

The program will achieve the overall goal through four key outcomes given below:

• Outcome-1: Strengthened climate-resilient livelihoods of communities living in the transboundary GBM river basins
• Outcome-2: Improved and inclusive management of transboundary river ecosystems and protection of biodiversity across the GBM river basins:
• Outcome-3: Strengthened leadership of civil society, especially women, Indigenous People, and youth, to influence the Government and the private sector on water governance across and between the transboundary GBM basins:
• Outcome-4: Strengthened cooperation, collaboration, and accountability across and between the transboundary GBM river basins

Under each outcome, Oxfam and partners will follow a series of three interlinked strategies: Learning, Demonstrating, and Advocating. The work seeks to influence change at the community and civil society level, as well as changes in policies and practices at the national and transboundary levels. 

Team Purpose

The programme is managed by a Program Management Unit (PMU) based in Cambodia (with some team members working remotely from other countries in South Asia). The programme has an extended team comprising colleagues based in the six regional partners, 10 national-level partners, and two Oxfam country offices (Bangladesh and Nepal). The team is part of the Oxfam Asia Regional Programme and focuses on addressing the injustice of inequality (using water governance as an entry point). The consultant will be considered part of this team.

TROSA PMU organises the Rivers, Rights, Resilience Forum (RRRF) annually, bringing together water professionals in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basins of South Asia. The RRRF serves as a learning platform wherein experts, civil society organisations, academia, the private sector, and governments exchange learning to promote equitable governance of shared water ecosystems. While the forum focuses on issues related to the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basins of South Asia, it also enables cross-basin knowledge sharing at the regional and global levels.

RRRF was organised twice in Year 3 (2025-2026): the first in a virtual format from 5-7 May 2025, and the second in a hybrid format held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 13-15 January 2026. The Forums are designed around specific sets of learning questions for each theme. The theme for the virtual RRRF was Strengthening Cooperation for Equitable Water Governance, with the following learning questions:

• What are the missing narratives and voices from the ground on river governance, and why are they important?
• How can strategic & climate-just actions strengthen resilience in riparian communities?
• How can community rights, entitlement, and indigenous knowledge help restore river ecosystems and their services?
• How can multi-stakeholder cooperation foster equitable water governance, regionally and globally?

Around 60 virtual participants at the RRRF, held over 3 consecutive days for 3 hours each. The central theme of the RRRF held in Colombo is ‘Building Resilient Communities and Ecosystems’, of which the learning questions are given below:

• What innovations and investment strategies can benefit communities for better adaptation?
• What are the inclusive pathways for climate actions that can strengthen the resilience of riverine communities?
• How can multi-stakeholder cooperation foster equitable water governance, regionally and globally?

Job Purpose

TROSA is seeking an agency/team to prepare the proceedings for both events. The audio recordings are available for both events.

Scope of Work

• Transcribe the audio recordings of each session
• Prepare a day-wise proceedings of both events, capturing the key learnings

Deliverables

• Full transcription of the recordings of the Rivers Rights Resilience Forum 2025 & 2026 (total 35 hours).
• Proceedings of RRRF 2025 and 2026 with a Summary of Key learnings from the respective Forums

* Payments are subject to acceptance of the deliverable after matching the desired quality, to be determined by the focal point at Oxfam

Job Requirements

We are looking for a consultancy team to transcribe the recordings and produce the proceedings within a limited timeline. The team should maintain the mutually agreed deliverable timeline and work closely with the Oxfam team.

Essential

• A consultancy agency or a team of consultants with sufficient workforce to work in parallel and deliver the task within the agreed deadline without compromising quality
• Ability to summarize key points, capture quotes and document main messages delivered.
• Must be proficient in English
• Have good knowledge of any of the four themes (water governance, gender equality, civil society and human rights) from regional perspectives.

Desirable

• Having two or more people in the team with relevant skills to transcribe and write the proceedings
• Experience in working with and/or knowledge of Oxfam or similar organisations, universities, and other development setups.
• Relevant qualifications in social sciences or a related field
• Awareness of and commitment to gender equality and commitment to Oxfam's equal opportunity
• Postgraduate and doctoral researchers, young professionals, experienced action researchers, development practitioners, independent writers, bloggers, communication experts, and women are encouraged to apply.

Key Attributes

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible

Organizational Values

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences

Other

• Eager and required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women's rights
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.

For further questions, please contact Dr. Veena Vidyadharan at veena.vidyadharan@oxfam.org

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