1. Background

The Southern Africa Trust (The Trust) is a regional organisation committed to influencing policies to end poverty across Southern Africa. Following an internal review, the organisation has identified opportunities to strengthen its policy framework — both by updating existing policies and addressing areas not previously covered.

A total of 16 policies and enabling strategies have since been updated, developed, or commissioned. These span governance, human resources, finance, information technology, safeguarding, programming, and organisational sustainability.

As The Trust approaches its Board meeting in June 2026, there is a need to ensure that all policies and strategies are finalised, properly standardised, and packaged for review by the relevant Board Committees before formal approval by the full Board. The Trust wishes to outsource the policy standardisation and finalisation process to a qualified service provider, under the oversight of the HR and Management team.

2. Objective of the Assignment

The primary objective of this assignment is to support the Southern Africa Trust in standardising, right-sizing, and finalising its suite of 16 policies and enabling strategies, ensuring they are ready for Committee review in May and Board approval at the June 2026 Board meeting.

3. Scope of Work

The selected service provider will be expected to carry out the following tasks:

3.1  Policy Review and Standardisation

• Review all 16 existing draft policies and strategies listed in Section 6 of this ToR.
• Ensure each policy is right-sized (approximately 15 pages or fewer), clearly separating policy statements from Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and tools.
• Standardise language, formatting, and presentation across all documents — including consistent use of organisational name (Southern Africa Trust ), consistent terminology (e.g. ‘grantees’ vs ‘implementing partners’), and alignment of cover pages.
• Use the approved policy shared by the team as the benchmark for structure, flow, and presentation.
• Ensure all policies are aligned to The Trust’s organisational values, principles, and culture, and are appropriate to the size and nature of the organisation.

3.2  Cover Notes and Policy Register

• Develop a concise cover note for each policy, highlighting: what is new; what has been changed, removed, or updated; and key policy statements that Board Committees should pay particular attention to.
• Develop a Policy and Key Strategies Register for the organisation, capturing policy name, responsible owner, applicable legislation, approval date, and next review date. The register should be structured for quarterly updates.

3.3  Packaging for Committee Review

• Compile and package the finalised policies into the appropriate Board Committee review packs in line with the guidance provided.
• Ensure each Committee pack includes the relevant policies, cover notes, and a summary overview document.

3.4  Coordination and Handover

• Work closely with the designated The Trust HR/Management team contact to obtain source documents, feedback, and approvals at each stage.
• Submit draft versions for internal review at agreed milestones before finalising.
• Incorporate feedback from the Board committees and the full board meeting for each policy and strategy document.
• Provide all final documents in both editable (MS Word) and PDF formats.
• Conduct a brief handover session to walk the internal team through the completed policy pack and register.

4. Deliverables and Timeline

#	Deliverable	Target Date
1	Inception note: proposed approach, work plan, and timeline	Within 5 working days of contract signing
2	Standardised drafts of all 16 policies/strategies submitted for internal review	To be agreed in inception note
3	Revised drafts incorporating internal feedback	Within 5 working days of receiving feedback
4	Cover notes for each policy/strategy	Submitted with revised drafts
5	Policy and Strategies Register	Submitted with revised drafts
6	Fully packaged Board Committee review packs (4 Committees)	No later than 30 April 2026
7	Revised documents incorporating Board Committee and full Board feedback	Prior to 25 June 2026 Board meeting
8	Handover session with The Trust HR/Management team	30 June 2026

5. Required Qualifications and Experience

Proposals are invited from individuals or firms with the following:

• Demonstrated experience in policy development, review, and standardisation, preferably within the non-profit, development, or public sector.
• Proven ability to produce clear, professionally presented organisational documents.
• Strong understanding of governance and Board processes in civil society or similar organisations.
• Excellent written English communication skills and editorial ability.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines and manage multiple documents concurrently.
• Prior experience working with regional African organisations is an added advantage.
• Knowledge of the social justice sector in Southern Africa

6. Reporting and Oversight

The service provider will report directly to HR and will work closely with the CEO and Management team as required. All work will be subject to the oversight and final approval of HR and Management team before being shared with Board Committees.

The service provider is expected to communicate proactively regarding progress, risks, or delays, and to flag any issues that may affect the quality or timelines of the deliverables.

7. Submission of Proposals

Interested service providers are invited to submit a technical and financial proposal that includes:

• A brief profile of the individual or firm and relevant experience.
• Proposed approach and methodology.
• A detailed work plan with milestones and timelines.
• Financial proposal (daily rate or fixed fee with breakdown).
• At least two references from similar assignments.

Proposals should be submitted to:

Email: recruitment@southernafricatrust.org

Closing date for submissions: 16^th March 2026

The Trust reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal and is not obliged to provide reasons for its decisions. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

9. Enquiries

For any queries regarding this Terms of Reference, please contact:

Candice Mchunu | candice.mchunu@onehr.co.za

Thembisa Bekwa | thembisa.bekwa@onehr.co.za