Result of Service

The evaluation consultant will assess as objectively and systematically as possible the performance of the project vis-à-vis its overall objective as defined in the project document. In addition, he/she will identify intended and unintended project results and progress made towards results in the three project outcome areas and address the following specific objectives:

i. Provide evaluative expertise and assess the performance of the project in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, impact and mainstreaming of gender, human rights, and disability inclusion considering its goal and objectives.
ii. Identify and document lessons learned, good practices and provide recommendations for improvement to inform the design and delivery of future IEs’ interventions and DA projects of a similar nature.
iii. Identify areas of opportunity for future project development.

The evaluation consultant will deliver a carefully edited and formatted evaluation report on the assessment of performance of the project in accordance to the terms of reference and to ECA quality standards and specifications.

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

4.5 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Introduction and Rationale for Evaluation: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is launching a terminal evaluation of the COVID-19 Joint Special Project on Strengthening Social Protection for Pandemic Response: Identifying the Vulnerable, Aiding Recovery and Building Resilience. In line with the Development Account (DA) project Evaluation Framework, a terminal evaluation is required for projects with a budget of USD 1 million or more. The evaluation is being conducted to review the project performance and enhance learning within the IEs, the DA, stakeholders, and other Development Partners. Findings and recommendations of the evaluation will also provide valuable inputs to strengthening the management capacity of IEs and the DA, as well as inform future project design and delivery. The evaluation will be conducted as an independent evaluation, where the evaluation is managed by the Evaluation Section of ECA and conducted by independent external consultants, selected through a competitive process in consultation with the Project Coordination Team and evaluation focal points of all IEs. Three Evaluators are anticipated for this evaluation: a Team Leader and 2 team members with subject matter expertise.

Project Background and Technical Focus: The Strengthening Social Protection for Pandemic Response, Identifying the Vulnerable, Aiding Recovery and Building Resilience project (the Project) was implemented from June 2020 to December 2021, with a no-cost extension to June 2022, with a total budget of US $2,673,000 funded under the United Nations Development Account (DA). The DA is a mechanism to fund capacity development projects of the 10 economic and social entities of the United Nations Secretariat, namely: the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Environment Project (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Project (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This Project was jointly implemented in 41 countries across five (5) regions by six (6) implementing entities namely, ECA, ECE, ESCAP, ECLAC, ESCWA, and UNCTAD. Key stakeholders, member States and in particular, beneficiary countries and other Development Partners will be consulted throughout the evaluation process. The evaluation is planned for the period May – October 2023, with the final report expected to be completed by 31st October 2023.

Project Intervention Logic: The Project strategy was based on a three-pronged approach implemented in distinct workstreams to address emerging capacity gaps in the planning, design, and implementation of rights-based and gender-sensitive social protection systems to mitigate the impact of COVID-19: 1) enhanced capacity for social protection, 2) strengthened care economy policies for recovery, and 3) improved poverty measurement. It was implemented in three phases which built upon and complemented one another: 1.) phase I was the project start-up and focused gathering and analyzing contextual information relating to COVID-19 response across the regions and provided a baseline for the next phases, 2.) phase II constituted the implementation of in-country interventions in response to the identified needs and demands of the target Member States, and 3.) phase III further elaborated on the interventions from the phase II.

The project development objective was to strengthen national capacities to design and implement social protection policies, with a gender perspective, for rapid recovery from COVID-19 and increase resilience, especially of the most vulnerable populations, to the negative impacts of future exogenous shocks.

The Project aimed to achieve the following outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved institutional capacity among core stakeholders to implement and deliver social protection and expand coverage Outcome 2: Innovative capacities and cooperation mechanisms developed to integrate the care economy into social protection and other public policies of COVID-19 recovery Outcome 3: Improved national capacity for producing timely and disaggregated poverty measures following internationally agreed guidance.

Purpose and objective of the evaluation: The final evaluation will serve three main purposes: accountability, learning, and provision of credible evidence for strategic decision-making. From a learning perspective, the evaluation will provide lessons and evidence of what worked, what did not work, and why, to inform future interventions of a similar nature, and the design and implementation of future projects within the framework of DA projects. From an accountability perspective, the evaluation will assess overall progress towards intended outcomes, and, where possible, seek indications of possible effects on beneficiaries as well as indicative analysis of the IEs added value in the streams of work of the project. The evaluation will aim to provide credible and reliable evidence to the IEs, member States and other stakeholders to contribute towards improving developmental outcomes.

Composition and profile of the evaluation team: Three Evaluators are anticipated to undertake this evaluation; one Team Leader supported by two team members with subject matter expertise. The Evaluation Team should demonstrate behavioural independence, impartiality, credibility, honesty, integrity, and accountability in conducting the evaluation to avoid bias in the findings. The Evaluation Team must also address in the design and conduct of the evaluation procedures to safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers. ECA is seeking qualified consultants to join the evaluation team, with demonstrated evaluation experience in various development contexts, exposure to a broad set of practices in the following areas of work: • Social protection • Poverty measurement • Care economy • Gender equality and human rights • Rights-based and gender sensitive social protection systems Ideally and for reasons related to independence, candidates should not have been recently involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of work related to this project.

Tasks and responsibilities: Under the general guidance of the Chief of Evaluation, the Evaluator will be responsible for the overall evaluation process and delivery of all evaluation outputs including and not limited to the following specific responsibilities: i) Lead the evaluation by providing overall technical and methodological leadership. ii) Lead the analysis of key findings to arrive at an overall assessment of the performance of the project, conclusions, and recommendations, identification of lessons learned and best practices leading to the preparation of the final report. iii) Lead and coordinate the preparation of the evaluation report, using the DA evaluation report template as provided by ECA, and delivered in accordance with ECA quality standards, specifications, and timeline. iv) Lead the preparation and presentation of the draft report to be made to project stakeholders. v) Lead the finalization of the evaluation report, including all annexes. vi) Supervise the Evaluation Team Members, ensuring high quality outputs are delivered timely.

Candidates are advised to consult the detailed terms of reference which will form the basis of the contract by requesting via email [email protected]. Interested candidates should also submit two samples of completed evaluations of a similar nature as part of their application process.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics, Demography, Development studies, or other related social sciences fields is required. A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and Two years experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
At least 10 years of experience evaluating international development interventions is required.
Proven experience designing and leading Theory-based evaluations of development interventions is required.
Experience evaluating social protection, care economy and/or poverty measurement projects will be an added advantage.
Experience working in one or more of the regions covered by the project will be an asset.
Experience conducting evaluations of UN programmes and projects will be an asset.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this assignment, fluency in English is required and working knowledge of French will be a distinct advantage. Knowledge of one or more local languages spoken in the target countries will be an asset.

Additional Information

Total lump sum fees for the evaluation will be payable against deliverables, through Electronic Financial Transfer (EFT), according to the following schedule:
i. 20% on approval of deliverable 1, inception report.
ii. 20% on completion of deliverable 2, post-data collection de-brief meeting.
iii. 30% on approval of deliverable 3, draft evaluation report.
iv. 30 % on approval of deliverable 4, final report.

COMPLETION CRITERIA

Acceptance of deliverable will be acknowledged only when the deliverable(s) concerned is judged to be in accordance with the requirements set out in the contract, to reflect agreements reached and plans submitted during the contracting process and incorporate or reflect consideration of amendments proposed by the Evaluation Manager.

Completion and acceptance of the final report will be based on the criteria set out by the ECA Evaluation Section.

Deliverables shall be submitted electronically via email and regarded as delivered when acceptance is confirmed by the Evaluation Manager.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.