Result of Service

The consultant will be responsible with delivering the following: Inception Report The evaluator will submit a draft Inception Report totalling not more than 10 pages, in addition to associated annexes. The Inception Report will summarize the desk review and propose the evaluation methodology and sampling strategy/ies to be used in the evaluation, along with a detailed work plan, draft evaluation matrix, stakeholder matrix, and quality assurance mechanism. Any revisions to the Inception Report will be implemented no later than one week following receipt of comments. The Inception Report should address the integration of human rights, disability inclusion, gender equality, and environmental issues where relevant. Final Evaluation Report Following the evaluation’s data collection and analysis of findings, the evaluator will submit a draft Final Evaluation Report. The Evaluation Report will be user-friendly, well-structured and evidence-based, totalling not more than 25 pages, in addition to a 2-page Executive Summary and associated annexes. The Final Evaluation Report will summarize the agreed-upon methodology listed in the Inception Report, describe the evaluation’s data collection and analytical approach, and present findings with clear action-oriented recommendations. The Final Evaluation Report will be reviewed by the SPARK team and the ERC, and discussed with the evaluator. A revised Final Evaluation Report is expected on 9 August 2024. The Evaluation Report should address the integration of human rights, disability inclusion, gender equality, and environmental issues where relevant. Both deliverables should be submitted in English.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

5 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background: For the UN to help build and sustain bold action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over time, it needs to focus on strategic communications, beyond informing the public, so that people care, act, and bring change. Communications and advocacy are not only a means to promote results and impact but can also contribute directly to the achievement of results. By fully integrating communications and advocacy into the full cycle of programme planning and delivery, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) can effectively communicate what its priorities are, and what it is doing with its partners to support those priorities. This evaluation aims to determine how the communication and outreach efforts of ESCWA are achieving their intended objectives, the pathway to these achievements, and the elements within the work of ERC, and other areas within ESCWA, that contributed most significantly to the achievement of these objectives. In addition, it will also consider how ESCWA’s communication and outreach may have brought about any unintended results that may have occurred. Duties and Responsibilities: This evaluation aims to determine how the communication and outreach efforts of ESCWA are achieving their intended objectives, the pathway to these achievements, and the elements within the work of ERC, and other areas within ESCWA, that contributed most significantly to the achievement of these objectives. In addition, it will also consider how ESCWA’s communication and outreach may have brought about any unintended results that may have occurred. Evaluation at ESCWA serves three main purposes: • It will provide a basis for evidence-informed decision-making, strategic planning, and risk management. • It is a means to demonstrate accountability to the organization’s Executive and member States for performance, relative to ESCWA’s mandate and strategic objectives. • It will inform and facilitate the process of organizational learning through the provision of evidence-based findings, learnings, and recommendations. The evaluation will be conducted in line with ESCWA’s Evaluation Policy (2023), the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation, and the Development Account Evaluation Guidelines. The evaluation will strive to employ development best practices with regard to promoting gender equality and a human rights-based approach, including the rights of persons with disabilities. The primary audiences for the evaluation are ESCWA and its member States. The evaluation will be facilitated and coordinated by ESCWA’s Strategic Planning, Accountability, Results and Knowledge (SPARK) team. . Evaluation Methodology The evaluator is expected to identify the main objectives achieved through the communication and outreach activities of ESCWA, as established by both the ERC, ESCWA clusters, and key stakeholders, and develop a Theory of Change (ToC) for these objectives. The causal links postulated in the ToC should then be used to theorise a plausible causal mechanism, which should be tested using all available evidence, to evaluate the influence of the section’s work on achieving the objectives. The evaluator is expected to ensure a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative), inclusive and participatory approach, with adequate triangulation across methods, to arrive at credible, reliable and unbiased findings. The evaluator will also ensure that all aspects of the evaluation are gender and human rights sensitive (including a special focus on the rights with person with disabilities). In addition, the evaluator must ensure that they always comply with the UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation during the conduct of the evaluation. The above methodology is indicative. The evaluator is expected to build upon it and present a robust evaluation methodology within the inception report, including addressing and refining the evaluation questions.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced-level degree in management, evaluation, or related area is required. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of five years’ experience undertaking impact evaluations, including projects and/or evaluations working with Arab governmental bodies and media institutions is required. A high level of expertise in the distilling, communication and reporting of findings, recommendations, best practices, and lessons learned is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to effectively convey complex information in a clear and concise manner to both governmental and international organization audiences is required. A minimum of 10 years’ experience in communication and outreach is desirable. Previous experience in evaluation approaches utilizing process tracing is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Additional Information

Not available.

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.