Job description
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Hiring Office: UNFPA Mozambique Country Office, Maputo
Type of Consultant: Individual Consultant
Background
Within the insecurity context in Northern Mozambique since 2021, UNFPA developed an action plan to strengthen the resilience of adolescent girls, women, youth, and both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in northern Mozambique. The initiative aligns with stabilization and recovery strategies, with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the prevention, mitigation, and response to gender-based violence (GBV).
The European Union-funded ResiNorte programme aims to support the short- and medium-term development strategies of the Government of Mozambique in an integrated manner encompassing humanitarian, development and peace aspects, with the overall objective to enhance resilience and to accelerate the recovery in the northern provinces. The programme contributes to Priority 3—“Governance, Peace and Just Society”—of the EU Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (2021–2027), particularly by reinforcing peace, stability, and social cohesion through a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach.
The action aligns with Component 2 of ResiNorte, which focuses on restoring protective environments and building resilience among vulnerable populations. It delivers integrated interventions addressing GBV, improving access to essential SRHR services, and promoting women’s economic empowerment. Drawing from UNFPA Mozambique’s 2022–2026 Country Programme, activities target IDPs and host communities across Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa.
Three priorities guide the interventions: (i) ensuring timely access to quality, life-saving SRHR services; (ii) strengthening GBV coordination, prevention, and response across emergency and recovery phases; and (iii) advancing gender equality through socio-economic empowerment and participation. These efforts address structural vulnerabilities that exacerbate crises and support recovery and long-term resilience.
In response to escalating insecurity in Cabo Delgado, the action adopts an integrated, conflict-sensitive approach combining humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, and security efforts. It also tackles root causes of gender inequality by challenging harmful norms, engaging men and boys, and empowering youth as agents of change. Partnerships with government, civil society, and women-led organizations are central, with particular attention to women and girls with disabilities.
As the project approaches its closure on 14 August 2026, a final independent evaluation will be conducted to assess results, document lessons learned, and generate strategic recommendations to inform both future European Union-supported interventions and UNFPA programming in Mozambique and similar contexts.
Purpose of the consultancy:
The objectives of the proposed assignment are mainly to conduct a final evaluation in the three target provinces (Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa) with the aim of assessing the extent to which the project’s achieved results are attributed to the action and have contributed to the intended outcomes. It will examine performance across key criteria, including relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and sustainability, to provide a comprehensive understanding of results. The evaluation will analyze how and why observed changes occurred, identify enabling and constraining factors, and assess the alignment of interventions with broader strategies and needs. Emphasis will be placed on generating clear, actionable, and forward-looking recommendations to support decision-making, inform future European Union-supported interventions, and strengthen UNFPA programming, with a focus on sustainability, scale-up, and long-term impact.
The evaluation will also contribute to institutional learning within UNFPA by identifying good practices and areas for improvement to strengthen the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of future programming.
The evaluation process will include consultation with the European Union Delegation in Mozambique, including input on the Terms of Reference and review of the draft evaluation report prior to finalization.
The primary objectives of this evaluation are:
- To assess the extent to which the Resinorte Project has achieved its intended outcomes and impacts.
- To identify strengths, weaknesses, lessons learned, and best practices in project design, implementation, and management.
- To evaluate the relevance of the projects in meeting the evolving needs of the affected populations.
- To examine the efficiency of resource utilization and the effectiveness of project delivery mechanisms.
- Provide clear, prioritized, and operational recommendations to:
- inform future EU-supported interventions.
- support sustainability and institutionalization of results.
- guide UNFPA programming improvements and strategic positioning.
- enable replication and scale-up of effective approaches.
(Description of services, activities, or outputs)
Scope of Work:
Following the establishment of the baseline dataset utilized to measure progress against project indicators, it is requested that the consultant conduct the “RESINORTE“ final evaluation with the main objective of:
- Provide evidence on how the project achieved or did not achieve its objectives, specifically changes in the service delivery capacity and the degree of satisfaction of beneficiaries in the target provinces, in comparison to the baseline.
- Assess progress against key indicators, including comparison with baseline and endline data.
The evaluation will place particular emphasis on assessing UNFPA’s contribution to observed results, distinguishing where possible between attribution and contribution, and identifying scalable and sustainable approaches emerging from the intervention.
The evaluation will systematically use five OECD-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and sustainability. The evaluation will cover the following aspects:
- Review project documents, including proposals, reports, monitoring data, and relevant literature.
- Analysis of project implementation processes, including planning, coordination, procurement, and distribution mechanisms.
- Assessment of project outcomes and impacts on the targeted beneficiaries and communities.
- Evaluation of the relevance of project interventions in addressing the identified needs and priorities of the affected populations.
- Examination of the efficiency of resource utilization, including financial, human, and material resources.
- Identification of key challenges, constraints, and opportunities encountered during project implementation.
- Documentation of lessons learned, best practices, and areas for improvement.
- Development of forward-looking, evidence-based recommendations, including practical guidance for implementation, sustainability pathways, and potential scale-up.
Methodology
The evaluation will employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including but not limited to:
- Desk review of project documents and relevant secondary data.
- Key informant interviews with project staff, beneficiaries, partners, and stakeholders.
- Focus group discussions with representatives from the affected communities.
- Surveys or questionnaires to gather feedback and perceptions from stakeholders.
- In-depth assessment and field visits to project sites in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa Provinces.
- Data analysis using appropriate statistical and qualitative techniques.
The evaluation will apply a gender-responsive and human rights-based approach, ensuring ethical standards and confidentiality, particularly in relation to GBV data collection. A participatory approach will be used to ensure inclusion of diverse stakeholders, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
Deliverables
The evaluator(s) will be expected to deliver the following:
- An inception report outlining the evaluation approach, methodology, data collection tools, data analysis methods, key informants/agencies, evaluation questions and work plan.
- Data collection, including document/literature review and primary and secondary data.
- Draft evaluation report for review by UNFPA, key stakeholders, and the European Union Delegation, including a dedicated section with clear, prioritized, and actionable recommendations.
- A Recommendations Matrix summarizing all recommendations, including priority level, indicative timeline, and responsible actors where applicable.
- PowerPoint Presentation of key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations to the relevant stakeholders.
- Final evaluation report incorporating comments from UNFPA and the European Union Delegation, including a finalized set of prioritized and actionable recommendations.
Recommendations should be practical, context-specific, and, where feasible, include considerations for implementation, resource implications, and integration into existing systems.