Evaluation Consultant, “Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism” project

BACKGROUND

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is seeking an experienced consultant (hereafter ‘evaluator’) to undertake an objective and independent evaluation of the implementation of the Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism project (WiA). The evaluation will take place between December 2017 and December 2018 (end of project). The estimated number of working days is 36.

ODIHR is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law.

Activities related to tolerance and non-discrimination form a part of ODIHR’s core mandate. ODIHR has developed a collection of resources and programmes to raise awareness about discrimination, hate crimes, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, including against Jews, Muslims, Christians and members of other religions. Through advising on policy and the training of law enforcement personnel and educators, the Office works to build the capacity of governments in preventing and responding to problems of intolerance and discrimination. In addition to assisting participating States in meeting their OSCE commitments in areas such as tolerance and non-discrimination, ODIHR also works to increase the ability of civil society to monitor and report on hate crimes and incidents.

In 2004, with the Berlin Declaration, OSCE participating States acknowledged that anti-Semitism has assumed new forms and poses a threat to security and stability in the OSCE region. At the time, and at subsequent Ministerial Council meetings, OSCE participating States assumed responsibility for addressing this challenge.

Since 2016, ODIHR’s Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department (TND) has been implementing the project Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism, which is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. The project’s objective is to strengthen the capacity of participating States and civil society to (prevent and) respond to manifestations of anti-Semitism. This will be achieved by conducting activities in three different components, which will lead to the creation of a comprehensive toolkit to address anti-Semitism. These components are:

• Addressing the security needs of Jewish communities – Security Component;
• Countering anti-Semitism through education – Education Component;
• Fostering coalition-building among different communities - Coalition-Building Component.

The three expected results are:

• Relevant government officials and parliamentarians are equipped to address the security needs of Jewish communities;
• Education policy-makers and practitioners share a common understanding of how to address anti-Semitism following a human rights-based approach to education;
• Civil society organizations are equipped to build coalitions to jointly counter anti-Semitism as part of an overall agenda that promotes equality and human rights.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

The evaluation is intended to assess the impact and success of the project activities in each of the three components with a view on assessing the sustainability of the various project outputs as well identifying lessons learned that can inform future similar activities as well as inform the development of follow-up programmes and projects in the same thematic area throughout the OSCE region. The evaluation will seek to understand whether the design is optimally linked to achieving the intended objective, taking into account external factors that were contributing to or were constraining the delivery of outcomes. Finally, finding of the interim assessment would inform planning of the final year of the project.

Lessons from the implementation of the project shall be analyzed in view of issuing recommendations for enhancing ODIHR’s understanding of how to improve implementation of the project and how to more efficiently and effectively use resources available for ODIHR’s engagement in the programmatic area (tolerance and non-discrimination in general, and countering anti-Semitism in specific). The evaluation will have therefore a backward-looking and a forward-looking dimension. Furthermore, the evaluation will include a mid-term assessment, findings of which may be incorporated into the planning of the final year of the project. For this purpose, the evaluator will join a planning retreat in Warsaw on December 12th.

The evaluation will cover all three components of the project (Security, Education, and Coalition-Building). It will include all relevant activities and publications undertaken between March 2016 (the launch of the Project), and all project activities carried out up until October 2018 (end of project). The evaluation will draw on information from current activities under the Project to better assess the impact of activities undertaken during the evaluation period.

The evaluation will also consider how the project design, implementation and delivery took into account needs of women and men and how it impacted them. ODIHR also seeks input on how to better gender mainstream the project activities going forward.

METHODOLOGY:

The evaluation will be based on the 5 Development Assistance Criteria (DAC) as laid out in the DAC Principles for evaluation of Development Assistance (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability), but will also include special consideration of the political objectives of the OSCE, the intergovernmental nature of the Organization, the political and administrative context in which ODIHR operates.

The focus of the evaluation will be on the project beneficiaries, i.e. groups or entities with which ODIHR has interacted under the auspices of the project implementation directly or indirectly and whom it can be anticipated that the project implementation has been able to influence. The evaluation will also focus on the tangible tools that have been produced by the project, i.e. publications.

A detailed evaluation design will be developed by the evaluator and should make use of a mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools: desk review, field visit, interviews (in person and/or over the phone), questionnaires, as well as through reviewing other documentation such as financial information.

The desk review will mainly include the following type of documents: project documentation, meeting and training reports, agendas, presentations and training materials, and participant feedback forms.

The evaluation foresees field visits to two project events in 2018, to be selected in consultation with the consultant.

EVALUATION TEAM:

The evaluation team will be composed of one or two external consultants to be recruited individually. The lead evaluator will take overall responsibility of the evaluation. S/he will be the primary point of contact between ODIHR and the evaluation team and have the responsibility for submission of all deliverables. If necessary, s/he may be supported by a more junior (local) evaluator.

DELIVERABLES:

The evaluator should submit the following deliverables:

1. Detailed evaluation plan: Based on the scoping visit, the evaluator will draft specific evaluation questions, which will be agreed with the ODIHR’s Project Co-ordination Unit (PCU) and the TND Department. The plan should also include a proposed timeframe and work plan for the conduct of the evaluation, and possible findings in relation to the mid-term assessment.

2. Evaluation Report with the following:

3. Executive summary that provides a clear, concise presentation of the evaluation’s main conclusions, key recommendations and salient issues identified;

4. Description of the methodology used;

5. Responses to the evaluation questions (observations, findings, conclusions and recommendations);

6. Analysis of lessons learned and good practices.

QUALIFICATIONS OF EVALUATOR:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations or other relevant disciplines. A combination of relevant academic qualifications and extensive experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Minimum 5 years of experience of designing/implementing and conducting evaluations, in particular of projects implemented at the international level in tolerance and non-discrimination or human rights field;
• Thematic knowledge of the tolerance and non-discrimination field would be advantageous; similarly, expertise in the field of anti-Semitism would be beneficial;
• Experience in gender mainstreaming projects and programmes;
• Professional knowledge of English;
• Experience with the OSCE would be an advantage.

REMUNERATION:

Remuneration will depend on the selected consultant’s qualifications and experience and be in accordance with OSCE established rates.

Travel expenses for attendance at briefings and events will be covered by ODIHR according to OSCE travel policy.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use OSCE’s online application link found under http://www.osce.org/employment.

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.