Consultancy: Team Leader for the Independent Joint Evaluation: Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage, Evaluation Office, NYHQ

UNICEF’s Evaluation Office (EO) is seeking applications from a qualified Team Leader for the provision of services to complete an Independent Joint Evaluation of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage.

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For every child, evaluate

The UNICEF and UNFPA Evaluation Offices plan to jointly commission an Independent Joint Evaluation of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage (GPECM). The exercise to determine the overall readiness of the programme to be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion and check the coherence and logic of the programme.

The initial phase of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme is spanning from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019, with an indicative four-year budget (2016-2019) estimated at $246.7 million.  The Global Programme focuses on five key outcomes:

1. Adolescent girls at risk of an affected by child marriage are better able to express and exercise their choices.
2. Households demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours regarding gender equality and equity.
3. Relevant sectoral systems deliver quality and cost-effective services to meet the needs of adolescent girls.
4. National laws, policy framework and mechanisms to protect a promote adolescent girls’ rights are in line with international standards and properly resourced.
5. Government(s) support and promote the generation and use of robust data and evidence to inform programme design, track progress and document lessons.

The beneficiaries of the UNFPA and UNICEF Global Programme are adolescent girls (ages 10-19) at risk of child marriage or already in union, particularly adolescent girls in the 12 programme countries[1]. Initial calculations estimate that the programme will reach approximately 2.5 million adolescent girls.

The Evaluation Offices of UNICEF and UNFPA commissioned an evaluability assessment of the GPECM, in accordance with the GPECM Evaluation Plan. The exercise was conducted between April and September 2017, and covered the GPECM from its launch in January 2016 to August 2017.  The evaluability assessment has been conducted with the purpose of determining the extent to which progress towards GPECM objectives can be readily and reliably measured, monitored and evaluated.

How can you make a difference?

The evaluation is expected to provide an independent assessment of the progress made with a view of identifying key lessons learned from the first two years of implementation and improving upon the interventions in progress.

The focus of the evaluation is both outward-focused (to ensure accountability), and inward-focused (to provide learning and insights for global, regional and country level management of the GPECM). In terms of accountability it tracks and independently validates programme progress and results. In terms of use and programme improvement, it uses a dual approach. Firstly, it learns lessons from early programme implementation experience.  Secondly, it reviews ways to improve programme management effectiveness.

The evaluation recognises in its design that the Global Programme is a complex, jointly managed programme, with multiple partners and donors, that is implemented across 12 countries using different strategies.

The proposed evaluation is in line with the findings and recommendation of the evaluability assessment report of the Global Programme concluded in November 2017. It will be jointly managed by the UNICEF and UNFPA Evaluation Offices and conducted by a team of external specialists.

The primary objectives of this evaluation are to independently assess progress against the stated goals of the Global Programme and help to improve programme implementation and management by identifying good practices and lessons learned from the first phase of its implementation.

The specific objectives are:

(i)       Assess progress towards and results achieved against objectives of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme and the extent to which sustainability considerations have been built-in;

(ii)      Assess the extent to which issues of human rights, cultural sensitivity, equity and gender equality have been taken into consideration in programme implementation;

(iii)     Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme;

(iv)     Assess the effectiveness of the joint management modalities at global, regional and national levels;

(v)      Assess the extent of coordination with partners at the various levels of the global programme (Global, Regional and HQ);

(vi)     Identify lessons and distil good practices from the implementation of UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme.

Scope of Work

The evaluation of the Global Programme will cover the implementation of the programme during the period of 1^st January 2016 to the time of the conduct of the evaluation starting in Q2 2018 (preparatory phase) and is expected to conclude in Q1 2019.

The evaluation scope will address all 12 countries under the Global Programme, and all four programme levels (global, regional, national and community) and their interconnections. The evaluation will cover all activities planned and/or implemented during the period under evaluation. The evaluation will focus primarily on the progress towards achieving outputs and contribution to outcomes in the Theory of Change and results frameworks presented.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Qualified individuals that have the capabilities to meet the following requirements, and are available for the evaluation period indicated, are invited to apply.

This evaluation is to be carried out by highly qualified consultants including an evaluation and a thematic expert. The external team members will not have been involved in the design, implementation or monitoring of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage during the period under review, nor will they have other conflict of interest or bias on the subject.

The team must also demonstrate a clear understanding of the UN system and ensure that the evaluation is conducted in line with the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System and abides by UNEG Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct as well as any other relevant ethical codes UNEG Guidelines. UNEG guidance on Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluation should also be reflected throughout the evaluation.^[2] 

Team Leader – Evaluation Expert (90 days)

The team leader must have an extensive experience in leading evaluations or programmes of a similar complexity and character, as well as technical expertise in areas related to child marriage, education, adolescent health, gender equality and women’s empowerment, human rights, behaviour and social change. His/her primary responsibilities will be:

• Conducting and leading an evaluation in all its phases and managing the inputs of the other team members throughout the exercise;
• Setting out the methodological approach;
• Undertaking country visits;
• Reviewing and consolidating the team members’ inputs to the evaluation deliverables;
• Liaising with the Joint UNICEF/UNFPA Evaluation Management Group representing the evaluation team in meetings with stakeholders;
• Delivering the inception reports, and evaluation report (country case study notes) in line with the requested quality standards.

Minimum qualification required:

• Master’s degree in Development Studies, Sociology, Economics, Social Studies, International Relations or other related field.
• At least 12 years of experience conducting evaluations in relevant thematic areas such as adolescents and youth, child marriage, child protection, gender equality and education.
• Experience working with United Nations agencies, particularly UNICEF and UNFPA.
• Awareness of ethical risks in programming around sensitive issues, both in programme delivery and in all aspects of M&E.
• Proven skills in evaluation methodology and mixed methods approaches including quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques.
• Demonstrated expertise/experience in developing results frameworks, tools or guides for monitoring and evaluation.
• Demonstrable experience of ensuring human right based approach to evaluation.
• Be fully acquainted with results-based management orientation and practices.
• Excellent report writing skills, analytical skills, and computer skills.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English and preferably French and/or Portuguese.
• Experience leading teams.

Duration:

The evaluation is expected to commence in August 2018 and is staged in four phases: the Preparatory Phase, the Inception Phase, the Data Collection and Analysis Phase and the Validation and Reporting Phase.

Additional Information on how to apply:

1. Indicate your ability and availability and daily rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above.
2. Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered.

For every child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at:

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.