GFFO Final Evaluation Consultant

Organizational and project background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and regain control of their future. The IRC Yemen began its projects in October 2012 and currently operates in the south and north of the country through direct programming and local partnerships.

The country project operates in Aden, Abyan, Lahj, Al Dhale'e and Shabwa, Hodeidah and Sana'a governorates and continues to assist the affected population through:

• Provision of health, reproductive health, nutrition, water and sanitation services to more than a quarter-million people.

• Assess people to meet their basic needs.

• Delivering essential drugs and medical supplies to hospitals.

Scope of Work:

With funding from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), the IRC is implementing a three-year multi-sectoral project that aims at reducing the risk of morbidity, mortality, food insecurity, and GBV and to provide better access to child protection services. The project is primarily targeting pregnant women, women of reproductive age, infants, children and vulnerable households (e.g., female-headed households, severely food insecure households, etc.) residing in Hodeidah governorate. Furthermore, the project intends to achieve the following outputs:

• Children and adults are protected from and receive treatment for communicable and non-communicable diseases and women are protected from and receive treatment for the complications of pregnancy and childbirth
• Children under five receive protection from and treatment for malnutrition, and families of malnourished children receive support to become more food secure
•  Women and girls receive protection and treatment for the consequences of gender-based violence (GBV)

Rationale and Purpose

The primary purpose of the evaluation is to assess the completeness and effectiveness of the project

deliverables and achievements realized and take stock of the positive and negative changes brought about as a result of the project. The evaluation's information and recommendations will inform the IRC and GFFO of the existing gaps and possibly better project design and implementation. As such, the Consultant is expected to provide information about success factors and recommendations for improvement areas.

Specific Objectives of the Evaluation

• Identify lessons learned and good practices and provide recommendations.

• Determine the extent the project achieved its objectives and outcomes as described in the project log frame.

• Determine the extent the project generated significant positive or negative, intended or unintended effects in the target population.

Evaluation Criteria and Questions

The following questions, among others, should be addressed:

• To what extent did the project reduce the risk of morbidity, mortality, and food insecurity of the target population?
• To what extent did the cash assistance and agriculture activities address the food and nutrition security requirements of the target households.
• To what extent were the intended results achieved, and what internal and external factors influenced the achievement or non-achievement of those outcomes?
• Did the project demonstrate an excellent Value for Money (VfM) approach?

What were the project's intended and unintended positive and negative results?

Scope of consultancy

The Consultant(s) will design an appropriate evaluation methodology based on their understanding of the expectations of the terms of reference. The evaluation will be conducted remotely, and no data will be collected from the clients or government stakeholders. Instead, the Consultant is expected to conduct extensive document reviews, meetings with IRC staff, and possibly a learning meeting. The evaluation should be utilization-focused as IRC intends to use the findings to inform current and future programming. The technical proposals should provide a detailed methodology for this assignment. Key activities should include, but are not limited to:

• Drafting data collection tools

• Developing the data collection methodology

• Developing the data analysis plan

• Conducting a learning meeting with IRC staff

• Presenting evaluation findings to IRC staff

• Production of the evaluation report

Reporting Arrangements

The Consultant will report to the MEAL Coordinator in close collaboration with the Technical Coordinators and Managers.

Duration of assignment

The consultancy should not last more than 40 working days and should be carried out within October and November 2022.

DELIVERABLES

1. The Consultant will produce and submit an inception report detailing the evaluation design and methodology, tools, and instruments to be used in this evaluation within five days after signing the contract/agreement. The inception report will be submitted to IRC for review and presented virtually for feedback. IRC will approve the final inception report after submission before allowing any activities to continue.

2. The Consultant will produce and submit a draft evaluation report for review and virtually present it to IRC for comments and validation. The outline for this delivery could be as agreed in the inception report and should meet the evaluation objectives as indicated in this TOR.

3. The Consultant will develop a final report, incorporating feedback from IRC. The Consultant is accountable for maintaining the requirements for the content, format, and length of the final report, overall quality, and agreed timelines. The final report should incorporate all comments from IRC.

Intended Users

The intended users for the evaluation will be:

• The IRC team based in Yemen.

• All interested parties in IRC, including the Senior Management Team, MEAL Department, Grants Management, Technical Coordinators, and Advisors.

• Representatives of GFFO as the donor that has funded the project.

Evaluation Roles and Responsibilities

IRC will:

• Facilitate engagement with the IRC staff and other key stakeholders.

• Provide all necessary project documents and contacts of relevant stakeholders.

• Review the Consultant's proposal, tools, and evaluation report.

The Consultant will:

• Be responsible for all aspects of the entire evaluation process, including evaluation preparation, data collection, analysis, and report writing.

• Be responsible for paying any tax or other fees related to this assignment.

• Be responsible for their working tools such as computer and data analysis software.

• Ensure the highest research ethical standards and transparency are upheld during the evaluation.

• Ensure that the time scheduled is adhered to.

• Ensure that the consultancy fee covers ALL the consultancy-related costs, including internet costs, communication, etc.

• Abide by IRC Yemen working days, i.e., Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, and ensure all communication is done during those weekdays.