Final evaluation for UN Women’s programme: “Promoting Women’s Equal Access to Economic Opportunities and Decent Work in Palestine”

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Consultant Human Rights

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Background

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997. UN Women Palestine Office focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely, to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions towards the realization of following strategic goals: Mainstreaming gender in governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the only tripartite UN agency – bringing together government, employer and worker representatives to elaborate labour standards and policies and promote decent work in different parts of the world.

The ILO has had a longstanding commitment to social justice and decent work for the Palestinian people since the International Labour Conference adopted the resolution mandating the production of an annual report on the situation of workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in 1980. The ILO established its Representative Office in Jerusalem in 1995, and has since been addressing the challenges facing Palestinian men and women in the world of work through its collaboration with its tripartite constituents – the Ministry of Labour, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, and the Palestinian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, for the realization of the Decent Work Agenda. The ILO is implementing its Second Decent Work Programme in OPT (2018-2022), focusing on enhancing employment and livelihood opportunities, strengthening labour governance and realization of fundamental principles of rights at work, and supporting the extension of social protection for all Palestinians.

To ensure women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy, UN Women and ILO are partnering to implement the programme “Promoting Women’s Equal Access to Economic Opportunities and Decent Work in Palestine” in two phases and generously funded by the Italian Cooperation Development (AICS).

As Phase II of the project is approaching its planned end date in March 2021, UN Women and ILO are commissioning a Final Evaluation of the project. The evaluation intends to measure progress towards achieving the planned results of the programmes; provide credible and reliable evidence for decision-making and evidence-based advocacy and policy making; and contribute to lessons learned about the implementation of the programme.

Description of the Evaluation Object:

The programme’s overall goal is “to promote women equal access to economic opportunities and decent work in Palestine, and protection of their labour rights through reinforcement of equitable laws, legislations, policies and active labour market programmes, while engaging public, private and community actors.”

Phase I of the project was implemented between 21 November 2017 and 22 February 2019, and entailed two outcomes: (i) increased employment of women workers and access to decent and productive jobs through market-oriented skills trainings; and (ii) promoting an environment that enables women’s labour market participation on the basis of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. Phase II of the programme is being implemented between 13 June 2018 and 31 March 2021, and entails two outcomes: (i) increased employment of women workers and access to decent and productive jobs through market-oriented skills trainings and (ii) promoting an environment that enables more gender responsive labour laws, policies and practices. The programme contributes to enhancing the role of women by specifically targeting them throughout its two outcome areas and its activities, while also bringing in boys and men as key stakeholders and drivers for efforts towards achieving gender equality.

Outcome 1: Increased employment of women workers and access to decent and productive jobs through market-oriented skills trainings. (UN Women led).

The outcome focuses on strengthening the capacities of young women (employed and self-employed), especially the most excluded and marginalized in West Bank and Gaza Strip, to manage and run MSME’s through equipping them with market oriented skills and confidence to enhance their livelihood potential and access to decent jobs.

Output 1.1: Increased capacities of women through training, peer to peer learning, and skills development opportunities for women (UN Women)

Supporting 30 women, mainly marginalized, from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to improve their managerial and technical capacities to enable them to run and manage micro-small, small and medium enterprises (MEMEs). This included the co-design and delivery of a tailored training program using UN Women One Stop Shop Approach (the One Stop Shop Capacity Development Package) and creating market linkages, networking with relevant stakeholders, participation in exhibitions, registration of businesses etc.

Output 1.2: Develop a grant mechanism for women to enhance their decent job opportunities and sustainable income generation through business development and entrepreneurship.

Provision of a grants scheme for a total of 20 women to further strengthen the organizational capacity of their MSME’s and to enhance their businesses and access better economic opportunities through product development and on the job coaching.

Outcome 2: Promoting an environment that enables women’s labour market participation on the basis of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. (ILO led).

The outcome focus is to promote gender responsive policies related to the world of work. The aim is to support the inclusion of gender equality concerns in the Ministry of Labour functions and services and to enhance a gendered institutional awareness at the corporate level, for creating an enabling and supportive environment with improved working conditions for women.

Output 2.1 Awareness of women workers and advocates in private and public institutions for improved working conditions and protection of their rights strengthened

Output 2.2 Capacity development of labour market governance institutions, and government regulations that promote better working conditions and earnings for women is improved Implement a national dialogue on the reform of the Labor Law labor from a gender perspective, as an important entry point for promoting equal economic rights for women.
Strengthen the existing complaint mechanism to document and take action against violations of women’s rights in the workplace.This entailed building the capacity of Ministry of Labour Inspectors on gender and labour inspection tool, review of checklists, inspection planning and campaigning to ensure more effective inspection and reporting mechanisms on violations of women workers’ rights. The project worked with a total of 42 Inspectors in Phase I and Phase II.

Launch an awareness raising campaign for women workers on their labor rights, wages, future social security schemes highlighting the key benefits for women workers, access to legal services, dispute settlement and complaint mechanisms etc.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose of the Evaluation:

The main purpose of the evaluation is to assess the extent to which the project has resulted in progress (or lack thereof) towards intended results and/or unintended results regarding income security, decent work and economic autonomy for Palestinian women.

This evaluation aims to contribute to results-based management through a participatory approach that documents results achieved, challenges and opportunities to progress, and contributions to the dialogue and consultations on the strategic priorities related to promoting income security, decent work and economic autonomy for Palestinian women. The evaluation will follow a participatory approach that will include consultations with beneficiaries and key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Labour, the General Federation of Trade Unions, the Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and agriculture, the Business Women Forum and Headway Academy as partner organizations and other involved stakeholders. The evaluation will draw lessons learned and recommendations for future work and programming on the decent work, gender equality and women’s empowerment in Palestine.

The evaluation will also have a forward looking focus and will aim to provide key recommendations for the implementation and scaling up opportunities of similar interventions that are currently implemented by UN Women and ILO, based on the lessons learned identified through this evaluation and will also provide forward looking recommendation on the roles of all key stakeholders to ensure linkages and mutual synergies of the different national bodies.

Evaluation: Objectives, Criteria and Key Questions:

Evaluation objectives:

The specific objectives of the evaluation are:

Assess the relevance of the project at the national level and alignment with the needs of the intended beneficiaries and with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
Assess the organizational efficiency of the project in relation to delivering the desired results of the project;
Assess the effectiveness related to the achievement of the project results as identified in the project document, as well as unintended outcomes;
Assess the potential sustainability of the project’s results;
Analyze how the human rights-based approach and gender equality principles were integrated in the design and implementation of the project;
Identify and validate lessons learned, good practices and innovations of efforts that support gender equality and human rights in this area of work; and
Document enabling factors and ‘game-changers’ that contributed.

Evaluation criteria and Key Questions:

The evaluation will apply the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability as well as the additional criterion of human rights and gender equality by addressing the key evaluation questions identified below. At inception stage, the evaluation expert is expected to develop an evaluation matrix summarizing key questions, indicators, sources of information and methodology to guide the analysis and triangulation. Final evaluation matrix will be validated by the evaluation management group and the evaluation reference group constituted in the framework of this evaluation processes.

Relevance:

To what extent is UN Women and ILO are positioned to promote decent work and women’s economic empowerment in Palestine?
To what extent is UN Women positioned to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Palestine?
To what extent did the project influence policy work on the decent work agenda from a gender perspective?
Did the project’s scope and focus create the best opportunity for UN Women and ILO to contribute to promoting the decent work agenda and women’s entrepreneurship and economic participation in Palestine?
To what extent is the intervention aligned with relevant normative frameworks for gender equality and women’s empowerment?
To what extent is the project aligned with national strategies and priorities?
What is UN Women and ILO’s comparative advantage in this area of work compared with other stakeholders?
To what extent did the project meet the needs and expectations of the responsible parties in terms of their ability to provide the necessary services?
To what extent did the project enable UN Women and ILO to reach out and respond to the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable groups?
To what extent did the intervention respond to the needs and priorities of the key national counterparts in relation to protecting women in the workplace?
To what extent did the intervention respond to the needs and priorities of the participating women’s entrepreneurs in relation to managing and running successful and sustainable businesses?

Efficiency:

To what extent does the management structure of the intervention support efficiency for implementation and the achievement of the results?
To what extent were resources available in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality at the best price?
Was the planning process, management, implementation and follow-up performed in a timely manner and in such a way that it ensured solid ownership and partnership so that all stakeholders were properly informed about the project and their specific roles and responsibilities? If not, what could be done to improve this in a subsequent phase?
Did the responsible parties have the organizational capacities to implement the project interventions?
To what extent did the project design phase assess risks that may hinder the ability of the responsible parties to implement the project?Was there any external and internal risk overlooked during the design of the project that may hinder the ability of the responsible parties to achieve the desired outputs?
To what extent did UN Women leverage its triple mandate (normative, coordination, and operations) to strengthen the implementation of the intervention and achieve the desired results?
To what extent has the ILO leveraged tripartism to strengthen the implementation of the intervention and achieve desired results?
What improvement in resources, institutional setup and arrangements is required for the efficient implementation and the achievement of results?

Effectiveness:

How effective have the interventions been in legislative and policy reform for promoting the decent work agenda in Palestine?
How effective have the interventions been in more women entrepreneurs managing and owning sustainable businesses?
How effective has the intervention been in promoting self-organization amongst women workers?
How effective has the intervention been in strengthening gender based data collection and analysis knowledge and skills of ILO partners?
To what extent have workers’ organizations been able to strengthen their engagement in policy dialogue with tripartite constituents on decent work and social justice?
To what extent have the intended project outcomes and outputs been achieved and how did UN Women and ILO contribute towards these?
What hindering factors have affected the project’s realization of intended results thus far?What needs to be done to overcome these limiting factors, if any?
Were there any unintended changes resulting from the program, and if so, which ones or for whom?
What is the level of satisfaction of the project’s stakeholders, including women’s beneficiaries, to the different services provided?
What is the level of satisfaction of the project’s stakeholders to the expertise and knowledge provided in terms of legislative and policy reform and implementation?
- What are the main changes, intended and not intended, in terms of policy work on the decent work agenda did the Joint Action Plan contribute to?
- What are the main changes, intended and not intended, that are identified by women entrepreneurs’, women unionists, and women workers in the targeted sectors, who participated in the intervention as a result of this participation?
- What are the main successes of the intervention?
- What are the main good practices that could be replicated and scaled up at the country level, regional level and global level to ensure more sustainable results?

Sustainability:

To what extent did the intervention contribute to enhancing institutional and organizational capacities for the Ministry of Labor and other key stakeholders in relation to gender equality in the world of work?
To what extent did the intervention contribute to enhancing organizational and technical skills for the participating women’s entrepreneurs, to ensure they are able to manage and run successful business?
To what extent did the intervention contribute to enhancing technical skills and representation of women workers and unionists, to ensure their working conditions are protected and labour rights improved?
To what extend has the intervention contributed to enhancing technical skills and knowledge of the Ministry of Labour’s Inspection Department on gender responsive labour inspection?

Gender Equality and Human Rights:

To what extent does the intervention address the underlying causes of inequality and discrimination that contribute to unequal gender power relations?
To what extent were the human rights-based approach and gender equality incorporated in the design and implementation of the project?
Were there any constraints (e.g. political, practical, and bureaucratic) to addressing human rights and gender equality during implementation?What strategies and approaches were applied and what level of effort was made to overcome these challenges?
What have been the main results achieved so far by interventions towards the realization of human rights and gender equality?

Scope of the Evaluation:

The end of project evaluation will assess the collective performance and implementation of all project’s partners, including UN Women and ILO for Phase II of the programme, starting on 13 June 2018, and ending on 31 March 2021. Additionally, the evaluation will assess the collective performance and implementation of UN Women and its partners under Outcome 1 in Phase I.

The evaluation will cover the entire geographical areas, beneficiaries (women entrepreneurs, inspectors, decision makers etc.) targeted by the project, which includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The evaluation will reach out to all principal stakeholders, i.e. the Ministry of Labor, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, employers’ representatives and partners’ organizations, and other stakeholders working on the decent work and gender equality in Palestine, including donors, international and national NGO’s. The evaluation will reach out to participating women entrepreneurs in Phase I and Phase II of the project in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The evaluation will include a stakeholder analysis mapping.

Evaluation Ethics and Norms:

The evaluation is to be conducted in line with UNEG Norms and Standards for evaluation, the UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluations in the UN System, UN Women evaluation guidelines including Evaluation Policy, GERAAS evaluation report quality checklist, and the UN Women “How To Manage Gender-Responsive Evaluation” handbook.

The evaluation will be guided by WHO ethical guidelines on conducting research with the victims of violence.

The evaluation shall also be guided by the UN Women Pocket tool for managing gender responsive evaluation during COVID-19.

Evaluation Methodology:

The evaluation methodology will deploy mixed methods, including quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and gender and human rights based analytical approaches to ensure participatory, inclusiveness processes as described below:

A theory-based approach and contribution analysis methodology will be followed for the evaluation wherein the existing Theory of Change (ToC) will be examined to gain an understanding of the conditions that affect results; to identify those strategies that are effective; to collect information that helped adaptation or lack thereof; and, should the desired results not materialize, to ascertain whether this was because of programme design, implementation or external factors beyond the control of the programme. The ToC may be reconstructed to elaborate on the objectives and articulation of the assumptions that stakeholders use to explain the change process represented by the change framework that the Action Plan considered.

The methodology will include, but not limited to, documents review, content analysis, online or onsite interviews and focus group discussions with all key stakeholders involved in the project implementation, including but not limited to, UN teams, local NGO partners, target beneficiaries, legislative body, central and local government partners, etc., will also take place.

Interested candidates are requested to include in their proposal the best possible approach from a methodological standpoint.

Evaluation Limitations:

The current emergency state due to the COVID 19 Pandemic might restrict travel into areas of Palestine, including Jerusalem, the West bank and Gaza Strip. Furthermore, restrictions on gatherings might also limit the ability to conduct face to face meetings with stakeholders. The evaluation needs to take this into account and plan for a methodology that uses innovative tools for engaging with the different stakeholders.

Evaluation phases and timelines:

Evaluation phases

The evaluation process is divided in five phases: 1) Preparation, mainly devoted to structuring the evaluation approach, preparing the TOR, compiling programme documentation, and the consultant ; 2) Inception, which will involve a stakeholder’s analysis, reconstruction of theory of change, inception meetings, inception report and finalization of evaluation methodology; 3) Data collection and analysis, including desk research and preparation of field missions, visits to project sites; 4) Data analysis and synthesis stage, focusing on data analyzed, interpretation of findings and drafting of an Evaluation Report; and 5) Dissemination and follow-up, which will entail the development of a Management Response by UN Women and ILO.

The evaluation consultant will be responsible for inception, data collection and data analysis and synthesis. Please refer to UN Women Evaluation Handbook

Inception phase: at the beginning of the consultancy, the consultant will be provided with key sources of information for an initial desk review. The inception meetings will be conducted with UN Women and ILO team. At the end of this phase an inception report that will include the refined evaluation methodology will be delivered. The inception report will be validated and approved by UN Women and ILO.

Data collection phase: based on the inception phase, the contractor will carry out an in-depth desk review, and field mission/s will be conducted to complete data collection and triangulation of information. Interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders, as relevant, will take place.

Data analysis and synthesis phase: The collected information will be analyzed and the evaluation report will be delivered. A validation meeting will be organized where the consultant will validate the final report with participating UN agencies to be approved by UN Women and ILO. Afterwards, the consultant is expected to present the final results through a presentation for participating UN agencies and programme implementing partners.

Evaluation Timeframe

This evaluation, including the field work, is expected to be carried out between December 2020 and April 2021. The final evaluation report is to be submitted to Evaluation Task Manager, on behalf of the Evaluation Management Group on or before 16 May 2021.

Inception Phase

Inception Meeting 11 February 2021
Draft Inception ReportFebruary 2021 (See Annex 1 for Template)
Final Inception Report26 February 2021

Data Collection Phase

In-Country Debriefing24 March 2021

Reporting Phase

Post Data Collection Workshop 12 April 2021.
Draft Final Report26 April 2021 (Refer to UN Women Evaluation Handbook).
Recommendation Workshop 6 May 2021.
Final Report 16 May 2021.
Final Presentation 26 May 2021.

Evaluation Governance and Management:

The evaluation will be a consultative, inclusive and participatory process and will include a threefold management structure consists of an Evaluation Steering Committee, an Evaluation Management Group (EMG) and an Evaluation Reference Group (ERG).

Since this is a joint evaluation, UN Women and ILO will form an Evaluation Management Group (EMG) to support the Evaluation Task Manager (ETM) who will lead the day-to-day management of the evaluation process. The management group is constituted to oversee the evaluation management, make key decisions and assure quality the different deliverables.

In order to facilitate a comprehensive review of the evaluation products and to ensure the participation of key stakeholders (project partners)in the evaluation, UN Women and ILO will establish also an Evaluation Reference Group comprising of UN Women and ILO Staff, duty bearers and right holders. The reference group is an integral part of the evaluation management structure and is constituted to facilitate the participation of relevant stakeholders in the design and scope of the evaluation, raising awareness of the different information needs, quality assurance throughout the process and in disseminating the evaluation results.

An evaluation Steering Committee, ESC, will be established as the key accountable body that will ultimately endorse the evaluation report and will be responsible for the development of an evaluation Management Response (MR) to address the recommendations included in the report. The specific functions of the ESC will include the following:

Be informed by EMG during the entire evaluation process.
Revise and endorse the different evaluation deliverables: inception report and final evaluation report.
Lead in the development of the evaluation Management Response (MR) in coordination with relevant staff.

Endorse the MR, which will be made publicly available in the UN Women Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation (GATE) system.

Deliverable 1: Draft Inception Report 16 February 2021.

The Consultant must produce a draft inception report, displaying the results of the above-listed steps and tasks. The inception report must follow the structure as set out in Annex 1.

Prior to submission to the Evaluation Task manager (ETM) (on behalf of the EMG), the Consultant must ensure that it was internally quality controlled. The EMG will control the quality of the submitted draft inception report to ensure quality of the draft inception report is satisfactory (form and substance); the draft inception report will be circulated by the EMG to the ERG for comments. In the event that the quality is unsatisfactory, the Consultant will be required to produce a new version of the draft inception report.

Deliverable 2: Final Inception Report 26 February2021.

The Consultant must address all the comments and make appropriate amendments to the inception report prior to submission to the ETM on behalf of the EMG for review and approval.

For all comments, the Consultant indicates in writing how they have responded (“trail of comments”), using the proposed format set out in Annex 2. The trail of comments document is to be submitted to the ETM on behalf of the EMG at the same time as the updated inception report.

The inception report will be considered final upon approval by the EMG.

Deliverable 3: In-Country Debriefing 24 March 2021.

The Consultant will present preliminary data to key stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries, (in-person or virtually as needed) for discussion two days before completing the data collection phase in the field.

Note: The debriefing is needed to review data with selected key stakeholders, beneficiaries and partners to increase the Consultant’s understanding of data accumulated so far, and identify data issues or gaps that may be addressed/collected/revisited. The debriefing is not to be used to present preliminary findings as the data analysis is not yet completed and could mislead stakeholders.

Presentation material is to be submitted to the ETM on behalf of the prior to the debriefing session. Minutes and any supplementary material provided during the session are to be submitted one week after the session.

Deliverable 4: Post Data Collection Workshop 12 April 2021.

The consultant will conduct a workshop session in Ramallah to present the preliminary findings of the evaluation to the ERG and EMG to seek comments and validation. The process will also support the formulation of the recommendations in a participatory way.

Presentation material is to be submitted to the ETM, on behalf of the EMG, at least five working days prior to the session. Minutes and any supplementary material provided during the session are to be submitted one week after the session.

Deliverable 5: Draft Report 26 April2021.

The draft evaluation report must conform to the UNEG (2017) Norms and Standards for Evaluation or the OECD/DAC (2010) Quality Standards for Development Evaluation and follow the structure and instructions as set out in Annex 3, include an executive summary and includes all the relevant annexes.

Prior to submission to the ETM, on behalf of the EMG, the Consultant must ensure that the draft evaluation report has undergone an internal quality control process through the Consultant’s Evaluation Quality Assurance System (EQAS). If the quality of the draft evaluation report is deemed satisfactory by EMG (form and substance), the draft evaluation report will be circulated to the ERG and other stakeholders as necessary for comments. In the event that the quality is unsatisfactory, the Consultant will be required to produce a new version of the draft evaluation report.

The EMG is responsible for sharing the draft report and collecting stakeholders’ comments.

The Evaluation Report shall follow the structure detailed in the UN Women Evaluation Handbook (Box 18 Outline of Evaluation Report).

Deliverable 6: Recommendations Workshop 6 May 2021.

Approximately two weeks after comments from the EMG/ERG have been shared with the Consultant on all deliverables, the findings, conclusions and draft recommendations must be presented by the Consultant during a workshop in Ramallah in person or via teleconference. The workshop will include participants from the EMG and the ERG.

Deliverable 7: Final Report 16 May2021.

The Consultant must address all the comments and make appropriate amendments to the evaluation report and draft work plan prior to submission to the ETM, on behalf of the EMG, for review and approval (Note: As per the OECD/DAC (2010) Quality Standards for Development Evaluation, “Relevant stakeholders are given the opportunity to comment on the draft report. The final evaluation report reflects these comments and acknowledges any substantive disagreements. In disputes about facts that can be verified, the evaluators investigate and change the draft where necessary. In the case of opinion or interpretation, stakeholders’ comments are reproduced verbatim, in an annex or footnote, to the extent that this does not conflict with the rights and welfare of participants.”

For each and every comment, the Consultant indicates in writing how they have responded (“trail of comments”), using the format set out in Annex 2. The trail of comments document is to be submitted at the same time as the updated evaluation report.

The evaluation report will be considered final upon approval by the EMG.
The Final Report will include the actionable recommendations produced through the evaluation.

Deliverable 8: Final presentation 26 May 2021.

Afterwards, the Consultant will prepare and conduct a workshop to present the findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons of the evaluation in Ramallah/or virtual and at a time to be decided by the EMG. If travel to Ramallah is not feasible the workshop may be held via tele-conference.

The Consultant will conduct the presentation after EMG approval of the Final Report.

Deliverable 9: Evaluation communication products 26 May 2021.

The consultant will also produce a PowerPoint/Prezi presentation of the final key evaluation findings and recommendations, and a 2-pager/infographics on the final key findings, lessons learned and recommendations.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity.
Integrity.
Professionalism .

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues.
Accountability.
Creative Problem Solving.
Effective Communication.
Inclusive Collaboration.
Stakeholder Engagement.
Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

Excellent facilitation and communication skills.
Excellent evaluation skills.
Good understanding and practice of capacity development.
Outstanding knowledge of gender, women’s rights, labour law and principles and women’s economic empowerment.
Outstanding understanding of the gender and developmental work and coordination mechanisms by different stakeholders in Palestine.
Good understanding of the context of Palestine.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A master’s degree in social science, development, international relations, gender studies, economics, and/or related areas.

Experience:

At least 7 years of leading evaluations and assessments on Socio-economic projects’ evaluations including on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment Proven record of applying mixed methods approach and participatory methodologies for conducting gender analysis and gender and human rights responsive evaluations in previous assignments is required (to be indicated clearly in the P11).
At least 4 years of experience on the Decent Work Agenda, labour rights, gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and relevant challenges and issues in the local context is required.
Proven experience working with UN and International Organizations is an asset.

Language Requierements:

Fluent in Arabic and English

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
A technical proposal outlining understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology for undertaken the evaluation in line with the TOR.The proposal shall Outline of the evaluation questions, design, assumptions and its limitations, ensuring participatory methods for consultation with stakeholder groups, a plan for inclusion of women and individuals and groups who are vulnerable and/or discriminated against; detailed evaluation methodology for the evaluation: how the quantitative and qualitative tools will be developed and tested including plans to adapt the methodology due to COVID 19 situation and limited ability to travel to the concerned evaluation areas; a sampling frame (area and population represented, rationale for selection, mechanics of selection, limitations of the sample) and specify how it will address the diversity of stakeholders in the intervention; Assumptions made in sampling and research design should also be clearly reflected; how the research team will be trained for data collection; measures to ensure quality, reliability and validity of data collection tools and methods and their responsiveness to gender equality and human rights; (for example, the limitations of the sample representativeness) should be stated clearly and the data should be triangulated (cross-checked against other sources) to help ensure robust results; how quantitative and qualitative data will be protected, stored, coded and analyzed and made available to UN Women; Protocols that will ensure the work is conducted ethically and in accordance with WHO guidelines (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/251759/9789241510189-eng.pdf;jsessionid=154035A6C3207D97BFCA4A0DB36C32D4?sequence=1) on research into violence against women. Plan should include how protection of subjects and respect for confidentiality will be guaranteed; risks and how these will be mitigated and managed; innovative means for communicating findings and recommendations of the evaluation.

Note: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please upload as one attachment of the documents as mentioned above online through this website.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI).

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above, the technical and financial proposals. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

A master’s degree in social science, development, international relations, gender studies, economics, and/or related areas (max 10 points)
At least 7 years of leading evaluations and assessments on gender equality and empowerment of women, including women’s economic empowerment. (max 15 points)
Proven record of applying mixed methods approach and participatory methodologies for conducting gender analysis and gender and human rights responsive evaluations in previous assignments is required (to be indicated clearly in the P11). (max 10 points)
At least 4 years of experience on the Decent Work Agenda, labour rights, gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and relevant challenges and issues in the local context is required. (max 10 points)
Proven experience working with UN and International Organizations is an asset. (max 5 points)
A technical proposal outlining understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology for undertaken the evaluation in line with the TOR. (max 10 points)
A technical interview (max 10 points)

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.

Financial proposal. Shortlisted candidate will be requested to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount breaking down a daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and any related expenses, i.e. travel and communications expenses.

Annex1: Outline of the Inception Report

Table of Contents
List of Acronyms
List of Tables (*)
List of Figures (*)
Rationale, Purpose and Specific Objectives of the Evaluation

Should include: rationale, purpose, specific objectives and the scope of the evaluation.
Development Context

Should include: a description of key contextual element, specific to the development intervention.
Evaluation Object and Scope

Should include: a brief description of the development intervention (e.g. the time period; budget; geographical area; programming; intervention logic, stakeholder mapping; organizational set-up; implementation arrangements) including the theory of change of the programme
Evaluability Assessment
- Should include: a review of previous evaluation(s), a review and an analysis of the logic of the development intervention, an assessment of the evaluation questions, an analysis of the evidence (existence and quality of data and availability of key informants), and an analysis of key factors that compromise the evaluation.
Evaluation matrix
- Evaluation matrix outlining key evaluation questions, indicators, sources of information and methodology to guide the analysis and triangulation.
Evaluation Approach and Methodology

Should include: (i) a description and an explanation of the evaluation approaches, evaluation methodology and its application; including details of, and justification for, the methodological choices; (ii) description of the methods of data collection (desk and field-based) -- including data collection plan; preparation of interview and guides for focus groups; surveys; etc. (iii) description of samples, sampling choices/methods and limitations regarding the representativeness of samples for interpreting evaluation results. (iv); data analysis plan (i.e. how the information collected will be organized, classified, tabulated, inter-related, compared and displayed relative to the evaluation questions, etc.); (v) limitations.
Reporting:
- Should include, an explanation of the debreifing sessions.
Evaluation Management
- The Consultant’s approach to ensure quality assurance of all evaluation deliverables.
Deliverables, Milestones, Schedule, Level of Effort Should include: a detailed plan for the next phases/stages of the evaluation; including detailed plans for field visits, including the list of interventions for in-depth analysis in the field (explanation of the value added for the visits), preparation process and logistics, recruitment of field teams, etc.
Annexes: should include:
- Logic Model and PMF
- ToR (and amendments if applicable)
- Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis
- Evaluation Evidence Matrix
- Explanation of Sampling and Proposed Samples
- List of Documents Consulted for the Work Plan
- List of Individuals Consulted for the Work Plan (Disaggregated by Affiliation and Sex)
- Proposed Data Collection Tools / Protocols
- Proposed Field Work Schedule
- Proposed field work schedule.
- (*) Tables, figures, graphs and diagrams should be numbered and have a title.
- Annex 2: Evaluation Trail of Comments Template

The table format will be shared with the selected consultant.

Annex 3: UN Women Quality Assurance Review Criteria

UN Women GERAAS report quality standards, which are adapted UNEG report standards and integrate the United Nations System-wide Action Plan Evaluation Performance Indicator (UN-SWAP EPI), are used to assess the quality of evaluation reports produced by all UN Women offices, including the IEO. UN Women evaluation managers should use the standards (see Tool 14. GERAAS evaluation report quality assessment checklist) to assess the quality of evaluation reports. The evaluation team should have the standards in mind while writing the report and can use the checklist before delivering the draft and final reports.

The checklist can be used by the evaluation manager and commissioning unit in assessing compliance before accepting the report as final. The quality criteria assess the report structure and eight parameters: