Independent Evaluation Consultant Roster

Contract

This is a No grade contract. More about No grade contracts.

TO GET DETAILED TERMS OF REFERENCE PLEASE DOUBLE CLICK ON MHPSS_Evaluation_Consultant_2104400.pdf

1. Background

Somalia’s 30 year old civil strife has severely disrupted social cohesion, broken down social norms and led to widespread psychological suffering. Long-standing conflict undermines trust between individuals, families, communities and their institutions. With 70% of Somali’s population under the age of 30 years, the vast majority of the population was born and grew up in the midst of conflict. This situation can lead children, young people and adults to normalize and potentially reproduce violence and conflict through retribution, joining armed groups and intimate partner violence. Studies of adverse childhood experiences and trauma, such hunger, violence and neglect, have shown an association with long-term chronic health conditions including mental health and substance use. Therefore, neglecting to address the psychosocial impact of conflict will ultimately undermine peace, health and development.

Through UN Peacebuilding fund, the WHO country office in Somalia, in partnership with the IOM, UNICEF, Somali National University and the federal government, are currently implementing a pilot project on youth-oriented integrated MHPSS in the context of peace building.

The project complements existing primary health care services and peace-building initiatives and tackles an important service delivery gap – MHPSS – which is currently not covered by any humanitarian or developmental programmes in Somalia.

The project is the first of its kind and aims to:

• Improve access to and widen coverage of mental health and psychosocial support services for young people at the primary health care level
• Establish an institutional response to mental health and psychosocial problems affecting young Somali people
• Enhance our knowledge and understanding of the links between mental health and drivers of conflict in Somalia which have not been well studied or researched
• Collect and analyze primary data on links between mental health and peace-building
• Generate evidence on how health can be linked to peace through integrating mental health care with community reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts
• Align the collaborative work of three agencies of the United Nations to promote mental health and well-being.

The Theory of Change is that, the provision of mental health and psychosocial services to young men and women, lessening of the stigma associated with mental and psychosocial disorders and improved social cohesion will reduce disenfranchisement and marginalization of young people – a recognized driver of conflict – and thereby enable them to become positive agents of change who contribute to peace-building opportunities.

As part of this project, WHO and implementing partners are conducting a study on the links between mental health, conflict and peace building in order to provide evidence about the interplay between MHPSS and drivers of conflict in Somalia, and help to inform new evidence-based approaches and interventions that can be implemented as a follow-on to the project. It is being increasingly recognized among professionals working in MHPSS and peace building that interventions aiming to achieve build peace would benefit from closer links with mental health interventions, as both add vital elements to rebuilding social, economic and political structures.

2. Purpose

An independent evaluation consultant/team is sought to perform an end line evaluation of the mental health themed project under the UN Peacebuilding Fund “Improving psychosocial support and mental health care for conflict-affected youth in Somalia: A socially inclusive integrated approach for peacebuilding”.

The primary purpose of this evaluation is to assess the extent to which the project achieved its strategic outcome with an added focus on whether the project interventions have achieved outcome level contributions to peace building and social cohesion with a focus on youth through mental health and psychosocial support interventions in the targeted areas. The evaluation must provide concrete findings and actionable recommendations to the programme management, partners and the donor. The evaluation shall also provide key lessons learned on youth centred mental health and psychosocial support approaches and highlight areas where the project performed less effectively than anticipated if any.

3. Deliverables

The consultant will work to produce the following output/deliverables

Output 1: Prepare inception report with:

• The specific set of issues and questions to be addressed by major project elements
• Relevant stakeholders to be consulted
• Proposed evaluation methodology including data collection tools and table of contents of the evaluation report
• Work schedule including dates and deliverables by dates

Deliverables 1.1: Design appropriate methodology for implementing the end-term evaluation and develop the standard tools.

Deliverable 1.2: Conduct appropriate desk review, collect and analyse available secondary data related to the project objectives.

Deliverable 1.5: Share the inception report with staff and stakeholders through dissemination forum

Output 2: Draft report of the evaluation:

Deliverable 2.1: Prepare the end-term evaluation report draft(s) to be reviewed by the project partners. The report will provide the preliminary findings, recommendations and conclusions from which the partners shall provide relevant feedback.

Output 3: Knowledge sharing workshop:

Deliverable 3.1: organize a meeting to facilitate sharing of the evaluation findings with the project partners and provide feedback.

Output 4: Prepare final report:

Deliverable 4.1: Upon incorporating the provided comments, the consultant shall sSubmit a final evaluation report within two weeks of receiving comments on the draft report.

Technical Supervision

The consultant will work under the supervision of:

WHO Health Policy Advisor UHC

Dr Marina Madeo

Email: madeom@who.int

4. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

To be decided

5. Specific requirements for National Consultant:

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or above) in mental health related discipline (psychology, psychiatry, nursing or social work) or a related field.

Experience:

• 7 to 10 years of demonstrated relevant work experience at the national level in monitoring, evaluation, reporting, or research with emphasis on MHPSS is required.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare and follow interview/focus groups protocols and other data collection tools is required.
• Experience in using participatory techniques in data collection, including gender-sensitive and youth-friendly approaches, is required.
• Deep knowledge of the peacebuilding and political context in the country is required.
• Knowledge of and experience is required in the field of peacebuilding, mental health especially in psychosocial protection and services and in social cohesion, human rights, youth empowerment, gender equality, etc.
• Familiarity or previous work experience with the UN system is a strong asset.

Language skills:

• Fluency in oral and written in English and Somali languages are a must.

6. Place of assignment

The position is based in Mogadishu with field missions to other states (if required), Somalia

7. Medical clearance

The selected consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.