International consultancy to conduct final evaluation of the “Communities resilient to violent ideologies” project

Contract

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For every child, Safe environment

Background

Following the April 2010 revolution and confrontation between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in June 2010, Kyrgyzstan has initiated several peacebuilding activities with considerable support from the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). Within the framework of Peacebuilding Priority Plan (PPP) 2013-2016 with 15.1 million investments from PBF, Kyrgyzstan implemented a series of interventions to prevent the recurrence of future violence. Despite all the positive achievements as a result of implementation of PPP 2013-2016, the rise of radicalization potentially leading to violent extremism, particularly recruitment into banned religious organizations and foreign terrorist fighters abroad emerged as a serious issue. In order to deal with this new challenge, revision of the PPP 2013-2016 was recommended by the Final Evaluation of its implementation.

The revised PPP defined three interlinked outcomes, recognized as building blocks of interventions for preventing violent extremism in Kyrgyzstan. The first outcome targeted on justice and security institutions, national and local authorities applying socially inclusive approaches, participatory decision-making and guarantying civic space. The second outcome aimed to ensure that penitentiary and probation officers as well the police and forensic experts are able to prevent and address radicalization to violence by ensuring adequate safeguards respecting national and international standards. The third outcome was targeted on diverting people at risk from a radicalization path by means of community dialogue, education and development.

Three outcomes were planned to be implemented through six UN Agencies: UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNODC, UNFPA and OHCHR. At the implementation level each outcome was formulated into a project. The third outcome was implemented by UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women through a joint project called “Communities resilient to violent ideologies” with a budget of $2,601,082.

The project implementation started on January 11, 2018. The project’s original duration was 36 months; However, in 2020 due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was extended till 10 July 2021.

Project interventions focused on promoting civic education in the 8 vocational and 11 religious’ schools (madrasah) through needs assessment, developing educational materials (guide for teachers and workbook for students on civic education, app, video tutorials, podcasts) capacity building exercises (trainings, exchange meetings, small initiatives). Community dialogues component included trainings among religious leaders (male and female) and civic activists in the pilot communities on PVE, peacebuilding, tolerance and other topics. These community members implemented initiatives dedicated to the prevention of violence, promoting tolerance, education of girls, GBV, etc.

Conducting a summative evaluation of the project is one of key requirements under the Monitoring and Evaluation provision of the project that was planned to be conducted at the end of the project implementation, i.e., summer of 2021.

The purpose of this summative evaluation:

• To fulfil UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women’s accountability towards national government and PBF and other stakeholders by providing information on the results of the project;
• To assess the circumstances influencing the project’s achievements and the challenges that hindered it;
• Generate knowledge and evidence on achievements, lessons learned and recommendations to influence further strategic directions.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) in political science, sociology or other relevant field;
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in leading the design and conduct of international development and peacebuilding programmes and projects evaluations;
• Extensive knowledge and experience of designing and implementing non-experimental, qualitative evaluation designs, approaches, and methods;
• Excellent knowledge of programme M&E data and systems and ability to effectively use such data for evaluation;
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all level;
• Knowledge of the political social, gender equality, gender empowerment and youth empowerment contexts of Kyrgyzstan;
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills in English;
• Fluency in English is required;
• Experience collaborating with UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women or other UN Agencies;

The applicants must submit the following documents with their application:

• Max. two-page brief outline of how the international consultant envisions the process including, any possible proposal/adjustment to the methodology and process specified in the TOR;
• Updated Curriculum Vitae;
• Two relevant publications in English language developed in the past three years;
• Financial proposal indicating the daily fee in US$.

Please access the complete ToR here: PVE Evaluation TOR_approved.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.