International Consultant for the Final Evaluation of the Project

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Background

Background of the project

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality (GE) and gender mainstreaming translate into action globally. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Since 2010, the European Union and UN Women have developed a close partnership. Working in concert, the European Union and UN Women have made great strides to promote gender equality through shared dialogue, advocacy, and cooperation programs.

The European Union Gender Equality Facility (GEF) in BiH is based on the Action Document for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II) for the year 2018 “EU Gender Equality Facility”. The project is funded and jointly implemented by the European Union and UN Women, through the Project Team in close cooperation with the Agency for Gender Equality BiH (AGE BiH), the Gender Center of the Federation of BiH (GC FBiH) and the Gender Centre of Republika Srpska (GC RS).

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) progress in recent years respecting and promoting Gender Equality is highlighted in a series of international commitments and in national legal and policy frameworks. The main achievements in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment reside in BiH’s institutional capacity development for the work on gender equality. Indeed, the legal provisions guaranteeing women’s rights and gender equality are largely in place – the Gender Equality Law, the Gender Action Plan, the Election Law amendment instituting quotas, the Action Plan for the implementation of UNSCR 1325, and the ratification of the Istanbul Convention are normative achievements that influence the institutional practice in promoting gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As the Government of BiH prepares to align with the broader European Union acquis in a wide range of sectors, it is prioritizing investment in particular sectors with specific areas of social and economic reform, providing for the adoption of a comprehensive sector-based approach to development. BiH’s accession to the European union is structured on the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP), the implementation of which is monitored by the European Commission. Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for EU membership in February 2016. The Commission adopted its Opinion (Avis) on the EU membership application of the country in May 2019, identifying 14 key priorities for the country to fulfill in view of opening EU accession negotiations out of which one priority is targeting gender equality.

GEF aims to strengthen the effective implementation of domestic and international legal frameworks concerning gender equality and women’s rights; mainstreaming gender into European Union integration and planning processes for pre-accession assistance; and strengthen institutional mechanisms for gender equality in line with the European union standards. Furthermore, GEF will support institutions in correctly aligning with the European Union Gender Equality acquis. The focus of the project intervention is on the role and functioning of institutional mechanisms for gender equality and their engagement in all aspects of European Union integration and planning and implementation of pre-accession assistance. Support includes strengthening the gender institutional mechanisms; the Gender Action Plan (GAPs) Coordination Committees and civil servants tasked with providing gender expertise in sectoral areas (gender focal points in ministries); and also the enhancement of capacities for implementing and monitoring GAPs and other relevant policies at the state and entity level. The intervention will address challenges in the implementation of laws and gender equality policies through support to the institutions mandated for gender equality and between coordination and monitoring of gender equality policies and measures.

Pursuant to the Gender Equality Law of BiH, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AGE) is entrusted with monitoring the enforcement of the law. Furthermore, the Agency, along with the Gender Center of the Federation of BiH (GC FBiH) and the Gender Centre of Republika Srpska (GC RS) (collectively referred to as the “gender institutional mechanisms”) are key institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the BiH Council of Ministers, Government of the Federation of BiH and the Government of Republika Srpska, in charge of directing efforts towards fighting discrimination and achieving gender equality in BiH by developing strategic documents and action plans.

The Directorate for European Integration is a permanent, autonomous, and professional body of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which coordinates the processes and activities of the institutions in the integration of BiH into the European Union. Competences of the Directorate are related to the commitments stemming from the integration process, alignment of legislation with the acquis, financial assistance of the EU for BiH, translation of legislation and other documents, and communication and training for various target groups to provide institutional, professional and technical support to BiH integration into the EU.

Additionally, in terms of EU integration process in BiH, at the entity level, there is the Republika Srpska Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation and the Office of the Federation of BiH Government for European Integration. At the Brcko District level, there is the Department for European Integration and International Cooperation.

In this context, the UN Women BiH is seeking to engage an international consultant for the Final Evaluation of the Project “EU Gender Equality Facility Bosnia and Herzegovina” (GEF).

Description of the programme/project

Project strategy and key objectives

The project rely on several proven strategies to build sustainable commitment and capacity to support gender equality, which include: facilitating partnerships to reach consensus on policy priorities; providing innovative models to support measures and actions; documenting and disseminating proven practices for enhancing performance and accountability for gender equality; and building an evidence-base that supports advocacy and action on implementing commitments to gender equality.

Projects results for the period from October 2020 to September 2021 are reflected below:

Overall objective of the project is to support the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to comply with national and international gender equality commitments and EU Gender Equality Acquis.

Specific Objective is to improve the performance of institutional mechanisms for gender equality and key personnel mandated for European integration.

• Gender analysis of eight (8) Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Action Documents (AD) has been conducted: support to judiciary, support to internal affairs; public administration reform (including statistics); public financing; enhanced administrative capacities; environment and climate change; people; aligned food standards
• Gender analysis of one (1) IPA programme document on Cross-border Cooperation Programme between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro has been drafted

Output 1: Capacities of Gender Institutional Mechanisms strengthened

Administrative structures, adequate and well-trained staff and management systems are in place, satisfying the requirements for sound oversight and implementation of the EU Gender Equality acquis across sectors and levels of government.

• Pre-EU Accession Capacities Analysis Report and Recommendations developed, including one (1) validation workshop attended by 10 (ten) representatives of project partners and the European Union Delegation
• EU format Gender Country Profile Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2021 has been developed
• Country Level Implementation Plan, based on the updated Gender Country Profile Bosnia and Herzegovina has been developed

Output 2: Capacities of targeted institutions in BiH to include gender perspective improved

The gender mechanism effectively supports, promotes and engages in gender mainstreaming, ensuring that sector strategies, programmes, plans and budgets are designed and implemented in line with EU directives and recommendations on gender equality.

• Three trainings have been conducted and guides on gender mainstreaming in the IPA programming processes have been developed one for each priority sector (agriculture and rural development, competitiveness and innovation, democracy and rule of law), with a total of 48 participants

Output 3: The implementation and monitoring of the selected areas of the Gender Action Plan is enhanced

The implementation of the BiH Gender Action Plan is strengthened and its monitoring enhanced, and gender mechanisms are involved in joint actions at regional level on Gender Mainstreaming in the EU accession process/negotiations.

• A Report has been developed on the system to monitor and evaluate the Gender Action Plan BiH 2018-2022, including recommendations and toolkit.
• Two workshops were organised to present and discuss the findings with a total of 79 participants.
  • Work with statistics institutions at all levels to improve gender statistics. Collecting sex-disaggregated data is a key step in identifying gender gaps which can only then be closed through targeted policiesA Mapping has been conducted and a report produced on gender statistics as well as recommendations for the enrichment of the Women and Men publicationOne workshop was held with representatives of all three statistical institutions and gender institutional mechanism (a total of twenty (20) representatives attended)
• Raising awareness:
  • 78,000 reach on social media;
  • five online sources published project’s first press release;
  • two TV appearances.
  • promotional materials distributed to over 120 civil servants;
  • two rounds of the social media campaign Just the Facts or “Samo Cinjenice” with 22 posts (overall 42 posts from the start of the project)
  • three project update bulletins shared with over 100 contacts

During the first year of implementation, the foundation has been laid for ensuring further gender mainstreaming of sectoral strategies and programme documents starting from gender statistics, as one of the first sources for strategic planning, to practical gender mainstreaming training and monitoring and evaluation activities. Considering the above number of IPA documents complete with a gender analysis and number of civil servants trained in gender mainstreaming (detailed below), the likeliness of reaching the final outcome target (15% of sectoral strategic and programme documents gender mainstreamed and/or complete with gender specific sections) is assessed as achievable.

As for changes to the logical framework matrix, it is suggested that a proxy indicator – recommendations for legislative improvements – is used in lieu of the second outcome indicator referring to the number of draft laws and by-laws aligned with the Gender Equality acquis (the target being six (6)) should be redefined as an impact level indicator.

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

Direct beneficiaries of the proposed action are primarily civil servants at targeted levels of government, staff of institutional mechanisms for gender equality, members of coordination boards for GAP implementation, Gender Focal Points engaged in GEF priority sectors institutions. In each of the institutions targeted by GEF support, activities on gender mainstreaming will be specific and strategic on full integration into regular priorities and affairs. Other direct beneficiaries of GEF include staff of statistical institutions, institutions in charge of EU integration affairs, and offices for planning and managing reform and development processes at the state and entity levels.

DEI

The Action is expected to provide direct support to the DEI efforts to coordinate IPA programming and EU integration related policy making efforts, as well as capacity building to all the relevant actors involved in the IPA programming in targeted sectors and across three governments. The consideration of gender equality supports differential understanding of needs and planning for increased impact. In particular the sector gender mainstreaming guidance will support the increased socially inclusive and responsive sector planning and programming.

EUD

The Action is embedded within the larger framework of EU gender policy and, in a wider sense, the EU Gender Action Plan II and Gender Action Plan III once adopted. Through specific activities such as the introduction, dissemination and application of standardized EU gender mainstreaming guidance, the Action will contribute to strengthening the preconditions for more effective absorption of the EU Gender Equality acquis and, concomitantly, EU GAP II and GAP III implementation in BiH.

Civil Society Organizations

Responding to the finding of women’s rights civil society organizations in the Western Balkans[1] lacking information and skills that would enable them to support EU actors in promoting gender mainstreaming in EU accession processes, the Action will build knowledge of relevant civil society actors to provide input to the planning and implementation process for gender responsive policy. This activity would directly contribute to implementing EU GAP Objective 4, Activity 4.3. “Ensure that consul­tation with National Gender Equality Mechanisms and Civil Society Organizations working on girls’ and women’s rights inform country level programmes, regardless of the sector”.

Indirect beneficiaries are women, men, girls and boys in BiH, particularly poor and disadvantaged groups among them, benefiting from the resulting increase in gender-responsiveness in reform processes and ultimately, service delivery. The action will seek to influence key reform initiatives including the Social Policy/Employment, Public Administration, and Governance/Rule of Law reform priorities that are expected to impact on at least half of the population in the coming decade, or an estimated 1,4 million citizens.

The main stakeholders of this Action are: BiH Agency for Gender Equality, FBiH Gender Centre, RS Gender Centre, Directorate for European Integration, Ministry for international cooperation and European integration of Republika Srpska, Office of the Government of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the European integration, state and entity coordination committees for implementation of GAPs, gender focal points in line ministries responsible for gender mainstreaming as well as relevant civil society organizations. This action will aim to improve capacities of these institutions through acquiring new knowledge and participating in the suggested activities on how to ensure integration of Gender Equality acquis in policies and gender mainstreaming of EU integration processes. Staff of the stakeholder institutions, key staff of relevant line-ministries and agencies, members of the coordination bodies for implementation of BiH Gender Action Plan, gender-focal points and personnel responsible for European integration in various institutions and levels of government will benefit from this Action. The action will also focus on mainstreaming gender in IPA Programming process by providing assistance to the relevant institutions across state and entity governments and Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Project budget, geographical scope and timeframe

The GEF project is a project implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1 of October 2020 until 31 March 2023. Total project budget is EUR 500,000 contributed by the European Commission.

The implementation is in line with the EU-UN Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) of 29 April 2003 and supplemented by the 01 January 2014 Addendum which says that UN Women is the leading organisation on gender equality and women´s empowerment in the UN system. UN Women passed the pillar assessment, which confirmed that all assessed pillars (internal control, accounting, external audit, grants, procurement, and sub delegation) are positive, thereby confirming that the European Commission can entrust budget implementation tasks to UN Women under direct management.

Project Management

Operational Management

UN Women implement the project in close cooperation with the BiH Agency for Gender Equality, FBiH Gender Centre, RS Gender Centre, Directorate for European Integration, Ministry for international cooperation and European integration of Republika Srpska, Office of the Government of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the European integration, state and entity coordination committees for implementation of GAPs, gender focal points in line ministries responsible for gender mainstreaming as well as relevant civil society organizations.

UN Women has the overall responsibility for managing the implementation of the project. The project is managed by the project GEF team and supported by the technical experts in various areas. The GEF Team members include: Project Manager, Project Associate, Communication Assistant.

The Project Steering Committee

The Project Steering Committee is established in line with detailed provisions of the respective procedures under project management. The Project Steering Committee is responsible for ensuring smooth implementation through regular reviews of the project progress and its chaired by the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Project Steering Committee monitor progress, examine, and approve annual plans and reports and the respective outputs, provide a forum for regular, transparent, and coordinated sharing of information about the project.

The Project team members provide the administrative support for organizing all Project Steering Committee meetings, with UN Women acting as the Secretary to the Project Steering Committee.

[1] Kosovo Women’s Network (2018). Mind the Gap – An independent evaluation of the implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan in Western Balkan countries.

Duties and Responsibilities

Evaluation Purpose and Use

Evaluation scope

The final evaluation of the project will be conducted towards the end of project implementation and will cover the entire duration of the project from 1 October 2020 until 31 March 2023. The evaluation is scheduled between September 2022 and February 2023.

The evaluation might include a data collection mission to Sarajevo.

The evaluation shall cover all aspects of the project, and broadly allocate resources (time) in relation to the relative expenditure between the various project components.

Evaluation purpose

A final project evaluation will be conducted with a special focus on lessons learnt both from programmatic and coordination perspectives. The main purpose of this final evaluation is to assess the programmatic progress and performance of the above described intervention from the point of view of relevance, effectiveness, impact, organizational efficiency and sustainability. The evaluation will not be able to fully assess the project performance, as some activities are still ongoing; however, it will address the following questions with the results and evidence that is available to date.

The findings of the evaluation are expected to contribute to effective programming, organizational learning and accountability. The findings of the evaluation will moreover be used to engage policy makers and other stakeholders at national and local levels in evidence-based dialogues and to advocate for gender-responsive strategies to promote inclusive local and national economic development with a particular focus on rural women. The evaluation should also provide specific recommendations as to the priority areas that should be considered in next projects implemented by UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina office, including interventions that require continued support, successful interventions for expansion, and recommendations on prioritizing interventions to maximize impact. It should also define recommendations to improve project management structure.

The evaluation will follow a participatory. An Evaluation Reference Group were key stakeholders in the implementation of the project will be represented. The data collection process will include consultation with key project partners including governmental representatives from relevant ministries and national institutions, civil society representatives and active women’s groups as well as key development partners.

Evaluation objectives

The specific evaluation objectives include:

• Analyse the relevance and coherence of the project objectives, strategy and approach at the entity and national levels for the Government support to comply with national and international gender equality commitments and EU Gender Equality Acquis.
• Assess effectiveness and a potential measurable impact of the project intervention on the target group across all three results.
• Assess organizational efficiency and coordination mechanisms in progressing towards the achievement of the project results, including the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the intervention.
• Assess the sustainability of the results and the intervention in advancing gender equality in the target group.
• Analyze how human rights-based approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the project implementation
• Asses how the intervention and its results relate and contribute to the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals
• Identify and document lessons learned, good practices and innovations, success stories and challenges within the project, to inform future work of participating UN agencies in the frameworks of gender mainstreaming and good governance.
• Identify strategies for replication and up-scaling of the project’s best practices

Evaluation Management Structure

Evaluation Management Group

An Evaluation Management Group (EMG) will be conformed and will be the main decision-making body for the evaluation and is composed of UN Women project team members and UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina Representative. In addition, UN Women Regional Evaluation Specialist for Europe and Central Asia will provide quality assurance support throughout the evaluation process. The EMG will be responsible for the overall management of the evaluation and will oversee the day to day business of the evaluation and communication with the Evaluation Team. The appointed evaluation task manager will be responsible for day-to-day management of the evaluation and the coordination for the field visits, including logistical support.

Evaluation Reference Group

An Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) will be established to ensure that the evaluation approach is relevant to stakeholders, and to make certain that factual errors or errors of omission or interpretation are identified in evaluation products. The reference group will provide input at key stages of the evaluation: inception report; draft and final reports. The ERG will be composed of BiH Agency for Gender Equality, FBiH Gender Centre, Directorate for European Integration, Office of the Government of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the European integration, Delegation of European Union, and women CSOs representative. The ERG will be consulted on key aspects of the evaluation process. The group will be composed to ensure that all relevant stakeholders’ groups and perspectives are represented, including from CSOs.

Evaluation Approach, Methodology Criteria and Questions

The evaluation will assess progress and challenges for each of the three results, with measurement of the specific results achievements and gaps and how and to what extent these have affected overall progress. It will consist of a desk review, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, such as the BiH Agency for Gender Equality, FBiH Gender Centre, Directorate for European Integration, Office of the Government of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the European integration and sector`s CSOs involved in project implementation or addressing the needs and representing the interests of specific sectors’ groups.

The evaluation will be a transparent and participatory process involving relevant stakeholders and partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The evaluation will follow gender equality and human rights principles, as defined in the UN Women Evaluation Policy[1] and adhere to the United Nations norms and standards for evaluation in the United Nations system[2]. The evaluation methodology will employ mixed methods. A more detailed evaluation methodology will be proposed and agreed with the evaluation team and will be presented in the evaluation inception report.

The evaluation is a final project evaluation and both a summative approach focusing on capturing the lessons learned during the implementation and assessing the achievement of the results at output and outcome levels, as well as a formative, forward-looking approach assessing the applicability of the results will be employed. The evaluation methodology will furthermore follow a ToC approach and employ mixed methods including quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analytical approaches to account for complexity of gender relations and to ensure participatory and inclusive processes that are culturally appropriate. Methods may include but are not limited to:

• Desk review of relevant documents such as project documents, progress reports, financial records, meeting minutes and monitoring reports, and secondary data or studies relating to the country context and situation analysis.
• Online consultations and discussions with the senior management and project management staff.
• Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, surveys with direct and indirect beneficiaries, implementing partners, donor and other stakeholders.
• Field visits to and observation at selected project sites.

Data from different research sources will be triangulated to increase its validity. The proposed approach and methodology has to be considered as flexible guidelines rather than final requirements, and the evaluators will have an opportunity to make their inputs and propose changes in the evaluation design. The methodology and approach should, however, incorporate human rights and gender equality perspectives. It is expected that the Evaluator will further refine the approach and methodology and submit a detailed description in the inception report.

The evaluation will include Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Sustainability and Impact criteria. More specifically, the evaluation will consider the following evaluation questions that will be further refined once the evaluation team is recruited[3]:

• To what extent was the design of the intervention and its results relevant to the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries? Was the choice of interventions relevant to the situation of the target group?
• To what extent key national partners were involved in programme’s conceptualization and design process?
• To what extent has gender and human rights principles and strategies been integrated into the project design and implementation?
• To what extent is the intervention aligned with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of EU Gender Equality Acquis?
• To what extent was the design of the intervention relevant to gender equality priorities in the country?
• What are the needs and priorities of the women in Bosnia and Herzegovina ?
• Is the NAP for GE implementation making sufficient progress towards planned objectives of the National Strategy for Gender Equality?
• To what extent project contributed to achieving nationalized Sustainable Development Goals?

Coherence:

Internal coherence:

• To what extent does the project fit within UN Women’s Strategic Plan and interrelated threefold mandate?
• Are there any synergies and inter-linkages between the project and other interventions of UN Women?
• To what extent UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina has capitalized from GEF implementation in other countries and how UN Women has established synergies in terms of GEF implementation in the region?

External coherence:

• To what extent is the intervention consistent with the national development strategies in the area of gender equality, gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment, and reflect national priorities and commitments on GE?
• How does project reflect and align with national strategic plans and normative frameworks and Bosnia and Herzegovina ` international obligations and commitments in the field of women’s rights and gender equality?
• To what extent the project is in complementarity, harmonized and coordinated with the interventions of other actors’ interventions in the same context?
• To what extend the implementation of the project ensures synergies and coordination with Government’s and key partners relevant efforts while avoiding duplications?
• To what extent are the interventions achieving synergies with the work of the UN Country Team?
• What is UN Women’s comparative advantage in Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement this project?
• To what extent is project aligned with the UN Development Partnership Frameworks and nationalized SDGs?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent have the expected results of the project been achieved on both outcome and output levels?
• What are the reasons for the achievement or non-achievement of the project results? Has project achieved any unforeseen results, either positive or negative? For whom? What are the good practices and the obstacles or shortcomings encountered? How were they overcome?
• How effective have the selected programme strategies and approaches been in achieving programme results?
• How well did the intervention succeed in involving and building the capacities of rights-holders, duty-bearers, as well as the project partners?
• To what extent are the programme approaches and strategies are innovative for achieving gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina? What -if any- types of innovative good practices have been introduced in the programme for the achievement of GEEW results?
• What contribution are participating UN agencies making to implementing global norms and standards for gender equality and economic empowerment of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
• To what extent the project improved communication, coordination and information exchange within the National Gender Machineries at all level?
• Is there a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities by all parties involved?

Efficiency:

• Have resources (financial, human, technical support, etc.) been allocated strategically to achieve the project outcomes?
• Has there been effective leadership and management of the project including the structuring of management and administration roles to maximize results? Where does accountability lie?
• Have the outputs been delivered in a timely manner?
• To what extent are the project monitoring mechanisms in place effective for measuring and informing management of project performance and progress towards targets? To what extent was the monitoring data objectively used for management action and decision making?
• Were there any constraints (e.g., political, practical, bureaucratic) identified in the implementation of the different actions and what level of effort was made to overcome these challenges?

Sustainability:

• What is the likelihood that the benefits from the project will be maintained for a reasonably long period of time after the project phase out?
• To what extent the intervention succeeded in building individual and institutional capacities of rights-holders and duty-bearers to ensure sustainability of benefits and more inclusive practices to local development and good governance?
• How effectively has the project generated national ownership of the results achieved, the establishment of partnerships with relevant stakeholders and the development of national capacities to ensure sustainability of efforts and benefits?
• What steps were taken to develop and/or reinforce the operating capacities of national partners during the implementation of the programme?
• To what extent has the project been able to promote replication and/or up-scaling of successful practices?
• To what extent has the exit strategy been well planned and successfully implemented?
• How effectively has project contributed to the establishment of effective partnerships and development of national capacities?

Considering the mandates to incorporate human rights and gender equality in all UN work and the UN Women Evaluation Policy, which promotes the integration of women’s rights and gender equality principles into evaluation, these dimensions will require special attention for this evaluation and will be considered under each evaluation criterion.

It is expected that the evaluation team will develop an evaluation matrix, which will relate to the above questions (and refine them as needed), the areas they refer to, the criteria for evaluating them, the indicators and the means for verification as a tool for the evaluation. Final evaluation matrix will be approved in the evaluation inception report.

Evaluation Process, duties and responsibilities of the Evaluation Team

Evaluation process

The evaluation process is divided in five phases:

1. Preparation, mainly devoted to structuring the evaluation approach, preparing the TOR, compiling programme documentation, and hiring the evaluation company;
2. Inception, which will involve consultations between the evaluation team and the EMG, programme portfolio review, finalization of stakeholder mapping, inception meetings with the ERG, review of the result logics, analysis of information relevant to the initiative, finalization of evaluation methodology and preparation and validation of inception report;
3. Data collection and analysis, including in-depth desk research, in-depth review of the project documents and monitoring frameworks, online interviews as necessary, staff and partner survey/s, and field visits;
4. Data analysis and reporting stage, focusing on data analyzed, interpretation of findings and drafting and validation of an evaluation report; and
5. Dissemination, follow-up and use, once the evaluation is completed UN Women is responsible for the development of a Management Response, publishing of the evaluation report, uploading the published report on the GATE website, and the dissemination of evaluation findings.

The outline above corresponds to the entire evaluation process from preparation, to conduct, reporting and follow up and use. The Evaluator will only be responsible for the inception, data collection and data analysis and reporting phases. Evaluation preparation and dissemination, follow up and use will be the responsibility of EMG.

Evaluation requirements

Corresponding with the inception, data collection, data analysis and reporting stages of the evaluation process, the duties and responsibilities of the evaluation team will be as follows:

• Carry out the inception phase and developing an inception report outlining design, approach and methodology of the evaluation and an indicative workplan of the evaluation team within the framework of this ToR.
• Directing and carrying out collection, research and analysis of relevant documentation and other data, and reporting.
• Assuring quality of data collection and carry out the analysis of the evaluation evidence.
• Preparing for meetings with the evaluation management group, evaluation reference group and other stakeholders to review findings, conclusions and recommendations.
• Carry out the preparation of the evaluation communication products.
• To conduct a data collection field mission with the support of the EMG which will include individual interviews with the relevant stakeholder;
• To prepare a Power Point Presentation and an outline on preliminary findings and present to EMG and to ERG;
• To produce and submit a draft and a final evaluation report in English to be validated by EMG and ERG;
• To produce an evaluation brief in English.

Evaluator

The evaluator must have relevant experience of the following: conducting evaluations, gender equality, gender mainstreaming and women’s economic empowerment. He/she is responsible for coordination during all phases of the evaluation process, ensuring the quality of outputs and application of methodology as well as timely delivery of all evaluation products in close collaboration with the evaluation task manager and the evaluation management group.

Expected deliverables

The evaluation team is expected to deliver:

• An inception report: The evaluation team will present a refined scope, a detailed outline of the evaluation design and methodology, evaluation questions, and criteria for the approach for in-depth desk review and field work to be conducted in the data collection phase. The report will include an evaluation matrix and detailed work plan. A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group and, based upon the comments received the evaluation team will revise the draft. The revised draft will be shared with the evaluation reference group for feedback. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the final inception report.
• Presentation of preliminary findings: A PowerPoint presentation detailing the emerging findings of the evaluation will be shared with the evaluation management group for feedback. The revised presentation will be delivered to the reference group for comment and validation. The evaluation team will incorporate the feedback received into the draft report.
• A draft evaluation report: A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group for initial feedback. The second draft report will incorporate evaluation management group feedback and will be shared with the evaluation reference group for identification of factual errors, errors of omission and/or misinterpretation of information. The third draft report will incorporate this feedback and then be shared with the reference group for final validation. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the revised drafts.
• The final evaluation report: The final report will include a concise Executive Summary and annexes detailing the methodological approach and any analytical products developed during the course of the evaluation. The structure of the report will be defined in the inception report.
• Evaluation communication products: Online presentation of the preliminary findings (date TBD), 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 in a format preferably adjustable for individual project sites in English.

Payment will be issued in three instalments upon the satisfactory submission of the deliverables cleared by the evaluation task manager to certify that the services have been satisfactorily performed:

• 30% upon approval of evaluation inception report;
• 30% upon the submission of the draft report; and
• 40% upon the validation of the final evaluation report and communication products.

Evaluation time frame

The project evaluation will be conducted between September 2022 and February 2023. The preliminary calendar for the process is detailed in the table below.

Task

Tentative timeframe deadline

Est no days international consultant

Inception phase September 2022 – October 2023

Desk review of background documentation

15 October 2022

3

Inception meeting with EMG

01 November 2022

1

Inception report (including two rounds of

revision)

15 November 2022

5

Data collection phase October – November 2022

Documents review, (online) interviews

30 October 2022

3

Visit to project sites[1]

30 November 2022

5

Analysis and reporting phase December 2022 - February 2023

Drafting and presentation of preliminary

findings (including one round of revision)

30 December 2022

3

Preparation and submission of report (including two rounds of Revision

15 February 2023

10

Review and submission of final report and communication products (PPT and a brief)

28 February 2023

5

Total

35

[1] Due to the Covid19 pandemic situation onsite data collection might need to be replaced by online data collection. This will be revisited and agreed with UN Women during the inception phase of the evaluation.

[1] UN Women, Evaluation policy of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNW/2012/12), http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2012/10/evaluation-policy-of-the-united-nations-entity-for-gender-equality-and-the-empowerment-of-women

[2] United Nations Evaluation Group, Norms and Standards for evaluation in the United Nations system, access at: http://www.uneval.org/normsandstandards/index.jsp?doc_cat_source_id=4

[3] The final evaluation matrix will be included and validated in the evaluation inception report. The questions presented are only indicative and the evaluation team will refine, revise and modify them as needed.

Competencies

• Sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age;
• Strong analytical, writing and reporting abilities;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, ability to lead a team and negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders;
• Commitment to quality products and deadlines;

Required Skills and Experience

• At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, gender studies or a related area;
• At least 7 years international experience in conducting evaluations of strategies, policies and/or development programmes and projects;
• Proven experience of designing and leading or participating in gender-responsive and human rights-based evaluations utilizing participatory approaches and methodologies;
• Experience and knowledge on gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, gender analysis;
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders;
• Knowledge of human rights issues, the human rights-based approach to programming, human rights analysis and related mandates within the UN system;
• Native level of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is considered as an advantage;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English language;

Application procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview in English (unedited text) about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• P11 with past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
• Financial Proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipated working days, travel costs for any part of the assignment, and any other possible costs).

Evaluation of applicants:

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Evaluation Criteria

Max points

TECHNICAL EVALUATION (70%)

Language Requirements

Fluency in written and spoken English Language and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (advantage)

REQUIRED

Education

Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, gender studies or a related area.

20

0: without relevant master’s degree

20: Master’s degree

Professional experience

International experience in conducting evaluations of strategies, policies and/or development programmes and projects.

20

0: without 7 years of experience

15: 7 years of experience

20: more than 7 years of experience

Proven experience of designing and leading or participating in gender-responsive and human rights-based evaluations utilizing participatory approaches and methodologies.

10

0: without relevant experience

10: relevant experience

Experience and knowledge on gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, gender analysis.

10

0: without relevant experience

10: relevant experience

Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders.

10

0: without relevant experience

10: relevant experience

Total technical

70

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

Evaluation TOR Annexes

1. UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluations [1]
2. UNEG Ethical Guidelines[2]
3. UNEG Norms for Evaluation in the UN System[3]
4. UNEG Standards for Evaluation in the UN System[4]
5. UNEG Guidance Integrating Human Rights and Gender in the UN System[5]
6. UN Women Evaluation Handbook[6]
7. UNSWAP Technical Note and Scorecard [7]
8. Gender Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2018-2022[8]

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered (all documents indicated above need to be uploaded).

For any additional information, please contact unwomen.bih@unwomen.org

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.)

[1] http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/100

[2] http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/102

[3] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/21

[4] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/22

[5] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/1616

[6] http://genderevaluation.unwomen.org/en/evaluation-handbook

[7] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/1452

[8] https://arsbih.gov.ba/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GAP-BiH-2018-2022_B.pdf

Apply now

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org