Local Individual Consultant to undertake Monitoring and Evaluation for Spotlight Initiative in Grenada

Consultant

Overview

Conduct monitoring and evaluation for the Spotlight Initiative in Grenada

You have:

• At least 3 years of progressively responsible professional experience in results-based management, monitoring and evaluation, quantitative and qualitative research, or hands-on experience in design and management of development projects is required.
• At least 5 years professional or volunteer experience working with a wide range of stakeholders from both government and civil society in Grenada or the Caribbean is required.
• Oral and written fluency in English is required.
• A Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in Sociology, Psychology, International or Community Development, Project Management or other relevant Social Science with a strong Research Methods component is required.
• Post Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, Statistics, Demography or a related field would be an asset.
• Formal training in Monitoring and Evaluation with a strong social research component would be an asset.

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development places gender equality at its core to achieve the SDGs, with the elimination of violence against women and girls as a crucial component. To that end, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have embarked on a new multi-year programme, called the ‘Spotlight Initiative,’ which is focused on eliminating violence against women and girls (VAWG) and harmful practices (HP). The Spotlight Initiative will model a new way of working on the SDGs, in line with objectives of the United Nations development system reforms to enhance integrated delivery of results at the country level. The Spotlight Initiative also aligns with the EU Gender Action Plan, and the EU has committed an initial contribution of €500 million to the programme. The initiative will deploy targeted, large-scale investments in a focused number of countries aimed at achieving significant impact in the lives of women and girls. It comes with the highest level of commitment globally and the initiative will be governed by the UN Deputy Secretary General and the Vice President of the EU Commission. The Spotlight Initiative is a flagship programme under the UN Reform, showing how the UN will work together towards a common goal, and a targeted investment in a usually underfunded SDG (SDG 5). For the Caribbean, an initial contribution of €50 million has been committed benefitting five Caribbean Countries as well as a regional programme. Grenada has been selected as one of the five Caribbean Countries to receive a share of the regional funding envelope.

The Government of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and Civil Society have made a number of systematic advances in legislation and policy frameworks and national action plans, as well as programmatic efforts to address gender inequality, and women and girls’ human rights. Despite these advances, however, violence against women and girls continues to be a pervasive problem throughout the country. The Spotlight Initiative (SI) in Grenada is designed to focus attention, coordinate human effort, and strategically apply resources to the implementation of a well-conceived comprehensive national programme to end family violence and all forms of violence against women and girls.

The Grenada Spotlight Initiative was developed in broad consultation with Government and Civil Society, and an integrated Technical Team from ILO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and PAHO/WHO. The programme is built on the six pillars of the SI, with special emphasis on Prevention and Essential Services.

• Pillar One: Legislative and Policy Frameworks
• Pillar Two: Strengthening Institutions
• Pillar Three: Prevention and Social Norms
• Pillar Four: Delivery of Quality, Essential Services
• Pillar Five: Data Availability and Capacities
• Pillar Six: Supporting the Women’s Movement and CSO

The Spotlight Initiative in Grenada will contribute to the achievement of gender equality, peace, social inclusion and protection of human rights, which are catalytic for sustainable development (particularly SDGs 5 and 16) and inclusive growth, in accordance with Agenda 2030, as well as the priority areas of the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework. The Initiative will contribute to the full implementation of Grenada’s Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan (GEPAP), and Government’s Public Service Delivery Agreement (2019) to strengthen interventions to combat Family Violence, including Intimate Partner Violence and Child Sexual Abuse linked to Enhancing Social Capital and Citizen Wellbeing pillar of Government’s Medium-Term Agenda for 2019-2021. In addition, the outcomes of this initiative will be integrated into the National Sustainable Development Plan 2035, which has been developed, to take effect from 2020 to 2035.

The Grenada Spotlight Initiative will build on lessons learned from former and existing programmes with its partners, including CSOs, development agencies such as UN agencies, EU and others to address bottlenecks hindering progress and to build on successes to ensure a successful and sustainable country programme achieving visible gains to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) in Grenada.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the daily supervision of the Spotlight Programme Coordinator, the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Consultant works with and provides support to the Programme Coordination and Implementation Unit to provide support to the members of the Technical Team from UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and PAHO/WHO in the development and execution of the M&E Framework for the Spotlight Initiative Grenada, and to implement effective M&E activities consistent with the requirements under the Programme.

The M&E Consultant conducts field visits, prepares reports and advises the team on effective programme implementation. The M&E Consultant also identifies and helps resolve bottlenecks, works to develop M&E plans, identifies good/promising practices, innovations and lessons learnt, and helps resolve issues as needed.

The consultant must be based in Grenada to complement staff capacities for the period of deliverables.

The consultant will be responsible for Monitoring, Data Collection, and Reporting for the Grenada Spotlight Initiative in achievement of the above objectives:

Deliverables and Timeframe

• Develop a realistic monitoring and evaluation plan with appropriate data sources, collection methods, analysis plans, quality controls and resource requirements in accordance with the Country Programme Document and relevant Technical Guidance Notes from the Spotlight Secretariat (July 2021)
• Implement the approved monitoring and evaluation plan, including regular field visits to ensure the quality and accuracy of collected or reported data; and document progress of the Programme against implementation plans, results matrix, milestones and targets (August – December 2021)
• Conduct the internal mid-year evaluation for January – June 2021, including evaluation validation meetings (July – August 2021)
• Design and disseminate monitoring and evaluation resource materials, templates, and guidance documentation to Recipient UN Organisations for the collection of qualitative and quantitative data from partners that align with the results framework (August 2021)
• Identify bottlenecks, challenges and risks; recommend solutions to address them where they occur; and advise the Spotlight Programme Coordinator and Team how the recommendations can be applied at the programme level, when necessary (July – December 2021)
• Conduct at least 2 learning sessions for the Grenada Spotlight Community aimed at increasing competencies in monitoring, evaluation, and reporting; and encouraging the collection and use of monitoring data for improving quality of implementation, meeting targets and applying strategies for sustainability (September/October 2021 and January/February 2022)
• Support inter-agency efforts on results and progress monitoring and reporting on the Spotlight Initiative and EVAWC by assessing methodologies and instruments for collection, documentation, analysis and reporting of data (July 2021 – February 2022)
• Support the implementation of the Mid-term Evaluation to be conducted by an external consultant for the Spotlight Secretariat (August – November 2021)
• Draft Annual Reports for 2021 in accordance with Programme requirements (December 2021 – March 2022)
• Prepare a final report with a summary of key activities, observations of process and progress of programme implementation and recommendations for continuation of the programme and/or future programmes, including user-friendly, accessible data bases of Programme information that may be used to support audit and further evaluation processes (March 2022)

Reporting Requirements

The consultant will report directly to the Spotlight Programme Coordinator (Grenada). In so doing, the Consultant will submit monthly reports on the following, to be laid out in a schedule to be established at the inception of the Consultancy:

• Certificates of Mandatory Courses completed
• Information collected in alignment with the Results Framework
• Data and reports from field visits and quarterly assessments
• Progress of Spotlight Programme documented monthly
• Bottlenecks, irregularities, and other challenges identified, actions taken, and recommendations to address them and/or prevent reoccurrence
• Report on actions taken to establish or strengthen potential partnerships
• Midterm Assessment Report supported
• Records of training conducted
• Periodic and Annual Reports drafted
• Final report containing progress against established work plans and outputs, challenges and actions taken to overcome them and recommendations

For all workshops, thematic sessions and training, the Consultant must produce:

• Participant Register;
• Pictures - group & interactive (including participants & presenters).
• Participant Feedback Forms; and
• Training Report.

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;
• Strong interpersonal skills.

Technical Competencies:

• Design and management of evaluation processes, including with multiple stakeholders;
• Survey design and implementation;
• Social science research;
• Project/programme/policy planning, monitoring and management, including the use of Office software packages, web-based management and knowledge management and M&E systems;
• Strong awareness and sensitivity to gender issues and EVAW programming;
• Understanding of human rights-based approaches to programming;
• Understanding of Results Based Management (RBM) principles;
• Knowledge and expertise in logical framework approach, Logic modeling/logical framework analysis;
• Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis;
• Rapid assessment procedures;
• Participatory approaches; and
• An understanding of key M&E concepts, tools, and best practices.

Functional Competencies:

• Technical knowledge of policies and programmes on gender equality and EVAWG/HP;
• Experiences in working on rights-based approaches including intervention models to address multiple and interesting forms of discrimination;
• Strong understanding of various methodologies in gender responsive monitoring and evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative, such as surveys, record reviews, focus groups and cases studies;
• Ability to produce high quality written reports;
• Technical competence in working on data bases like MS access and familiarity with routine management of information systems;
• Ability to contribute to the development of efficient and effective monitoring and evaluation methodology for programming;
• Ability to build and sustain effective partnerships with UN Agencies and main constituents, advocate effectively, communicate sensitively across different constituencies;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and in a team;
• Focuses on impact and results for the client;
• Demonstrates creativity and creative problem solving;
• Schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources; monitors performance against development and other objectives and corrects deviations from the course;
• Has the capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations; evaluates information accurately and identifies key issues required to resolve problems;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities; and
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant should meet the following criteria:

Experience:

• At least 3 years of progressively responsible professional experience in results-based management, monitoring and evaluation, quantitative and qualitative research, or hands-on experience in design and management of development projects is required.
• At least 5 years professional or volunteer experience working with a wide range of stakeholders from both government and civil society in Grenada or the Caribbean is required.
• Professional experience in development programming, participatory research or participatory M&E would be an asset.
• Professional experience working on gender equality and human rights, especially in the area of EVAWG would be an asset.

Languages:

• Oral and written fluency in English is required

Education:

• A Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in Sociology, Psychology, International or Community Development, Project Management or other relevant Social Science with a strong Research Methods component, is required.
• Post Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, Statistics, Demography or a related field
• Formal training in Monitoring and Evaluation with a strong social Social research component would be an asset.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Coordination & reporting mechanism:

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO-Caribbean Representative, with direct reporting to the Spotlight Programme Coordinator.

Location of activities and expected travels:

• The consultancy will be based in Grenada. Residence within Grenada is required. No relocation payments will be made.
• Fieldwork within Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique will be required.

Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

• Interviews will be conducted with shortlisted applicants.
• The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.
• The successful candidate will be expected to complete a series of mandatory courses provided by the UN within the first one hundred days of accepting the contract.

Hardware, Software and Communication:

The consultant must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must run Windows 10. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Microsoft Teams and/or Zoom) is required.

Remuneration:

• The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. The Consultant will be paid based on negotiated daily rate on a monthly basis upon satisfactory completion of agreed tasks.
• Payment per days worked, not more than once per month, based upon certification of satisfactory services and deliverables in accordance with the TORs
• The remuneration for this contract type is an all-inclusive fee, the organization will not be liable for additional cost or benefits.? Hence, it is the responsibility of the consultant to secure adequate medical insurance for the duration of the contract and it is recommendable that the policy includes coverage for COVID-19 related illness.?The medical coverage should be international when the contract requires missions or international assignment.
• If selected for this consultancy, proof of medical coverage should be presented within the first two months of the contract

References:

Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

Note:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or uncorrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs. Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.

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Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org