Mid Term Review of the UN Women Malawi’s Country Strategic Note

Contract

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Background

The UN Women Strategic Note for Malawi 2018-2021 was developed in 2017 and informed by rigorous participatory processes involving representatives of women organizations, the Civil Society Advisory Groups, research institutions, donors, and Government agencies. The five-year Strategic Note (SN) was designed to contribute to the national development priorities such as the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III (2021), United Nations Development Assistant Framework Malawi (2019-2023), and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan (2018-2021), the SDGs, the UN Women Africa Strategy, and the Africa Agenda 2063. The Strategic Note developed in 2019 included the following four impact areas: 1) Women’s political participation and engagement in decision-making 2) Women’s Economic Empowerment 3) Violence Against Women and Girls, Including Harmful Cultural Practices and 4) Peace, security, and humanitarian action. The gender mainstreaming strategy for the UN in Malawi lays the foundation for the integration of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) within the UN.

As part of the results-based management approach and UN Women procedures, UN Women Malawi office intends to commission a Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the SN. It will review the effectiveness and efficiency of the Strategic Note implementation and analyze whether the programme results are still relevant, on track or off-track to achieve the expected results and propose mid-term adjustments to the work plan for the remaining duration of the SN.

Furthermore, the SN MTR comes at a time when the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III came to end with the coming of the new Malawi Investment Plan 2063 by the National Planning Commission. The first phase of implementing the plan is 2021 to 2031. The MTR provides an opportunity to review performance and adjust the strategic direction of UN Women Malawi to inform the continuous implementation of the SN in 2022 and 2023, as well as feed into the development of the next SN. The current Strategic Note for Malawi 2018-2021 has been extended further for another two years to 2023 to align with the new UNSDCF.

Purpose of the Mid-Term Review

The purpose of the SN MTR is to assess progress made to date, identify lessons learnt and best practices and enable the UN Women Malawi office to further adapt its strategic direction and programming for greater effectiveness. The mid-term review will determine progress made towards achieving outcomes, identify enablers contributing to effective implementation and provide recommendations to address potential bottlenecks. It will also assess new developments in the context wherein UN Women Malawi’s work, including the COVID-19 crisis and research and assessment undertaken by UN Women in the recent years. The MTR will feed into the Country Portfolio Evaluation process at the end of the SN which will be conducted by the Independent Evaluation Services (IES).

Objective and scope of the MTR

• To assess and document progress made in implementing the Strategic Note 2018-2021.
• To assess the effectiveness of programmes, how are the programmes responding to the needs of girls and women, and how to further improve delivery of GEWE.
• To assess how well communication about UN Women’s work and advocacy for GEWE is being carried out.
• To identify and document good practices and lessons learnt.
• To assess the relevance of the SN’s Theory of Change.
• To assess if resource mobilization is sufficient to achieve desired results.
• To assess the SN potential to respond to contingencies such as the emergence of COVID-19, climate change and other humanitarian threats as well as proposing adjustments if otherwise.
• To assess implications to the SN and propose necessary adjustments based on key developments, lessons learned, and recommendations generated through the Beijing +25 review process, Agenda 2030, the Generation Equality forum etc., and research findings from studies and assessments by UN Women, other UN agencies, and institutions.
• To assess the SN’s alignment with national development strategies. To determine how the SN contributes to the realization of the national development strategies.
• Analyze results measurement to better articulate the changes UN Women generates, including on Leaving No One Behind, and propose adjustments to targets and indicators of Integrated Results and Resource Framework (IRRF).
• To assess the effectiveness of partnerships with both implementing and technical partners and identify any gaps in delivering desired results.
• Contribute to lessons learned from normative, operational and coordination work by providing information about what is working well and how this can be furthered, what is not and the missed opportunities if any and how improvements and adjustments can be made

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Country Representative and under direct technical supervision of the Programme Management Specialist and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Specialist for all day-to-day matters. Specifically, the consultant is expected to carry out the following functions:

• Conduct a Desk Review of key documents relevant to the work of the Malawi Country Office such as: SN 2018-2021; AWPs (Annual Work Plans) 2018-2021; ARs (Annual Reports) 2018-2021; review relevant studies recently undertaken by UN Women (including those relating to COVID-19 and socioeconomic impacts on women); UN Women Strategic Plan (2018-2021), Theories of Change for the different thematic areas; key developments, lessons learned, and recommendations generated through the Beijing +25 review process, Generation Equality Forums, Agenda 2030, among others.
• Develop an Inception Report: Outlining the design, scope, methodology, data collection methods and tools (including questions for the surveys) and time frame including a Draft Report Template, reflections on methodological development, as well as key normative, coordination and programmatic developments.
• Gather evidence and data through a survey and consultative dialogues with UN Women staff and stakeholders as needed.
• Draft and finalize discussion papers that will guide the Mid-term Review meeting. These will include a compiled Mid-Term review paper.
• Analyze and present the results of staff and partners’ surveys at the midterm review meeting and will incorporate partners and staff feedback to reflect the results in the new strategic note.
• Facilitate the strategic note- midterm review meeting.
• Produce a report on the strategic note mid-term review.
• Draft and finalise an updated strategic note, including DRF and OEEF, and reflecting the mid-term review findings.

Deliverables

1. MTR report including recommendation for making necessary adjustments to the SN.
2. Revised Theory of Change addressing alignment issues.
3. Updated SN incorporating adopted key MTR findings and recommendations.
4. Revised versions of all documents impacted by the MTR, e.g., indicator methodological notes.
5. Power Point presentation of the findings and recommendations.

The MTR Draft Report

The report should address the objectives specified, and use the format proposed in the inception phase. The report should be logically structured, contain evidence-based findings, conclusions, lessons, and actionable recommendations. The report should respond in detail to the key focus areas described below.

The draft report should be shared with UN Women for feedback before finalization submission to UN Women: The report should at minimum include:

• Key achievements and progress made in the implementation of the SN.
• Factors that have enabled or prevented programmatic results and coordination at different levels.
• Adjustments needed based on new developments in the global context, key normative and other developments, research findings etc.
• Adjustments to strategies, targets, and indicators.
• Validity of UN-Women’s strengths and comparative advantages as outlined in the SN.
• Opportunities for UN Women to achieve even greater programmatic focus and impact.
• Results measurement and communication strategies to better articulate the change UN Women makes.
• Level of integration and application of the principle of LNOB across UN Women’s work.
• Propose recommendations and adjustments of the Strategic Note

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

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters’ degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Programme Policy, Public Health, or and any other related fields
  • Minimum of 10 years’ experience in evidence-based and results-based management program development and management is desirable.
  • Excellent experiential knowledge in Policy or Strategy formulation and operational planning
  • Documented strong track record of previous experience in conducting gender-responsive evaluations and/or strategic documents mid-term reviews.
  • Extensive experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods incl. data analysis skills.
  • Extensive knowledge and experience in using ICT for research, including electronic/digital data collection, analysis, and reporting.
  • Technical knowledge and experience in gender equality and related themes programme design and implementation at both national and local level is required.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.