Senior Consultant for Final Evaluation

Consultant Elections & Governance

Contract

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

Background

Ethiopia’s Sixth General Elections took place in 2021. Polling in most of the country went forward in June 2021, following voter registration between March and May 2021. A second round of polling and a referendum on regional autonomy for five southern zones and one special woreda is expected to take place in September 2021 in areas where security or logistical considerations precluded participation in the earlier process. These processes were hailed as a positive step in Ethiopia’s democratic progression, particularly in light of the ongoing pandemic and heightened tensions and violence in some areas of the country. Despite these challenges, reported turnout was significant and the processes unfolded in a largely peaceful manner.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) of Ethiopia was established in 2019 following the appointment of its Chair the previous year. The organization engaged in a period of institutional reform and growth that took place concurrently with the electoral events described above.

UNDP Ethiopia’s “Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening (SEEDS)” project was established in 2019 to provide technical and operational assistance to NEBE. The objective of UNDP SEEDS is two-fold: a) assist NEBE to become a more capable, transparent, and ultimately, trusted institution; and b) provide the required assistance necessary for undertaking inclusive, transparent, and credible elections. UNDP SEEDS’ strategic approach also aims at supporting inclusive participation of all groups including women, youth, ethnic groups from all regions in the elections. UNDP SEEDS is scheduled to close in February 2022. Its budget between 2019 and 2022 is US$ 51,782,914.

UNDP Ethiopia is looking for a Senior Consultant to carry out a final evaluation of the SEEDS project. The work will be carried out in the country (Addis Ababa) and remotely over thirty-five (35) working days between 10 October and 26 November 2021, with an estimated fifteen (15) working days in the country. The Senior Consultant shall report to the UNDP Resident Representative.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose, scope, and objectives

The overall purpose of the final evaluation is to assess the relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability of UNDP SEEDS and recommend specific measures for further improvement of electoral assistance including solutions for overcoming the challenges. The final evaluation shall demonstrate accountability for results and inform broader programme assessments. The final evaluation shall additionally provide decision-makers with information needed to determine the next steps for electoral assistance in Ethiopia and other contexts.

Objectives of the final evaluation are as follows:

• To identify the level of achievement and analysis of factors in cases where benchmarks were not achieved.
• To assess the extent to which UNDP SEEDS contributed to gender equality and women’s empowerment and other cross-cutting issues.
• To assess the quality of partnerships, national ownership, and sustainability vis-à-vis the strategy in UNDP SEEDS document, identify gaps, and document lesson learned.
• To review the monitoring, oversight and reporting structures of UNDP SEEDS and their relevance.
• To identify the lessons learned, recommendations and best practices that can be considered in the planning and design of future project phase.
• To identify areas of possible medium, long-term continued electoral assistance in Ethiopia.

Areas of inquiry and guiding questions

The final evaluation will use the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee’s evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability as defined and explained in the UNDP Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results. A further category, impact, shall also be assessed.

The Senior Consultant shall focus on the following areas of inquiry:

Relevance. Assess the extent to which UNDP SEEDS objectives and design respond to national development priorities, UN Sustainable Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF formerly UNDAF), UNDP’s country programme’s outputs and outcomes, the UNDP Strategic Plan, and the SDGs.

• To what extent was the theory of change a relevant and appropriate vision for implementing recommendations of the Needs Assessment Mission?

• To what extent were lessons learned from other relevant projects considered in UNDP SEEDS project design?

• To what extent does UNDP SEEDS contribute to gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights-based approach?
• To what extent has UNDP SEEDS been appropriately responsive to political, legal, institutional, etc., changes in the country?

Note: [1] For additional information on methods, see the Handbook on Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluating for Development Results (Sections 2 and 4).

Coherence. Assess the compatibility of the intervention with other interventions in the sector.

• How well does the intervention fit? How compatible was UNDP SEEDS with other interventions in the country?
• What synergies or interlinkages benefitted from UNDP SEEDS, within UNDP and externally, like complementarity, harmonization, and coordination with others, and avoiding duplication of effort?

*Effectiveness***.** Assess the extent to which UNDP SEEDS achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives, and its results, including any differential results across groups.

• To what extent were UNDP SEEDS’ outputs achieved?
• What factors have contributed to achieving or not achieving intended outputs?
• To what extent has the UNDP partnership strategy been appropriate and effective?
• To what extent has UNDP SEEDS been appropriately responsive to the needs of the national constituents and changing partner priorities?
• To what extent did UNDP SEEDS contribute to the participation of vulnerable groups identified in UNDP SEEDS’ document: women, persons with disabilities, youth, and internally displaced persons?

Efficiency. Assess the extent to which UNDP SEEDS delivered results in an economical and timely way.

• Were resources (human, financial, and material) allocated to UNDP SEEDS sufficient for the achievement of the established objectives?
• To what extent was UNDP SEEDS management structure as outlined in UNDP SEEDS document efficient in generating the expected results?
• To what extent were UNDP SEEDS funds and activities delivered in a timely manner?
• To what extent are the monitoring, oversight, and reporting structures of UNDP SEEDS effective and consistent with UNDP’s monitoring and evaluation procedures?

Sustainability. Assess the extent to which the net benefits of UNDP SEEDS continue or are likely to continue.

• Are there any social or political risks that may jeopardize the sustainability of UNDP SEEDS outputs and its contributions to country programme outputs and outcomes?
• To what extent does UNDP SEEDS have well-designed and well-planned exit strategies?

Impact. Evaluate the extent to which UNDP SEEDS generated positive or negative, intended, and unintended effects on wider democratic governance

• What contribution did UNDP SEEDS make towards the wider objectives outlined in its project document?

Methodology

The overall approach and methodology of the evaluation must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable, and useful. All evaluation products must address gender, disability, and human rights issues.

The Senior Consultant shall be provided access to relevant documentation including the Country Programme Document, project documents, annual workplans, progress reports, monitoring reports, minutes of project board meetings, reports of consultancies, and events. Additionally, information can be solicited by qualitative and quantitative empirical data gathering, group discussions, interviews, observation, or other methods.

The Senior Consultant is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach featuring close engagement with relevant national counterparts. The Senior Consultant is expected to work in close coordination with NEBE and UNDP Ethiopia. Feedback may additionally be solicited from inter alia UN Women, EC-UNDP JTF, other technical assistance providers, and international development partners (donors).

The final report should comply with the UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Reports.

This assignment is home-based. Fieldwork shall take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

IV. DELIVERABLES

The key deliverables expected from the Senior Consultant are:

1. Submit inception report (10-15 pages, excluding annexes)
   • Conduct desk review of relevant documentation.
   • Consultation with key external stakeholders
   • Define a methodology and plan for completion of the final evaluation to include objectives, theory of change, evaluation questions and possible sub-questions, data sources and collection, sampling, and key indicators.
   • Propose a structure for the final evaluation report based on the standard outline for the evaluation report.[1]
2. Issues identification and scoping consultation
   • Advice on structure and method of scoping consultation with UNDP Ethiopia.
   • Facilitate discussion on issues of relevance to the evaluation.
3. Conduct further research according to the agreed methodology and issues identified.
4. Develop preliminary evaluation report (40-50 pages, excluding annexes)
   • Present preliminary findings to UNDP Ethiopia and other stakeholders for feedback, as agreed.
5. Finalize evaluation report.
   • Comments and changes by the evaluator in response to the preliminary report must be retained by the evaluator to show how they have addressed comments.

[1] http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT/REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Senior Consultant will report to the UNDP Resident Representative, who will also provide advice and guidance and act as a sounding board for the Senior Consultant while protecting her/his independence and ensure UNDP’s ownership of the report’s findings and recommendations. UNDP Evaluation Commissioner/Owner will approve the final evaluation report.

The UNDP SEEDS Chief Technical Advisor and UNDP SEEDS Manager will support the conduct of the evaluation, including the provision of feedback to the inception report, participation in the validation meeting, provision and coordination for comments on the draft report, distribution of the final report, and initiation of the recommendations’ implementation. They will be responsible for facilitating the provision of the existing data/documents to the Senior Consultant and field data collection, including preparation of field assessment schedules and logistical coordination.

UNDP ensures the participation of key stakeholders and beneficiaries through meetings, discussions, and sharing of the evaluation reports.

Competencies

The Consultant should possess the following competencies:

Corporate Competencies Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards; Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age differences. Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment; ability to exercise sound political judgment;

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by Modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the project.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly and without favoritism.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology with extensive knowledge of web application content development.
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should possess the following competencies:

Education:

A minimum of a Master’s degree in political science, public administration, development studies, or a related subject.

Work Experience:

• At least 15 years of experience, of which at least 10 in the area of electoral administration, electoral assistance, democracy, or governance.
• Experience leading or managing an electoral assistance project.
• Experience leading or managing UN teams and/or projects.
• Experience conducting evaluations and assessments of electoral assistance projects.
• Substantial experience with participatory monitoring and evaluation preferably in Africa.
• Familiarity with the electoral cycle approach in Africa.
• Proven expertise and competencies in gender.
• Knowledge and/ or experience of disability inclusion.

Functional Skills:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills in English.
• Excellent writing skills and proven ability to produce quality documents in English.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines and work with minimum supervision.

Language requirements:

• Proficiency in written and spoken English.

The successful expert shall receive payments upon certification of the completed tasks satisfactorily, as per the milestones shown below. The days are spread across the contractual period according to need with room for flexibility.

Deliverables

Submit inception report

Deadline 22 October 2021 (10 Working Days)

Issues identification and scoping consultation

Deadline 30 October 2021 (5Working Days)

Execute research plan according to the agreed methodology

Deadline 12 November 2021 (10 Working Days)

Develop preliminary evaluation report

Deadline 19 November 2021 (5 Working Days)

Submit final evaluation report

Deadline 26 November 2021 (5 Working Days)

The total number of days: 35 days

Price Proposal :

The Consultant shall submit a price proposal in accordance with the below instructions:

• A Lumpsum Fee– The Consultant shall submit an all Inclusive Lump Sum Fee: which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost, insurance (inclusive of medical health, and medical evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 35 working days.

• Living Allowance – UNDP shall cover the Living allowance cost when the consultant is authorized to travel to Addis Ababa - Please do not include the living allowance in your price proposal.

• Travel and Visa – During completion of this assignment, if there is a need to travel to Addis Ababa for the completion of this assignment, UNDP will cover the travel cost. Therefore, please do not include the Travel cost in your price proposal.

Evaluation Method And Criteria:

Qualified Individual Consultants (ICs) are expected to submit both Technical and Financial Proposals. The Technical Proposal should include how the IC will deliver the expected key functions listed in this ToR.

Shortlisting will be conducted by the UNDP SEEDS office and UNDP CO Procurement Team. The following criteria will be followed in selecting the best candidate.

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the

an individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; [70]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Criteria Max & Points:

Technical Competence (based on credentials and technical proposal): 70%

Criteria a) [experience and skills mix] 30

Criteria b) [approach for undertaking assignment] 40

Financial Max 30 Points

The Financial proposal of the technically qualified candidates will be evaluated based on the formula provided below. The maximum number of points (30) assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest-priced proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse

proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows:

P= y(µ/z) where,

P= points for the financial proposal being evaluated

Y= maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ= price of the lowest price proposal

z= price of the proposal being evaluated

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit the below-mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.

• Personal CV or P11 indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Confirmation of Interest and Availability & Financial Proposal: Interest and Availability to perform the task and Financial Proposal must be submitted through a standard template Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template
• Technical Proposal including:
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
• A brief description of the approach to work/work plan on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment.
• Financial Proposal: As per the template provided.

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows you to upload a maximum of one document.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org