Call for Consultant - Baseline, Mid-term and Final Evaluation Consultant

About ABAAD

ABAAD – Resource Centre for Gender Equality is a UN ECOSOC accredited organization that aims to achieve gender equality as an essential condition to sustainable social and economic development in the MENA region. ABAAD advocates for the development and implementation of policies and laws that enhance women’s effective participation, through a rights-based approach that would bring about tangible change to gender justice. With the purpose of ending gender-based violence, ABAAD adopts a holistic care approach to provide protection and support services to GBV survivors/right holders during times of peace, war and disasters since 2011.

About the project

The “Promotion of a gender equal and equitable society with and for women and youth in Lebanon” is a three-years project funded by The European Regional Development and Protection Program for Jordan and Lebanon (RDPP III) in the Middle East. The project’s strategic goal is to establish societies that ensure gender equality and are free of violence, centring efforts on women and girls in all their diversity. By advocating for gender equality, the aim is to effect systemic changes that tackle root causes of discrimination, sexism, and harmful norms that obstruct access to rights based on gender.

Women and girls in their diversity are not only the recipients of these efforts but also active participants in shaping this transformation. The understanding of diversity acknowledges that women and girls possess intersecting identities that affect their societal positions and access to rights and power.

This strategic objective will be achieved through lobbying, advocacy, and the strengthening of civil society, all guided by a gender-transformative approach (GTA). The GTA focuses on these key components: Amplifying the voices of women and youth, Enhancing the role of young men as allies in this transformation, promoting human rights and the agency of women and girls, Analysing and countering harmful norms and unequal power relations.

Overall Scope of the consultancy

In line with ABAAD’s accountability principle towards the beneficiaries and the donor – The European Regional Development and Protection Program for Jordan and Lebanon (RDPP III) - ABAAD is seeking an external evaluator to conduct a baseline, mid-term and final evaluation of the overall project progress and results against the objectives and indicators of achievement.

The evaluation will assess the impact, effectiveness, and sustainability of the project; explore the key factors that have contributed to the achieving or not of the intended results; and determine the extent to which the project contributed to empowering communities, influencing policy makers, and capacitating national institutions on gender transformative approaches.

The evaluation exercise is intended to inform ABAAD and RDPP about the project’s impact on the direct and indirect beneficiaries of the project within their respective communities, programme recommendation and lessons learned.

Project Strategic Objective:

Advocacy for gender equality is strengthened at local and national levels and women and children enjoy a more gender equal, enabling, and protective environment.

Long Term Outcomes:

Long Term Outcome 1: Community members are mobilized to advocate for gender equality. 

Long Term Outcome 2: Decision makers and key leaders are progressively embracing, modifying, and enacting policies and laws that support gender equality.

Long Term Outcome 3: National institutions have increased capabilities in gender transformative and inclusive GBV response through capacity strengthening.

Areas of implementation:

North: Tripoli;

South: Tyre;

Mount Lebanon: Furn Chebbak; Choueifat

Bekaa: Baalbek; Arsal; Labweh; Zahle

Deliverables

Baseline:

• Inception report
• Desk review, which will include current project documents and progress reports of similar pervious projects.
• Develop a comprehensive methodology.
• Develop the needed monitoring and evaluation tools.
• Provide recommendations to improve the PMEL plan of the project to align it with the baseline findings and the BME evaluation process.
• Data collection and field work.
• Presentation of findings to ABAAD team: preliminary findings and recommendations to collect feedback that will aid in finalizing the report, give suggestions and receive feedback, and incorporate feedback into findings.
• Final Baseline Report to include:  

• Executive summary
• Analysis of the data collected in the baseline.
• Sources of information properly identified and listed in an annex.

Mid and End Term evaluation

The following deliverables are expected as outputs of, mid-term and final evaluation process:

• Inception Report
• Design and develop evaluation frameworks for both mid-term and final evaluations, including methodologies, sampling strategies, data collection tools, and data analysis plans.
• Conduct fieldwork to collect qualitative and quantitative data as per the agreed-upon methodologies for both evaluations.
• Analyse collected data, identifying trends, challenges, and areas of improvement.
• Prepare comprehensive evaluation reports for both midline and final evaluations, including executive summaries, methodologies, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and annexes of data collection tools and data sets.

Timeline

By June 2024:

• A proposed methodology and approach for the baseline, providing guidance on tools and approach to be taken by ABAAD to measure the baseline indicators.
• Recommendations to improve the PMEL plan of the project to align it with the baseline findings and the BME evaluation process.

By June 2025

• Mid-Term Evaluation report

By December 2026

• Final Evaluation report

Skills required

• Extensive experience in conducting monitoring and evaluation exercises;
• Extensive experience in research – both qualitative and quantitative;
• Experience working in the humanitarian and development sectors – particularly engaging with local communities and national institutions (experience working with youth is desirable);
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the local context in Lebanon;
• Excellent communication skills in English and Arabic;
• Applicant must have experience working in culturally sensitive contexts;
• Proven experience of conducting similar assignments, including in conflict and post-conflict contexts;
• Excellent report writing and analytical skills, including proven ability to form concise, actionable recommendations.