Consultant for MISHRAH Project

AFE is seeking a consultant to conduct the design, refinement, and final evaluation of the MISHRAH project.

Reports to: AFE Executive Director 

Final Evaluation Purpose

The final evaluation is part of the Data collected with this Monitoring and Evaluation system serves as primary input in project-related decision making, and the basis for assessment of overall project impact.  Specific indicators for the Intermediate Results focus on tracing whether desirable pre-conditions for achieving Project Objectives are taking place. Indicators for the Project Objective level focus on measuring higher level changes in AFE’s grant management systems as well as AFE’s newly incorporated sub-granting mechanism. The evaluation will examine the efficiency and effectiveness of these systems, their implementation at AFE and through the sub-grantees.

In addition to examining the actual achievement of Project Objectives, the final evaluation will focus on exploring the contribution of this project to the Project Goals and Objectives.  Final evaluation will produce best practices and lessons learned that have potential to be replicated by AFE or DRL in future interventions of this kind.

Final Evaluation Methodology and the Team

The methodology should be designed with participatory evaluation principles.  The consultant(s) will work together with representatives of AFE and partners to design the final evaluation, methodology, and analyse the collected data. The final evaluation methodology will collect qualitative and quantitative data.

The bidder’s proposal must include a draft final evaluation design that will contain a description of the proposed final evaluation and methodology, work schedule, budget and other relevant components of the final evaluation effort, to be discussed with AFE. Each bid will be assessed based on its specific final evaluation design/methodology in relation to the overall cost.

The selected consultant(s) must be capable to work in diverse environments and have a high degree of evaluation experience, preferably in assessing capacity strengthening efforts, and advocacy projects. Strong facilitation skills and educational or community engagement experience and/or background will be a plus. The consultant(s) must be fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Expected outputs to be produced by the consultant are (developed in cooperation with AFE):

Methodology and timeline for data collection and analysis;

Instrument(s) for qualitative research;

Develop and submit a facilitation guide for workshops

Facilitate workshops/reflections with key partners to discuss and validate preliminary findings and recommendations;

Final Evaluation Report containing sections to describe methodology, analysis of research, major conclusions, and recommendations (for comparison methods).

Structure of the documents must be coordinated with AFE. An outline of the Evaluation Report in English will be shared in advance for AFE input and comments, prior to the report being written. A draft report with preliminary findings and recommendations will be shared with AFE for feedback prior to the report being finalized

All raw data, analysis matrices/tools needs to be submitted to AFE and will become solely AFE property.

Responsibilities and Schedule

The selected consultant will be responsible for facilitation of all phases of the evaluation design, participatory methodology development, taking into consideration the different sizes of the Lead Partners and participating CSOs, implementation, analysing data and providing a final report.  The tentative activities and deliverables for the consultant include:

Develop an action plan, including a timeline for completing activities

Review the project proposal, baseline report, interim and annual reports, routine monitoring reports, learning documents, outcome monitoring reports, and all other materials produced by the project as well as other relevant qualitative and quantitative information to determine the quality of services, quality of project results, quality of program management, cross cutting issues, and whether or not the project goals were met.

Develop a qualitative methodology for data collection and analysis, including defining a strategy for sampling and qualitative data collection in the implementing countries

Develop and administer qualitative assessment tools and techniques for primary data collection to complement the available data.  These tools could include:

Key informant interviews with key project personnel and stakeholders to determine the quality of service delivery and level of knowledge on the subject matter

Checklists related to direct observations of service delivery sessions through site visits to assess technical practices, quality of activities and confirm recorded outputs

Focus group and group interviews with the staff of CSOs)) to determine benefits of the project, who receives the benefits, quality of service delivery, perception of the communities, unanticipated consequences and possible areas of modification and design

Facilitate data entry

Analyse data collected

Compile a draft final evaluation report

Facilitate workshops to reflect and assess the data collected with MISHRAH partners (AFE and Lead Training Partners)

Draft final evaluation report outline for AFE review

Draft final evaluation report for AFE review

Finalize final evaluation report taking into account AFE feedback

It is expected that all major activities will be done in cooperation with AFE and Partners (e.g. sampling strategy, questionnaire development, data analysis, report development, etc.).

The selected consultant will be required to keep close communication with the Project Manager regarding the final evaluation schedule, the final sampling methodology and the selection of data sources, data collection instruments, preliminary report and final report. More precisely, AFE Program Manager will be responsible for the coordination, logistics and providing necessary materials.  AFE MISHRAH staff will participate in the development of the assessment.

A schedule for delivering the outputs defined above will be jointly finalized by the consultant and AFE upon signing of the contract.

Consultant/s should possess the following expertise and skills:

University degree in the field of social or human sciences (M.A. or PhD in relevant field is an advantage);

Minimum of five years’ experience in conducting final evaluations and evaluations in different fields;

Practiced in the use of participatory methods for conducting monitoring and evaluation, research and planning;

Fluency in English, French and Arabic;

Strong analytical skills;

Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate detailed concepts clearly and concisely both in writing and verbally;

Extensive experience in social research, including designing and employing both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and tools which are participatory and sensitive to the needs of targeted beneficiaries.

Budget

Consultant(s) need to take into account exact number of days of engagement, travel costs and all other expenses related to their assignments, accompanied with the implementation plan including VAT. Specific Travel details and costs will be discussed with AFE at a later stage.    

Consultant(s) will be selected according to AFE procurement policy, which involves a tender process so as to ensure high quality at a competitive rate.