UNDP Jobs - 39184- Outcome Evaluation of Support to Electoral Cycle i

Outcome Evaluation of Support to Electoral Cycle in Sierra Leone 2011 – 2014 (This Position is open to Sierra Leonean Nationals only)

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2013

Application Deadline :

01-Aug-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

30 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 working days

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Since 2004, UNDP and its partners have supported the Sierra Leonean National Electoral Commission (NEC) to implement a strategic planning and reform process, as well as prepare for and administer the 2007 elections – the country's second national election since the end of the 10-year civil war in 2002, and the first without the supervision and major logistical support of the international community and UN peacekeepers. Building on the earlier success stories, Sierra Leone 2012 Election became a concluding step for Sierra Leone’s peace consolidation process and NEC has greatly contributed to this positive lookout through its important and crucial role in managing the 2012 Elections. In 2012 NEC conducted and managed a technically complex election in a competent, fair and credible manner. With the successful conduct of these elections, and local elections and by-elections held, Sierra Leone has made important gains in the consolidation of its post-conflict democracy and towards self-sufficient administration of its own elections. The 2012 elections passed peacefully and were deemed credible and transparent by international observers. However, as also noted by various observers groups, there remain significant capacity gaps which, if not addressed in 2013 and 2014, could once again result in reliance on the international community. There remain a fragile political situation featuring political polarization and regional and ethnic divisions which could become exacerbated leading to the 2016 and 2017 electoral processes. This, combined with a weak economy including high levels of unemployment, particularly among the youth, could negatively impact on electoral disputes and conflict management around the electoral process. The potential for conflict related to the electoral process remains a concern to the Government and the international community. Both intend to focus their support on continuing fostering an environment that is conducive to the holding of credible future elections and strengthening mechanisms that administer and oversee the electoral process and party competition in democratic manner.

The programme is being implemented under UNDP Direct Implementation with a dedicated programme management team led by a full Chief Technical Advisor under the leadership and full operational support of the UNDP Country Office with active cooperation with UNIPSIL headed by the Executive Representative of Secretary General (ERSG) who is also the UN RC and UNDP RR. The total programme budget of USD 42 million is funded through a multi-donor basket funding mechanism which currently receives contributions from the European Commission, DFID/UK, Japan, Germany, Irish Aid/Ireland, Peace-building Commission and UNDP. Cost-sharing agreements signed bilaterally between UNDP and individual Development Partners detail the contractual obligations of the parties.

The programme operates under the overall guidance and leadership of a Steering Committee providing specific policy and decision-making mechanism. The Steering Committee meets quarterly or more frequently, if need be, and is responsible for general oversight of programme activities, including financial oversight and approval of funding allocations within the overall budget as recommended by the Programme Management Unit (PMU). The Steering Committee receives regular reports from the PMU and the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and other stakeholders, approves major activities and expenditures, reach consensus and take decisions on any change in the programme work plan, provide ongoing risk analysis, and consider funding for emerging issues. Further support, as needed, comes from the UNDP Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) and the UNDP Regional Bureau.

Scope and Objectives

The overall aim of the evaluation is to assess the contribution made by the Support to the Electoral Cycle in Sierra Leone 2011 – 2014 programme to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in Sierra Leone through its support and technical assistance to an array of stakeholders namely National Electoral Commission (NEC), Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Office of National Security (ONS), Judiciary, the Law Officers Department, Mano River Union (MRU),

National Commission for Democracy (NCD) and Non State Actors (Civil Society, Inter-religious Council, Academics institutions, Political Parties, Youth and Women Groups). The evaluation is to validate the results achieved by the programme, their likely impact and their relevance to the overall intended outcome and their overall sustainability. Specific objectives of the evaluation are as follows:

Evaluate the performance of the programme with reference to its respective strategy, objectives, quantitative and qualitative indicators defined by the programme document and the implementation arrangements, and identify major management and operational issues that impacted on the achievement of programme objectives;
Evaluate the relevance of the programme in the emerging country context and priorities, taking into consideration other electoral assistance interventions;
Assess the overall degree of progress made by all supported partners towards development of national capacities aimed at strengthening their management capacities and systems for electoral management in Sierra Leone;
The evaluation should inform and provide lessons especially in respect of identifying further capacity development needs in national democratic institutions, including suggestions regarding changes to the legal framework around elections;
The evaluation should inform continued implementation of the programme, by making recommendations regarding further capacity development, how lessons learnt and key issues can be followed up in the post-election period, and suggesting immediate steps to be taken towards further improvement in the future electoral environment;
The evaluation should cover the period from the approval of the Programme Document on February 2011 until the time of the evaluation. The evaluation will examine support programme provided to the multitude of partners and will encompass the entire scope of programme’s capacity building initiatives and their impact.

Duties and Responsibilities

Output and Deliverables

Evaluation inception report:

Prepared by the evaluators before full fledge data collection. It should include proposed schedule of tasks, activities and deliverables.

Preliminary findings report:

A presentation of findings to key stakeholders orally and in writing will be made prior to completing the in-country mission. The purpose of this session is to provide opportunity for initial validation and elaboration of the evaluator’s observations and analysis.

Draft evaluation report– within two weeks the evaluator will submit a draft evaluation report to UNDP.

Final evaluation report– within two weeks of receiving comments from stakeholders, the Evaluation Team will submit a final document.

Evaluation Questions:

The evaluation seeks to answer the following questions:

To what extent were the programme design and delivery of activities able to respond to and address the organizational and programming priorities of the Election Management Bodies (EMBs), and other participating stakeholders?
To what extent were the inputs to the programme sustainable, for future elections, particularly large procurements and investments?
To what extent were programme funds, expertise and time used judiciously to achieve desired programme results Were programme inputs procured in a timely way and with intended results?
To what extent were the legislative and policy innovations, strengthened human capacities, and management systems likely to benefit the EMBs and other recipient partners with a view to the next scheduled elections in 2017?
To what extent (approximate or estimate) did the programme contribute to free, fair and credible elections in 2012?

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies of Evaluation Team Leader:

Demonstrated strong understanding of international electoral standards and principles;
Demonstrated strong knowledge of Monitoring and Evaluation methods for development programmes;
Knowledge of UNDP’s results-based management orientation and practices;
Prior experience of working in West Africa preferred.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least a Masters' degree in a Social Science or other relevant area.

Experience:

Minimum of 10 years of work experience;
Familiarity with programme implementation in complex multi donor-funded programmes;
An effective evaluation manager with at least 5 - 6 years’ experience conducting international development evaluations;
Broad knowledge of technical assistance to elections, with at least 5-10 years’ experience of capacity development in electoral management bodies.

Language:

Excellent written and oral communication skills in English language.

Duration of the consultancy

The tasks are expected to take 30 working days to complete. It is expected that the mission will spend 3 weeks in-country including field visits and the remaining time will be allocated for the production of evaluation deliverables. The detailed ToR will be shared upon commencement of the assignment.

Reporting Mechanism

The International Consultant is the Evaluation Team Leader. The Team Leader will report directly to the UNDP Country Director or any designated person acting in that capacity, who will provide guidance and ensure the monitoring of satisfactory completion of evaluation deliverables.

Payment Modalities

Payment will be made in three installments upon satisfactory completion of the following deliverables:

1st installment: 20% upon signing the contract;
2nd Installment: 40% upon submission of the draft Evaluation Report;
3rd Installment: 40% upon submission of the final Evaluation Report.

Evaluation of Criteria and Weighting

The expert will be evaluated against a combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum score is 100% out of a total score for technical criteria equals 70% and 30% for financial criteria.

The technical evaluation will include the following:

Background and minimum educational qualification as defined above-10%;
Practical previous experience relevant to the TOR - 30%;
Substantial professional knowledge and experience in coordination and civil registration -50%;
English language fluency -10%.

Application Procedure

Qualified and interested candidates are hereby encouraged to apply. The application should contain the following:

Completed P11 form;
Financial proposal (fees, tickets, daily subsistence allowance and other related expenses;)
Technical proposal (methodology of approach to the task).