UNDP Jobs - 48036- National Consultant - Evaluate “Youth Employment G

National Consultant - Evaluate “Youth Employment Generation Programme in Arab Transaction Countries– Jordan Component”- Phase II and Prepare a Project Document

Location :

Amman, JORDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Aug-2014

Application Deadline :

24-Jul-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

25 working days over a period of 45 days

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 working days over a period of 45 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

The project “Youth Employment Generation Programme in Arab Transition Countries- Jordan Component- Phase II” is designed and implemented by UNDP-Jordan to address the complexity of youth unemployment bottlenecks and contributes to poverty reduction and social stability in Jordan. It builds on the experience and lessons learned gained from the successful implementation of Phase I of the project (March 2012-March 2013). This second phase of the project is currently under the process of implementation in 6 governorates distributed equally in the North (Ajloun, Jerash), Middle (Al- Balqa) and South of Jordan (Maa’n, Karak, Tafileh), characterized with high level of poverty and/or unemployment rates. The project is designed to target young people aged 15 to 26 years, with a special focus on recent graduates, school drop-outs or people with university diplomas with the necessary experience and skills that would enhance their marketability and employment opportunities.
The project constitutes of 4 main outputs which will contribute to job creation through internships in private companies or other institutions for youth, vocational training, career guidance and developing businesses based on entrepreneurial business ideas and SMEs establishment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

An evaluation of this project is needed to build on the outputs results as the country office is in the stage of designing a third phase of the project. The objectives of the evaluation will mainly focus on:

Evaluating the achievements of the project outputs and their contribution to the outcome;
Assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the project;
Identifying issues encountered through implementation;
Drawing lessons learned through the project implementation;
Identifying the national institutions that would benefit from the evaluation and recommend types of actions needed;
Design a project document which will identify areas of potential involvement for UNDP in the field of youth empowerment, building on the on-going Phase II of the project.

Scope of Work

For the Evaluation:

Within the context outlined above, UNDP seeks to recruit a national consultant to conduct an evaluation of the project: “Youth Employment Generation Programme in Arab Transition Countries– Jordan Component” and to design a project document (according to UNDP project document template), with clear outputs, baseline indicators, targets, RRF, which will identify areas of potential involvement for UNDP in the field of youth empowerment.

The scope of the evaluation should cover the following:

The project objectives, inputs, outputs and activities and their relevance to the outcome statement;
The implementation and selection at geographic areas, and target groups;
Issues and challenges related to the implementation of the project;
Impact of the internship program on enhancing the interns chances to get jobs in the market place;
Level of cooperation and support of the responsible and relevant parties including private sector.

For the Project Document:

The project document should build on the recommendations of the evaluation and national priorities related to youth empowerment. The project document should be based on the UNDP template and include the following:

Situation Analysis;
Strategy;
Project Components (Outcomes/Outputs);
Results and Resources Framework;
Management Arrangements;
Monitoring and Evaluation;
Partnership Strategy;
Communication Plan;
Legal Context;
Assumptions and Risks;
Annexes (Terms of Reference).

Methodology:

The consultant is expected to work with the project manager and with the Socio- Economic Analyst at UNDP Jordan. Based on the objectives and scope of work outlined above, the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks during the evaluation process:

Review of relevant documents including: documents on national policies related to the project, the Project Document, progress reports, and all relevant documentation related to implementation including: gap analysis, assessment reports and activity reports;
Conduct interviews and roundtable meetings with project stakeholders and partners;
Any other methods the consultant finds valuable to determine the best methods and tools for collecting and analyzing data.

Below are the criteria to be considered for the evaluation process and the main questions to be addressed:

Criteria, Project Management:

Main questions:

Are the Project Management arrangements and set-up appropriate to carry out its responsibility of implementation, monitoring, reporting and establishing partnerships? (This is not an evaluation of individual performance and capacity but of the appropriateness of the structure and set-up in addressing the management.

Criteria, Project Design:

Main questions:

To what extent did the design of the project help in achieving its own goals?
Were the context, problem, needs and priorities well analyzed while designing the project?
Were there clear objectives and strategy?
Were there clear baselines indicators and/or benchmarks for performance?
Was the process of project design sufficiently participatory? Was there any impact of the process?

Criteria, Relevance and appropriateness:

Main questions:

Was the project relevant, appropriate and strategic to national goals and challenges?
Was the project relevant, appropriate and strategic to UNDP mandate?
Was the outcome and associated activities relevant, appropriate and strategic to national goals, and UNDP mandate?

Criteria, Effectiveness and efficiency:

Main questions:

Was the project effective in terms of design, relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, identifying challenges, constraints and success factors and providing conclusions and lessons learnt?
Were the actions to achieve the outputs and outcomes effective and efficient?
Were there any lessons learned, failures/lost opportunities? What might have been done better or differently?
How did the project deal with issues and risks?
Were the outputs achieved in a timely manner?
Were the resources utilized in the best way possible?

Criteria, Impact and sustainability:

Main questions:

Will the outputs/outcomes lead to benefits beyond the life of the existing project?
Were the actions and results adopted by the local partners and stakeholders?
Was capacity built through the actions of the project?
Were the modes of deliveries of the outputs appropriate to promote sustainability of the results achieved?

Duration of the Assignment:

This assignment will consist of 25 working days to conduct necessary meetings and finalize the evaluation report and project document.

Outputs and Timeframe:

Below are the required activities and expected outputs, based on the objectives and scope of work stated above, respective timelines/deadlines and number of working days:

Output: A first draft of the evaluation results, including findings/ recommendations that should be considered in any next phase of the project., timeline: Within 25 days from signing the contract.

Output: Final evaluation report: the report should include the following sections, timeline: Within 35 days from signing the contract:

Title page;
List of acronyms and abbreviations;
Table of contents, including list of annexes;
Executive summary;
Introduction: background and context of the programme;
Description of the project – its logic theory, results framework and external factors likely to affect success;
Purpose of the evaluation; key questions and scope of the evaluation with information on limitations and de-limitations;
Approach and methodology;
Findings; summary and explanation of findings and interpretations;
Conclusions and recommendations; lessons learned;
Annexes.

Output: Prepare a Project Document for Youth Employment Generation Programme- Phase III, timeline: Within 45 days from signing the contract.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Ability to work under pressure against strict deadlines;
Ability to think out-of-the-box;
Ability to present complex issues persuasively and simply;
Ability to contextualize global trends in accordance with the dynamics of the operating (working) environment;
Strong communication, and interpersonal skills;
Demonstrated research and analytical skills;
Good knowledge of the UN system.

Core Competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in public administration, or related discipline.

Experience:

10 years minimum experience in fields in social development, livelihoods or any other related field;
Experience in youth Issues and earlier experience in evaluation;
Extensive experience in fields of employment and youth;
Solid knowledge of the Jordanian natural context, government structure and national policies;
Experience in evaluation.

Language:

Fluency in English and Arabic are required.

Computer skills:

Full computer literacy

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals.
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. 2-3 page proposal:

(i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);
(iii) Financial proposal (which includes a breakdown of consultancy fees);
(iv) Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Note that, only applications which include the above, will be considered.