UNDP Jobs - 50662- National Consultant- Outcome Evaluation (Youth Emp

National Consultant- Outcome Evaluation (Youth Employment and Empowerment Programme)

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

07-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six Weeks

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

N/A

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

UNDP is supporting Ministry of Youth Affairs (MOYA) and National Youth Commission (NAYCOM) to empower the youth to develop their potential, creativity and skills for national development through the Youth Employment and Empowerment Programme (YEEP). The Youth Employment and Empowerment Programme (YEEP) is designed to strengthen national policy, strategy and coordination frameworks for youth employment and establish, on a national basis, basic support services for youth including business development support and youth career advice all geared towards increasing the employability of youth. This support shall be done through; provision of rapid employment opportunities and income generating activities for young people; strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and National Youth Commission; promotion and of the participation of young people in decision making processes and the development of youth interest initiatives. Strengthening the youth development initiatives coordination system of MOYA and NAYCOM is one of the activities aimed at bringing better coordination, oversight and strategic leadership role of the national institutions. The Youth Employment and Empowerment Programme is part of the ‘Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development’ Programme Cluster of the Sierra Leone Country Programme Document and Country Programme Action Plan (CPD and CPAP).

UNDP has been engaged in employment generation and private sector development in Sierra Leone in the post-conflict period, supporting the creation of income-generating opportunities for young people. Across a broad range of activities ranging from micro-enterprise and business development schemes to support to the development of cooperatives and promoting access to finance, UNDP has produced concrete results, particularly in terms of increasing the income generation abilities of youth participants.

In 2012, building on successful experience and lessons learned, UNDP has moved towards a market-based approach that assists youth businesses in a systemic manner. With the establishment of NAYCOM, UNDP designed an innovative scheme to provide young entrepreneurs with a broad range of business development support services. Five Business Support Centres (BSCs) have been opened in main urban centres including Freetown, Newton, Bo, Makeni and Kenema, which each provide direct assistance to over 2,000 entrepreneurs per year. UNDP is also supporting the Graduates Internship Programme, Career Advise and Placement Services (in tertiary institutions) and various skills development activities.

The overall aim of the evaluation is to assess the contributions made by YEEP with specific emphasis on the Support to youth employment and empowerment and institutional capacity building activities for NAYCOM and MoYA 2011-2013. It will primarily consider the role, management, and achievements of UNDP SL, NAYCOM, Business Development Services (BDS), Graduate Internship Programme (GIP), and Career Advisory and Placement Services (CAPS). It will also review the extent of the likely impact and their relevance to the overall intended outcome and their overall sustainability. Whilst the outcome evaluation is expected to contribute to both accountability and learning, its primary focus is expected to be on learning.

In line with best practice the evaluation is expected to assess YEEP according to the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria (Relevance, Sustainability, Effectiveness, Efficiency and Impact). It is expected that the review will focus on:

Whether the strategic choices made by YEEP were relevant to the context, and whether the projects that were funded were relevant to the strategy;
Whether the design of YEEP promoted sustainability in relation to national ownership and capacity;
Whether YEEP has been effective in delivering the intended results for youth; and
Whether the programmatic choices and organizational systems were able to deliver YEEP efficiently.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions / Key Results Expected

Assist the international consultant to deliver the following key results:

Summarise and give insight into the context in which YEEP was implemented;
Provide a fair, reasonable, and credible assessment of how well YEEP understood and whether it responded relevantly to the context;
Give insight to the main challenges faced by YEEP and how well the programme responded to changes in the context;
Identify the main achievements – both expected and unexpected – of YEEP, particularly as they relate to the employment promotion and institutional capacity building;
Document lessons learned and recommendations;
Organize a validation workshop to evaluate and receive feedback from key stakeholders;
Prepare a comprehensive draft outcome evaluation report.

Deliverables/Final Products Expected:

Assist the international consultant in producing the following deliverables:

Best practices/lessons learnt from the programme implementation of YEEP (Business Development Services, Career Advise and Placement Services, Graduates Internship programme and Skills Development programmes);
Final outcome evaluation report.

As a minimum, the Evaluation Report (draft or final) shall include the following components:

Executive Summary;
Introduction / Background;
Programme outline and management;
Objectives of the projects, as well as the outcome level;
Methodology;
Analysis;
Findings;
Conclusions;
Lessons Learned;
Recommendations;
Relevant Annexes, e.g.;
List of people interviewed;
List of acronyms;
Evaluation work plan and TOR;
Key reference documents.

Competencies

Professionalism:

Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to monitoring & evaluation, programme management (in the field of Youth Employment, political affairs, sustainable development policy and humanitarian action);
Familiarity with and experience in the use of various research methodologies and sources, including the internet, and other databases;
Ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments give;
Ability to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities.

Communications:

Good communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to draft/edit a variety of written reports, studies and other communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise style.

Creativity:

Ability to actively seek to improve programmes/services;
Offer new and different options to solve problems/meet client needs;
Promote and persuade others to consider new ideas.

Technology Awareness:

Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications, e.g. word processing, spreadsheets and other statistical applications, internet, etc.

Teamwork:

Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity, including gender balance.

Other skills:

Strong analytical and management skills applied to managing and reviewing programmes/projects, including human and financial resources;
Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines;
Knowledge of current development policies and activities;
Ability to organize work and collaborate effectively with a wide range of teams and work with individuals of different national and cultural backgrounds, including networking across professional, thematic and organizational boundaries;
Basic knowledge of relevant institutional mandates, policies, guidelines. Knowledge of the institutions of the UN system.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in economics, social sciences and business administration or equivalent combination of education and experience in a related area.

Experience:

At least 7 years progressively responsible in the specific programme area associated with this post, in design, monitoring & evaluation of programmes, project planning or related fields;
Practical experience in programme/project management and administration; good research, analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to identify and participate in the resolution of issues/problems;
The consultant should have a strong technical background in results based management, work plan/activity schedule preparation and reporting, and at least 5 years of substantive experience in the design, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes. Strong organizational capacity and familiarity with UN project execution rules and regulations are essential;
Working experience in developing countries.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

Applications from qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged.