Background
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
The situation of women in Mozambique can be described as follows: Mozambique has made noteworthy advancement in the socio economic arena since the advent of peace in 1992. The economy has been growing at an average of 7% annually over the last decade. Nevertheless, progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) has been mixed. Poverty levels declined from 69.4% to 54.1% between 1997 and 2003. In the period from 2003 to 2009, the poverty levels remained stagnant (PARP 2010-2014, par5). There is a broad consensus, among development stakeholders, on growing income inequalities, with a Gini coefficient of 0.47. Further to that, there is consensus about the fact that poverty still remains a major challenge.
UN Women is a member of the UN Country Team in Mozambique supporting gender mainstreaming across UNCT thematic groups and chairing the Gender Joint Team. The previous as all as current SN are aligned with the priorities of the Government of Mozambique on gender which are spelled out in the National Plan on the Advancement of Women 2010-2014, the Action Plan on Poverty Reduction (PARP) 2011-2014 and the UNDAF 2011-2015. The Country Office (CO) Strategic Note (SN) is the main planning tool for UN Women’s support to normative, coordination and operational work in Mozambique. The CO has been operational in Mozambique since 2011.
UN Women undertakes interventions across its three mandate areas.
Normative work: To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the General Assembly, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
Operational work: To help Member States to implement international standards and to forge effective partnerships with civil society; and
Coordination work: Entails both work to promote the accountability of the United Nations system on gender equality and empowerment of women (GEEW), including regular monitoring of system-wide progress, and more broadly mobilizing and convening key stakeholders to ensure greater coherence and gender mainstreaming across the UN.
Duties and Responsibilities
UN Women are seeking to appoint a qualified individual consultant to undertake the evaluation.
The estimated number of person-days required for the evaluation is 37 days with breakdown as follows:
- Preparation of inception report: 10 days;
- Data collection: 7 days;
- Preparation of draft report: 15 days;
- Preparation of final report: 5 days.
Evaluation in UN Women is guided by these normative agreements to be gender-responsive and utilizes the entity’s strategic plan as a starting point for identifying the expected outcomes and impacts of its work and for measuring progress towards the achievement of results. The UN Women Evaluation Policy and the UN Women Evaluation Strategic Plan 2014-2017 are the main guiding documents that set forth the principles and organizational framework for evaluation planning, conduct and follow-up in UN Women. These principles are aligned with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms for Evaluation in the UN System, Standards for Evaluation in the UN System and Ethical Guidelines.
The key principles for gender-responsive evaluation at UN Women are: 1) National ownership and leadership; 2) UN system coordination and coherence with regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women; 3) Innovation; 4) Fair power relations and empowerment; 5) Participation and inclusion; 6) Independence and impartiality; 7) Transparency; 8) Quality and credibility; 9) Intentionality and use of evaluation; and 10) Ethics.
A Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) is a systematic assessment of the contributions made by UN Women to development results with respect to gender equality at the country level. The UN Women portfolio is a set of interventions that includes normative, operation and coordination work. The CPE focuses on their individual and combined success in advancing gender equality in the countries covered by the CO. It uses the Strategic Note as the main point of reference.
This CPE has been primarily commissioned by the Country Office (CO) as a formative (forward-looking) evaluation to support the CO and national stakeholders’ strategic learning and decision-making for the next Strategic Note, due to be developed in 2015. The evaluation is expected to have a secondary summative (backwards looking) perspective, to support enhanced accountability for development effectiveness and learning from experience.
It is a priority for UN Women that the CPE will be gender-responsive, and will actively support the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
This evaluation will consider the Strategic Notes for Mozambique covering the period 2012 to 2013 and 2014 to 2015. The current Strategic Note will end on 31 December 2015 and a new Strategic Note is due to be developed starting January 2016.
The evaluation has specific objectives:
- Assess the relevance of UN Women contribution to the intervention at national levels and alignment with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
- Assess effectiveness and organizational efficiency in progressing towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the Strategic Note;
- Enable the UN Women CO to improve its strategic positioning to better support the achievement of sustained gender equality and women’s empowerment;
- Analyse how human rights approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the design and implementation of the Strategic Note;
- Identify and validate lessons learned, good practices and examples of innovation that supports gender equality and human rights.
- Provide insights into the extent to which the UN Women CO has realized synergies between its three mandates (normative, coordination and operations);
- Provide actionable recommendations and options with respect to the development of the next UN Women CO Strategic Note.
The evaluation will apply four OECD/DAC evaluation criteria (relevance, effectiveness (including normative, and coordination mandates of UN Women), efficiency, and sustainability) and 11 sub-criteria. Human Rights and Gender Equality is mainstreamed as a sub-criterion.
Team Compostion:
The team is expected to consist of 3 evaluators:
- An international evaluation team leader, to be recruited by UN Women Country Office based on this TOR;
- An evaluation methodology expert, already recruited by UN Women HQ Independent Evaluation Office;
- UN Women Regional Evaluation Specialist.
An interpreter/ translator will be hired independently of this TOR for the inception workshop, data collection during the field mission and translation of the final report.
Functions:
The evaluation team is expected to undertake a rapid evaluability assessment in the inception workshop.
This should include the following:
- An assessment of the relevance, appropriateness and coherence of the implicit or explicit theory of change, strengthening or reconstructing it where necessary through a stakeholder workshop;
- An assessment of the quality of performance indicators in the DRF and OEEF, and the accessibility and adequacy of relevant documents and secondary data;
- A review of the conduciveness of the context for the evaluation;
- Ensuring familiarity with accountability and management structures for the evaluation.
As part of the inception phase the evaluation team is required to develop agreed indicators for answering each evaluation question. A model template will be provided to the evaluation team for this purpose.
All indicators are expected to include the following elements:
- A pre-defined rubric for evaluative judgement in the form of a definition of success, a benchmark, or a minimum standard.
Mainstreaming gender-responsiveness (where appropriate):
- a. Gender-disaggregated;
- b. Gender-specific (relating to one gender group);
- c. Gender-redistributive (balance between different gender groups).
Mainstreaming a human rights based approach (where appropriate):
- a. Reference to specific human rights norms and standards (including CSW concluding observations);
- b. Maximising the participation of marginalised groups in the definition, collection and analysis of indicators.
The evaluation is expected to take a gender-responsive approach. Gender-responsive evaluations use a systematic approach to examining factors related to gender that assesses and promotes gender equality issues and provides an analysis of the structures of political and social control that create gender equality.
This technique ensures that the data collected is analysed in the following ways:
- Determining the claims of rights holders and obligations of duty bearers;
- Assessing the extent to which the intervention was guided by the relevant international (national and regional) normative frameworks for gender equality and women’s rights, UN system-wide mandates and organizational objectives;
- Comparing with existing information on the situation of human rights and gender equality in the community, country, etc
- Identifying trends, common responses and differences between groups of stakeholders (disaggregation of data), for example, through the use of graphs or illustrative quotes (that do not allow for identification of the individual);
- Integrating into the analysis the context, relationships, power dynamics, etc.;
- Analysing the structures that contribute to inequalities experienced by women, men, girls and boys, especially those experiencing multiple forms of exclusion;
- Assessing the extent to which participation and inclusiveness (with respect to rights holders and duty bearers) was maximized in the interventions planning, design, implementation and decision-making processes;
- Triangulating information to identify similarities and/or discrepancies in data obtained in different ways (i.e., interviews, focus groups, observations, etc.) and from different stakeholders (e.g., duty bearers, rights holders, etc.);
- Identifying the context behind the numbers and people (using case studies to illustrate broader findings or to go into more depth on an issue);
- Comparing the results obtained with the original plan (e.g., through the application of the evaluation matrix);
- Assessing the extent to which sustainability was built into the intervention through the empowerment and capacity building of women and groups of rights holders and duty bearers.
The preliminary findings obtained through this process should be validated through a stakeholder workshop with evaluation management and reference groups towards the end of the primary data collection stage.
Expected Deliverables
Deliverable Time frame for submission Person responsible
Inception report Word format (including 2 rounds of revision) Fr 18 June Evaluator (reference group feedback – evaluation manager)
Draft report Word format (including 2 rounds of revision) Fr 31 July Evaluator (reference group feedback – evaluation manager)
Comment audit trail Fr 14 Aug Evaluator (reference group feedback – evaluation manager)
Final report PDF format Fr 21 Aug Evaluator
Management Response Fr 2 Oct Evaluation Manager
A model evaluation Report will be provided to the evaluator based on the following outline. The evaluation manager and the Regional Evaluation Specialist will quality assure the evaluation report. The draft and final evaluation report will be shared with the Evaluation Reference Group and the Evaluation Management Group for quality review. The final report will be approved by the Evaluation Management Group.
The timing of this Country Portfolio Evaluation is intended to assess the effectiveness and lessons as we approach the end of the current Strategic Note.
The period covered by the evaluation will be 2012 to 2015. All activities included in the two Strategic Notes 2012-13 and 2014-15 will be considered.
The CPE will focus on all activities undertaken by the CO under the Strategic Notes, including general support to normative policy and UN coordination. Programme work will be considered based on the thematic areas established by the UN Women Strategic Plan 2014.
All regions/ provinces covered by the CO will be included in the evaluation of normative and coordination work. Programming work will be considered in regions/ provinces where there is a permanent presence of UN Women staff.
The evaluation team is expected to visit a sample of partners selected though a purposive sampling design. See below section VI “Evaluation Design” for details on the purposive sampling design.
The evaluation will not consider impact (as defined by UNEG) as it is considered too premature to assess this. The evaluation team are expected to establish the boundaries for the evaluation, especially in terms of which stakeholders and relationships will be included or excluded from the evaluation. These will need to be clearly described and justified in the Inception Report.
UN Women organisational structures and systems outside of the CO (such as regional architecture) are not within the scope of this evaluation, and should be referenced only where a there is a clear implication for the design and implement of the CO Strategic.
Note:
Joint programmes and programming are within the scope of this evaluation. Where joint programmes are included in the analysis, the evaluation will consider both the specific contribution of UN Women, and the additional benefits and costs from working through a joint modality.
The evaluation will seek to minimize potential overlaps with the ongoing Mozambique UNDAF evaluation, particularly when it comes to assessing coordination or inter-agency work. In case these issues are covered by the ongoing UNDAF evaluation, the CPE would use the information produced by the UNDAF evaluation rather than asking a similar set of questions
The Social Mobilization Work in schools under the UNITE campaign will be part of this evaluation.
The evaluation is expected to consider the main cultural, religious, social and economic differences between the different regions/ provinces covered by the evaluation when analysing the contributions of UN Women.
The evaluation is recommended to apply the Women’s Empowerment Framework (developed by Sara Hlupekile Longwe) as a way to conceptualize the process of empowerment. This will help frame progressive steps towards increasing equality, starting from meeting basic welfare needs to equality in the control over the means of production.
Time frame
The evaluation is expected to be conducted according to the following time frame, with the Inception Phase commencing in June 2015.
Task Time frame Responsible party
Final ToR (after consultations with
reference group and management group) 1 week UN Women evaluation manager
Recruitment of evaluator(s) Beginning June 2015 (3-4 weeks) UN Women evaluation manager
Inception workshop 2 days in June 2015 prior to data collection Evaluator
Conduct stage (data collection) 1 week (Fr 10 July – Fr 17 July 2015) Evaluator
Reporting stage (analysis and 3 weeks (post final data collection) Evaluator
presentation of preliminary findings)
Evaluation Reference Group and 2 weeks UN Women evaluation manager
Evaluation Management Group comments
Final Report 1 week Evaluator
Use and follow-up 6 weeks post final report UN Women evaluation manager
Total 20 weeks
http://awidme.pbworks.com/w/page/36322701/Women%27s Empowerment Framework#_ftn1
The five “levels of equality” in the Women’s Empowerment Framework include:
- Welfare, meaning improvement in socioeconomic status, such as income, better nutrition, etc. This level produces nothing to empower women;
- Access, meaning increased access to resources. This is the first step in empowerment as women increase their access relative to men;
- Conscientisation, involving the recognition of structural forces that disadvantage and discriminate against women coupled with the collective aim to address these discriminations;
- Mobilization, implementing actions related to the conscientisation of women;
- Control, involving the level of access reached and control of resources that have shifted as a result of collective claim making and action.
The evaluators are expected to design and facilitate the following events:
- Participatory inception workshop (including refining evaluation uses, the evaluation framework, stakeholder map, and theories of change);
- In-country entry and exit briefs for UN Women staff and key stakeholders;
- Findings, validation and participatory recommendations workshop.
Competencies
Core values and guiding principles:
Integrity:
- Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Professionalism:
- Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:
- Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core Competencies:
Ethics and Values:
- Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.
Organizational Awareness:
- Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.
Development and Innovation:
- Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation.
Work in teams:
- Build and promote effective teams;
- Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Communication and Information Sharing:
- Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication.
Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:
- Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.
Conflict Management:
- Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
- Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:
- Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.
Functional Competencies:
- Excellent knowledge of the relevant tools such as the Women’s Empowerment Framework in their implementation and knowledge in their implementation;
- Technical competence in the thematic areas to be evaluated;
- Knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level;
- Excellent writing skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, in clear style tailored to match the audience;
- Ability to conduct gender-responsive evaluation and apply qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods;
- Deep knowledge of gender analysis and human-rights based approaches;
- Ability to design and lead evaluations;
- Data analysis skills;
- Ability to work with and/or provide advice to stakeholders;
- Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan and to carry out tasks to achieve results;
- Proven ability to work under pressure and produce outputs that are accurate, timely and of high quality;
- Capacity to organize and facilitate meetings; excellent oral and written communication;
- Self-motivated, good sense of humor combined with seriousness on quality and timeliness of work;
- Process management skills with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, team oriented work style, interest and knowledge of working in multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in public policy, political science, public administration, economics, regional planning, or other relevant field.
Experience:
- At least 10 years of experience in conducting evaluations;
- A minimum of 5 years as evaluation team leader.
- Experience in conducting gender-responsive evaluation;
- Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods;
- Experience in gender analysis and human-rights based approaches;
- A strong record in designing and leading evaluations;
- Data analysis skills;
- Excellent ability to communicate with stakeholders;
- Technical competence in the thematic areas to be evaluated;
- Process management skills, including facilitation and communication skills;
- Knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level;
- Country / regional experience in Mozambique/ Eastern Southern Africa.
Languages:
- Fluency in both English and Portuguese.