UNDP Jobs - 68726- Outcome Evaluation Consultant: Inclusive Governanc

Outcome Evaluation Consultant: Inclusive Governance & Public Institution

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

24-Oct-2016

Application Deadline :

06-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

22 days over 6 weeks

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

22 days over 6 weeks

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 Country Programme Document (CPD) for Liberia (2013-2017) was formally adopted by the Executive Board in January 2013, signalling the formal start of a new programme cycle. The CPD was anchored on three major programme pillars, namely: i) Inclusive Governance and Public Institutions, ii) Justice, Security and Reconciliation and iii) Sustainable Economic Transformation.
Within the Inclusive Governance pillar , UNDP support has focused on four linked elements that reinforce the basic foundations of governance while targeting a substantially expanded role for women in each area of engagement, in particular their participation in positions of authority and decision-making at the national and local levels. These four elements include (a) the continued development of capabilities (knowledge, skills, systems, procedures, targeted actions) for managing the electoral cycle, with emphasis on elections management, civic and voter education, gender equality, participation of women and youth, prevention of violence and monitoring of electoral processes; (b) implementation of the Legislature’s Modernization Plan aimed at improving core functions of oversight and outreach, based on effective internal structures, systems, skills and resources; (c) transparent and accountable management of public resources, specifically follow-through on the agreed national anti-corruption policy and strategy, based on a more capable and empowered LACC and GAC, as well as development of the media, women’s groups and other civil society organizations to perform a “watchdog” role, focusing on their ability to design, fund and manage monitoring and analytic work and advocacy and social mobilization initiatives; and (d) preparation of an implementation road map for the Decentralization Policy and its progressive roll-out across the country to develop basic functions of consultation, planning, budgeting, monitoring and feedback.
UNDP’s governance programmes support national government priorities as defined under the Agenda for Transformation (AfT) 2013 – 2017 and the Liberia Vision 2030. UNDP partners with the Government of Liberia, with other development partners and civil society, to support the implementation of governance and institutional capacity priorities. The UNDP Democratic Governance Unit, provides programme and project support to various institutions and line ministries. UNDP acts as the lead agency in the area of governance within the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

Evaluation Purpose

UNDP commissions outcome evaluations to capture and demonstrate evaluative evidence of its contributions to development results at the country level as articulated in both the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and UNDP country programme document (CPD). These are evaluations carried out within the overall provisions contained in the UNDP Evaluation Policy. In line with the Evaluation Plan of UNDP Liberia, outcome evaluations were to have been conducted in 2014 to assess the impact of UNDP’s development assistance across the major thematic and cross cutting areas of good governance, sustainable economic transformation and justice, peace and security outcomes. Due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the sub-region, these evaluations had to be postponed.
The UNDP Office in Liberia is commissioning this evaluation on good governance to capture evaluative evidence of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of current programming, which can be used to strengthen existing programmes and to set the stage for new initiatives. The evaluations serves an important accountability function, providing national stakeholders and partners in Liberia with an impartial assessment of the results of UNDP governance support. The evaluation will also provide perspective on the changing post-EVD landscape and priorities. Coming close on the heels of the just completed AfT, UNDAF and CPD reviews it will also provide Country Officers with insights as relates for needs for strategic re-alignments and prioritization with a specific focus within its governance sphere of work.

Duties and Responsibilities

Evaluation Scope

The outcome evaluation will be conducted during the months of June and July 2016, with a view to enhancing programmes while providing strategic direction and inputs to the preparation of the next UNDP country programme and the next UNDAF, both scheduled to start in 2017.
Specifically, the outcome evaluation will assess:

The relevance and strategic positioning of UNDP support to Liberia on good governance.
The frameworks and strategies that UNDP has devised for its support on good governance, including partnership strategies, and whether they are well conceived for achieving planned objectives.
The progress made towards achieving governance outcomes, through specific projects and advisory services, and including contributing factors and constraints.
The progress to date under these outcomes and what can be derived in terms of lessons learned for future UNDP governance support to Liberia.

The evaluation will consider the pertinent country programme outcomes and outputs focused towards good governance, as stated in the UNDAF and the 2013-2017 country programme document (CPD) for Liberia. The specific outcomes under the UNDP CPD are to be assessed relates to UNDAF and country programme Outcome #4: Liberian governance systems strengthened to ensure consolidation of peace and stability supported by effective and well-functioning institutions that foster inclusive participation of stakeholders, especially women and youth, with enhanced service delivery at local levels
As described in Annex A, the UNDP Liberia country office has implemented 4 programmes that reside within this outcome. An analysis of achievements across all 4 programmes is expected.

The Consultant will have overall responsibility for the quality and timely submission of the draft and final evaluation report. Specifically, s/he will perform the following tasks:

Lead and manage the evaluation mission;
Develop the inception report, detailing the evaluation scope, methodology and approach;
Conduct the project evaluation in accordance with the proposed objective and scope of the evaluation and UNDP evaluation guidelines;
Manage the team during the evaluation mission, and liaise with UNDP on travel and interview schedules’
Draft and present the draft and final evaluation reports;
Lead the presentation of draft findings in the stakeholder workshop;
Finalize the evaluation report and submit it to UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance and democratization;
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships while representing UNDP views;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.
Excellent presentation skills.
Excellent drafting and analytical skills
Excellent reporting and communication skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Master’s degree in economics, political science, public administration, regional development/planning, or other social science;

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of professional experience in public sector development, including in the areas of democratic governance, regional development, gender equality and social services.
At least 5 years of experience in conducting evaluations of government and international aid organisations, preferably with direct experience with civil service capacity building;
Strong working knowledge of the UN and its mandate in Liberia, and more specifically the work of UNDP in support of government and civil society in Liberia;
Sound knowledge of results-based management systems, and monitoring and evaluation methodologies; including experience in applying SMART (S Specific; M Measurable; A Achievable; R Relevant; T Time-bound) indicators;

Language:

Excellent ability to communicate clearly in written and spoken English;
Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.

Evaluation criteria:
Shortlisting:

Relevant diploma – 4 points;
Years of Relevant Experience – 6 points

Only shortlisted candidates will be forwarded the UNDP Procurement Notice.

Desk review

Proposed Methodology - 30 points;
Years & relevance of experience- 50 points.
Adequacy of skills & competencies - 20 points.

To be qualified candidate should obtain minimum 70% of the total 70 points.

Contract Award

Contract will be awarded to highest scored candidate (technical score + financial scores)/100
Rating will be as follow:

Rating the Technical Proposal (TP):
TP Rating = (Total Score Obtained by the Offer / Max. Obtainable Score for TP) x 100

Rating the Financial Proposal (FP):
FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 100

Total Combined Score:
(TP rating) x (Weight of TP, e.g. 70%) + (FP Rating) x (Weight of FP, e.g., 30%)
Total Combined and Final Rating of the Proposal: The higher combined score will be recommended.

Submission of proposals:

Proposals should be submitted at the following address: by email to bids.lr@undp.org (Please include job ad number & Title in the subject area) by Thursday, 6 October 2016.