UNDP Jobs - 4925- Consultant for Impact Assessment

Consultant for Impact Assessment

Location :

Pristina, Kosovo, UNSCR 1244 (1999)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

09-Jun-2008

Application Deadline :

31-May-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Duration of Initial Contract :

7 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Kosovo conflict in 1999 resulted is mass movements of populations. Many of the approximately 800,000 ethnic Albanians who had fled oppression returned after the NATO intervention, but this in turn resulted in the exodus of approximately 220,000 non-Albanians.

Equal rights and opportunities for all communities are central to a peaceful resolution of Kosovo Status. Since 2003, the Kosovo Government has provided over 20 Mill. Euro to facilitate the return of displaced people. The Sustainable Partnerships for Assistance to Minority Returns in Kosovo (SPARK) project provides housing and socio-economic assistance to returnees, and supports improvements of basic services in their community.

SPARK is managed by the UNDP. It has two strands: One supports individual returns (individual displaced families who have decided spontaneously to return to their place of origin), which constitutes an estimated 70% of all returns. The other supports larger organised and group returns. The UK has co-funded the SPARK Individual Returns facility with the Government of Kosovo since October 2006, providing £1.5 Million to the project.

As of March 2007, 94 houses had been completed with UK support and preparatory work for reconstructing a further 39 houses was underway. 110 household had received income-generation grants. In five municipalities, returnees had agreed in collaboration with local Government, which health facilities and schools or community development projects (14 in total) would receive in-kind support and what the money would be spent on.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultants will analyze the changes (negative and positive, intended and unintended) that the Returns facility has brought about in the lives of returnees and the community, including:

Access to sustainable housing: Are the standards of the house adequate to the needs of the beneficiaries; are houses connected to utilities network (water, electricity); do families have all supporting legal / property documentation? Have families indeed moved into and remained in the reconstructed houses; is there evidence that families are feeling settled and have no desire to move or sell their house in the short-term?

Socio-Economic impact: is there evidence that beneficiaries have increased access to resources / assets (material and non material); what use have they made of equipment provided through ‘income generation grants’? To what extent has this equipment indeed enabled recipients to generate income (and if not, what other sources of income do they rely on)? Have returning families been able to enroll their children into school and have access to health facilities?

Community impact: have the community grants benefited the wider community; is the material still there, is it being used, is it generally recognised that the material is a grant related to support to minority returnees

Security impact: do returning families feel safe in their communities and free to move around? What is the attitude of host communities (neighbours, in particular) towards returnees? Have there been inter-ethnic incidents?Impact on perceptions of Government and other stakeholders: with whom (Central Government, municipalities, implementing NGOs, UNMIK, UNDP, other donors) do beneficiaries mostly associate the support provided under SPARK? Are they aware that a large proportion of the assistance received comes from Government? Are they aware of the role of municipal Government in the process? Is there evidence and or a potential for abuse of the facility?

Impact on Government systems: To what extent are municipal returns officers playing an increasing role in referring cases for assistance, screening, informing potential beneficiaries? How much has capacity of staff at Ministries of Communities and Returns increased? What are the prospects for the management of the Returns programme to be transferred to the Government?

Value for money.

For each of the first four dimensions, the assessment should examine, where possible, whether impacts differ significantly from one minority to the other, and between female and male-headed households.

Competencies

Objectives

The objective of the assignment is to assess the contribution of these outputs to the project’s purpose (to “provide essential support to all Kosovo Displaced Persons wishing to exercise their right of return in a sustainable manner and have equal access to all opportunities similar to those of the majority communities where they are returning to”), and the broader impact of the assistance provided under SPARK on the lives of returnees.

Recipient

The Kosovo Government (Ministry for Communities and Returns), UNDP and British Embassy Pristina.

Method

The methodology will combine a review of SPARK project documents, interviews with Government (Ministry of Communities and Returns), SPARK team, UNMIK’s Office of Communities, Returns and Minorities Affairs, UNHCR (Headquarters, Regional UNHCR offices and UNHCR’s Lead Agency Partners), implementing NGOs and with municipal authorities (e.g. Municipal Returns Officers, Municipal Community Officers, etc.) and to meet returning families using Development Assistance Criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability).

Reporting

The consultant will send the draft brief report (25 pages max) to UNDP and the British Embassy Pristina within 2 weeks of the visit in country being completed. The report should include Executive Summary, Introduction, Findings and Recommendations, Conclusions. UNDP and the British Embassy will make final comments within one week, after which the report will be shared with other recipient partners.

Input

One international consultant for 7 days.

Logistical support will be provided by UNDP SPARK.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualification in field of social sciences or other related disciplines;
Minimum 5-7 years experience in dealing with post-conflict recovery scenarios, humanitarian/development work and/or poverty reduction strategies;
Experience in conducting analyses and impact assessments and experience in project monitoring as well as preparation of assessment reports required;
Experience in working with internally displaced person and their plight in a post war situation and field experience is preferred;
Experience in the Western Balkans in Relief to Development planning as well as in the formulation of recovery strategies are an asset;
Excellent English, knowledge of local languages is anasset for the international post and a requirement for the local position.