The COVID-19 crisis continues to have a significant impact on people’s lives – in terms of jobs, livelihoods, delivery of basic services – and particularly for those already in vulnerable situations, who have been hit the hardest.

The speed and scale of the spread, the severity of cases, and the societal and economic disruption is dramatic for all citizens. At the same time, gaps in institutional set-up, effectiveness and capacities are exposed. The inadequacy of the system has become more evident with the sharp increase of social vulnerability because of the pandemic.

The Social Assistance Scheme (SAS) in Kosovo absorbs approximately 88% of the budget for social assistance with the relative total spending on SAS declining over the last decade. The pandemic has exposed a series of gaps in the governance system which has affected the work of institutions and service delivery not least in provision of social services; it has directly affected the work of Centers for Social Work (CSWs) as they are also engaged in other activities to help citizens. Social workers, like much health professionals, are concerned about the impact of the pandemics on their well-being, the people to whom they provide services, their families, and others in the community.

To address some of these issues, the ‘Response to COVID-19 Emergency and Early Recovery Support’, financed by EU Office in Kosovo and implemented by UNDP, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Labour, and Transfers/Department for Social Policies and Family Planning enhanced the provision of social services by CSWs and improved access to equitable, qualitative, integrated social protection for the most vulnerable groups, including women and girls.

As such, the HAP project was designed to support Kosovo’s efforts to respond to COVID-19 emergency and early recovery focusing on:

• Output One (1): improving the socio-economic support system for the most vulnerable groups. It addresses governance issues aiming to improve operational and procedural aspects, such as timelines of processes, accuracy, follow-up on cases, verification, and provision of adequate support, in close coordination with the Department of Social Policies and Families (DSPF), Ministry of Finance, Labor, and Transfers (MFLT), and the CSWs.

• Output Two (2): strengthening front-line response services to mitigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. It contributes to an improved work environment for women and men, and the implementation of basic health and safety measures for front-line workers, ensure the continuity of service delivery from residential centers, provide a range of services which are not part of social services, and promote change in attitudes toward gender discrimination practices.

The primary target group are people and individuals living in poverty or at risk of socio-economic marginalization; who will be further stratified to include single mothers/women heads of households, minority communities particularly Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, women victims of or at risk of gender-based violence, abuse, or domestic violence; people living in remote rural areas who experience difficulties to access social facilities and services.

As the project entered its final stage of implementation, the project will hire an International Evaluation Consultant to conduct a final project evaluation to assess the overall progress towards the expected results and provide recommendations for future similar interventions.

Objectives of Assignment

To assess the overall achievement of the project in terms of its relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, and provide recommendations for future interventions in this sector. The scope of the evaluation of the project should look both into the outcome-level results as well as the output-level results as key indicators of the overall project performance.

• Conduct a desk review of project-related documents and UNDP evaluation policies and based on this information draft and submit an inception report with appropriate methodology to be applied during the evaluation, as well as the work plan and any technical instruments to be used during the assignment, while being guided by the set of evaluation questions as presented below;
• Conduct on-site field visits, meetings, discussions, and interviews with relevant stakeholders and project beneficiaries in Kosovo which include, but are not limited to: Ministry of Finance, Labor, and Transfers/Department for Social Policies and Family Planning, Centres for Social Welfare (CSW), the EU Office in Kosovo, UNDP’s partners, NGOs and other stakeholders. The Evaluator is expected to share the list of interviews to be conducted beforehand, and receive feedback and clearance from UNDP;
• Hold a debriefing workshop at the end of the mission with main stakeholders to summarize initial findings and recommendations;
• Based on the inception report and on the feedback received during the debriefing workshop, draft a final evaluation report containing the methodology applied, a presentation of findings and clear strategic recommendations to the UNDP and its partners for future interventions. These recommendations should contain specifically to whom of each of the partners of the project they are addressed;

The final evaluation report should include the elements outlined below:

• Title and opening pages
• Table of contents
• List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Executive summary, including a summary of recommendations
• Introduction
• Description of the intervention
• Evaluation scope and objectives
• Evaluation methodology
• Data analysis
• Findings and conclusions 
• Recommendations  
• Report annexes

• Finalize the final evaluation report, accounting for UNDP feedback on the first draft.

The following evaluation criteria are to be used as per the UNDP methodology, and related evaluation questions are proposed for the evaluation process; however, these can be expanded, prioritized, and modified by the evaluator during the inception phase in consultation with UNDP.

Evaluation questions:

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Remuneration - Lump Sum Amount:

The Contract is based on lump sum remuneration and shall be processed subject to completion and validation of deliverables as per below schedule:  

• Draft Final Evaluation report received: 70% of the total amount of the contract
• Final version of the Final Evaluation report received and validated: 30% of the total amount of the contract

Required Presentation of Offer: 

The following documents are requested:

• Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Offeror and at least three (3) professional references;
• Technical proposal, a max. 3-page document briefly outlining the methodology envisaged for the assignment for delivering the expected results within the indicated timeframe
• Financial proposal, that indicates lump sum payment based on deliverables 
• Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport

Criteria for selection of the Best Offer

Offers will be evaluated utilizing a combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and technical proposal will be weighted a max. of 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Corporate Competencies :

• Committed to highest regards of professionalism, impartiality, accountability, transparency, ethics, and integrity;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, ethnicity, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates substantial experience in gender equality and social inclusion.
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to work effectively within a team and develop good relationships with counterparts and stakeholders;
• Ability to synthesise research and draw conclusion on the related subjects;
• Ability to pay attention to details;
• Demonstrates transparency and provides feedback to all those who will contribute to the evaluation;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment;
• Commitment to accomplish work;
• Responds positively to critical feedback;
• Results and task oriented.

Education:

• Master’s degree in social sciences, economics, international development.

Experience:

• At least 5 years international experience in conducting evaluations of development and/or humanitarian aid & emergency programmes and projects;
• Knowledge and familiarity with the Kosovo socio-economic and political context is a distinct advantage;
• Strong working knowledge of UNDP and its mandate is a distinct advantage;
• Knowledge of results-based management evaluation, as well as participatory M&E methodologies and approaches;
• Excellent communication skills with various partners including donors;

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is required, knowledge of Albanian and Serbian languages is considered an asset.

Application Instructions:

• Click on the "Apply now" button.
• Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box.
• Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume.
• System will only allow one attachment. All docs (CV; P11; financial offer; list of similar profiles should be included as one attachment).
• Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.