Background

I. BACKGROUND:

South Sudan continues to face acute challenges: fractured politics, weak institutions, underdevelopment, and a complex humanitarian crisis resulting from a brutal civil conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people, mostly women and children since December 2013 (ICF: 2016). The economy of South Sudan is one of the world's weakest and most underdeveloped, with South Sudan having little existing infrastructure and the highest maternal mortality and female illiteracy rates in the world as of 2011. The government of South Sudan derives the vast majority of its budget revenues from oil but production has declined due to intermittent conflict, resulting in a devastating impact on the GDP. Poverty and food security rose at an unprecedented level, disproportionately affect women and girls. The country is currently burdened by considerable debt because of increased military spending despite the revenue shortfalls due to low oil prices and decreased production. The economy is experiencing a sustained period of three-digit inflation estimated at 670% in Mid-2017 (World Bank, 2017) compared to the government estimate of 380%. The situation has contributed to the untold suffering of South Sudanese, of which the vast majority are women.

Nearly four years since the outbreak of the violent conflict in South Sudan, the humanitarian crisis in the country has deepened and spread, affecting people in areas previously considered stable and exhausting the coping capacity of those already impacted. More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict began in December 2013, including nearly 1.9 million people who have been internally displaced1 (with 50 percent estimated to be children2) and more than 1.2 million who have fled as refugees to neighboring countries, bringing the total number of South Sudanese refugees in the region to about 2.0 million. While the protracted conflict affects all populations, women are particularly vulnerable due to limitations on their mobility, shrinking safe and secure space, rights abuses and the burden of caring for children and other family members. The crisis has left most women economically and physically vulnerable by limiting their access to livelihoods opportunities, health, and educational services as well as being subjected to rape and other forms of gender-based violence

South Sudan social indicators remain among the worst in the world. Literacy rate stands at 40% for men and 16% for women over 15 years of age. The continuous conflict, poverty and discriminatory cultural norms that privileges boy-child education over girl-child education are among the many causes of low literacy level. Meanwhile, girls are forced into marriage at a very early age.

South Sudan women’s participation in politics and in peacebuilding is minimal despite the 25% affirmative action on women political participation. Women’s historical exclusion in politics hinders their advancement thus widening the gender disparity in the political sphere. One constant, salient aspect of the volatile situation in South Sudan is the exclusion of women from the conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and state building processes. Women were, and remain, underrepresented in the current government and in the internationally brokered high level peace negotiations hosted in Addis Ababa.

As a result of conflict, political prioritization for people of South Sudan, international community and the UN is on the implementation of the 2015 Peace Agreement, which prioritizes transitional government and a power sharing arrangement, reform/establishment of specific institutions on transitional justice and humanitarian support (Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, Hybrid Court, Special Reconstruction Fund) and reforms of sectors that are driving the conflict (security sector, resource allocation and management).  

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME:

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the UN, UN Women 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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The current UN Women South Sudan Strategic Note (2014 – 2016) was to end in December 2016 but was extended until end of 2018 to align with the UN Interim Cooperation Framework.  The initial programme design for 2017 was to align the Country Office interventions to the implementation of the Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS), still focusing on the four priority areas i) Women’s leadership and participation in decision making ii) Women’s Economic Empowerment, iii) Prevention of violence against women and girls and iv) Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action.

Through the generous contribution of the Government of Japan, UN Women South Sudan initiated a two-year (April 2015 to March 2017) humanitarian assistance project “Responding to emergency needs of displaced women and host communities impacted by conflict in four IDP Camps in South Sudan”. The programme was a continuation and expansion of UN Women’s eight-month pilot- humanitarian response programme which was started in 2014; and contributed to the realization of the South Sudan Strategic Humanitarian Response Plan focusing specifically on filling critical gender gaps in the ongoing humanitarian response activities in South Sudan. Having delivered tangible results during the two year programme, the Government of Japan approved a one year project “Enhancing the resilience of conflict affected women and their participation in peacebuilding and reconciliation in South Sudan as a means to consolidating gains made during the previous programme. The project ends on March 31, 2018.

The Japanese-funded interventions has contributed to improvements in the lives about 15,000 direct IDPs and host community beneficiaries (80% women and girls) and over 100,000 indirect beneficiaries through integrated support for (i) livelihood/resilience building: provision of productive assets, resources and technologies, vocational/income generation skills training, numeracy and literacy education and training in basic computer literacy skills; (ii) GBV prevention and mitigation; (iii) gender mainstreaming capacity strengthening of humanitarian coordination system and ensuring that humanitarian actors are adhering to gender equality commitments in programming and iv) community based approaches to peacebuilding and reconciliation.

The humanitarian assistance programme contributes to UN Women’s South Sudan Strategic Note 2014 – 2018, UN Women’s Strategic Plan (2014 – 2017) specifically Impact area 4 - Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action and UN Women’s Global Humanitarian Strategy. The Humanitarian Strategy defines UN Women’s key role in humanitarian action as one of coordination and leadership, providing technical expertise, capacity building and ensuring an evidence based response and advocacy.

With three years of funding from the Government of Japan totaling US$4.5 million, the importance of assessing the impact of the supported interventions on the beneficiaries, their communities and relevant national institutions cannot be over emphasized. It is against this backdrop that the Final Evaluation is being implemented. 

III. PURPOSE AND USE OF THE EVALUATION:

Aligned with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System, the evaluation has an explicit focus on utility. The primary intended users of the evaluation are: i) Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, ii) Ministry of Gender, Child and Welfare, iii) County Authorities iv) NGOs implementing partners, v) Relevant UN agencies vi) UN Women at country, regional and HQ level, vii) the Government of Japan and viii) UN Women current and potential donors.

In line with UN Women Evaluation Policy, the final evaluation report together with the UN Women management response will be disclosed publicly on the UNW GATE system and used as basis for changes in Programme design and implementation strategies, up-scaling or replicating of interventions and providing evidence to inform UN Women humanitarian strategy. The evaluation is also expected to generate lessons learned about efficiency and effectiveness of UN Women support, processes and management. The evaluation will provide forward looking recommendations for effective planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of the Country Office strategies, support and activities. The lessons identified will also feed into the UN Women future planning in South Sudan and the global strategy for women’s empowerment and gender equality promotion in fragile countries. 

Duties and Responsibilities

IV. OBJECTIVES (EVALUATION CRITERIA AND KEY QUESTIONS):

The specific objectives of the evaluation are:

1. To take stock of programme achievements, challenges and opportunities for scaling up;

2. To assess the continued relevance of the programme;

3. To assess the programme design, objectives, strategies and implementation arrangements incl. proposed plans for sustainability;

4. To assess the extent to which UN Women played its role in the programme as the lead in gender equality and women empowerment in South Sudan;

5. To analyse how human rights approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the design and implementation of the Humanitarian Assistance Programme.

The evaluation will apply four OECD/DAC evaluation criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability) and Human Rights and Gender Equality as an additional criterion. The evaluation will seek to answer the following key evaluation questions and sub-questions:

Design and implementation of the HAP: Does the HAP have a clear theory of change/logic model? Overall, is the results framework SMART, clear and logical? Are the formulated outputs and outcomes clear and realistic? Are they measurable and do they respond to the needs identified? Do all results have sufficient, clearly defined and measurable indicators? Does baseline information exist, or what are the provisions to generate baseline information? Does the HAP have an M&E Framework with tools?

Relevance: To what extent are the programme results consistent with beneficiary requirements that is,  promoting resilience, self-reliance, peaceful co-existence, empowering women and promoting gender equality; Has the programme addressed the relevant needs in the target areas? Have new, more relevant needs emerged that the programme should address? Have the stakeholders taken ownership of the programme concept? 

Efficiency: Were resources been used efficiently? Were the programme activities been cost -effective? Were programme funds and activities delivered in a timely manner? If not, what were the bottlenecks encountered? Are there sufficient resources (financial, time, people) allocated to integrate human rights and gender equality in programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation?

Effectiveness: Did the programme achieve its planned results in a timely manner? How have stakeholders been involved in programme implementation? Are the beneficiaries satisfied with the programme and the results achieved? Do the benefits accrue equally to men and women? 

Sustainability: Does the HAP design include an appropriate sustainability and exit strategy (including promoting national/local ownership, use of national capacity, etc.) to support positive changes in human rights

Coordination: Did UN Women maintain its role as lead agency in gender equality and women empowerment throughout the implementation of the HAP? What mechanisms were used by UN Women? What lessons were learned if any?

Human Rights and Gender Equality: What contribution did the HAP make to implementing global norms and standards for gender equality and the empowerment of women? To what extent did the HAP change the dynamics of power in relationships between different groups? Was the HAP implemented according to human rights and development effectiveness principles: Participation/empowerment; Inclusion/non-discrimination; National accountability/transparency? 

V. SCOPE:

The Evaluation Team will:

• Assess progress made towards the achievement of results at the outcome and output levels for the programme;
• Assess the extent to which gender was being adequately addressed in the interventions and if not, establish the reasons for not addressing gender issues and suggest appropriate remedial measures;
• Assess whether the programme has been appropriate and effective including the range and quality of partnerships and collaboration;
• Determine if the programme results contribute to UN Women’s overall goals of advancing gender equality and empowerment of Women;
• Assess the reasonability of the relationship between programme costs and results;
• Assess performance of the HAP in terms of the relevance of results, sustainability, shared responsibility and accountability, appropriateness of design, resource allocation, and informed and timely action; 
• Identify lessons learned and provide recommendations for scaling up the HAP and for UN Women future humanitarian programming.

VI. EVALUATION DESIGN:

The evaluation would be undertaken according to UN Women Evaluation Policy (http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2012/10/evaluation-policy-of-the-united-nations-entity-for-gender-equality-and-the-empowerment-of-women  and United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System. The evaluation will follow a gender and human rights responsive evaluation approach with standards provided in UNEG Guidance “Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations” and Evaluation Handbook “How to manage gender-responsive evaluation”.  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.

The evaluation will utilize a wide range of data sources including secondary document review and analysis, key informant interviews, group interviews and observations. The evaluation will use participatory methods to ensure that all stakeholders are consulted as part of the evaluation process and a plan for inclusion of women and individuals and groups who are vulnerable and/or discriminated against in the consultation process. Efforts should be made to ensure data collection and analysis are sex and age-disaggregated where possible. 

VII. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION:

Stakeholder participation is fundamental to UN Women programme evaluations and is an integral component of evaluation design and planning; information collection; the development of findings; evaluation reporting; and results dissemination.

The evaluators are expected to discuss during the Inception Workshop how the process will ensure participation of stakeholders at all stages, with a particular emphasis on rights holders and their representatives:

1. Design (inception workshop);

2. Consultation of stakeholders;

3. Stakeholders as data collectors;

4. Interpretation;

5. Reporting and use.

VIII. TIMEFRAME AND DELIVERABLES:

The Consultants (International Evaluation Expert-Team Leader and National Counterpart) will be engaged under the Special Service Agreement (SSA), for 45 working days each during the period March 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018.

This evaluation is expected to produce:

1. Inception report;

2. Draft Evaluation Report;

3. Final Evaluation Report: The Consultant will submit a final evaluation report which should contain but not limited to the following;

• Title page (1 page);
• Table of Contents (1 page);
• Acronyms (1 page);
• Executive Summary (2 pages);
• Background and Programme Description (2-3 pages);
• Purpose of Evaluation (1 page);
• Evaluation Objectives and Scope;
• Evaluation Methodology (1 page);
• Findings, Analysis, Conclusions, and Recommendations (no more than 20 pages);
• Lessons learned (1-2 pages);
• Annexes: including the terms of reference, evaluation work-plan, documents consulted, lists of institutions interviewed or consulted and sites visited (without direct reference to individuals), analytical results and methodology related documentation, such as evaluation matrix, list of findings and recommendations.

IX. MANAGEMENT OF THE EVALUATION:

The evaluation will have the following management structures:

1. Country Office Evaluation Manager and Regional Evaluation Specialist for coordination and day-to-day management;
2. Evaluation Management Group (EMG) for administrative support and accountability: Country Representative or Deputy Country Representative, Evaluation Manager, Regional Evaluation Specialist;
3. Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) of up to 15 persons for substantive technical support: UN Women programme staff, National government partners, Development partners/donors, UNCT representatives, Civil Society partners.

Evaluation team (International and National Consultants)

1. To avoid conflict of interest and undue pressure, the members of the evaluation team need to be independent, implying that they must not have been directly responsible for the design, or overall management of the subject of the evaluation, nor expect to be in the near future;

2. Evaluators must have no vested interest and must have the full freedom to conduct their evaluative work impartially. They must be able to express their opinion in a free manner;

3. The evaluation team prepares all evaluation reports, which should reflect an agreed- upon evaluation approach and design from the perspective of the evaluation team, the Country Office Evaluation Manager and Regional Evaluation Specialist.

Country Office Evaluation Manager:

1. Consults partners regarding the evaluation and the proposed schedule for data collection;

2. Ensures the stakeholders identified through the stakeholder analysis are being included, in particular the most vulnerable or difficult to reach, and manages logistics for the field mission;

3. Coordinates timely compilation of background documents for the desk review;

4. Arranges for evaluation inception workshop and debriefing workshop with the Evaluation Management group and Evaluation Reference group;

5. Conducts a preliminary assessment of the quality of draft reports, provides substantive comments on the draft reports, coordinates feedback from the Regional Evaluation Specialist, Management and Reference groups;

6. Initiates timely payment of the evaluation team;

7. Maintains an audit trail of comments on the evaluation products so that there is transparency in how the evaluation team is responding to the comments.

Evaluation Management and Reference Groups (including the Regional Evaluation Specialist):

1. Provide substantive comments on Terms of Reference, Inception and draft evaluation report;

2. Actively engages in evaluation inception workshop and debriefing workshop;

3. Ensures timely development of management response to evaluation recommendations.

X. EVALUATION TEAM COMPOSITION:

The Evaluation Team will comprise of 2 Consultants (One female and One male), 1 International Expert who will serve as Evaluation Team Leader and 1 National counterpart. The Consultants will be engaged under the Special Service Agreement (SSA), for a total number of 45 working days each during the period March 01, 2018 to May 31, 2018.

The International Evaluation Expert-Team Leader must show proof of the following:

1. Documented previous experience in conducting gender-responsive evaluations;

2. A strong record in designing and leading evaluations, extensive experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods incl. data analysis skills;

3. Proven knowledge and experience with theory-based evaluation designs;

4. Knowledge of international normative standards on women’s rights and gender mainstreaming processes;

5. Technical competence in the thematic areas to be evaluated;

6. Knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level;

7. Excellent ability to communicate with stakeholders incl. process management and facilitation skills;

8. Language proficiency in English;

9. Country or regional experience in Eastern and Southern Africa incl. fragile state experience.

Competencies

XI. ETHICAL CODE OF CONDUCT:

UN Women has developed the UN Women Evaluation Consultants Agreement Form for evaluators that must be signed as part of the contracting process, which is based on the UNEG Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct. To ensure the credibility and integrity of the evaluation process and following UNEG Ethical Guidelines, the consultants will be required to sign the Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the UN system. The signed copies of the UN Women Evaluation Consultants Agreement Form and the UNEG Code of Conduct will be annexed to the consultants’ contracts.

Additionally, if the evaluator(s) identify issues of wrongdoing, fraud or other unethical conduct, UN Women procedures must be followed and confidentiality be maintained. The UN Women Legal Framework for Addressing Non-Compliance with UN Standards of Conduct, and accompanying policies protecting against retaliation and prohibiting harassment and abuse of authority, provide a cohesive framework aimed at creating and maintaining a harmonious working environment, ensuring that staff members do not engage in any wrongdoing and that all allegations of wrongdoing are reported promptly, investigated and appropriate action taken to achieve accountability. The UN Women Legal Framework for Addressing Non-Compliance with UN Standards of Conduct defines misconduct and the mechanisms within UN Women for reporting and investigating. More information can be provided by UN Women if required.

Required Skills and Experience

XII. RECRUITMENT QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Science, Development Studies, Gender Studies, or equivalent.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in conducting evaluations with minimum of 5 years as Evaluation Team Leader;
• Proven experience in conducting evaluation of Humanitarian Assistance Programmes;
• A reliable and effective evaluation manager with extensive experience in conducting evaluations and a proven record delivering professional results;
• Fully acquainted with UN results-based management orientation and practices;
• Statistical and analytical skills;
• Experience in the conduct of quantitative and qualitative research;
• Excellent communications skills both written and spoken;
• Experience in organizing and facilitating stakeholders’ consultations;
• A proficient practitioner in gender equality and women empowerment;
• Experience in country, the region or conducting similar work in a post-conflict setting is an added advantage.

Language: Fluency in English

Evaluation of Applicants:

Applicants will be evaluated and shortlisted based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications, technical and financial proposal. Shortlisted candidates will be requested to take a short oral interview as part of the final selection process.

The award of the contract would be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: i) Responsive/compliant/acceptable; ii) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. The weights are as follows:

* Technical Criteria weight; 70%

* Financial Criteria weight; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Shortlisted candidates will be requested to take a short oral interview as part of the final selection process.

Duration and remuneration:

The duration of the contract is expected to be from March 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018 with estimated number of approximately 45 working days. The payment will be made by UN Women are as follows:

• 25% of total payment upon submission of Inception Report;
• 35% upon delivery of draft evaluation report;
• 40% upon delivery of final evaluation report.

Application procedure:

Interested candidates are requested to apply online no later than November 30, 2017, and to submit:

• Letter of interest for the position;
• Personal CV including past experience and contact details of 3 referees (please follow the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) format available at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment );
• Technical proposal including activity plan with timelines and key tasks to be accomplished;
• Financial proposal, specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily fee, number of anticipated working days, and/or any other possible costs).

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period.

UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

UN WOMEN 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.