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.

UN Women’s Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section has been implementing a programme on gender-inclusive peace processes for approximately four years. The programme has been instrumental in raising the profile of one of the most intractable issues in the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda—women’s direct participation in formal, high-level peace and political processes. Widespread and deep gender-based exclusion has continued into the 21st century. With its partners, UN Women has been building political partnerships across peace tracks, pushing knowledge generation forward, making expert resources available and offering spaces to strategize and build movements towards peace at national, regional and global policy levels. Still, despite significant efforts by the UN, civil society and others, high-level peace processes remain largely stalled and women’s meaningful participation and influence at the track I level limited, hampering the likelihood of reaching durable peace agreements.

Reporting to the Policy Specialist on Inclusive Peace Processes, the Evaluation Consultant will offer an evaluation with concrete recommendations for the future. The evaluation will serve as a key driver in shaping the design of any Phase III. The evaluation will:

1. assess progress against the indicators and targets in the Programme’s results framework;

2. contribute toward designing the approach and activities for the next phase of programming, including with a view toward ensuring sustainability; and

3. provide broader analysis and input into UN Women’s positioning and priorities on women’s meaningful participation in the post-2020 era, namely in the context of the 20th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and COVID-19 response and recovery processes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Define a clear methodology for the evaluation

• Review a variety of programme documents.
• Consider how best to assess relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, using OECD DAC criteria, and a gender-responsive and human rights-based approach in compliance with UN Women evaluation guidelines.
• Seek out and incorporate relevant feedback.

Implement the evaluation methodology

• The evaluation methodology will include inter alia desk reviews, target beneficiary interviews, stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions, and other means of collecting data from individuals and groups at national, regional, and international levels.
• Organize meetings and manage any logistics for those meetings.
• Record and organize data collected.

Evaluate the programme in context

• Provide technical, constructive and contextualized assessments.
• Identify good practices, lessons learned, challenges and opportunities.
• Provide recommendations that would inform the development of any next phase of the programme. 

The specific deliverables are listed below.

1. An inception report (5 to 7 pages) which contains evaluation objectives and scope, description of evaluation methodology/methodological approach, data collection tools, data analysis methods, key informants/agencies, evaluation questions, performance criteria, issues to be studied, work plan and reporting requirements. It should include a clear evaluation matrix linking all these aspects. 
2. PowerPoint file and online presentation summarizing evaluation findings. Feedback provided should inform the subsequent draft report.
3. Draft evaluation report (10-20 pages). Feedback will be provided.
4. Final evaluation report, which will be structured as follows:

- Executive summary

- Short Programme description

- Evaluation purpose

- Evaluation methodology

- Findings

- Lessons learnt

- Recommendations

- Annexes, which should include an interview list without identifying names, data collection instruments, key documents consulted, terms of reference

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, including evaluation design, data collection, and analysis.
• Strong ability to synthesize and write analytical reports.
• Process management skills, such as facilitation skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including on politically sensitive subject matters, and the ability to engage with various partners.

Required Skills and Experience