Background

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme intends to hire an international consultant in the capacity of Evaluator for the Corporate Project “A global multi-stakeholder parternship for sustainable development: Online Volunteersing and Innovation”.

Project Information

Project Title: A global multi-stakeholder parternship for sustainable development: Online Volunteersing and Innovation

Corporate outcome and output: UNV Strategic Framework 2018-2021* Outcome 2: The UN System is committed to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through the engagement of UN Volunteers and integration of volunteerism

Output 2.1 Expand opporunities for more peple to contribute to the UN’s development, peace and humanitarian efforts

Expected project outcome: Improved UN Volunteer mobilization by better delivery through responsive and innovative UN Volunteer solutions

Country:Global coroprate outreach

Date project document signed: 14 December 2015

Project dates: Start 1 December 2015 - End 31 December 2019

Projet budget: 2,755,000 USD

Project expenditure at the time of evaluation: 2,504,032 USD

Funding source: BMZ Germany, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme (Special Voluntary Fund)

Implementing Agency: United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme

 

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. We work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board.

UNV mobilizes volunteers to serve in UN agencies, both in development programmes and peacekeeping operations. Once primarily a provider of volunteers to the United Nations (UN) system in support of programme countries, UNV has evolved greatly over the past 42 years in terms of the size and spread of its mandate, results and activities, driven by the changing external environment for peace, development and the eradication of poverty, by the wider acknowledgment of the role of volunteerism globally and by intergovernmental legislation.

Executive Board decision 2006/18 confirmed UNV’s business model, leading to UNV being operational in three domains:

  • mobilizing volunteers to enable more people to be directly involved in humanitarian, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery, as well as sustainable development and poverty eradication work of the UN;
  • advocating for volunteerism and civic engagement in peace and development; and
  • pursuing the integration of volunteerism across policy, legislation and programming as well

as delivering on internationally agreed development goals.

UNV enjoys a unique global mandate to promote volunteerism for development and has done so since 1970. UNV works under a dual mandate – to mobilize volunteers for the United Nations System and to advocate for the importance of volunteerism in development worldwide.

In 2018, 7,201 people from about 160 nationalities served as UN Volunteers in about 130 countries. UNV also operates the Online Volunteering service, which connects development organizations directly with online volunteers who can provide services and advice over the internet. In 2018, 17,576 Online Volunteers undertook volunteering assignments. Volunteers contribute their skills online to help organizations address development challenges. Organizations collaborate with online volunteers over the Internet to strengthen the impact of their development work. The Online Volunteering website (www.onlinevolunteering.org) is the cornerstone of the service operation as it:

  • enables registered organizations to publish and manage their online volunteering opportunities and the volunteer applications they receive,
  • offers potential volunteers a platform to access and apply for online volunteering opportunities,
  • provides the Online Volunteering service team the necessary tools for ensuring efficient management and quality delivery (by vetting organization applications and opportunities as well as by monitoring the overall service operation), 
  • serves as a communications vehicle that enables the Online Volunteering service team to reach out to the global community of organizations and volunteers through promotion activities.

 

*Project was formulated under the previous UNV Strategic Framework (SF) 2014- 2018 with distinct SF’s outcome and output

Duties and Responsibilities

With the project coming to an end in December 2019, the Evaluation is expected to clarify and document underlying factors affecting the project results and opportunities, to highlight unintended consequences (positive and negative), and to draw broad lessons learnt. While the Evaluation is expected to draw conclusions on UNV’s Online Volunteering Service effectiveness (summative), it will also need to be prospective (formative). Namely, the Evaluation should also provide forward looking inputs regarding the services and functionalities offered by the Online Volunteering service and the capacity to operate the service. This aims at supporting UNV’s interventions at the next stage, including informing the upcoming mid-term review of UNV’s Strategic Framework (SF) 2018-2021 and the development of the next generation of the UNV SF.

The main objective of the consultancy service is to conduct an independent final evaluation and to prepare a respective evaluation report of the Online Volunteering project, outlining performance vis-à-vis outcomes and outputs as per Project Document.

The specific objectives of the final evaluation are the following:

  • Review the performance of the project in achieving the outputs as per the Project Document and their contributions to outcome level goals by providing an objective assessment of the intervention’s results, achievements, and constraints.
  • Generate lessons to inform current and future corporate strategies. Identify factors, which facilitated or hindered the results’ achievement, both in terms of the external environment and those related to internal factors. This should include but not be limited to assessing the strengths and weaknesses in different implementation stages of the project, its design, institutional arrangements, management and coordination, corporate decisions and human resource.
  • Assess the UNV Online Volunteering service’s new cost recovery model: What worked, what did not and why? By looking at both project financing (disbursements and co-financing), as well as external market dynamics, provide recommendations on cost recovery models.

Evaluation criteria and key questions

Key criteria to be addressed by the evaluation are relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the project.

To reach the overall and the specific objectives of the evaluation, the following are some exemplary key questions to be addressed:

  • Has the project strategy been appropriate to reach the intended outputs and outcomes?
  • To which extent has the project addressed cross cutting issues including gender and rights-based approach?
  • What were the project’s response mechanisms and how did it adapt to unforeseen external and internal factors?
  • Do past results and strategies represent enough foundation for future progress and success of the Online Volunteering service?
  • What is the comparative advantage and added value of the volunteering element within the project?

Methodology

During this evaluative exercise, it is suggested the consultant applies a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The following are elements of proposed data collection and analysis.

  • Desk review of relevant documents (project documents, UNV Strategic Framework, review and annual reports etc.),
  • Briefing in person with the Senior Management, Programme Unit and Executive Office
  • Remote / Online data collection and analysis, including analysis of the cost recovery model and its impact on the OV services and volunteer opportunities trends.  
  • Remote / Online discussions and interviews with the project team, project partners, representatives of involved stakeholders, Online Volunteers, host organizations and donor;
  • Remote / online debriefing sessions on findings and recommendations with the UNV Management Team.

The detailed design, including and evaluation matrix to link the evaluation criteria and questions with data collection methods and sources of data, shall be developed by the consultant during the inception phase.

 

Project Evaluation Deliverables and Timeline

Expected outputs/key deliverables / Place / Estimated days

  1. Desk review of relevant documents (project documents, UNV Strategic Framework, annual reports, etc.) / Home-based / 2 days
  2. Briefing in person with the Senior Management, Programme unit and the Executive Office / UNV HQ Bonn, Germany / 1 day
  3. Inception Report (10-15 pages) to be produced before the evaluation starts: Desk review; inception report to include methodology, survey design and a detailed interview plan / Home-based / 2 days
  4. Evaluation conducted: Comprehensive assessment, survey, expert interviews focus group consultations among key stakeholders conducted / Home based / 7 days
  5. Evaluation Debriefing on preliminary findings with UNV Senior Management, Programme Unit and Executive Office / Online / 1 day
  6. Draft Evaluation Report (30 to 40 pages including executive summary, excluding annexes): Draft evaluation report is compiled, drafted and consolidated /Home based/ 4 days
  7. Consultation/Verification/ Presentation: Electronic peer review of draft evaluation report by Senior Management, Executive Office and Programme Unit conducted  Issues/ comments log produced /Online / 5 days /1 days
  8. Final Evaluation Report (30 to 40 pages including executive summary, excluding annexes): the report is finalized including comprehensive list of recommendations by integrating all relevant comments of the electronic peer review and the MT presentation / Home based / 2 day
  9. Presentation of the Final Evaluation Report to UNV Management Team /Online / 1 day
  10. Final Evaluation, Evaluation brief and relevant knowledge products produced and available/ Home based

 

The consultancy work is expected to be completed within one month and a half from the date of contract signature. The consultant is required to prepare and submit the entire plan in a way that allows the achievements of all deliverables to be completed within one and a half month.

Evaluation Management

This evaluation is commissioned by the responsible UNV Programme Unit which is part of the Volunteer Solutions Section. UNV’s Executive Office will provide guidance and quality assurance throughout the evaluation process.

Based on the UNDP policy and guidelines for evaluations, the consultant will develop key evaluation questions and the final design and methodology of the evaluation in consultation with Programme Unit and the Executive Office.

 

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity.

Functional Competencies:

  • Knowledge of global market of online volunteering solutions, platforms and tools;
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to build trust;
  • Excellent organizational, team-building and planning skill;
  • Demonstrated ability to work effective in team, delivering through and with others.

Evaluations will be conducted in accordance with principles outlined in the UNEG “Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation” www.uneval.org/search/index.jsp?q=ethical+guidelines.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification:

  • Minimum of a master’s degree or equivalent in Management, Development Studies, International Affairs or any other relevant field.

Experience:

  • At least 8 years of work experience in evaluating programs related to international development, and/or volunteering / online solutions for volunteering;
  • Outstanding analytical and writing skills in English;
  • Experience corporate level projects evaluation is an advantage;
  • Familiarity or experience with the international voluntary sector is an advantage.

Languages:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is essential;
  • Knowledge of French or Spanish will be an advantage.

Criteria for Selection of the best Offer:
 

The selection of the best offer will be based on the combined scoring method, where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted 70 percent, and then combined with the price offer, which will be weighted 30 percent.

Key selection criteria are

  • Proposed approach and methodology (25%)
  • Proven experience monitoring, reviews and evaluation (15%)
  • Proven meta-analysis skills for evaluative exercises (15%)
  • Excellent report writing skills i.e. at corporate level (15%)  

Application procedure

Applicants have to provide a technical and financial proposal. 

The technical proposal shall consist of:

  • Motivation Letter describing their interest in the assignment and why they are the most suitable for the work;
  • Latest personal CV or P11, including past experience in similar projects and at least three references
  • A technical proposal: shall describe the methodology and the approach on how to fulfil the required deliverables as well as outline the major components of its implementation;

The financial proposal shall consist of 

PLEASE NOTE THAT INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR FURTHER EVALUATION 

Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply. Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are only able to inform the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

  • Merge your Cover Letter, CV, Technical Proposal and Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability (including the financial proposal) into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
  • Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
  • Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
  • Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
  • You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

 

Queries should be sent to : procurement@unv.org,  att Madalina Florica clearly marking: 93921_UNV Online Volunteering Services Evaluator

Applications sent by email will not be considered.