Historique

1.1 Introduction

In 2015, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Zimbabwe Country Office (CO) developed a strategic note (SN) 2016-2020. The SN is a forward-looking programmatic document that translates the UN-Women 2014-2017 and 2018 -2021 Strategic Plans to the country or regional level and adapts it to the country/ regional context and priorities, including the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF) 2016-2020 (further extended to 2021). The SN is grounded in the standards, principles and obligations of the Convention on the Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), Concluding Observations of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Security Council (SC) Resolution 1325, and the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030).

The SN 2016-2020/21 outlines the overall strategic plan of action for the UN Women Zimbabwe CO which comprises of a Development Results Framework (DRF) and an Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework (OEEF) including expected results and targets/ indicators/ baselines. The UN Women Zimbabwe SN was formulated in alignment with the ZUNDAF. In 2019 UNCT agreed to extend the current ZUNDAF 2016-2020 to 2021. This was approved by the Government of Zimbabwe, which led to the extension of UN Women’s SN to 2021. The SN extension enabled the CO to review its programming based on emerging opportunities for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country within the 2030 Agenda framework, the UN Reforms and priorities for the Government of Zimbabwe as articulated in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), as well as the new National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 2021-2025).

In this regard, the Country Office plans to commission an end of cycle evaluation (Country Portfolio Evaluation for the SN (2016-2021). This country portfolio evaluation (CPE) serves as a learning opportunity and a strategic moment for reflection on the impact of UN Women’s CO work with partners and stakeholders on the national gender equality and women empowerment agenda. It further serves as an accountability process to UN Women’s constituents, while contributing to the transparency of the country office’s ongoing work. 

1.2 Context

The SN was developed during a period of  low participation of women in  political, social and economic development of the country; (i) low representation of women as a result of lack of adequate implementation of the constitutional provisions and inadequate capacity of state institutions to mainstream gender in electoral and political processes; (ii) large proportions of women in the informal sector were earning low wages (and still remain so), coupled with unregulated conditions of employment (iii) increased deterioration in delivery of public services. During this period, the Government of Zimbabwe’s (GoZ) national development priorities were articulated in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) 2013 – 2018 with Gender and Development as a result area, with particular focus on gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment and women’s participation in politics and decision making. The ZimAsset framework further required the mainstreaming of GEWE in all other developmental priorities. Previously in 2014, the UNCT had conducted a Zimbabwe Common Country Assessment (CCA) to inform the ZUNDAF and its subsequent implementation. The CCA identified a number of challenges for GEWE in Zimbabwe including a) Inadequate implementation and enforcement of gender equality constitutional and legislative provisions b) high prevalence of violence against women and girls c) limited access to justice for women and girls. The ZUNDAF 2016 – 2020 was informed by findings from the CCA analysis.

The CO made a strategic decision to pursue Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) through focusing on the following 3 result areas as prioritised in the ZimAsset and articulated also as UN Women flagship programmes. These are outlined in the UN Women Strategic Note 2016 – 2021, namely:-

• Women Political Empowerment (WPE) Impact area 1
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) impact area 2
• Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) impact area 3

2. Description of the Programmes

The total planned budget of the BCO 2017-2019 (Development Results + Organisational Efficiency) was:

The work of UN Women is focused on responding to its three core mandates.

A defining characteristic of gender-responsive evaluation is the active engagement of stakeholders in the evaluation process. In implementing the proposed programmes UN Women partnered with various government institutions, academia, research, documentation and training centres, financial institutions, development banks, donors, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), CSOs, peace networks, media associations, men’s organisations, traditional leaders and faith-based organisations to advance women’s rights. UN Women has been working closely with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MoWACSMED) and continued to build on working partnerships with other government ministries, departments, and chapter 12 commissions beyond the Ministry of Women Affairs to effectively implement its programmes and deliver on its results.

Result Area 1:  WPE

The CO flagship programme aims at creating a conducive environment for women’s participation in decision making at the most influential government levels and within critical institutions. This in turn served to accelerate and yield greater inclusion of women in decision making positions in line with regional and international women’s rights commitments and national constitutional provisions  by supporting electoral laws and policy reform through working with ZEC and the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to respond more effectively to electoral processes.  Through the targeted approach, in addition to increasing women’s participation, women’s political knowledge and political inclusion and citizenry, the CO aimed at strengthening the capacity of the newly formed Zimbabwe Gender Commission to implement its monitoring and oversight role in relation to gender equality. The CO engagement to promote women’s participation in politics as decision makers and active citizens in relation to state accountability will potentially influence both political and institutional decisions on women’s inclusivity, equality and inclusivity in development. 

Result Area 2: Women Economic Empowerment - WEE (flagship)

The CO adapted the WEE flagship on climate resilient agriculture to address women’s economic situation given that Zimbabwe is largely an agrarian society with 80% of the women’s population living in rural areas and 70% of the rural women engaged in agriculture, according to the comprehensive analysis provided in the publication “In Southern African agriculture and climate change”[1].  The opportunity presented itself for UN Women to transform the lives of a large percentage of the Zimbabwe women population though addressing access to land and food security.  Coupled with the predicted  continuation  of drastic changes in climate that manifests itself through drought and other climatic shocks in Zimbabwe’s  context, the CO aimed to support the enabling  of women’s access to land and means of production while addressing barriers that prevent women from entering the formal economy such as influencing financial institutions’ policies for women’s access to finance and providing technical support to the then Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Lands and Ministry of Finance in relation to gender sensitive policy formation. Implementation of this thematic area has been on and off due to funding challenges. The WEE programme was implemented for the first 2 years of the Strategic Note under Joint Programme for Gender Equality and no implementation was done in 2018, 2019 and part of 2020. In 2020, the Country Office received resources to implement a Safe markets joint programme with ILO and UNDP, up to 2022.

Result Area 3: EVAW

Zimbabwe is experiencing high rates of violence against women, including sexual violence and in particular  high rates of child marriages. This is occurring against a backdrop of low rates of conviction of perpetrators as well as limited legal response to marrying off of girls as young as 12 years of age, which is perpetuated by inadequate legislative regulation of sexual offenses against minors. The strategic focus of UN Women was based on implementation of inclusive gender equality provisions and national policies and laws as provided by the comprehensive Zimbabwe Constitution, international and regional commitments and the need to eliminate harmful practices (including harmful religious and traditional norms) that violate women’s rights (in this instance sexual violence) and hamper women’s development and social inclusion. Special focus was on empowering women and girls to utilise available VAW services and being able to exercise their rights and agency. The CO has been working towards aligning the EVAW program to the global flagship programmes to end Violence against Women and Girls. This programme was upscaled by the Joint Programme for Spotlight Initiative on Gender Based Violence that was developed in 2018 by UN Agencies and the Government of Zimbabwe. The programme has six pillars on Laws and Policies, Institutional Strengthening, Prevention, Services, Data and Women’s Movement Building. UN Women is present across all pillars except pillar 4 on services. HIV work is also under this EVAW programme where the main work has been with traditional leaders, churches, women’s organisations that works on HIV and other key stakeholders and partners.

3. Purpose (and use of) of the CPE 

3.1 Purpose

The purpose of the CPE is to ensure both the account­ability of UN Women to its donors, partners, and other stakeholders and to facilitate learning about what works in different contexts with a view to improving the relevance and performance of interventions over time. As a high-level strategic evaluation, the CPE is primarily intended to be a formative (forward-looking) evaluation to support the country office and national stakeholders’ strategic learning and decision-making, including evidence-based advocacy, when developing a new Strategic Note. The evaluation is also expected to include a summative (backwards looking) element to support enhanced accountability for development effectiveness and learning from experience.

3.2. Users of the Evaluation

Specific users will include UN Women Programmes staff, various relevant government institutions, academia, research and documentation and training centres, financial institutions, development banks, donors, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), CSOs, peace networks, media associations, men’s organisations, traditional leaders, faith-based organisations and faith-based organisations responsible in planning and implementation of the UN Women SN. UN Women, responsible partners, donors and government partners of the programmes will be specifically responsible for developing management responses and action plans to the evaluation findings and recommendations. The final evaluation report will be made publicly available on the UN Women Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation (GATE) System http://gate.unwomen.org/. It will also be disseminated during regional, national and district meetings.

Devoirs et responsabilités

4. Objectives, Evaluation Criteria and Key Questions

4.1 Objectives

The objectives of the evaluation are to;

• Assess the relevance of UN Women contributions to national priorities and alignment with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

• Assess the effectiveness and organizational efficiency in progressing towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the Strategic Note including testing the validity of theories of change, especially corporate theories of change for flagship programmes.
• Enable the CO to improve their strategic positioning to better support the achievement of sustained gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Analyse how a human rights approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the design and implementation of the Strategic Note.
• Identify and validate lessons learnt, good practices and examples of innovation that support gender equality and human rights.
• Provide insights into the extent to which the UN Women has realized synergies between its three mandates (normative, coordination and operations) and on how to leverage the UN system to increase development results on gender equality.
• Provide forward-looking recommendations with respect to the development of the next Strategic Note.

4.2 Evaluation criteria and Key Questions

Assessment of UN Women contributions is made using the set of evaluation criteria focused on two purposes of the CPE: assessing development effectiveness (accountability); and assessing UN Women’s strategic positioning (learning). The CPE will apply the evalua­tion criteria below.

4.2.1 Relevance

The extent to which strategic choices have maximized UN Women’s comparative advan­tages in addressing priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The suggested questions for the relevance criterion are:

Strategic positioning

• How has UN Women positioned itself within the national development/policy space, and what strategies has it taken in assisting efforts on gender equality and the empowerment of women?
• Are the interventions achieving synergies within the UN Women portfolio and the work of the UN country team?
• What is UN Women’s comparative advantage compared with other UN entities and key partners?
• Was UN Women responsive to the evolution of develop­ment challenges and the priorities in national strategies, or significant shifts due to external conditions?
• How are the short-term requests for assistance balanced against long-term development needs?

Alignment

• Is the portfolio aligned with national policies, strategies and interna­tional human rights norms?

Context

• Is the choice of interventions most relevant to the situation in the target thematic areas?

Partnerships

• Is the choice of partners most relevant to the situation of women and marginalized groups?
• Are existing partnerships working?

4.2.2 Efficiency:

To measure how economically UN Women’s resources/inputs were converted to results, considering inputs and outputs i.e. assessing value for money and management of the budget. The evaluation will assess whether the programmes’ strategies and interventions deliver value for money. Document examples of cases in the programmes where value for money successes and/or failures are evident.

The suggested questions for the criterion are;

Organi­zational efficiency

• To what extent does the UN Women (multi-)country office management structure support efficiency for implementation?
• Does the organization have access to the necessary skills, knowledge and capacities needed to deliver the portfolio?

Mobilizing and managing resources

• How well positioned is UN Women to mobilize resources to support the Strategic Note? – Where resources mobilised sufficient to meet the SN goals/ targets?
• How well have resources and risks been managed to ensure results?

Culture of results

• Has a results-based management system been estab­lished and implemented?
• To what extent has UN Women supported national ownership and demand for gender-responsive policy and evaluation evidence?
• Have national evaluation capacities for gender-responsive evaluation been addressed and strengthened?

Knowledge management and commu­nication

• Are UN Women’s knowledge management and communi­cations capabilities and practices relevant to the needs of the portfolio and partners.

4.2.3 Effectiveness

The extent to which UN Women has contributed to achieving planned outcomes and mitigating negative externalities.

The suggested questions for the effectiveness criterion are;

Programme

• To what extent planned outputs have been achieved, on time?
• Are interventions contributing to the expected outcomes? For whom?
• What unexpected outcomes (positive and negative) have been achieved? For whom?
• What has UN Women’s contribution been to the progress of the achievement of outcomes?
• What are the main enabling and hindering factors to achieving planned outcomes?
• Is the balance and coherence between programming operational coordination and policy-normative work optimal?

UN coordination

• What contribution is UN Women making to UN coordi­nation on gender equality and the empowerment of women? Which roles is UN Women playing in this field?
• To what extent has gender equality and women’s empow­erment been mainstreamed in UN joint programming such as UNDAF?
• To what extent has UN Women coordination contributed to achieving results on gender equality and the empower­ment of women?

Normative

• To what extent have lessons learned been shared with or informed global, regional and national normative work?
• What contribution is UN Women making to implementing global and national norms and standards for gender equality and the empowerment of women?

4.2.4 Sustainability

The extent to which positive outcomes can be maintained and advanced independently by local actors 

The suggested questions for this criterion are;

Capacity development

• To what extent was capacity developed in order to ensure sustainability of efforts and benefits?

National ownership

• Is there national ownership and are there national champions for different parts of the portfolio?
• What local accountability and oversight systems have been established to support the continuation of activities?
• How did UN Women design to scale-up coverage and effects of its interventions?
• Did UN Women use and capitalize upon pilot/catalytic initiatives?

4.2.5 Human rights and gender equality

The extent to which the principles and standards of global human rights norms on gender equality and women’s empowerment are addressed in UN Women’s country portfolio.

The suggested questions for this criterion are;

Addressing structural causes of gender inequality

• Is the portfolio addressing the root causes of gender inequality?
• To what extent is the portfolio changing the dynamics of power in relationships between different groups?
• Has the portfolio been implemented according to human rights and development effectiveness principles:
  • Participation/empowerment
  • Inclusion/non-discrimination
  • National accountability/transparency
• Which groups is the portfolio reaching the most, and which are being excluded?

The above evaluation questions will be discussed and fine-tuned in a participatory discussion during the evaluation inception phase to ensure they answer the key information needs. During the inception phase the evaluation team will also validate / reconstruct the Theory of Change through a participatory process which includes identifying indicators for assessing progress made during the implementation of the Strategic Note

5. Scope of the Evaluation

5.1 Time line for the evaluation:

The timeline for the Evaluation covers the period from January 2016 to June 2021.

5.2 Geographical coverage:

The evaluation will be conducted at both national and community/ local level and the sample should be representative enough to reflect a true picture of UN Women. The Evaluation team will visit the sampled districts to discuss with stakeholders involved in UN Women programmes including direct beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries that includes government ministries and departments, chapter 12 commissions, CSOs and observe progress and achievements.

5. 3 Thematic coverage:

The evaluation will focus on aspects of the three thematic areas (WPP, WEE, EVAW) in the UN Women SN 2016-2021. The evaluation team should take into consideration existing and/ planned evaluations that were conducted during the implementation period of UN Women SN 2016-2021 to limit duplication and make efficient use of scarce resources. Some of these evaluations include the Gender, Peace and Security Evaluation, Joint Programmes for Gender Based Violence, Value for Money Assessment of the Joint Programmes for Gender Equality.

The evaluation will be guided by UN Women Evaluation Policies and United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) guidelines on Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in evaluation (http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/1616) and the UNEG Ethical Guidelines for evaluation. The following key principles will be respected: national ownership and leadership; fair power relations and empowerment; participation and inclusivity; independence and impartiality; transparency; quality and credibility; innovation.

6. Design and Methods

UN Women has developed the Evaluation Handbook “How to manage gender-responsive evaluation” as well as detailed Guidance on Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPEs) to ensure greater rigor and consistency in CPEs. While the final evaluation methodology and questions will be adapted for this evaluation during the inception phase it is recommended that the evaluation use a theory-based cluster design. In other words, the evaluation will cluster programming, coordination, and policy activities of the CO around thematic areas and evaluate a representative sample of these in depth. The evaluation will undertake a desk-based portfolio analysis that includes a synthesis of results for the Development Results Framework and the Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework of the CO. This will cover all activities undertaken by the CO. The evaluation methodology will be developed by the Consultancy team and presented for approval to an Evaluation Reference Group. The methodology should use a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods and a desk review of programmes overview should be done. It should be utilisation focused, gender responsive and explicitly outline how it will integrate a human rights-based approach and explore the possibility of utilising participatory methods for developing case studies. Data should be disaggregated by sex and according to other relevant parameters. Further guidance on process and content for gender-responsive evaluations are outlined in the UNW Evaluation Handbook „How to manage gender-responsive Evaluation“ and in the UNEG Guidance „Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluation“.

The evaluation will apply the principles outlined in the above references

These complementary approaches will be deployed to ensure that the evaluation: 

• responds to the needs of users and their intended use of the evaluation results;
• provides both a substantive assessment of UN Women SN 2016-2021 results, while also respecting gender and human rights principles throughout the evaluation process, allowing for the participation and consultation of key stakeholders (rights holders and duty-bearers) to the extent possible;
• utilises both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods to enhance triangulation of data and increase overall data quality, validity, credibility and robustness and reduce bias and will consider among other processes a desk review, meetings, consultations, workshops with different groups of stakeholders;
• consider data collection instruments and methods for example interviews, observations, focus groups, and site visits.
• take measures to ensure data quality, reliability and validity of data collection tools and methods and their responsiveness to gender equality and human rights.

6.1 Data collection methods

Due to restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is expected that the methods include creative options for virtual/online participation and data collection. Specific safeguards must be put in place to protect the safety (both physical and psychological) of both respondents and those collecting the data. For details please see the UNW Pocket tool for managing evaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the data collection tools to be used during the evaluation are:

6.1.1 Desk review

The Consultants will consult all available documentation in preparation for the review, including Programmes documents, minutes of the Steering Committee meetings; quarterly reports, annual reports and Programmes implementation and research reports from UN Women, implementing partners, and this documentation will be made available in good time.

6.1.2 Interviews with Key Informants

The team will conduct a range of interviews with key informants and stakeholders (including implementing partners and their national counterparts) and will visit and interview relevant Ministries and government agencies, UN sister agencies, chapter 12 commissions, CSOs, FBOs, Research Institutions, Academia, local and international implementing partner organisations, community leaders, Programmes beneficiaries, the key staff at UN Women and donors.

6.1.3 Focus group discussions

The team will conduct focus group discussions with direct and indirect beneficiaries of the Programmes.

6.1.4 Significant stories

During the interview, the evaluators will support beneficiaries of the Programmes to document their stories on how the Programmes have impacted on their lives.

6.2 Stakeholder participation

The evaluators are expected to discuss during the Inception meeting how the process will ensure participation of stakeholders at all stages, with a particular emphasis on rights holders and their representatives: Design (inception meeting/ workshop); consultation of stakeholders; stakeholders as data collectors; interpretation; reporting and use. The evaluators are encouraged to further analyse stakeholders according to the following characteristics:

• System roles (target groups, programme controllers, sources of expertise, and representatives of excluded groups);
• Gender roles (intersections of sex, age, household roles, community roles);
• Human Rights roles (rights holders, principal duty bearers, primary, secondary and tertiary duty bearers);
• Intended users and uses of the respective evaluation.

The evaluators will extend this analysis through mapping relationships and power dynamics as part of the evaluation. It is important to pay particular attention to participation of rights holders—women and vulnerable and marginalized groups—to ensure the application of a gender-responsive approach. It is also important to specify ethical safeguards that will be employed during the evaluation. The evaluators are expected to validate findings through engagement with stakeholders at stakeholder workshops, debriefings or other forms of engagement. Key stakeholders to be considered include SN programmes implementing partners, the funding partners, Chapter 12 Commissions, MoWACSMED, and other relevant line Ministries among other key government institutions. Following UNEG Evaluation guidelines and UN Women Evaluation Policy, the evaluation will aim at systematically engaging all key stakeholders throughout the process. The evaluation will establish a management and reference group and members of these groups will be involved at various stages during the evaluation process. This includes, among other things, reviewing the draft evaluation report, discussing the draft evaluation recommendations, and supporting the utilisation and dissemination of the evaluation findings.

7. Time frame and deliverables

The expected activities and deliverables for the Zimbabwe CPE and the estimated number of work days are listed below. The specific number of working days for the CPE may be adjusted depending on the discussion with the evaluation team.

7.1 The evaluation team is expected to provide:

Deliverable 1: Present and discuss an Inception Report to the Management Group and Reference Group at an inception meeting. An inception report which contains evaluation objectives and scope, description of evaluation, methodology/methodological approach, the evaluation questions, data collection tools, data analysis methods, key informants/agencies, detailed work plan and reporting requirements. It should include a clear evaluation matrix relating all these aspects and a desk review with a list of the documents consulted. (5 pages max excluding annexes).

Deliverable 2: First draft report to UN Women. The Draft evaluation report (50 pages max excluding annexes) which should be delivered within the agreed timeframe in the work plan to allow stakeholder discussion of the findings and formulation of recommendations.

Deliverable 3: Submission of second draft report incorporating feedback from the management group.

Deliverable 4: Deliverable 4 will be in two parts i.e. (i) PowerPoint presentation of the second draft report to the management team including feedback from the reference group received through emails and feedback received from the management team. (ii) A template with feedback received from reference group members and how the comments have been addressed and incorporated in developing the draft report.

Deliverable 5: Presentation of the findings at a validation workshop to be organised by UN Women.

Deliverable 7: Production of final report incorporating comments from stakeholders. Final evaluation report (30 pages max excluding annexes) which should be structured as follows:

I) Title and opening pages

II) Executive summary

III) Background and purpose of the evaluation

IV) Programmes/object of evaluation description and context

V) Evaluation objectives and scope

VI) Evaluation methodology and limitations

VII) Findings

VIII) Conclusions

IX) Recommendations

X) Lessons learned

7.2 ANNEXES:

• Terms of reference

• 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

The evaluation report will follow the quality standards outlined in the UNW Global Evaluation Report Assessment and Analysis System (GERAAS), available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/aboutus/accountability/evaluation/decentralized-evaluations.

The evaluation team is expected to familiarize with the evaluation quality standards as they provide the basis for the final assessment of the evaluation report.

The evaluation shall be conducted by evaluation team which shall consist of a team of 2 local consultants with extensive experience in conducting evaluations with a focus on gender equality and women’s rights. The Consultants will have an overall responsibility for the design of the evaluation process, and provide support in carrying out the research, finalising the relevant components of it and ensuring submission of a consolidated high-quality report.

8. Management of the Evaluation

To ensure independence of the evaluation team, UN Women M&E Team in the CO and the Regional Evaluation Specialist will manage the evaluation. The process will follow UNW standards as outlined in the UN Women Evaluation Handbook: How to Manage Gender-responsive Evaluation, available at https://genderevaluation.unwomen.org/en/evaluation-handbook and the CPE guidance available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/3/guidance-on-country-portfolio-evaluations-in-un-women. The Management Group which is the Programmes Steering Committee is the decision-making body with the responsibility of approving reports i.e. the inception report and the evaluation report. Management Group TORs will guide the work of the Evaluation Management Group. The management Group will include:

An Evaluation Reference Group will provide support for the evaluation at the technical level. They will review and provide comments to the inception report and the draft report. The Reference Group members will provide comments on the inception report and draft report either through meetings or online via email communications.  The role of the group will not lead to influencing the independence of the evaluation, but rather to ensure a robust and credible evaluation process and ensure the use of the evaluation findings and recommendations through formalized management responses and associated action plans. The work of the Reference Group will be guided by the agreed TORs for the Reference Group. The members of the Reference Group will be:

• UN Women programmes staff
• National government partners
• Development partners/donors
• UN Country Team representatives
• Gender Results Group
• Civil society advisory group
• Evaluation Manager
• Regional Evaluation Specialist  

9. Logistics

UN Women will facilitate this process by providing contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers of their respective partners. UN Women will oversee the logistics of the evaluation and provide support for the arrangements as needed.  They will also accompany the evaluation team to the districts and will provide transportation for the district visits. The evaluation team is also responsible for the dissemination of all methodological tools such as questionnaires, conducting interviews, group discussions etc.

Compétences

10. Values, Core Competencies and Functions

10.1 Core competencies for the evaluation team:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards
• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results.
• High sense of relational skills, including cultural, gender, religion, race, nation­ality and age sensitivity and adaptability, with a demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary team

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

10.2 Functional competencies for the evaluation team:

• Ability to manage and supervise evaluation teams and ensure timely submis­sion of quality evaluation reports
• Good knowledge and understanding of the UN system, familiarity with UN Women mandate an asset
• Knowledge of issues concerning governance, women’s rights and gender equality
• Specific knowledge in the subject area (e.g., leadership and political participa­tion, economic empowerment, violence against women, peace and security, and gender mainstreaming)
• Wide experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analysis including surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, etc.
• Thorough knowledge of results-based management and strategic planning processes
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills
• Ability to deal with multi-stakeholder groups
• Ability to write focused evaluation reports
• Willingness and ability to travel to the different programme’s sites in the country

Qualifications et expériences requises

11. Evaluation team composition, skills and experiences

The evaluation will be conducted by a team of evaluators that includes a diversity of perspectives and experience. This should include different gender identities, experience with gender-responsive evaluation and subject-matter expertise.

UN Women is seeking to appoint two (2) qualified local consultants to undertake the CPE in Zimbabwe and one (1) consultant will lead the CPE. The lead consultant is expected to demonstrate evidence of the following capabilities:

• Documented previous experience in conducting gender-responsive evaluations
• A strong record in designing and leading evaluations, extensive experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods including data analysis skills
• Proven knowledge and experience with theory-based evaluation designs
• Knowledge of international normative standards on women’s rights and gender mainstreaming processes
• Technical competence in the thematic areas to be evaluated
• Knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level
• Excellent ability to communicate with stakeholders incl. process management and facilitation skills Language proficiency in English and local languages
• Country or regional experience in Eastern and Southern Africa including fragile state experience

11.1 Required skills and experience

• Master level and above educational background in social sciences, Development studies, Women’s Studies or relevant field, Post graduation work in M&E

• 8 – 10 years’ experience and knowledge in conducting gender responsive evaluations (quantitative and qualitative methods).
• Extensive experience in conducting evaluations with a focus on gender equality, women’s empowerment. Specific experience in conducting UN Women Country Portfolio Evaluation will be an added advantage.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of Results Based Management methodologies;
• Experience and understanding of gender equality, human rights, and women’s empowerment programming of UN agencies, development partners and government;
• Application and understanding of UN mandates on Human Rights and Gender Equality;
• Knowledge of regional/country/ local context will be an asset;
• Proven experience and excellent networking and partnership skills with UN agencies, government and CSOs;
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written and strong presentation skills;

• Excellent spoken and written English (all deliverables to be in English). Working knowledge of local languages will be an asset;
• Capacity to work independently and use own equipment.

12. UNEG Norms and Standards and Ethical Code of Conduct

This end of term evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The consultants must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing the collection of data and reporting on its data. The consultants must also ensure the security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses with the express authorization of UN Women and partners. UN Women has developed the UN Women Evaluation Consultants Agreement Form for evaluators that must be signed as part of the contracting process accessed at https://unw-gate.azurewebsites.net/resources/docs/SiteDocuments/UNWomen - CodeofConductforEvaluationForm-Consultants.pdf , which is based on the UNEG Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct at http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/100. The signed Agreement will be annexed to the consultant contract. The UNEG Guidelines note the importance of ethical conduct for the following reasons:

• Responsible use of power: All those engaged in evaluation processes are responsible for upholding the proper conduct of the evaluation.
• Ensuring credibility: With a fair, impartial and complete assessment, stake- holders are more likely to have faith in the results of an evaluation and to take note of the recommendations.
• Responsible use of resources: Ethical conduct in evaluation increases the chances of acceptance by the parties to the evaluation and therefore the likelihood that the investment in the evaluation will result in improved outcomes.

The evaluators are expected to provide a detailed plan on how the following principles will be ensured throughout the evaluation (see UNEG Ethical Guidance for descriptions): 1) Respect for dignity and diversity; 2) Right to self-determination; 3) Fair representation; 4) Compliance with codes for vulnerable groups (e.g., ethics of research involving young children or vulnerable groups); 5) Redress; 6) Confidentiality; and 7) Avoidance of harm.

Specific safeguards must be put in place to protect the safety (both physical and psychological) of both respondents and those collecting the data. These should include:

• A plan is in place to protect the rights of the respondent, including privacy and confidentiality
• The interviewer or data collector is trained in collecting sensitive information, and if the topic of the evaluation is focused on violence against women, they should have previous experience in this area
• Data collection tools are designed in a way that are culturally appropriate and do not create distress for respondents
• Data collection visits if possible are organized at the appropriate time and place so as to minimize risk to respondents
• The interviewer or data collector is able to provide information on how individuals in situations of risk can seek support

13. Language:

Fluency in relevant UN language and local languages

14. Application process

The team may apply together or separately. The application requires:

1. Methodological proposal identifying key steps the evaluation team will take to initiate scoping the evaluation and initial thoughts on timeframe for data collection, analysis and reporting based on adaptations of the UN Women Country Portfolio Evaluation guidance (no longer than 6 pages). (Required for Team Leader)

2. Budget proposal – separately indicating daily fee (all communication costs to be included in daily fee) and travel costs

3. Link to published evaluation reports in English (required for team leader)

4. Samples of written reports in English (required for team member)

5. Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are advised to upload all requested documentation as one attachment.

UNWOMEN 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