National Evaluation Expert (2 positions; for Georgian nationals)

Background

UNCT in Georgia invites applications from qualified Experts to carry out evaluation of the United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD) 2016-2020 framework document.

The United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD) evaluation is the main accountability instrument for gauging the UN Development System’s collective contribution at country level. It focuses on issues at strategic level and the aggregate contribution of UNPSD at outcome level, as well as the System’s contribution to national Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) targets, using the Common Country Assessment (CCA) as a benchmark.

The UNPSD evaluation will examine whether a UN Country Team (UNCT) is prioritizing support and contributing to a country’s development. The evaluation will also identify synergies, gaps, overlaps and missed opportunities. It will ultimately assess whether the UNCT has contributed to transformative change that goes beyond the scope of programmes and projects to help a country progress towards achieving the SDGs. It will advise on the overall strategic positioning of the UN Development System in a given country and on priorities and considerations for future support.

The UNPSD evaluation will not evaluate the individual programmes or activities of UNCT members, but rather build on the programme and project evaluations conducted by each agency.

The process of evaluation is an external, independent exercise aiming at generating an independent assessment of results, successes, challenges and lessons learnt throughout the 2016-2020 and feed into the next programming cycle and is conducted in an inclusive manner and promote national ownership through the meaningful engagement of relevant national partners throughout the evaluation process.

Objective:

The objective of the assignment is to carry out evaluation of the United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD) 2016-2020 for Georgia to assess results, successes, challenges and lessons learnt throughout the 2016-2020 and feed into the next programming cycle. Background information and the guidelines for the evaluation of the UNPSD are provided in the Annex 1 of this TOR (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PZTVdokx9xGGKnImMy3IU35BIawvwHYe/view?usp=sharing). 

Composition of the Evaluating Team and Management Arrangements:

Team of Evaluators of the UNPSD will consist of the International Team Leader and two National Experts who will contribute to the evaluation process and provide technical support to the Team Leader who will bear the overall responsibility for provision of the deliverables outlined in this Terms of Reference.

An Evaluation Steering Committee consisting of the UNCT and Government representatives will be guiding the evaluation process. A Consultative Group will be established under the leadership and supervision of the Evaluation Steering Committee comprising UNCT members and key stakeholders (national governmental and non-governmental counterparts). The Consultative Group will review and provide inputs and feedback to the evaluation design report, Evaluation Manager appointed by the Evaluation Steering Committee will facilitate access of evaluators to information sources and provide comments on the main deliverables of the evaluation process. As an additional support Partner Agencies may assign additional consultant(s) to the Evaluation Team, who will focus on the specific field of expertise.

Duties and Responsibilities

National Expert(s) will fully adhere to all aspects of the Guidelines for the Evaluation of the UNPSD in Georgia attached to this TOR. The Team of Evaluators will report to the UNCT through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator and will receive their overall guidance and support.In addition to the overall evaluation team’s reporting responsibilities to the UNCT, the selected National Expert(s) will provide support to the evaluation Team Leader and receive guidance as well as instructions in terms of research and drafting support, while the Team Leader will take a leading role during the evaluation, develop a comprehensive evaluation methodology  based on the Guidelines for the Evaluation of the UNPSD in Georgia (Annex 1 of the TOR), and coordinate the work of other team members (National Experts).

The National Expert(s) will provide the expertise in the local development issues with sound understanding of the social and economic context of Georgia. The evaluation specialist is expected to perform the following tasks:

• Review relevant documents;
• Participate in the design of the evaluation methodology ad provide inputs o the inception report;
• Conduct an analysis of the outcomes, outputs, Join Work Plans;
• Carry out fieldwork and data collection as per the inception report and Terms of Reference;
• Draft related parts of the evaluation report as agreed on the division of labour with the Team leader;
• Assist the Team Leader in finalizing the evaluation final report including incorporating suggestions received on draft related to his/her assigned sections;
• Perform any other research tasks as requested by the Team Leader.

Expected Deliverables and Suggested Timeline:

The National Expert(s) will be working together with the Evaluation Team Leader who will be leading the overall process of evaluation of the UNPSD. National Expert(s) will provide necessary inputs to the evaluation process and ensure technical assistance for production of the following deliverables:

• An inception report  not exceeding 25 pages, 20,000 words, excluding annexes which sets out: consultant’s understanding of the issues to be evaluated (scope), questions that the UNAPF evaluation intends to answer, and his/her understanding of the context in which the evaluation takes place; including of a comprehensive stakeholder analysis; any suggested deviations from the TOR; an evaluation matrix showing selected criteria of analysis, questions and sub-questions, the indicators; proposed and sources of information; methodology, including details of gender analysis and triangulation strategy; data collection and analysis tools that will be used to conduct the evaluation; any limitations of the chosen methods of data collection and analysis and how they will be addressed; explanation of how the views of various stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalized groups, will be addressed during the evaluation; fieldwork plan, timeline for the evaluation, draft dissemination strategy of the evaluation results. The consultant needs clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the evaluation process – 7 days;
• A presentation with preliminary findings to be shared in a meeting with key stakeholders – 10 days;
• A first draft report for circulation and identification of factual corrections from stakeholders – 8 days;
• A final report. The following template serves as a standard outline for the UNPSD evaluation. This should be considered during the inception phase and taking account of the specific scope and focus of the evaluation, a detailed outline of the UNPSD evaluation report should be included in the inception report – 5 days.
  • Chapter 1: Introduction (objectives, scope, and methodology, limitations);
  • Chapter 2: National development context;
  • Chapter 3: Evaluation Findings (corresponding to the UNPSD outcomes with each analyzed by evaluation criteria);
  • Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations.

The final report will include an Executive Summary and must be kept short (maximum 50 pages excluding annexes). More detailed information on the context, the programme or the comprehensive aspects of the methodology and of the analysis will be placed in the annexes. The report will be prepared in accordance with UNEG guidance.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Good writing and presentation skills;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment. 

Required Skills and Experience

Required Qualifications of the National Expert(s):

• Advanced university degree (Masters and equivalent) in development studies, economics, international relations, or related field;
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience specifically in the area of evaluation of international development initiatives and development organizations;
• Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods and in a wide range of evaluation approaches;
• Technical competence in undertaking evaluations which involve use of mixed methods;
• Knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly UNPSD;
• Strong experience and knowledge in the five UNPSD programming principles: human rights (the human rights-based approach to programming, human rights analysis and related mandates within the UN system) gender equality (especially gender analysis), environmental sustainability, results-based management, and capacity development;
• Fluency in Georgian and English;
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools.

Evaluation:

• Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method: Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30.
• Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview.
• Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion):  Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.

Payment terms:

• 40% of the total contract amount upon successful submission of Deliverables 1-3;
• 60% of the total contract amount upon successful submission of Deliverables 4.