Fri 27 Mar 2020 External Evaluators

Euromed Feminist Initiative; Paris; Hybrid; EUR 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) seeks an external evaluation team to assess the Sida-funded program on gender equality and women's rights across Syria and regional offices. The team will comprise two main evaluators and two assistants, with strict anonymity, independence, and timely reporting.

Excellent English is required for at least one main evaluator, and Arabic is mandatory for one main evaluator to access sensitive field data and ensure high-quality insights.

Qualifications

• Master's or doctoral degree, preferably in Social Sciences.
• Excellent command of English is mandatory for at least one main evaluator.
• An excellent command of Arabic is mandatory for at least one main evaluator.
• Experience in conducting external evaluations in gender and human-rights based interventions.
• Ability to produce well-written reports and demonstrate analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Conduct external evaluations in gender and human-rights based interventions.
• Produce well-written reports that demonstrate analytical and communication skills.
• Demonstrate independence, objectivity and integrity in evaluation findings.
• Ensure anonymity and confidentiality in data collection and reporting.
• Coordinate with EFI and the M&M Committee to agree on action plans and recommendations.

Skills

External evaluations

Team leadership

Report writing

Security aware field work

English language

Arabic language

Education

Master's or doctoral degree in Social Sciences

Job description

EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) is a policy network of women’s rights organizations from the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea that provides expertise in the field of gender equality and advocates for women’s universal human rights as inseparable from democracy building and citizenship, for political solutions to all conflicts, and for the right of peoples to self-determination. The head office is in Paris. EFI holds a regional office in Amman, and three national offices in Amman, Beirut, and Erbil.

EFI works with women’s rights activists and groups from Syria since 2008. In 2013 it started the implementation of a four‑year program: “Towards a Democratic Transition in Syria by building an inclusive constitution process” (July 2013 – July 2017) with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). In December 2017, the second phase of the program, entitled “Towards sustainable peace and democracy in Syria through strengthening civil society and women’s rights”, was launched. This phase aims to support transition towards peace and democracy in Syria through promoting women's rights, combatting VAW and gender discrimination and strengthening women's role and meaningful participation at all levels of political, social and economic reconstruction processes.

Rationale of the evaluation

EFI wishes to conduct an external in‑depth evaluation of the implementation of the program in accordance with the general terms of agreement with Sweden.

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the results achieved linked to the overall and specific objectives as expressed in the program and to provide relevant findings, lessons learned, and best practices as well as recommendations that would help guide future intervention planning by EFI and its partners.

Overview of the Programs

The overall objective of the SIDA funded program “Towards a Democratic Transition in Syria by building an inclusive constitution process” is to contribute to enhancing transition towards peace and democracy in Syria through promoting women's rights, combatting VAW and gender discrimination and ensuring women's role and meaningful participation at all levels of political, social and economic reconstruction processes.

The specific objectives of the program are:

• A widened network/number of HR & WR partner CSOs are more influential in shaping public opinion on gender equality, ending discrimination and violence against women as integral part of rebuilding Syria;
• Developing and advocating gender sensitive (WR) legislation is jointly undertaken by CSOs and legal experts;
• Women's participation at all levels of peace and reconstruction processes is enhanced using UNSCR 1325 in connection with gender sensitive constitution building process.
  

QUALIFICATIONS

EFI requires that the evaluation is conducted by a team of 2 main evaluators and 2 assistant Syrian evaluators, from whom one resides inside Syria and one outside. Each of the main evaluators will have full control and responsibility of each of the programs. Competencies expected from the 2 main evaluators are:
- Master's or doctoral degree, preferably in Social Sciences.
- At least 5 years’ experience in conducting external evaluations in gender and human‑rights based interventions.
- Experience in monitoring and evaluation and in results‑based management evidenced by previous assignments.
- Ability to produce well‑written reports that demonstrate excellent analytical and communication skills from the perspective of women’s rights as universal human rights, as evidenced by previous assignments.
- A strong team leadership and management track record.
- Ability to work with the organization and with other stakeholders to ensure the delivery of a high‑quality product in a timely manner.
- A full understanding of security related issues and approaches with regards to collecting sensitive information from program beneficiaries and stakeholders.
- Regional/Country experience and knowledge.
- Excellent command of English is mandatory.
- An excellent command of Arabic is mandatory for at least one main evaluator

The selection of the 2 assistants will be made in agreement between EFI and the 2 main evaluators.

EVALUATION, AUTHORSHIP AND PUBLICATION PREMISES

• Anonymity and confidentiality - The evaluation should respect the right of individuals to provide information with an assurance of anonymity and confidentiality.
• Responsibility - Any dispute or difference of opinion that may arise between evaluators and those in charge of the programs will be discussed and resolved within the M&M committee.
• Integrity - The evaluators will be responsible for highlighting issues not specifically mentioned in the ToR, should this be necessary in order to obtain a more complete analysis of the intervention.
• Independence – The evaluators should ensure the independence and objectivity of the information, statements and conclusions made regarding the intervention.
• Incidents – If any problems arising during the execution of field work or at any other stage of the evaluation, these should be reported immediately to the M&M Committee. Otherwise, the existence of such problems should under no circumstances be used to justify the failure to achieve the results required by EFI in this document.
• Validation of information - The evaluators will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information gathered for the preparation of reports, and responsible for the information presented in the evaluation report.
• Submission of Report - In the case of late delivery of report or in the event that the quality of report submitted is inferior to that agreed, the penalties set forth in the contract will be applied.

EFI reserves the right to direct the evaluation and/or decide on its various aspects.

DEADLINES FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE EVALUATION

The evaluation will be carried out during 15/04/2020 – 15/09/2020 throughout countries of implementation of the program and according to the action plan.

The deadlines for the completion of the evaluation will be agreed by the evaluation team and the M&M Committee in accordance with the technical proposal submitted by them.

The wording of the final evaluation report, its presentation and approval by the M&M Committee should be completed by 15 August, 2020.

BUDGET

The total estimate for the required evaluation of the two programs is € 25,000 (including VAT).
This amount shall cover fees for the team (2 main evaluators and 2 assistants), flights, in‑country travel and accommodation, and any other expenses incurred during the evaluation process.