Consultant for UNDAF II Evaluation at UNDP (4 Position)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.

We are recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title: Consultant for UNDAF II Evaluation (4 Positions)

Job Location: Abuja, NIGERIA

Background
The second generation 2009-2012 (plus 2013) of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF II) is the common strategic framework for the operational activities of the United Nations System (UNS) in Nigeria. It provides a collective, coherent and integrated UNS response to the country’s priorities and needs, expressed in the 7-Point Agenda, which is implemented through the Medium Term National Development Plan (NDP) with a long term vision 20:2020, expected to transform Nigeria to one of the top 20 economies by 2020. Nigeria’s development priorities are expressed within the framework of the MDGs and other commitments, goals and targets of other international conferences, summits, conventions and human rights instruments of the United Nations. In line with UNDG and UNDAF M&E guidelines, it is mandatory for Country teams to conduct end of cycle evaluation for accountability and learning, and improving performance of subsequent UNDAFs. The UNCT, Nigeria has commenced the process of evaluating UNDAF II with the Federal and State Governments.

The end of cycle evaluation of the UNDAF II is a joint UN process, conducted with national partners, to assess the progress made towards Nigeria’s development priorities selected within the UNDAF. It will also take stock of the environment within which the UN is operating and assesses the effectiveness of UNDAF II as a tool of support to the achievement of national priorities and enhanced coordination and harmonization among all UN agencies. The UN and Government will review the results achieved from activities supported by the UNDAF II and the appropriateness of its planned results and strategies. The evaluation provides a unique opportunity to assess achievements against the planned results; and the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of UNDAF II outcomes, interventions and strategies. This assessment will identify issues and gaps, and proffer strategic and usable recommendations that the UNS and its partners will utilize to improve the strategies, implementation mechanisms, and the management efficiency of the next UNDAF. The United Nations System in Nigeria is therefore seeking the services of qualified consultants to lead the conduct of this Evaluation. Firms and companies are also encouraged to apply for this opportunity with the view of putting forward experts for this assignment.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The broader aim of the evaluation as indicated above is to generate a usable evaluation report that would aid the inherent culture of accountability in the United Nations system programming processes in terms of progress made towards the attainment of the main Outcomes and Outputs of the UNDAF II, provide relevant information and strategic recommendations that would support the UN system in Nigeria to enrich the UNDAF III process in a timely and most effective manner. The recommendations will aim to improve the strategies, implementation mechanism, and management efficiency of the next UNDAF.
• The Evaluation exercise will cover the current cycle of the UNDAF II from 2009 to 2012 and 2013 and will holistically review and systematically analyze recorded achievements and the accompanied strategies and how all these aided the UN in delivering on its mandate.

In particular, the evaluation will:

• Assess the progress or lack thereof, towards the expected outcomes envisaged in the UNDAF II programming documents. Where appropriate, the evaluation will also highlight unexpected results (positive or negative) and missed opportunities;
• Provide an analysis of how the UN has positioned itself to add value in response to national needs and changes in the national development context;
• Present key findings, draw key lessons, and provide a set of clear and forward-looking options leading to strategic and actionable recommendations for the next UNDAF implementation.

Evaluation Questions and Evaluation Criteria
The Evaluation will have the followings components:
The analysis of the focus areas;
The analysis of the strategic positioning of the UNDAF program in Nigeria. To define the broad aspects of the UNDAF II Program that will be assessed within the components, a series of evaluation criteria would constitute the framework used to formulate the evaluation questions.
Analysis of the Focus Areas
Relevance of the UNDAF II Program:

• Assess the degree to which the UNDAF result statements were relevant in relation to Global priorities e.g. International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Millennium Summit Declaration, the World Summit on MDG (2005), Paris and Accra Declaration amongst others;
• To what extent is the UN support to Nigeria aligned with the objectives in the National Development Plans and responding to the national priorities?
• Is the strategy appropriate vis-à-vis the needs as expressed in the NDP and the Vision 20:2020 documents?
• To what extent is the UN support in the various pillars of the UNDAF II (i) adapted to the needs of the Beneficiaries (ii) and in line with the priorities set by national policy frameworks?
• A realistic analysis of the country situation, including political, social and economical analysis; to what extent were the external risks (i.e. political, governance, conflict and fiduciary) and the internal threats to the programme implementation identified?
• Assess to what extent the UNDAF II incorporated gender-sensitive and human rights-based approaches.

Effectiveness of the UNDAF II Program:

• To what extent were the expected outputs of the UNDAF II results matrix achieved or are likely to be achieved through the events and activities implemented in the UNDAF II
• Was there sufficient synergy among the various UN Agency programmes and the various components? Did other projects contribute to and reinforce achievement of programme results?
• To what extent were the monitoring, evaluation, reporting and accountability systems adequate to enable the UN demonstrate programme results?
• to what extent the UN programmatic five principles were taken into account and/or utilized in the implementation of the UNDAF?
• To what extent were these systems adequately used to adjust programme strategies to changing policy and programme contexts and needs in the course of programme implementation?
• How well has the UN communicated its results/lessons learnt/good practices?

Efficiency of the UNDAF II Programme:

• Was the UN’s actual expenditure in line with expectations and plans? Were there any significant changes or delays?
• Was the skill mix and continuity of key staff appropriate to the country context and strategy?
• Was the time of UN staff spent (i.e. policy dialogue vs. technical assistance; project work vs. administration) efficiently?
• To what extent was the geographic programme coverage cost-effective?
• To what extent were the results of monitoring missions, periodic reviews and evaluations used to reconsider design/direction of work and resourcing and staff allocation priorities?
• How has the UN been effectively working together with other development partners in the country?

Sustainability of the UNDAF II Programme:
Did the UNDAF programme incorporate adequate exit strategies and capacity development measures to ensure sustainability of the results over time?
How was the UN’s Humanitarian response linked to its development assistance?
Are conditions and mechanisms in place so that the benefits of UN interventions are sustained and owned by commissions, institutions and stakeholders at the national and sub-national levels after the interventions are completed?
What could have been done within the timeframe of the UNDAF II additionally to improve the likelihood of positive long-term effects and reduce the likelihood of negative long-term effects?
The analysis of the strategic positioning of the UN System in the Country
The evaluation will analyze a core set of criteria related to the strategic positioning of the UN as follows. Strategic Alignment:

• To what extent is the UNDAF II aligned with the Country’s Strategic Development Plan?
• How effectively has the UN been working together with other development partners in the country?

Responsiveness:
To what extent did the programme anticipate and respond to significant changes in the national development context within its 4 core focus areas? What were the missed opportunities in the UNDAF II programming?
Added Value:

• To what extent did the UNDAF II add value to national efforts in the priority areas of UN’s work in the country?

Evaluation Methodology and Approach
The Evaluation shall benefit from existing or newly commissioned studies, research or evaluations conducted by individual or collaborating Agencies including the UN Agencies.
Based on the documented innovations, lessons learnt and findings from the research, studies and evaluations, the Consultants will work with the UN and partners to conduct in-depth analysis of progress towards results, identify lessons learnt and propose corrective actions. The consultants will work with state governments and UNS to produce a report on lessons learnt related to Delivering as One in the six states (Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kaduna, Lagos, Imo) and FCT to feed into the draft Evaluation report.

Data CollectionIn terms of data collection, the evaluation will use a multiple method approach that will include document reviews, group and individual interviews and field visits as appropriate.
Final methods to be selected must match the above stated objectives and specific questions. It is expected that the technical proposal will:

• Identify methodology and sample (address sampling limitations);
• Level of stakeholders’ participation amongst other issues.

Information Sources
The following minimum documents will be used for obtaining detailed background information on the UNDAF II: The UNDAF Document; The results matrix ; The monitoring and evaluation framework and plans; The available Medium Term Cooperation Frameworks and Annual Work Plans for the DaO states and FCT; Mid-term reviews report, Relevant Reports.

Validation
The Evaluation Team will use a variety of methods to ensure that the data is valid, including triangulation.

Stakeholders’ Involvement
An inclusive approach, involving a broad range of partners and stakeholders, will be taken. The evaluation will have a process of stakeholders mapping in order to identify both UN direct partners as well as stakeholders who do not work directly with the UN, yet play a key role in a relevant outcome or thematic area in the national context. These stakeholders may include representatives from the economic, social and political commissions and institutions, Governments at all levels, civil-society organizations, the private-sector, or other multilateral organizations, bilateral donors, and most importantly, the beneficiaries of the programme.The Inception report will describe consultants’ understanding of the assignment, with detailed methodology as well as chronogram and the different report to be submitted to the Evaluation Committee (to be put in place).

The Evaluation Process

• The process of the evaluation will be divided into four phases, each including several steps.

Preparation and Desk Phase:
Desk review;
Stakeholder mapping;
Development of an operational/logistical plan. The Output of this phase is the Inception Report.
Data Collection Phase:

• At the end of this phase, the evaluation team will provide a debriefing of the preliminary findings to the UNCT/PMT, take initial comments and validate the preliminary findings.

Drafting the Evaluation Report:

• A draft evaluation report will be prepared by the evaluation team after the data collection exercise. The draft report will be submitted by the Lead Consultant to the Evaluation Committee/RCO;
• Review and Quality Assurance – The Lead consultant will be directly responsible for addressing any comments or observations towards eventual finalization of the report by securing inputs from the respective subject area consultants;
• Presentation of findings, Validation and submission of report- The Evaluation team shall present the final draft for validation to stakeholders in designated meetings while the final report shall be submitted to the UNCT via the Chair of Evaluation Committee/RCO (Word and PDF version).

Deliverables
Inception report describing consultants’ understanding of the assignment and his/her plan to execute it ( 8 to 12 page document) 4 days after the start of the assignment progress report/briefing to the Evaluation Committee/PMT/RCO (the briefing periods to be determined in the Inception Report SWOT analysis report on the pilot DaO in Nigeria:

• Comprehensive Final Evaluation Report (25 pages content including not more that 4-page Executive Summary)
• A Power Point presentation containing the main findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation for dissemination and debriefing purposes;
• A light Annual Review report for the implementation of UNDAF II in the year 2013.

Management and Process

• The consultants will be expected to work independently on the evaluation although organisational support will be available from the office of the Resident Coordinator and the Evaluation Committee (EC). Under the overall supervision of the RC/UNCT, the EC will primarily responsible for managing the evaluation process with the day to day technical management support by the RCO. The EC/RCO will facilitate(where necessary) access of the consultants to key informants, including UN agency heads and staff, development partners, government and other partners; prepare the necessary documentations for the consultants. A detailed work plan will be prepared by the consultants and submitted to the EC/RCO for approval to guide the monitoring of the assignment. The five selected consultants will be jointly accountable for the deliverables within the deadlines agreed upon with UNS in Nigeria. The team will ensure sufficient division of labour and coordination among themselves.

Time Frame and Remuneration
The consultancy is expected to last six weeks from the middle of September, 2013. Remuneration will be in accordance with the UN Rules and Regulations and will be commensurate with the complexity of the assignment. The UN will in addition to the agreed fee meet the costs for official travel of the consultant and pay the appropriate Daily Subsistence Allowance which should be included in the financial proposal. The Consultancy fee will be paid in line with the following schedule and upon acceptance of key deliverables:

• At the end of the Desk Phase: 20%;
• At the submission of the Final Draft Reports: 50%;
• At the end of the Evaluation exercise: 30%.

Composition of the Evaluation Team

• There will be a team of five (5) consultants made up of one international expert and four National Experts; the international consultant will be the team leader. Each of the other four national consultants should possess relevant qualifications and experience in at least one of the four UNDAF outcome areas. As much as possible, the composition of the team should be gender sensitive. The selected consultants are expected to be independent and should not have been involved in the implementation of UNDAF II programmes in any of the Agencies.

Tasks of the Consultants

• Thoroughly review and familiarize self with the UNDAF documents including the Country Analysis, the UNDAF Outcomes, the UNDAF Results Matrix, the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the UNDAF Evaluation Concept Note/TORs;
• In close consultation with the RCO, manage the day-to-day coordination of the detailed tasks of the Evaluation including communication with the Evaluation focal points in the Agencies, sending, receiving and proper archiving of documents; organizing and facilitating consultative/coordination meetings etc;
• Participate actively and take initiative in the meetings of PMT/EC on the Evaluation;
• Convene coordination meetings with and provide technical guidance to the UNDAF Area/Sub-area consultants and ensure their full understanding and application of the Evaluation principles and guidelines to both the processes and outputs.
• Attend and provide technical support to UNDAF Area/Sub-area consultative and review meetings;
• Review and analyze inputs from all UN agencies and stakeholders, ensure that the reports answer the Evaluation Questions (see above) and collate into the draft Evaluation Report;
• Draft the text for the crosscutting parts of the report including the executive summary; and synthesis of the Situation Analysis update, the constraints, the lessons learnt, summary of proposed changes and recommendations for UNDAF III;
• Plan, organize, facilitate and summarize outputs from a participatory comprehensive SWOT analysis of the Delivering-as-One planning and operationalization process;
• Present the draft Evaluation Report to the EC/PMT/UNCT and incorporate any comments or changes and produce the final draft of the report;
• In collaboration with the Office of the RC, lead the planning for, and organization of, the Evaluation meeting including preparation of the report document, the accompanying presentations and the meeting logistics;
• Attend Evaluation meetings and incorporate any comments or changes and produce the final Evaluation report.

Competencies

• Expert knowledge of and working familiarity with results-based management, human rights based and gender mainstreaming approaches;
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative evaluation methodology;
• Understanding of the UN’s mandate and modus operandi preferred;
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English;
• Ability to work in a team and deliver results.

Required Skills and Experience

• National Consultants Governance and Accountability
• The National Consultant Governance and Accountability should have the following qualifications:

Education:

• Advanced University degree in one or more of the following areas: political science, economics, social sciences or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 10 years experience in accountable governance, anti-corruption programming, institutional and regulatory reforms, public procurement and fiscal responsibility laws in Nigeria.
• National Consultant Productivity and EmploymentThe National Consultant Productivity and Employment should have the following qualifications:

Education:

• Advanced University degree in one or more of the following areas: Economics, Social sciences or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 10 years experience in programming for poverty reduction through productive activities, trade capacity building, business development and technology transfer, environmental governance etc.
• National Consultants Social Service Delivery
• The National Consultants Social Service Delivery should have the following qualifications:

Education:

• Advanced University degree in one or more of the following areas: Health sciences, Demography, Social Sciences, Law or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 10 years experience in programming for social services (including Education, Health, skills acquisition) delivery etc.
• National Consultant Reduction of Risk of Crisis, Conflict and InsecurityThe National Consultant Reduction of Risk of Crisis, Conflict and Insecurity should have the following qualifications:

Education:
Advanced University degree in one or more of the following areas: Political Science, Economics, Demography, Social Sciences, Law or related fields.
Experience:

• At least 10 years experience in programming in conflict prevention and management, internal security and emergency preparedness, management and responses to natural and man made crises, design and implementation of integrated development policies.

Language for all:

• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Mode of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online


Application Deadline: 17th September, 2013