International Consultancy: Evaluation Team at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Purpose of consultancy:    

The purpose of this evaluation is to provide evidence to support UNFPA’s learning related to what works (and what does not) to accelerate progress towards achievement of the transformative results and inform the design of the next regional programme action plan as a contribution to the strategic Plan and its stated intent to focus on “unfinished business”. 

This formative evaluation is a milestone within an ‘evaluative evidence package’ to inform the next regional programme building s intended to build a foundation of the first and current regional programmes to guide, actions to accelerate progress towards achieving the three transformative results in East and Southern Africa Regions. The evaluation of the RPAP will undertake in coordination with the Global SP formative evaluation and other regional programme evaluations. The ‘evaluative evidence package’ is composed of several thematic and institutional centralized evaluations implemented under the last two Quadrennial Budgeted Evaluation Plans, a summative evaluation of the Strategic Plan scheduled in 2028, and this formative evaluation.

Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

• The objective of this evaluation is to assess UNFPA’s organizational readiness and strategic positioning to accelerate the progress towards the achievement of the three transformative results and catalyse a discussion on the design of the next Strategic Plan given the state of progress on the SDGs. New elements introduced in this Strategic Plan will be the focus – namely, the six accelerators for change - and the strategic shifts that were proposed, including flexibility and agility in programming, financing, innovation, and partnerships. The evaluation will focus on the current Strategic Plan period starting in 2022 until the end of data collection in early-2024. A forward-looking perspective will be maintained so that the evaluation results will benefit both the remainder of the current regional programme and the Strategic Plan and the development of the subsequent one.
• The evaluation will cover all the following thematic areas of the Regional Programme Action Plan 2022 - 2023 - sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, family planning, adolescents and youth, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as population and development data, policies and strategies, Humanitarian and Emergencies. 
• In addition, the evaluation will cover cross-cutting issues such as human rights and gender equality, emergencies, humanitarian crises, displacement, and migration status relevant in countries affected by humanitarian crisis in the region; as well as innovation, knowledge management, resource mobilization, communication and organizational efficiency and effectiveness, programme coordination and results-based management, monitoring, and evaluation.

Qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:    

Qualifications and Experience of the Evaluation Team

Team Leader

The competencies, skills and experience of the evaluation team leader should include:

• Master’s degree in public health, Social Sciences, Demography or Population Studies, Statistics, Development Studies, or a related field.
• 10 years of experience in conducting or managing evaluations in the field of international development and/or humanitarian action].
• Extensive experience in leading complex evaluations commissioned by United Nations organizations and/or other international organizations and NGOs.
• Demonstrated expertise in one of the thematic areas of programming covered by the evaluation (see profiles below).
• In-depth knowledge of theory-based evaluation approaches and ability to apply both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and to uphold standards for quality evaluation as defined by UNFPA and UNEG.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian strategies, policies, frameworks and international humanitarian law, and principles as well as the international humanitarian architecture and coordination mechanisms.
• Ability to ensure ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and prevention of harm to evaluation subjects.
• Ability to consistently integrate human rights and gender perspectives in all phases of the evaluation process.
• Excellent management and leadership skills to coordinate and supervise the work of the evaluation team.
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of experts.
• Excellent analytical skills and demonstrated ability to formulate evidence-based conclusions and realistic and actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication (written and spoken), facilitation and knowledge-sharing skills.
• Good knowledge of the regional development context of ESAR 
• Fluent in written and spoken English.

SRHR Expert

The competencies, skills, and experience of the SRH expert should include:

• Master’s degree in public health, Medicine, Health Economics and Financing, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or a related field.
• 7 years of experience in conducting evaluations, reviews, assessments, research studies or M&E work in the field of international development and/or humanitarian action.
• Substantive knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian strategies, policies, frameworks, and international humanitarian law and principles as well as the international humanitarian architecture and coordination mechanisms.
• Ability to ensure ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and prevention of harm to evaluation subjects.
• Ability to consistently integrate human rights and gender perspectives in all phases of the evaluation process.
• Solid knowledge of evaluation approaches and methodology and demonstrated ability to apply both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of experts.
• Excellent communication (written and spoken), facilitation and knowledge-sharing skills.
• Good knowledge of the national development context of ESARO.
• Familiarity with UNFPA or other United Nations organizations’ mandates and operations will be an advantage.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.