Consultant (Mid-Term Evaluation For Emergency Assistance Project) at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organization working on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than 30 countries throughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the problems of forced migration, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC works in accordance with the UN Conventions on Refugees and the Code of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant for Mid-Term Evaluation For Emergency Assistance Project In Northeastern Nigeria

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Contract Length: 30 days

Background

• Nigeria’s North-East is currently experiencing a significant humanitarian crisis, which has resulted from the on-going armed conflict between Armed Opposition Groups (AOGs), the Nigerian military and the Multi-National Task Force. An estimated 14.8 million people are affected by the conflict that has led to a state of emergency being declared in three north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. High insecurity in the region has made access for humanitarian actors extremely difficult, further exacerbating the situation.
• Displaced populations are in dire need of emergency assistance. IDPs report facing significant difficulties in accessing health services, including immunization, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. There is limited availability of basic facilities to preserve life and maintain comfort, health, safety, privacy and dignity, such as adequate shelter, particularly in hard-to-reach areas away from the Local Government Area (LGA) capitals. Food insecurity is also characteristic of the current crisis being faced by many. 
• To respond to growing humanitarian needs, the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has been funding the Danish Refugees Council (DRC) since May 2015 to implement the project "Ensuring timely and emergency assistance to vulnerable populations affected by the conflict in Nigeria”, within the sectors of Shelter, NFI and WASH.
• The goal of this action is to provide timely, effective and appropriate emergency Shelter, NFI and WASH assistance to internally displaced persons, host communities and returnees in North East Nigeria. This project, whose direct beneficiaries are IDPs and returnees, is being implemented in Borno and Adamawa states.

The Job

• DRC wishes to conduct an external evaluation in order to see the impact of its intervention a) for the project beneficiaries, b) in a broader sense within the affected community and c) as part of the wider humanitarian response.
• The evaluation will provide an independent assessment of the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the programme and make recommendations to enable the organization to engage in effective policymaking, planning, programming, and implementation. It is also intended that this evaluation of the completed grant form the baseline for the start-up and implementation of a new grant in similar sectors.
• The purpose of this evaluation is to measure the impact of DRC’s interventions in the sectors of Shelter, NFI and WASH under the completed project, to be used as a baseline against which to implement a similar project.
• Specifically, the evaluation will:
  • Assess the programme implementation processes
  • Identify the project’s achievements, in line with global standards and the context in Nigeria
  • Identify areas for improving similar projects in future.

To achieve this objective the Evaluation will cover the Following Points:
Relevance:

• To what extent and in what aspects did the project meet a verified need?
• How realistically were the objectives of the project defined? Were they appropriate for the participants, beneficiaries and stakeholders?
• To what extent do the objectives of the project and the intervention objectives correspond to the basic principles of the DRC mandate?
• To what extent did the intervention contribute towards the goals and achievements of the Humanitarian Response Plan, Regional Plan, as well as other sector-specific goals set by other agencies, including the government? How well does the project fit within the country strategy for DRC Nigeria?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of DRC's approach to intervention?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent have the objectives of the intervention been achieved? 
• So far, what are the positive and negative effects, expected and unforeseen of the project?
• What factors contributed to the achievement of the objectives?
• How has the project contributed to improving the living conditions of the targeted beneficiaries?

Efficiency:

• To what extent have the deadlines been met?
• Describe communication channels within the team, with partners and outside the project
• Are recipients satisfied with DRC's support?
• How was the reporting system? Has it provided a sufficient element for good management?

Durability:

• To what extent has the project enhanced the resilience of the target populations?
• To what extent are the project partners able and willing to maintain the outcome of the intervention after discontinuation of DRC support?

Transversal Aspects:

• To what extent has the differing needs of men, women, boys and girls been identified in the needs analysis? 
• Do women and men make equal contributions to the design of the project? 
• Has the project been implemented and data analysed/interpreted with gender, age, disability, or other specific needs in mind?

Recommendations:

• What are the good practices of the project?
• What are the lessons learned?
• What activities should be continued, stopped, or refracted?
• What aspects of the project contribute to the achievement of the objectives?
• How can specific recommendations be made for the implementation of the current grant?
• The main users of this evaluation will be DRC/DDG and OFDA.

Professional travels (yes / no; if yes to be detailed):

• Travel in and around Borno and Adamawa States, Nigeria

Task and Responsibilities

• The evaluation mission will cover the period from 1 to 30 June 2017. The evaluation team will present a report on the preliminary results and the initial conclusions and recommendations to those who have been actively involved in the evaluation to clarify the key points to be included in the final report.

Schedule: N° Tasks Number of Days:

• 1 Documentation review, review of the programmes and validation of the calendar 3 days 
• 2 Inception reporting 3 days
• 3 Fieldwork (data collection and preliminary analysis) 7 days
• 4 Data entry and analysis 7 days 
• 5 Report writing and Submitting the first Draft
• 7 days 
• 6 Observation and comment of key people involved in the evaluation 4 days 
• 7 Integration of comments by the evaluation team and submission of final report
• 4 days 

The evaluation team will submit the following Reports:

• REPORT NO. OF PAGES main points Calendar
• START-UP REPORT Maximum 10 pages (annexes not included) Intervention Logic (if applicable)
• Evaluation question, indicator evaluation criteria
• Difficulties
• Detailed assessment approach and work plan End of start-up step

Documentary Report 10-20 pages:

• (annexes not included) Preliminary response to each evaluation question, indicating the information already collected and its limitations
• Issues to be addressed and assumptions to be tested
• Complete description of the methodology used to answer questions
• Detailed plan for the field step Debriefing to the project team and presentation of preliminary results

Final Report Draft 30-40 pages:

• (Annexes not included) Response to evaluation questions
• Synthesis of all findings, conclusions and recommendations in the form of an overall assessment End of report writing and submission of first Draft

Final Report:

• Same characteristics as above, including any comments received from interested parties on the interim final report and which have been accepted.

Key Requirements
Education (diplomas) / Qualifications / Experience / Competencies / Languages / Soft skills:

Essential (+ or - if needed):

• At least 5 years working in humanitarian contexts in the sectors of Shelter, NFI and WASH
• Familiarity with US donor requirements and technical approaches 
• Proven experience with conducting external evaluations
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• University degree relating to the sectors of Shelter, NFI and WASH, such as water and sanitation engineering, civil engineering, architecture etc.

Desirables (+ or - if needed):

• Proven experience with the Rapid Response Mechanism or emergency responses in Shelter, NFI and WASH
• Fluency in Hausa is a plus
• Experience working in West Africa.

Start Date
As soon as possible.

Family Duty Station:
Non-family Duty Station

Application Closing Date
30th June, 2017.
 
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Interested candidates are requested to submit a Financial Offer, CV, and References from relevant work/consultancies. A detailed breakdown of expenses should include costs for visas, flights and accommodation.
• All reports will be written in English using the fonts "Arial", in body 10 and single spacing. Each report will first be submitted electronically.
• For each report / deliverable, the evaluation manager will make comments within four (4) calendar days. Revised reports / deliverables incorporating submissions from interested parties will be submitted within 6 calendar days from the date of receipt of these comments.
• The evaluation team should provide a separate document explaining how and where observations were incorporated or the reason for non-integration of some observations.
• The final report (final version) will be submitted in four copies, in hard copy and in electronic format.