Consultant: International Team Leader, evaluation of resilient food security, USAID Project Bangladesh

Position Description

EnCompass LLC is seeking a consultant to serve as an International Team Leader for the evaluation of resilient food security (RFSA) activities in Bangladesh. EnCompass is implementing the four-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Upoma Activity, providing a range of analytical and advisory services in support of USAID’s design, performance monitoring, evaluation, and operational learning and adapting efforts. Under Upoma, EnCompass has been tasked to conduct two separate comprehensive evaluations of the Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSA) and subsequent initiatives in Bangladesh, specifically focusing on the SHOUHARDO and Nobo Jatra programs that span from 2016 to 2025.

The two evaluations will assess the performance and sustainability of the two programs, which were designed to improve food security, nutrition, and resilience outcomes among vulnerable populations in disaster-prone regions. Additionally, the evaluations will explore the broader community-level impacts and synergies of disaster risk reduction activities that overlapped with these programs, offering critical insights into their long-term effectiveness and the sustainability of service delivery systems established during their implementation.

To conduct the two evaluations, EnCompass LLC is seeking two separate team leaders to independently oversee the evaluations of the SHOUHARDO and Nobo Jatra programs while coordinating closely with each other. Both team leaders should have extensive experience managing large-scale, integrated evaluations of socio-economic, health, nutrition, disaster risk reduction (DRR), gender, resilience, financial inclusion, and sustainability projects.

The Learning Questions (LQs) of the evaluation are:

LQ1: What is the performance of RFSA and post-RFSA in implementing sustainability strategies to achieve each program’s goal? What is the performance of RFSAs in developing/ influencing sustainability factors/parameters (motivation, linkages, resources, and capacity) and maintaining productive partnerships between LSPs, government agencies, private sector and local communities to enhance service provision?

LQ2. How viable is the Local Service Provision (LSP) model, established and promoted by the RSFAs, to ensure the sustainability of services for vulnerable populations and their continuation beyond the programs? Are the programs’ (RFSA) sustainability factors, facilitation modalities and interventions contributing to improve LSP businesses and incomes, and will this improvement result in continued service delivery?

LQ3. How, and to what extent, have the RFSA and post-RSFA activities impacted gender-equitable food and nutrition security and resilience capacities within targeted communities? How have program interventions impacted individuals’, households’ and communities’ perceived ability to cope with shocks and stresses? Does the impact on ability change by gender of participants?

LQ4. How and to what extent have the key food and nutrition security outcomes at the household-level changed since baseline and the 2021-2022 endline evaluations? What unintended consequences (positive or negative) have arisen from both programs?

LQ5. How are the village savings and lending associations (VSLA) contributing to the building of resilience capacity at the household and community levels? How likely are VSLAs to continue working (and does the effect vary by length of program support/number support cycles)? Is the sustainability of the cooperatives and networks of the savings groups and LSPs viable without external support?

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Functions (of each team leader):

• Lead the evaluation team including one statistician, three specialists with expertise in agriculture, nutrition, livelihoods, DRR, resilience and sustainability and WASH, and one logistics support specialist.
• Lead the development of the Inception Report, including evaluation design, sampling, and data collection methods.
• Ensure all necessary IRB and host country approvals are secured, complying with USAID’s Scientific Research Policy.
• Develop and oversee data collection plans, logistics, and coordination with local partners.
• Supervise the development of materials for and delivery of training for enumerators, supervisors, and anthropometry staff.
• Oversee household surveys, KIIs, FGDs, and transect walks, ensuring ethical data collection.
• Conduct qualitative data collection as needed including KIIs and FGDs
• Ensure data cleaning, validation, and secure storage for both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Lead and conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis and ensure the integration of quantitative and qualitative data, ensuring robust findings.
• Present preliminary findings to stakeholders and facilitate co-creation of recommendations.
• Lead the drafting of evaluation reports, including briefers and annexes.
• Organize and lead workshops to disseminate findings and validate recommendations.
• Complete final reports, incorporating feedback, and ensure timely submission to the DEC.
• Collaborate with the evaluation team and the other team lead to ensure consistency across evaluations.
• Manage the submission of cleaned datasets, reports, and anonymized data files for USAID.

Deliverables (for each evaluation):

• Inception Report, including evaluation design, data collection methods, sampling plan, and data quality monitoring strategy.
• IRB approvals and host country data collection permissions.
• Data collection plan, including schedules, protocols, and logistics for qualitative and quantitative data collection.
• Supervisor, enumerator, and anthropometry training guides for household and LSP surveys.
• In-brief meeting with USAID’s Activity Manager upon arrival in Bangladesh.
• Conduct any additional meetings with USAID, if needed.
• Regular progress reports/updates to the Upoma Task Manager.
• Out-brief meeting with USAID at the end of field work/data collection to share preliminary findings and recommendations.
• Draft evaluation reports with executive summaries, key findings, recommendations, and annexes (success stories, tools, dissenting views).
• Presentation of preliminary findings and recommendations to Mission, IP staff, and stakeholders.
• Final evaluation report
• Five-page briefers summarizing key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for each evaluation.
• Workshop materials for dissemination, including presentations and key findings for in-person/hybrid events.
• Cleaned quantitative data files, codebooks, SPSS/Stata files, and anonymized datasets for the USAID Development Data Library.

Period of Performance and Level of Effort (LOE): The LOE for each Team Leader is approximately up to 80 days. The period of performance is from on or about October 20, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

Travel: The position requires travel by both Team Leaders to Bangladesh, specifically in Char and Haor region for SHOUHARDO program evaluation and Khulna and Sathkhira districts for Nobo-Jatra evaluations.

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications:

Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in a relevant field such as Development Studies, Public Health, Social Sciences, Economics, or a related discipline.

Experience and Skills:

• At least 20 years of experience managing large-scale, integrated socio-economic, health, nutrition, DRR, gender, resilience, financial inclusion, or sustainability project evaluations.
• Demonstrated expertise in leading mixed-method evaluations for USAID-funded activities or similar projects, preferably in Bangladesh or South Asia.
• Excellent written and spoken English skills, with native-level writing proficiency preferred.
• Significant international experience as an evaluation team leader on large-scale projects in developing countries, particularly in South Asia.
• In-depth knowledge and expertise in agriculture, livelihoods, nutrition, WASH, DRR, gender, resilience, or sustainability.
• Proficiency in advanced statistical and qualitative data analysis software, with strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
• Experience in system-level impact analysis, market systems studies, and evaluations incorporating gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) and sustainability.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to resolve field issues and provide clear updates.
• Familiarity with the regional and local context and culture.
• Proven ability to lead and manage a diverse team of experts, ensuring effective coordination and integration of all evaluation components.