Result of Service

The evaluation will capture lessons learnt, provide recommendations for improving future similar projects and contribute to knowledge building of users of the evaluation, particularly the implementation team, UN-Habitat Management, SECO and other key partners of the project.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

3 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

UN-Habitat is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Its mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. Pursuant to its various mandates, UN-Habitat works on two levels to achieve its goals, effectiveness, and impact. At the operational level, it undertakes technical cooperation projects. At the normative level, it seeks to influence governments and non-governmental actors in formulating, adopting, implementing, and enforcing policies, norms, and standards conducive to sustainable human settlements and sustainable urbanization. Its work is guided by successive strategic plans and work programmes. The current UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2023 provides four domains of change (subprograms) as summarized below: (i) Reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across urban-rural continuum; (ii) Enhanced shared prosperity of cities and regions; (iii) Strengthening climate action and improved urban environment; and (iv) Effective urban crisis prevention and response The Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts” programme is aligned with the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2023 and contributes to subprogramme 1 of reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across urban-rural continuum, subprogramme 2 of enhanced Shared prosperity of cities in regions and subprogramme 4 of effective urban crisis prevention and response. The evaluation will cover the implementation period from the start of the project in January 2021 up to completion in December 2024, in the four targeted countries and their respective cities. It will be evidence-based, conducted systematically and objectively as possible to answer evaluation questions organized around the evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. Assessing the cross-cutting issues of human rights, gender and the principle of leaving no one behind will be part of the scope. This evaluation will be managed by the Evaluation Unit and conducted by an external evaluator (consultant). This evaluation will serve purposes of accountability, learning, decision making and knowledge building. The evaluation will assess the performance of the project and the extent to which it has been relevant, efficient, effective, and sustainable as well as to assess changes at outcome level and emerging impact. It will capture lessons learnt, provide recommendations for improving future similar projects and contribute to knowledge building of users of the evaluation, particularly the implementation team, UN-Habitat Management, SECO and other key partners of the project. Approach and Methodology: Approach The evaluation should employ a mix of approaches and methods. A results-based approach (Theory of Change Approach) should be applied to demonstrate how the project is supposed to being implemented to achieve its planned results under conditions and assumptions needed for the causal changes (input-activities-outputs-outcomes and objectives) to take place. Also, the Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP) approach should be used to assess the plan’s implementation structures, management systems and procedures, collaboration, coordination, and partnerships. In addition, the evaluation should be inclusive, participatory and consultative with key partners and stakeholders, SECO, the donors. It should be conducted in a transparent way in line with the Norms and Standards of evaluations in UN system. Methods The methodology will be composed of tasks that will facilitate the validation of findings through a triangulation process. Based on the findings from the document review, the triangulation will comprise findings from interviews/ questionnaire surveys administer to stakeholders involved in the project formulation process and beneficiary stakeholders. Field missions are also expected. The main features of these tasks are: Information gathering by the evaluation team will comprise review of all project reports and interviews with key internal and external stakeholders including staff from SECO, national partners/organizations and UN-Habitat staff. It will therefore be a qualitative and quantitative exercise. Information related to each of the evaluation criteria will have to be collected from at least three different informants or assessed by both desk research (documents review) and interview data, to ensure a robust assessment through triangulation approach. Some limited travel may also be incorporated, based on agreement with the project team. The evaluation team will describe expected data collection instruments and analysis to be used in the evaluation inception report. Analysis and synthesis of information should be presented logically to give an overall assessment of progress in the implementation of the project. Stakeholder Involvement: One of the key determinants of evaluation utilization is the extent to which stakeholders are meaningfully involved in the evaluation process. It is expected that this evaluation will be participatory, involving both internal and external key stakeholders. It will include representatives of UN-Habitat branches and regional offices, cross-cutting issues focal points and representatives of SECO. Evaluation Management and Responsibilities: The Independent Evaluation Unit will manage the evaluation process, ensuring that the evaluation is conducted by a suitable evaluation consultant; providing technical support and advice on methodology; explaining evaluation standards and ensuring they are respected; ensuring contractual requirements are met; approving all deliverables (TOR, Inception Reports; draft and final evaluation reports); sharing the evaluation results; supporting use and follow-up of the implementation of the evaluation recommendations The Evaluation Consultant will undertake the following tasks: a. Identify the evaluation methodology, design relevant tools (e.g., forms, questionnaires, documentation, etc..,) and the needed information necessary for the analysis. b. Undertake the needed activities and steps to collect the needed information for the evaluation. c. Undertake necessary consultation with the project’s team members, partners as well as other potential donors to analyse the challenges being faced by the project. d. Analyse the implementation strategies of the project with regard to their potential effectiveness in achieving the project outcomes and impact, including unexpected results and factors affecting project implementation (positively and negatively). e. Review the institutional set-up, capacity for project implementation, coordination mechanisms and the use and usefulness of management tools including the project monitoring tools and work plans. f. Rate the project against the specified criteria. g. Identify lessons and potential good practices for the key stakeholders. h. Provide strategic recommendations for the different key stakeholders to improve implementation of the project activities and attainment of project objectives.; i. And are responsible for high quality evaluation products of inception report, draft and final evaluation report. The Project Team will be responsible for providing required documentation of the project. Other Offices, Branches and Regional Offices will support evaluation process by providing other documents as requested and being involved in interviews, surveys and other consultation processes. Under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Independent Evaluation Unit, the consultant will: (i) Assess the design, implementation and achievement of results at the objective, outcome and output levels. This will entail analysis of planned versus actual achieved results. (ii) Assess the performance of the project in terms of its relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, partnerships, emerging impact, and sustainability. (iii) Assess the appropriateness of implementation working modalities, coordination and how they contributed to achieving results of the project. (iv) Assess the effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on the projects’ performance. (v) Assess how social inclusion issues of gender equality, human rights, youth, disability, as well as environment issues were integrated in and impacted by the project. (vi) Take into account the intended users of the evaluation, to identify lessons learned and provide recommendations for improving future projects of similar nature.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced academic degree in political sciences, social economy, governance, planning, similar relevant fields is required. In lieue of an advanced degree, a related Bachelors degree with additional 2 years work experience would be considered. 10 years of programme management experience in results-based management working with development project/ programmes is required. Extensive evaluation experience with the ability to present credible findings derived from evidence and put conclusions and recommendations supported by findings is desirable. Knowledge and experience of country programming and specific knowledge and understanding of UN-Habitat and its mandate is desirable.

Languages

English and French are UN working languages. For this consultancy, fluency in English both oral and written is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.