UN Country Framework for Ethiopia- National Evaluation Team Member
Job Opening
Job Opening ID: 225366
Job Network : Economic, Social and Development
Job Family : Programme Management
Category and Level : Consultants, CON
Duty Station : ADDIS ABABA
Department/Office : Resident Coordinator System
Date Posted : Jan 12, 2024
Deadline : Jan 22, 2024

Result of Service
– Final evaluation report on the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2025-2030) for Ethiopia.
Work Location
Addis Ababa
Expected duration
3 months
Duties and Responsibilities
Background
With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at its core, and in response to the General Assembly resolution 71/243 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, the UN Secretary General’s report (December 2017) “Repositioning the United Nations development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda: our promise for dignity, prosperity and peace on a healthy planet” puts forward a comprehensive proposal on further improvements to the resident coordinator system to ensure more coherent, accountable and effective support for the 2030 Agenda.

This was further reinforced by General Assembly resolution 72/729 of 1 June 2018, which gave the Secretary-General the mandate to implement the repositioning. A reinvigorated resident coordinator system is at the centre of a repositioned United Nations development system, and while the system has been instrumental in driving coherence on the ground over the past four decades, it is now insufficiently robust to respond to the needs of the 2030 Agenda.

In July 2020, the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Ethiopia, in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), started the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2020 – 2025 (UNSDCF). The UNSDCF outlines the key priorities and commitments of the UN system aligned to the Ten Years Development Plan for Ethiopia (2021 – 2030). The UNSDCF followed the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2016 – 2020 in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 72/279. The UNSDCF enables the UNCT in Ethiopia to elevate its support to the GoE in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Framework adopted the principles of inclusion, resilience and sustainability. It aimed at causing transformational changes under four interlinked outcomes:
– All people in Ethiopia enjoy the rights and capabilities to realize their potential in equality and with dignity.
– All people in Ethiopia live in a cohesive, just, inclusive and democratic society.
– All people in Ethiopia benefit from an inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy.
– All people in Ethiopia live in a society resilient to environmental risks and adapted to climate change.
The implementation of the UNSDCF is guided by a Policy and Oversight Board, co-chaired by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC).
The Framework adopted a more ‘joined-up’ approach that encourages cross-sectoral and cross issue collaboration. Even though the initial plan under the UNSDCF was to establish an issue group that focused on strategic thematic issues, the UNCT re-assessed the approach and adopted Action Groups to lead planning and programming coordination under each of the four outcome areas. In addition, the UNSDCF has thematic focused groups such as the Economists Group, Data and Statistics Working Group, Monitoring and Evaluation Sub-group and Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) Working Group that coordinate UNCT initiatives and advise the Programme Management Team (PMT) in their respective thematic areas. The UN Communication Group (UNCG) and Operations Management Team (OMT) also makes up the key coordination structures under the Framework.
The UNSDCF envisages a final independent evaluation to systematically assess the contributions of the UN Development System (UNDS) through the UNSDCF, focusing on development results achieved, gaps and overlaps. The evaluation will ensure accountability, support learning and inform decision-making on the design for the next planning cycle. The evaluation will not only allow course correction, where necessary, but also will ensure performance improvement for the remaining years of the current UNSDCF and inform the preparation of the next UNSDCF.
The independent UNSDCF evaluation will be informed by evidence collected using primary and secondary data collection methods including UNSDCF and UN entity annual reviews, assessments, implementing partners, UN entity and joint evaluations generated during the CF implementation cycle. The main audience and primary users of the evaluation report include the Government of Ethiopia, UNCT, implementing and development partners.

The objectives of the evaluation are:
– To assess the contribution of the CF to national development results through evidence-based judgements using evaluation criteria (accountability).
– To identify factors that have affected the CF’s contribution; answering the question of why the performance is as it is; and explaining the enabling factors and bottlenecks (learning).
– To reach conclusions concerning the UN’s contribution across the scope being examined.
– To provide actionable recommendations for improving the CF’s contribution, especially for incorporation into the new CF programming cycle. These recommendations should be logically linked to the conclusions and findings of the evaluation and should draw upon lessons learned identified through the evaluation.
Scope of the Evaluation
The Evaluation will cover all contributions to the UNSDCF outcomes of all programmes, projects and activities conducted by the UNCT at national and regional level for the UNSDCF period July 2020 to December 2023. It will also assess the UNSDCF cross-cutting issues and global UN programming principles such as LNOB, human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women, disability and youth inclusion, environmental sustainability and results-based management. The Evaluation will consider the changed national context due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, political instability and conflict, and government re-structuring.
The Evaluation will build on the existing programme or project evaluations conducted by each agency to make evaluative judgements about the Cooperation Framework. The evaluation findings will inform the design of the next UNSDCF for the period July 2025 – June 2030. Where a lack of data necessitates a quick assessment of a contribution, this should be carried out using appropriate evaluation methodologies that identify contributions at the outcome level and ascertain the plausibility of causal relationships between outputs and outcomes.
The evaluation will assess the implementation, monitoring and reporting as well as in facilitating multi-stakeholder coordination and mechanism and mobilizing resources for smooth and efficient UNSDCF implementation. The evaluation will be informed by a stakeholder mapping to identify key users and target audiences of the evaluation.
The Evaluation will have a national coverage. UNRCO will hire a team of independent evaluators to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation team will be based in Addis Ababa and travel to the purposively selected regions based on a detailed data collection plan to be submitted by the Evaluation Team and approved at the inception stage.

Tasks under the Consultancy:-

Under the overall supervision of the Head of UNRCO and Evaluation Manager, the National Evaluation Team Member will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:-
Jointly with the evaluation team leader support the overall evaluation of the UNSDCF 2020 – 2025
Conduct data collection and analysis including desk review and field visits for the evaluation
Support the preparation of key deliverables under the ToR including inception report, presentation of preliminary finding and draft and final reports
Qualifications/special skills
Advanced degree in development studies, public administration, economics or related social sciences is required.
At least 10 years’ experience required in designing and leading evaluations and technical competence in undertaking complex evaluations which involve use of mixed methods is required.
A strong record in designing and leading evaluations and Technical competence in undertaking complex evaluations which involve use of mixed methods is required.
Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods is required.
Demonstrated managerial competence and experience in organizing, leading and coordinating evaluation teams at international level is desirable.
Prior experience in working with multilateral agencies and knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly UNSDCF is desirable.
Strong experience and knowledge of the UN programming principles including LNOB, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, sustainability and resilience and accountability is desirable.
Process management skills such as facilitation skills and ability to negotiate with a wide range of stakeholders is desirable
Languages
Fluency both in English and Amharic is required for the assignment.