Consultant On Monitoring And Evaluation

  INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE                    EXTERNAL COLLABORATION CONTRACT   ___________________________________________________________________________   GENERAL INFORMATION       Title:                                       Consultant on Monitoring and Evaluation   Sector/Office:                         Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS)   Location:                                Beirut, Lebanon   Duration of contract:            September 28th, 2017 – December 10th, 2017   Deadline for application:        25th September 2017   ______________________________________________________________________   BACKGROUND INFORMATION       ILO ROAS       Monitoring and Evaluation   Results Based Management (RBM) applies to all stages of the ILO’s programming cycle, including programme planning, implementation, reporting and evaluation, and provides feedback to subsequent programming cycles. In this context, evaluation is used as a management and organizational learning tool to support ILO constituents in contributing to decent work and social justice. It is a critical means to improve decision-making, to generate and share knowledge within the organization, and to provide verifiable evidence of ILO’s effectiveness in delivering results.       Currently in the Arab States region there has been an increase in the work needed in evaluation due to the increase in number and scope of projects being undertaken by the office, due in part to Syria refugee crisis. Most notably, the German Government through its Development Bank (KfW) is funding a large-scale ILO Employment Intensive Investment Programme aimed at creating short-term jobs for thousands of Syrian refugees and members of their Jordanian host communities, while improving infrastructure in the northern governorates of Irbid and Mafraq. This project requires extensive work on the design, monitoring and evaluation framework and employment impact assessments.       Knowledge management       To support the ROAS efforts in responding to the crisis situation, the office is working on generating an evidence base and disseminating through an effective knowledge sharing mechanism. This includes M&E work such as:   -     Evaluation of crisis response initiatives both in Jordan and Lebanon;   -     Lessons learned exercises and documentation;   -     Assessment of results achieved;   -     Synthesis of study results.       Employment Intensive Investment Programmes       Project Background   The ILO ROAS is undertaking two large-scale Employment Intensive Investment Programmes (EIIP) funded by KfW (a German government-owned development bank) with the aim of mitigating the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on neighbouring countries. Given the scale of the projects, the continuous monitoring and evaluation needs are great.       Jordan   The programme will support the Government of Jordan in creating immediate jobs through employment intensive programmes in Irbid and Mafraq, for both Syrian women and men refugees and host communities through: construction and maintenance of schools, support to local farmers (construction of water cisterns, terracing of slopes), construction and maintenance of agricultural feeder roads. These employment intensive programmes differ from various initiatives of cash for work that have been implemented so far in Jordan due to (a) their special focus on decent working conditions, including occupational safety and health, no child labour, and equal pay for work of equal value, (b) safeguards they offer for environmental protection, (c) their graduating mechanisms that allow participating workers to graduate out of the programme to sustainable livelihood, and (d) the creation or increase of asset value in public, agricultural and environmental infrastructure.       Monitoring and Evaluation   The Programme will develop a Monitoring and Results Measurement (MRM) framework based on the standard of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), of which the ILO is a member. The MRM framework will be developed in close coordination with the M&E Officer based in ROAS, elaborating on the results matrix of the project.  It will use the universal impact indicators included in the standard as well as the indicators agreed in the logical framework. As prescribed by the standard, it will develop a result chain for each of the Programme interventions that link activities in a plausible manner to the desired impact, building on assumptions about what sort of measures can trigger what sort of effects. These will reflect the overall theory of change on which the Programme is based.       An M&E plan will be developed for the results chain, which will specify indicators, both quantitative and qualitative, for the different levels in the results chain, projections for the key quantitative indicators, and how and when the indicators will be assessed. The approach will include use of secondary data to the extent available, but it is foreseen that a significant amount of primary data will need to be collected, through surveys, interviews, group discussions and other means. The methods of inquiry and focus will include women’s perspectives both as workers and in the decision-making bodies and processes of the programme.   Specific focus will include:   Monitoring the quality of the assets created, their alignment with agreed standards as well as their impact on the lives of targeted communities; The wage payment and general working conditions of the participating workers, as well as any violation of core labour standards; The impact of the programme on social tensions and general harmony of the community; The unexpected/unwanted effects of the programme on the communities (this monitoring will feed into possible revisions of the strategy).   Moreover, monitoring measures and tools will be included, which would facilitate the measurement of baseline information and assessment of post intervention results. Gender-specific indicators will be developed. The approach will include use of secondary data to the extent available, but it is foreseen that a significant amount of primary data will need to be collected, through small surveys, interviews, group discussions and other means.   As per KfW regulations bi-annual reports will be generated, complemented by monthly short updates about beneficiaries reached / employment created. These will all be disaggregated by sex and will include the extent to which the project is adapting to encourage women to participate as well as to help ensure their representation in decision making bodies and processes. Additionally, and as per the ILO evaluation policy and guidelines, the programme will undergo 1) an initial monitoring and evaluation appraisal; 2) an evaluability review within one year of start-up; and 3) independent mid-term and final evaluations with a gender perspective duly mainstreamed. The Programme will also conduct focused impact evaluation for specific interventions where counterfactuals can be identified.   Lebanon Project Background The project aims at creating short- to mid-term employment opportunities for Lebanese host community members and Syrian refugees through infrastructure works. At the centre of the project are labour-intensive infrastructure rehabilitation and improvement measures such as rural road rehabilitation, water catchment cisterns and terracing (see annex 1 for the results matrix). The project will be implemented via the Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme (LHSP) in the most vulnerable municipalities of Bekaa, North and Mount Lebanon that host most of the deprived Lebanese and refugees. The infrastructure measures will be complemented by trainings, on employment intensive methods for contractors and capacity building for public institutions. Especially the Ministry of Labour will be supported in order to promote a system for speedy and transparent issuance of work permits to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, allowing them to legally and formally take up employment.   Monitoring and Evaluation The programme will be committed to continuous and stringent monitoring and evaluation based on the results matrix in annex 1. Monitoring measures and tools will be applied, which will facilitate the measurement of baseline information and assessment of post intervention results. The approach will include use of secondary data to the extent available, but it is foreseen that a significant amount of primary data will need to be collected through surveys, interviews, group discussions and other means. Data related to employment will be obtained by Muster Rolls, as well as periodic spot-checks. Furthermore, during regular supervision, adherence to for instance labour laws and Decent Work principles will be ensured.   Considering the general lack of reliable data in Lebanon, it is foreseen that a comprehensive baseline study will be conducted within the first 4-6 months of the project, so within phases 1 and 2 of the project. This study will provide data on current employment practices, household expenditure, general employment data (gender-disaggregated) and data on infrastructure requirements, community wishes and needs as well as current contracting practices and related financial and capacity information of companies. This data is essential in order to not only steer the project and plan & budget appropriately, but will also demonstrate project impact after specific periods, when evaluation missions are conducted.   Bi-annual reports will be generated, including monthly updates on standard indicators on employment generation. Additionally, and as per the ILO evaluation policy and guidelines, the project will undergo 1) an initial monitoring and evaluation appraisal; 2) an evaluability review within one year of start-up; and 3) Independent mid-term and final joint evaluations, managed by the ILO as per the evaluation policy guidelines. Bi-annual financial reporting will be done in conjunction with bi-annual progress reports. A final Financial Report will be submitted by the ILO to KFW at the end of the project. Financial and Progress reports will be submitted under separate cover.   ___________________________________________________________________________ DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES     Under the Supervision of the Regional Evaluation Officer, the consultant will assist the Regional Programme Unit with monitoring and evaluation support on the two aforementioned projects in Lebanon and Jordan as well as other tasks as required by ILO Regional Office for Arab States and the ILO Regional Evaluation Officer.       Tasks and Responsibilities       The Consultant will have the specific responsibilities as listed below:   Assist the Regional Evaluation Officer with ongoing work in evaluations, employment impact assessments in Lebanon, document review, appraisal of logframes and development M&E frameworks and tools, as well as other tasks as needed. Assist the M&E plan consultant in developing methodology and tools allowing the projects to conduct specific community baseline and snapshots in each project site, capturing relevant information on the Project beneficiaries, their livelihood, providing the basis for a socio-economic impact, as well as gender and environmental impacts of the Project’s infrastructure investments upon the local communities. Support data input, refinement of tools, and the data entry system. Updating the roster of evaluators using the Geneva EVAL KSP, Linkedin, and EVAL i-track.     __________________________________________________________________________       QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE       The consultant will have:       A University degree in Economics, Sociology, Development studies or any relevant discipline; A solid understanding of monitoring and evaluation and evaluation management. Knowledge of results-based management would be a plus.   The consultant will also:   Have a minimum of five years of professional experience in developing and implementing M&E systems in similar projects; Have knowledge of the Lebanese and Jordanian context; Be fluent in spoken and written English. Arabic would be a plus. To apply to the consultancy, you have to send your CV and references to: RECRUIT-ARABSTATES@ilo.org