Evaluation Team Member - Higher Education Capacity Development (HECD) Mid-term Performance Evaluation and Research

EnCompass LLC’s Monitoring and Evaluation Support Program in Lebanon (MEPL) is seeking a team member to support the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Higher Education Capacity Development (HECD) Activity’s evaluation and diagnostic research. The team member will work under the direct supervision of the Research and Evaluation Specialist, and will collaborate with the team leader to contribute to the inception report, data collection and analysis, report drafting and presentations to stakeholders.

 The evaluation and research are expected to be conducted between December 2022 and June 2023, with one additional month to complete the research report and dissemination. The inception and reporting phases are expected to be conducted remotely, data collection however will be conducted in person unless there are security and/or covid restrictions.   

The expected level of effort (LOE, or total available billable days) is up to 50 days.   

HECD Activity Description

Background

The five-year HECD Activity helps develop the capacity of HEIs to better prepare their graduates to be successful in labor markets in Lebanon and around the world. Through its two outcomes, HECD seeks to 1) improve the capacity of post-secondary institutions, and 2) expand job readiness skills. HECD works with ten higher education institutions in Lebanon to develop their organizational and technical capacity.

Activities include improving management and administration, research capacity and methods, facilities, degree programs, curricula, and pedagogy. In all respects, the activity seeks to empower HEIs to improve and expand their institutional capacity to effectively transfer in-demand skills to new labor market entrants. HECD also focuses on job readiness to increase students’ productivity and competitiveness. 

Description of Problem and Context

The supply of high-skilled workers is not keeping up with demand. Lebanese and regional employers need educated graduates with more than theoretical knowledge. Today’s graduates need mastery in targeted soft and technical skills that will help employers increase productivity and competitiveness. This requires that Lebanese HEIs have increased and qualitatively better institutional capacity to effectively transfer in-demand skills to new labor market entrants. To meet this need, HECD is addressing the underlying development problem that affects higher education and post-secondary levels in Lebanon: the limited capacity of Lebanese HEIs resulting in poor or non-existent workforce development programs and an unprepared or irrelevant workforce.

Evaluation and Research Objectives and Timeline:

The evaluation and research team will review and finalize the following questions in collaboration with USAID prior to finalizing the designs.

Evaluation Questions 

Relevance

1. How do key stakeholders of the activity perceive the value and suitability of current HECD interventions in addressing HEI capacity and learner job readiness skills? 

2. What is the demand for continued, expanded, reduced, or modified efforts?

Effectiveness

3. To what extent has the HECD activity contributed to the improved capacity of HEIs and increased job readiness skills of HEI learners?  

• What were the factors that contributed to or hindered the achievement (or non-achievement) of the intended results?
• Which interventions are not perceived as successful?

Recommendations for mid-course corrections

4. What actions can be taken to improve the HECD activity’s contribution to improved HEI capacity and job readiness skills?

5. What are key lessons learned for future programming in the higher education sector?

Research Questions 

The main research question is how can the Lebanon HEIs better prepare their graduates to excel in the labor market?  The team will respond to this question while working on addressing those provided below:

1. What factors contribute to the success of Lebanese HEI graduates in national, regional, and global labor markets? Out of these factors, which are most important? 
2. What capacities are most important to employers and the private sector?
3. What are the primary capacity gaps of Lebanese HEIs in preparing graduates to be successful in national, regional, and global labor markets?  How, if at all, do those gaps vary based on type of institution (e.g., US accredited, faith-based, and/or non-denominational)?
4. What is the relative importance of Lebanese HEIs (compared to other stakeholders and factors) in improving job readiness of HEI learners?
5. What are the leverage points for addressing these capacity gaps based on the perceptions of key stakeholders (including students, faculty, administration, and the private sector)?
6. Where is there demand for and interest in change? 
7. What strategies and interventions have been shown to be effective in addressing HEI graduate job readiness, both inside and outside of Lebanon (e.g., HEI-private sector collaboration, centers of excellence, cluster model, etc.)? 
8. What factors – including political will, supply/demand, and value for money - contribute to the effectiveness of these interventions in promoting employability and employment post-graduation?
9. Given these factors, which interventions show the most promise for application in the Lebanese context?

Position Duties and Responsibilities

The specific tasks of the team member are as follows: 

• Complete desk review of Activity documents.
• Contribute to drafting of inception report.
• Support in data collection activities: follow up on fieldwork schedule, take notes, facilitate interviews and focus group discussions and transcribe interviews.
• Support in data analysis and producing summaries.
• Participate in data analysis, integration and synthesis sessions with the rest of the evaluation team.
• Contribute to the presentation of preliminary findings and conclusions, and facilitation of recommendations co-creation workshop.
• Contribute to the drafting of the final reports.
• Contribute to the dissemination activities and products.

Task 

Deliverable 

Timeline 

Recruit and finalize evaluation team 

December 30, 2022

Conduct design meetings with evaluation stakeholders, and receive and review Activity documents 

January 5, 2023

Design inception report 

Inception Report  

February 1, 2023

Data collection 

February 15 – March 9, 2023

Data analysis  

Note: This process includes coding, data summaries/memos, and evaluation team data analysis and interpretation session(s) 

March 10 –31, 2023

Findings Validation and Recommendations Co-creation Workshop 

To Be Determined with the Mission 

April 2023

Report writing 

Note: Anticipate two-week review of the draft report by USAID. Final approved report will be uploaded to the DEC. 

Draft Reports 

Final Reports 

May-June 2023

Dissemination 

To Be Determined with the Mission 

June – July 2023

Position Requirements 

Academic Qualifications 

• Hold an advanced degree in education administration or leadership, international educational development, educational reform or similar fields.  

Experience and Skills 

• Minimum of 6 years of experience in evaluation or research on capacity development activities of HEI preferably on student job readiness and or career guidance. 
• Strong knowledge of the structure, strengths and challenges facing the higher education system in Lebanon is preferred.
• Strong understanding of the main concepts of institutional capacity development and associated management strategies.   
• Strong knowledge of USAID practices and policies related to evaluation or research projects preferred. 
• Excellent written communication, presentation and analytical skills in English. 
• Excellent leadership and team management skills.  

EnCompass LLC is a progressive Equal Opportunity Employer. We promote, celebrate, and support a diverse and inclusive organizational culture and workforce. We are committed to providing all of our employees with an environment free from discrimination and harassment, where all are treated with dignity and respect. We do not tolerate, and explicitly prohibit, discrimination or harassment of any kind, at any time, in all aspects of employment. This includes recruitment, hiring, promotions, disciplinary measures, terminations, compensation, benefits, social and recreational programs, and training. EnCompass also does not tolerate retaliation against individuals who report discrimination or harassment. Our continuing commitment to the principle of Equal Opportunity Employment for all means all employment decisions are based only on the job requirements, the candidate’s qualifications, and the needs of EnCompass as a business—not on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, belief, sex (including pregnancy and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability status, veteran status, genetic information, HIV status, family/marital/parental status, or any other status protected by the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we work.