External Evaluator - Nmfa

Continuation of Non-Formal Education Programme Strengthening Access to and Retention in Formal Education in Lebanon Role The identified evaluator will assess through the evaluation the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the “Continuation of Non-Formal Education Programme Strengthening Access to and Retention in Formal Education in Lebanon” project. The evaluator will also aim at identifying implementation successes and challenges in order to draw lessons learnt and to provide recommendations and best practices for future programs. Supervisor MEAL Director Time Frame of Assignment 20 days            Location North Lebanon & Beirut Start date of the evaluation 10th September 2016 End date of the evaluation 30th September 2016 Project Background The proposed intervention addressed the specific needs of the children who are unable to effectively access formal education by preparing them to (re-)enroll in the formal system. Its approach was flexible and by expanding operational areas it took scale in case of increased needs. The core of the proposed programme had been successfully piloted by SCL and NRC with NMFA funding in 2014/15 in Akkar and South Lebanon as well as by DFAT in Beirut/Mount Lebanon, and built on the best practices from this pilot and SCL’s existing education programme in North Lebanon, Beirut-Mount Lebanon and countrywide. As part of the scale up and as a result of identified needs and gaps during the pilot-process, a flexible set of non-formal education activities were implemented to better tailor the programme to the different profiles of out-of-school children. The programme delivered a prototype for community-based non-formal education aimed at facilitating re-enrollment of children in formal education while considering the following: national coverage to access and assist out of school children on a massive scale; cohesive and comprehensive package to ensure consistency of quality; opportunity and flexibility for scale up/down according to need; ability to utilize multiple gateways in different locations: drawing together learning and refining the approach during the implementation; unified voice to advocate for improved education for all children in Lebanon; evidence-based advocacy with MEHE and other agencies. To address children’s protection and psychosocial wellbeing, PSS (Child Resilience) and protection were mainstreamed in the programme delivery. In each location a Case Management Officer were employed to address all cases of vulnerable children as per Child Protection vulnerability criteria in line with national case management standards. In addition, a Child Resilience Officer oversaw the implementation of SCIL’s Child Resilience activities in all classrooms. Each class followed the Child Resilience Programme over a period of 16 weeks, with one session per week of 1.5 hours per classroom. This was delivered through animators who managed by this officer and teachers were gradually being involved. Deliverables The evaluation team or evaluator will submit three reports and three presentations to the SCIL Steering Committee: -       Inception report: Following the desk review and prior to beginning of the field work, an inception report will be produced subject to approval by SCIL. This report will detail a draft work plan with a summary of the primary information needs, the methodology to be used, and a work plan/schedule for the field visits and major deadlines. With respect to methodology, the inception report will include a description of how data will be collected and a sampling framework, data sources, and drafts of suggested data collection tools such as questionnaires and interview guides. It should also include the draft of the final report outline (i.e. Table of Content).  Once the report is finalized and accepted, the evaluation team must submit a request for any change in strategy, methodology or approach to the SCIL MEAL Director. -       Draft report: A draft evaluation report will be submitted to SCIL MEAL Director who will lead the revision process with the reference group and provide feedback within two weeks of receipt of the draft report. Quantitative and qualitative data collected and analysis developed should be annexed to the draft report. -       Final report: The Final Evaluation Report should include a two page executive summary that summarizes the key lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations. It should also include best practices case studies that can be shared with SCIL technical and management staff. Quantitative and qualitative data collected and analysis developed should be annexed to the draft report. All material collected in the undertaking of the evaluation process should be lodged with the SCIL Person to be referenced by the MEAL Director prior to the termination of the contract. Presentation of findings: -       At the end of the field work and after submission of the draft report, the evaluation team will present preliminary findings to validate and prioritize learning at the SCIL Lebanon level -       After submission of the Final Evaluation Report, the evaluation team will provide a final presentation for relevant stakeholders -       One Skype call for the SC headquarters and other interested SC staff who may benefit from the learning with the lead Evaluator. Essential competencies required  SCIL seeks expressions of interest from people with the following skills/qualifications and expertise: -       Background in delivery of Education programs -       Understanding of Security of Tenure– ideally in both global, local and humanitarian context -       Expertise in Social And Child Protection with focus on Child Protection approaches -       Expertise in Education programming evaluations -       Sound and proved experience in conducting evaluations, particularly utilization and learning focused evaluations. -       Expertise in qualitative data collection techniques -       Expertise participative evaluations with focus on child participation and designing evaluation tools -       Proposals must include the following: Outline of evaluation framework and methods, including comments on the TOR, proposed time frame and work plan Proposed evaluation budget and proposed payments schedule aligned with deliverables schedule (Proposals over 4 pages will be automatically excluded). CVs and evidence of past evaluations for each team member