Consultant (End Of Year Evaluation Of The Food Vouchers Progarmme Funded By Wfp)

WVL is looking to hire a consultant to conduct the end of year evaluation of the food vouchers Progarmme funded by the World Food Programme (WFP). Please refer to the below Term sof Reference for detailed information.   Interested and qualified consultants are requested to send their CVs and proposals to World Vision Lebanon by January 6, 2014.   Applications need to be addressed to Micheline Ekmekjian and to be sent by post or delivered by hand to the following address: World Vision Lebanon, Sinyora Building Montazah, Mansourieh el Metn, Lebanon   Envelope must be clearly marked “Food Vouchers Programme End of Project Evaluation”.   Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.     Terms of Reference  End of Project Evaluation   of the Food Vouchers Programme   funded by the World Food Programme (WFP)   December, 2013      Programme Implementation Dates May 2012 – October 2013      PROJECT SUMMARY     Specific   title of project Food   Vouchers for Syrian Refuges in Bekaa Project   goal – Food Assistance To   address the urgent survival needs of war affected families and their children   in Bekaa Overall   project outcome Syrian Refugees in   Central and West Bekaa have access to basic food items to meet their   nutritional needs Locations Central and West   Bekaa Project   Duration May 2012 - October   2013     INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND    World Vision Lebanon (WVL) declared a CAT I Emergency with a National Office Response on June 13, 2012 following the flow of Syrian refugees who crossed the Lebanese borders towards the Bekaa valley. As such, WVL started responding to the Syrian Refugees’ needs in the Bekaa area (Central and West Bekaa) in the following sectors: Food vouchers, Non Food Items (NFIs), and Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS). On October 23, 2012, WVL declared a CAT II Emergency with a National Office Response started responding to the Syrian Refugees’ needs in the Bekaa area (Central and West) benefiting around 45,000 Syrian Refugees in the following sectors: Food vouchers, NFIs in the form of hygiene kits and winterized items, CFS, and Quick Impact Projects (QiPs) that benefit both Syrians and Lebanese communities. On June 28, 2013, WVL declared a CAT III Emergency with a National Office Response and started responding to the Syrian Refugees’ needs in the Bekaa area benefiting around 107,000 Syrian Refugees in the following sectors: Food vouchers, NFIs in the form of hygiene kits and winterized items, CFS, Education (remedial classes and Accelerated learning programmes), WASH and QIPs that benefit both Syrians and Lebanese communities. There are currently more than 835,735[1] displaced Syrians in Lebanon, 771,536 of who are registered by UNHCR and the rest pending registration. The total number of registered Syrians in the Bekaa stands at 264,759 Syrians with an average of 5.6 members per household. Families fall short on their income and hence several types of assistance are needed to meet the basic survival needs of households and displaced children.     Humanitarian emergency assistance is being provided by local municipalities and communities, local and international non-governmental organizations, UNHCR and other UN agencies. Results of needs assessment conducted by WVL in the Bekaa showed that 30% of the surveyed households rely on charity to ensure their food needs; also most of them rely on personal resources, which are declining day by day. Most respondents (89%) stated that they find all their food needs in local shops. Yet, this does not imply that they can procure these foods to their families. In effect, more than half of the participants (52%) stated that they found obstacles to accessing food for their households. The major obstacle cited was the financial barriers (prices are high/no money) (75%). Among the other obstacles: shops are too far (17%), non-availability of food at shops (9%), insecurity in the area (5%) and shops are closed (1%). When asked about the best way to receive food assistance, respondents mostly opted for vouchers (36%) and cash (34%).    The voucher transfer programme was implemented as it is a market-based approach that aims at providing beneficiaries with the needed purchasing power to guarantee their basic food needs and that of their children. As the current situation remains stable in terms of the functionality of the Lebanese market, and particularly that of the Bekaa region, Cash-Based Programming (CBP) will promote local procurement and will strengthen the capabilities of the already existing market actors.         Project    goal          To address the urgent    survival needs of war affected families and their children in Bekaa          Project    outcome          Syrian    Refugees in Central and West Bekaa have access to basic food items to meet    their nutritional needs          Project    output          Syrian    Refugees in Central and West Bekaa are provided with Food Vouchers        EVALUATION PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES     The project (funded by WFP) that is being planned to be evaluated is entitled “Food Voucher for Syrian Refugees in Bekaa”; it incorporates Food Aid which have been in operation from May 2012 in Lebanon.         FOCUS of the evaluation:   The focus of this evaluation is two-fold:   An assessment of the project strategy and implementation, And a measurement of the achievements of the program outcomes and recommendations to guide future programming.         SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES of the evaluation:  The goal of the end-of project evaluation is to ensure a proper phase out with the paper voucher approach. More specifically, the evaluation will:     Assess the project alignment with overall WVL response strategy and operations strategy including the project design; Evaluate and validate project achievement of implementation targets and milestones reached; Examine the effectiveness of the programme in terms of its purpose and intended outcomes; Evaluate the relevance and appropriateness of actions and strategy; Examine the management aspects of the project including staffing, resource allocation and use, policies, coordination arrangements, administration, monitoring, reporting and documentation among others; Ascertain the impact the programme had on targeted communities (positive, negative, intended, unintended impact...); Investigate the connectedness/sustainability of actions promoted by the programme; Suggest strategic and operational recommendations that can be used by WVI in the ongoing and future programs.  METHODOLOGY       The consultant will be required to come up with a proposal on how he/she intends to conduct the study. The proposal should further describe a timeline for the evaluation and should also incorporate a budget that outlines all relevant costs that will be associated with this evaluation.   World Vision proposes the use of both qualitative (key informant interviews, in depth interviews, focus group discussions…) and quantitative (e.g. surveys…) research tools approaches in gathering information from a wide array of sources. These sources would include targeted beneficiaries, project/field staff, security staff, project coordinators, managers… The consultant would also have to review project budget and financial figures and review program policy documents including Human Resources and others and establish how they were applied.  EXPECTED OUTPUTS/RESULTS   Copy of training package and materials used for the evaluation team; Copies of tools used for the evaluation; Copies of all qualitative and quantitative data; Final Evaluation Report in English (as per the WV Assessment Report Guidelines); Final Evaluation Report Structure:   -          Title page  -          Table of contents,  -          Executive summary,            List of Acronyms and abbreviations,            Description of the program including any major changes occurring since the design ,            Description of the evaluation methodology,            Main findings based on the objectives highlighted in the proposal,  -         Best practices and lesson learnt,            Recommendations for program improvement,           Presentation of findings to stakeholders.   A power point presentation in English including methodology, main findings, recommendations, best practices and lessons learnt.    MANAGEMENT   The implementation of the evaluation will be coordinated by the Senior M&A Officer and DME Manager. The consultant will supervise the implementation of the field work and quality data management as well as report writing and dissemination.  Logistics, administration, finance and HR support will be provided by WVL both from the field offices.    BUDGET    Specific details will be worked out based on discussions and plans between the Consultant, Food Aid Manager, and Senior M&A Officer. DME staff will be able to support in recruiting enumerators if needed. If the selected candidate for the consultancy is located outside of Lebanon, he/she would be expected to be in country to coordinate and conduct the end of project evaluation for not less than 14 days.    QUALIFICATIONS  The consultant should have the following competencies and experience:   ü  At least 5 years of progressive proven experience in similar studies and in using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and data analysis required;  ü  Previous evaluation experience of commodities/food, cash based or food voucher programmes;  ü  Extensive professional experience in the design and implementation of outcome and impact evaluations;  ü  Good analytical and critical thinking;  ü  Proven knowledge and experience in applying participatory research methods and tools;  ü  Advanced degree in relevant field (e.g. Social Sciences, Public Health, Epidemiology or any related technical field);  ü  Good understanding of the Syrian Crisis and Humanitarian Standards;  ü  Familiarity with civil society and NGO engagement and work in the Syrian Crisis;  ü  Ability to work on tight schedules with minimal supervision;  ü  Good English and Arabic speaking and writing skills.     DURATION OF CONSULTANCY  WVL has set aside one month (January 15 till February 15) for this assignment. Bids should include a detailed proposed work-schedule with specific tasks. Candidates are expected to state, if successful, how much time they will need to start the assignment and how much time they need to conduct every task.        TASKS   TIMELINE   Review of   TOR Week   1   Review of all relevant documentation Week   1 to 4 Design of the evaluation methodology Week   1 Develop all necessary data collection tools. These   tools will be reviewed by the Senior M&A officer, Commodity Manager and Food   Assistance Program specialist to ensure that they adequately capture all the   necessary data before adoption Week   1 and 2 Use the appropriate method to calculate the sample   size and carry out sampling of the population from which the data is to be   collected Week   1 and 2 Recruit and train enumerators, supervisors and Focus   Group Discussion facilitators and also oversee pilot testing of the tools Week   1 and 2 Supervise the implementation of the fieldwork Week   2 and 3   Design the   database for data entry Week   2 and 3 Supervise data entry and quality data management Week   3 and 4 Review relevant secondary data Week   3 and 4 Carry out data analysis as well as report writing Week   4 Present   main findings and a debriefing of the evaluation to the Monitoring and Evaluation   team (before leaving the country if applicable) Week   4 Present the draft report in a review meeting and   incorporate the feedback and compile a final report (before leaving the country if   applicable) Week   4 and 5       In the preparation of the final report, the assessment consultant is requested to provide the reader with, as much as possible, accurate sources of its information and conclusions.  In fact, all findings and statements must be backed by existing data and/or data based on approved methodology for sampling, data collection, and analysis.    Interested individuals and consultancy firms should send in their applications no later than 16.00 hours GMT 6th of January, 2014 including a detailed Technical and financial Bid with the following documents: proposed methodology (including a revised timeline and budget), curriculum vitae and/or resume and the names and addresses (including telephone and e-mail) of two non-related referees (Technical and financial Bid should be in English and not more than 3 pages).    Important: If application is sent by email, the subject line should clearly indicate “Food Vouchers Programme End of Project Evaluation”. If sent by post or delivered by hand, the top right-hand side of the envelope must be clearly marked “Food Vouchers Programme End of Project Evaluation”. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.  N.B.: Hired consultants will be provided with all additional documents required to carry out the work.    [1] As retrieved from the UNHCR website (last updated on December 5): http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122