Title:

Consultant as Mid-Term Evaluator

Project:

Preventing and Minimizing Child Labor in Identified Hazardous Sectors in Jordan

Project duration:

November 2019 up to December 2021

Place of work:

The project targets the Kingdom of Jordan,

Date of issue:

May 4^th, 2021

1. Organisational Context

Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights is a local non-governmental organization which was founded to combat the urgent needs of a growing migrant worker population in Jordan. It primarily tackles issues of labour protection, migration, and human trafficking, and is committed to finding remedies to address the various types of abuses taking place among them. Tamkeen implements a three-step approach to achieving its mission: i) prevention; ii) protection; and iii) legal aid, which allows targeted groups to receive long-standing aid, awareness regarding their legal rights, and legal aid to those who have suffered abuse.

2. Project Context

Tamkeen, in collaboration and support by the Regional Development and Protection Program for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II), began the implementation of a two-year program called “Preventing and Minimizing Child Labor in Identified Hazardous Sectors in Jordan” to address short and long-term structural issues facing child labor in Jordan. The project aims to strengthen national capacities towards an enhanced protective and preventive environment for children by ensuring that relevant stakeholders are able to identify and respond to child labor issues.

As of January 2021, the program has passed 13 months out of its 25 month* timeframe. The objectives of the project are: 1) to increase national capacities towards preventing and protecting child labor by focusing on hazardous sectors, including begging; 2) to protect and strengthen the livelihood channels in the targeted areas; and 3) to develop and re-implement the existing 2011 National Strategy to Combat Child Labor (NFCL).

3. Intended audience and use of the Mid Term Evaluation

The intended recipients of this evaluation are Tamkeen and RDPP, who will receive all project deliverables. Tamkeen will be able to reflect on lessons learned from the mid-year project activities and use recommendations for how to improve program performance; whereas RDPP will use the information for its overall program evaluation and guidance.

The evaluation is also intended to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and risks, of the project and develop recommendations for any necessary changes in the overall implementation and orientation of the project by evaluating its effectiveness and delivery to date. Consequently, the evaluation will provide detailed recommendations for the remaining project period (i.e. the remaining 11 months) and help assess early signs of success or failure to propose necessary adjustments.

4. Purpose, objectives and scope of the Mid Term Evaluation

The primary purpose of the evaluation is learning; evaluating the evidence of outcome changes; and possible impact changes.

The consultant will particularly focus on effectiveness, appropriateness, relevance, coherence, coverage, and coordination. The key objectives of this mid-term evaluation are to evaluate evidence of:

1. The degree to which the project’s theory of change is working and if the project is affecting the effects of the project on the conditions and coping strategies of the target population
2. The internal and external factors that have contributed to those effects.
3. The unintended effects that might have also occurred as a result of the project.
4. The conclusions that can be drawn about the project’s theory of change and overall effectiveness, as well as lessons learned and how these lessons could be used to inform future activities/projects.

In order to achieve these objectives, the consultant will work with relevant Project Management team members to refine and agree on the most appropriate strategies and methodology to source relevant evidence and evaluate the efficiency of the project.

1. Efficiency
   1. Was the process of achieving results efficient?
   2. Are there more efficient ways and means of delivering better results (outputs and outcomes) with the available inputs?
   3. How efficient were the management and accountability structures of the project?
   4. How did the project financial management processes and procedures affect project implementation?
   5. What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the project’s implementation process?
2. Effectiveness
   1. Are Tamkeen’s interventions broadly on course to achieve their purpose and outcome and impact level objectives of the program?
   2. Which outcomes have outputs contributed to most, and from these, what activities stand out as pivotal to contribution at the outcome level?
   3. What are the factors that have led to successful activity implementation? What are the obstacles to achievement of activity implementation and overall objectives of the project?
   4. What, if any, changes could be made to the program to ensure more ambitious outcomes or outputs are not neglected?
3. Effectiveness of Management Arrangements
   1. Are management capacities adequate?
   2. Does project management facilitate good results and efficient delivery?
   3. Is there a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities by parties involved?
   4. Does the project receive adequate technical support from RDPP and its national implementing partners?
   5. How effective is communication between the project team, RDPP, and the national implementing partners?
   6. How effectively does the project manager monitor project performance and results?

4. Appropriateness and relevance
   1. What are the most significant changes in the program context that affected implementation and outcomes? Did the project successfully adapt to changes in the operating context? Have beneficiary needs changed? Do beneficiaries feel that the assistance provided by the project meets their most important needs? How do beneficiaries feel about the assistance given?
   2. Has the assistance provided by Tamkeen met the needs of the target actors and beneficiary groups?
   3. What, if any, changes are needed to make the program more appropriate and relevant? (Should be based primarily on lessons learned by the project team that could be applied to other aspects of the program).
5. Coherence and sustainability
   1. What, if any, longer-term impact is the present program likely to have? What is the evidence-base for the achievement of longer-term outcomes/objectives?
   2. What, if any, changes could be made to the program to ensure short-term assistance meets longer-term needs?
   3. What is the likelihood of continuation and sustainability of project outcomes and benefits after completion of the project?
   4. What are the key factors that will require attention in order to improve prospects of sustainability?  
6. Coverage
   1. Have all the targeted populations benefitted equitably from the activities? Where? How? Are any subgroups left behind?
   2. Has the project’s choice of geographical spread been appropriate and justified? Have the activities reached the target groups? Have they affected these groups/individuals differently?
7. Coordination
   1. To what extent have the activities been coordinated with local stakeholders/responders?
   2. To what extent have the sector-based activities been coordinated with the humanitarian community?
   3. Are there internal coordination challenges that impact the program? How have these been addressed? (Should be based primarily on lessons learnt by the project teams that could be applied to other aspects of the project).

The consultant is also expected to review the following aspects of the program:

1. Program design

• Assess the value added of the program design approach
• Review the problems addressed by the program, underlying assumptions, and effects on achieving program goals
• Assess the effectivity of interaction and co-operation amongst implementing partners
• Review the program Theory of Change (ToC) and determine if it provides the most effective route towards expected results
• Assess the extent to which cross-cutting issues were integrated into program design
• Assess the sustainability considerations in program design
• Recommend areas for improvement in the design of the program

2. Program implementation

• Examine if, how, and why the implementation strategy contributes to the achievement of expected program goals
• Assess the general implementation and management of project components in terms of inputs, activities, adherence to budgets, and major factors that have facilitated or hindered the progress of the program’s implementation
• Review of program coordination and management arrangements, such as the monitoring and evaluation of activities, financial management, risk identification and management system and communication

3. Program progress in relation to Outputs, Outcomes, and Impacts

• Achievements to date of program outputs and outcomes as compared with end-of-project targets outlined in the program MEAL framework
• Assess the likelihood of achieving program targets within remaining program implementation period
• Review aspects of the program that have already been successful, identify ways in which the program can further work on these benefits
• Identify barriers to achieving the program objectives and targets in the remainder of the implementation period
• Identify significant unexpected effects, and how to mitigate them

4. Sustainability

• Is a sustainability strategy in place?
• Assess the extent to which the activities and their benefits will continue after the end of funding
• Examine the extent to which the benefits of the program are sustainable

5. Learning

• Identify good practices and lessons learned
• Document the main challenges of the program and recommendations on how to overcome the challenges
• Assess and document the degree to which program team has adapted to external changes, what they learned, and how to make adaptivity more effective

The midterm evaluation should also complement the above with measuring the following Impact and Outcome Level indicators which were assessed at the baseline:

5. Methodology

The consultant is requested to propose a methodology to be used to carry out the review. The proposed methodology should address the concerns and questions outlined within the ToR and specify the review issues, questions, data collection methods, rounds and timing of data collection, and analysis to be conducted. It should encompass both qualitative and quantitative methods. It should also allow for consultation with relevant stakeholders. The evaluation will consist of the following activities:

1. Document review: the reviewing of relevant program documents, such as:

• Program proposal
• Financial documents
• Annual work plans
• MEAL framework
• Program activity reports or deliverables
  • To be determined during the first meeting.
• Minutes of meetings (for relative activities)

2. Field visits: conducting fieldwork around program activities that have been, and will continue to, be undertaken during the implementation period. The consultant will contact the relevant stakeholders (internal and external) to coordinate with them.
3. Interviews: interviews will be carried out during the field visits. The appropriate data collection materials will be developed by the consultant and reviewed by the project management team for approval.

The consultant will develop the methodology and tools of evaluation and finalize them in consultation with Tamkeen’s project management team, where the office is based in Amman. It is expected that, if necessary, the consultant will cooperate with the team whenever necessary to carry out the fieldwork and manage necessary contacts.

Key Informants for interviews will be be negotiated and determined with Tamkeen’s staff during the first meeting.

Finally, Tamkeen will be seeking to abide by specific principles of evaluation, which are:

• Independence: measures should be put in place to prevent bias.
• Usefulness: Evaluation findings must be articulated clearly and in a way that maximizes the potential for these findings to inform decision-making.
• Representativeness: Evaluations should strive to include a wide range of beneficiaries, including from different genders, age groups, ethnic groups and locations as relevant to the project.
• Gender sensitivity:  Evaluations must be gender sensitive and also, where possible, try to assess the intended or unintended effects of the project on gender relations.

6. Logistics and support

Tamkeen will support the evaluation through the following contributions:

• Compilation of background documentation and relevant data sets;
• Contact lists for internal and external interviewees, cooperation and planning;
• Logistical support for field visits;
• Meetings with the MEAL Officer.

7. Deliverables and Expected Outputs

The consultant is responsible for the timely delivery of the below deliverables.

All deliverables should be written in clear and plain English and made accessible to non-technical experts.

1. Inception report

The inception report should be agreed with Tamkeen during inception, and should include:

• A comprehensive description of the consultant’s understanding of the ToR and indicate any deficiency in the ToR, with proposed amendments
• A detailed methodology, which includes the data collection plan, data analysis plan, and tools to be used in the review
• A complete work plan for the review period (including a schedule of tasks, activities, and deliverables of the MTR)
• A MTR evaluation matrix, specifying the main review criteria and the indicators or benchmarks against which the criteria will be assessed
• A proposal for the final report layout

2. Draft report

The draft report is expected to be completed during the 4^th week after inception of the review. The draft report will be discussed with Tamkeen’s team. Inputs from the discussions shall be incorporated into the final report.

3. Final report

The final report should be submitted during the 6^th week, after receiving feedback on the draft report. The report will include all the details outlined in the ToR, focusing on the main findings and conclusions, lessons learned, and recommendations. A presentation of the main findings should be conducted to Tamkeen and the RDPP team, which will be followed by a discussion.

8. Timeline

The duration of the contract will be for 8 weeks, starting from beginning of July 2021 to end of August 2021. Tamkeen has drawn up the below timeline to contextualise the above deliverables’ deadlines within the required timeframe:

9. Payment Schedule

The consultant shall be paid the consultancy fees upon completion of the following milestones:

• 20% after submission of the inception report by 15^th July 2021
• 40% after submission of the draft report by 31^st July 2021
• 40% after submission of the final report by 21^st August 2021

10. Submission Requirements:

Deadlines

• Potential consultants wishing to submit a proposal should submit according to the below requirements by the deadline of 31^st of May 2021. 
• Incomplete, late, non-compliant applications will not be considered or replied to.
• An interview week is tentatively scheduled for 13^th of June 2021 and a final decision by 24^th June 2021, or earlier if possible.

Components to submit

11. Essential skills, experience and qualifications:

The consultant should have:

• Prior experience in evaluations programs of a similar nature and scope;

• Sound knowledge of human rights issues, particularly in the Jordanian context;
• Sound knowledge on program development;
• Academic degree in social sciences and other related fields;
• Fluency in Arabic to be able to conduct necessary fieldwork and data collection;
• Ability to produce high quality analytical reports in English with limited editorial oversight;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Availability to undertake work in the provided timeline.

12. How to apply

• Applications should be sent electronically to jobs@tamkeen-jo.org by no later than 31^st May 2021.
• Any questions or clarifications regarding the Terms of Reference should be directed to the email above and will be referred to the relevant staff members and responded to accordingly.