Project Evaluation Consultant

Background of the Project

The Working Group for Persons Affected by the Syrian Crisis (WG PASC) is a protection advocacy network of national and local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). It was formed in 2016 and has been, since then, supported by Oxfam and facilitated by ALEF – act for human rights. WG PASC works to enhance the space and capacity of CSOs in Lebanon to influence the government and international actors to adopt policies that more effectively meet the needs of vulnerable displaced persons and host communities, and to implement these policies effectively. WG PASC is composed of local Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian NGOs, most of which have been working inside Lebanon long before the Syrian crisis. Their work covers different thematic and geographical areas, with a broad range of collective expertise in fields from advocacy and protection to humanitarian assistance and development. Since its formation, WG PASC has collectively identified a common vision and priorities of focus which are executed through joint strategies, tactics, and interventions. This has allowed members to create better synergies towards the achievement of their goals and to access entry points they were previously unable of reaching. WG PASC’s field presence, through sub-networks, in North Lebanon and the Bekaa has also strengthened the quality of its membership and allowed its members to more directly address challenges that are closer to home and more imminent than discussions that occur in Beirut and similar national coordination platforms. WG PASC has over time positioned itself as a reference on protection issues in Lebanon, as it was invited twice for donor-roundtable events to brief donors on the protection landscape in Lebanon. Moreover, WG PASC continues to build strong linkages with the Lebanese NGO forum and coordinate closely with it.

The “Advocating for a Dignified Life for Refugees and Vulnerable Host Communities in Lebanon” project aims to contribute to alleviating the protection threats, and their effects, facing people affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, while at the same time supporting and strengthening collective efforts among local CSOs. The project is a continuation and expansion on the work of WG PASC.

In this project, the civil society response will be addressed through building the WG PASC’s operational and strategic capacities to respond to the needs of vulnerable populations, while carrying out evidence-based advocacy activities to influence policies. This will be done alongside building ALEF’s capacity in network management, to ensure better efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the efforts. Thus, the “Advocating for a Dignified Life for Refugees and Vulnerable Host Communities in Lebanon” project is designed similarly to the previous projects supporting the work of WG PASC, by implementing an integrated approach including needs-based, rights-based, and empowerment methods.

Background for the Consultancy

This consultancy will be contracted and undertaken under the supervision of ALEF – act for human rights. An external consultant will be hired to conduct the project midline evaluation at the end of the first year of the project. The consultant will present the findings and recommendations to the donor, and ALEF and Oxfam teams. The findings of the mid-term report will be discussed for consideration and adoption for the last project year.

The general and thematic strategies of WG PASC include impact, outcome, and output level indicators from the project results framework, to be included and reported on under the midline evaluation.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Review the result-based evaluation framework:
  • Assess the relevance, coherence, and logic of the project’s design and, whether it is still valid within the current economic, political, and social circumstances in Lebanon
  • Assess the project design in terms of its relevance to the overall situation at the national level, relevance to national strategies, and relevance to beneficiaries
  • Assess whether the project activities and operational modality are still relevant
  • Identify risks and assumptions
• Evaluate and report on progress and results
  • Assess performance of the project in terms of effectiveness (including, among others, the reporting and evaluation system and the quality and timeliness of inputs), efficiency, and timeliness; including progress made towards achieving the planned outputs and objectives (as well as intended and unintended, positive and negative results) as stated in the original project documents, the challenges affecting the achievement of objectives, and the management arrangements of the project (including, among others, its relevance, advantages, bottlenecks, and lessons learnt)
  • Identify and assess factors that have hindered, impeded, and/or facilitated the achievement of outputs and objectives so far
  • Identify constraints, failures, achievements, lessons learnt, and best practices; and propose recommendations to make adjustments for the remaining life of the project
  • Assess opportunities for the sustainability of the network and the results of its advocacy
  • Provide recommendations for the remainder of the project

Deliverables:

• Brief Inception Report – the consultant will prepare a brief inception report upon the review of all project documents, briefings, and initial discussions with the project team. The brief will detail the consultant’s understanding of the midline review. It should outline the main evaluation questions and issues that will be addressed and the proposed methodology and approach to carry out the midline review. The brief inception report will be submitted to ALEF and agreed on prior to start of the midline review. It should also include a proposed work plan (based on the schedule of tasks, activities, and deliverables). The brief inception report should also include the evaluation matrix i.e. the evaluation design, data sources, data collection method, and collection analysis matrix and the measure by which the evaluation questions will be evaluated.
• Preliminary findings presentation – the consultant will share and present the preliminary findings and recommendations to the ALEF project team. At the end of the data-gathering activities, the consultant will present the initial findings in a meeting. The meeting’s objective will be to validate the preliminary findings as per the evaluation questions, addressing issues that are yet to be covered and assumptions to be tested, and the difficulties encountered during the evaluation and mitigation measures adopted. The project team will provide necessary administrative and logistic support.
• Draft Evaluation Report – the consultant will prepare a draft evaluation report and present it. The draft will be submitted to ALEF for review and validation. ALEF will review the draft to ensure that the evaluation meets the required criteria. ALEF’s comments, clarifications, and observations will be addressed during the revision of the draft. The draft report will consist of 30 to 40 A4 pages (single spaced, size 12 font), in addition to annexes. The report will include the following sections:
  • Title page
  • Table of contents
  • List of acronyms and abbreviations
  • Executive summary (3 pages)
  • Description of the intervention (2-3 pages)
  • Evaluation scope, methodology & limitations (2-3 pages)
  • Findings and conclusions (including best practices, and lessons learnt) (15 – 20 pages)
  • Recommendations (2-3 pages)
  • Annexes (includes TOR, evaluation plan, methodology, documentation review, interviews, questionnaires …)
• Final Evaluation Report – the consultant will incorporate comments received from ALEF into the final report.
• Summary of the project evaluation scoring matrix – to provide scoring of the project’s achievements by objectives and outputs
• PowerPoint Presentation on key findings and recommendations – to be shared with ALEF, Oxfam, and the donor

The consultant is expected to produce all deliverables, inclusive of several rounds of feedback (to the extent that is needed), to review and ensure that the evaluation is complete.

Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in Political Science, International Affairs, Humanitarian Affairs, Development, Economy, and/or related field experience
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in carrying out high level analytical work and project evaluations
• Proven evaluation, research, and analytical skills
• Experience in program formulation, monitoring and evaluation, and leading evaluations
• Proven experience with logical framework approaches and other strategic planning approaches, research and M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory), data collection, and information analysis
• Excellent report-writing skills
• Proven experience in evaluating similar or relevant local human rights projects in Lebanon
• Experience and knowledge in the field of refugee protection, human rights promotion, conflict prevention and peace building, and support to humanitarian projects with focus on capacity-building
• Clear understanding of the humanitarian and current context of Lebanon will be considered an added advantage
• Excellent English communication skills, with focus on written and presentational capacities
• Knowledge of Arabic is mandatory
• No previous involvement/engagement in the design and implementation of the project