Consultancy for End of Phase Evaluation

IsraAID is an international not-for-profit organization founded in 2001 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel with country offices in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific. Our mission is to support people affected by humanitarian crisis around the world and we are committed to providing life-saving relief in disasters and long-term support in partnership with local communities and other stakeholders. For over a decade, our teams of protection specialists, professional medics, search & rescue squads, post-trauma experts and community mobilizers have been first on the front lines of nearly every major humanitarian response in the 21st century. Beyond the crisis phase, IsraAID engages and works with affected communities in recovery, developing and implementing plans to reduce risks of future disasters. IsraAID supports Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Education, Health, Nutrition, Protection, WASH, and other community programs to build sustainable, practical and realistic solutions that communities can believe in and embrace, for the long term-solutions that tap into their inner reserves of strength and resilience to allow them take back ownership of their lives and futures.

Purpose of the consultancy
This end of phase evaluation is commissioned to cover the work undertaken within the current strategic period of 2022 – 2024, to determine the impact of IsraAID Africa programs on the targeted beneficiaries and the general community it serves. Specifically, the evaluation will:

1. Analyze the results against targets for program impact and outcome indicators.
2. Assess the changes in knowledge, attitudes, practices, and resilience capacities that occurred because of the country program.
3. Undertake comprehensive assessment of how key activities carried out by the project since the inception helped to meet the program objectives and outcomes, and
4. Assess all the elements of the program’s design, implementation, coordination, and management, including processes, operations, and results.
5. Identify lessons, good practices, points for learning and context specific recommendations that can contribute to further improve design, implementation, and management of the next strategic phase.

Background
The IsraAID Africa portfolio currently comprises country offices in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, and Uganda.

IsraAID Kenya implements a comprehensive protection, health and nutrition, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) projects. During the initial phase of the strategic period, IsraAID Kenya focused on integrated programs primarily aimed at enhancing access to Child Protection (CP) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services for children, Persons of Concern (PoCs) within the local communities in Turkana West Sub County specifically in Kakuma and surrounding areas. The objective was to the build capacity of the beneficiaries to create a protective environment, address protection concerns and reinforce protection structures. Additionally, the projects were aimed at promoting sustainable access to safe water and enhancing local hygiene and sanitation standards which were low and had been worsened by the drought conditions.

IsraAID Uganda applies a community-centred approach in providing holistic protection and WASH services to populations in need. During the strategic period under review, the interventions implemented included addressing child protection concerns, building capacity of community structures to enhance child protection, GBV prevention, operation and maintenance (O&M) of WASH infrastructure for sustainability and increased access to water. The Country Office implements projects in Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Obongi district of Northern Uganda, in Acholi Sub Region including in communities of Gulu, Nwoya, Omoro and Amuru, and in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Isingiro District, South Western Region, Uganda. The key target groups reached include refugees and the surrounding host communities and specifically targeting children and women.

IsraAID Mozambique implements projects mainly focusing on Protection through implementation of Community Engagement Centres (CEC) and Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). The centres serve as points of protection and WASH service delivery in addition to facilitating the strengthening of social support networks which include parents/guardians and caregivers, youth, community leaders and schools. The interventions are implemented in Metuge, Ancuabe and Chiure districts in southern districts of Cabo Delgado province. The country office also works on Child wellbeing projects that support schools and communities to scale up protection services including GBV prevention and response, and women empowerment including specific interventions for women with disabilities. The Country Office also deliver WASH infrastructure in schools and communities in Metuge district, and is an active partner in specific clusters as part of networking and coordination.

IsraAID South Sudan office implements integrated multisectoral projects with protection as the main pillar of response and integral part of the intervention. This is integrated with sexual reproductive health (SRH), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and nutrition projects. The interventions include addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection related activities, building capacity of community-based structures through a multi layered strategy to enhance provision of Sustainable Integrated Gender-Based Violence (GBV & SEA) Prevention and Response services in Juba, Central Equatoria State. The projects are mainly implemented in Juba IDP Camps I & III and in host communities of Jondoru and Kit.

Launched amidst the impact of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March 2023, and the subsequent cholera outbreak, IsraAID Malawi’s primary objective was to address the water, sanitation, and hygiene needs, as well as other health concerns in the cyclone affected areas. IsraAID Malawi developed a response plan to help prevent and treat cholera cases by providing Oral Rehydration points that were also used for disease surveillance, provided safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, treatment, and referral of cholera cases. The office screened and provided first aid treatment to cholera cases, attending to over 12,500 cases. As the cholera situation improved and the number of people seeking treatment declined, IsraAID Malawi shifted its focus to addressing the high numbers of malnutrition cases, undertaking nutrition screening and referral. By the end of December 2023, IsraAID had rehabilitated over 100 boreholes and screened over 8,200 children for malnutrition, referring severe cases to health care facilities for management.

Objective of the consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to assess results of IsraAID Africa programmes and provide evidence of program performance specific to achievement of planned objectives and outcomes. This end of phase evaluation will cover the current strategic period 2022 – 2024 and will analyse the relevance and efficiency of program implementation, the management and effectiveness of the program objectives, and the results particularly related to community resilience, as well as to identify potential prospects for sustainability. The results from this evaluation will contribute to the identification and documentation of lessons learned during the program implementation period and provide an evidence base for interventions to be conducted for potential continuation or upscaling of the action in future.

Specific Objectives:
The consultant is required to:

1. Assess the extent to which the objectives of country programs were aligned to the needs of the target population as expressed in national and regional policy documents and other government priorities and strategies including how the country programs interventions influenced local government.
2. Assess country programs performance in achieving the intended program impact and outcomes within the strategic period 2022 – 2024.
3. Analyse the efficiency of project implementation and management (Coordination; Human Resources; Monitoring and Evaluation, financial resources, and other Operations tasks) and how these factors enabled or hindered achievement of the results, i.e. what worked well and what did not work well.
4. Draw lessons, derive good practices, points for learning and context specific recommendations that can contribute to further improve design, implementation, and management of the next strategic plan, inform similar programs in future for sustainability and scalability of the interventions.

Scope of work and Methodology
The scope of the evaluation will cover the portfolio of IsraAID Africa country programs implementation period from (Jan 01, 2022, to Dec 31 2023). The evaluation will cover all areas of implementation within the IsraAID Africa country program.

Eligibility, qualification, and experience required.

Essential:

1. The consulting team is/are registered under all or any of the countries in the IsraAID Africa portfolio.
2. Lead consultant qualifications include PhD in Social Science, DRR, and/or related fields. Qualification in Community Resilience is an added advantage.
3. Lead consultant’s experience should include a minimum of 5 years’ experience conducting evaluations in resilience in countries in IsraAID Africa portfolio. Experience as lead evaluator in previous project evaluations in an added advantage.
4. Technical subject matter qualifications include PhD/Masters in WASH, Public Health/Nutrition, Gender, Social Work, Community development and/or related fields.
5. Technical subject matter experience includes minimum 3 years in conducting evaluation in WASH, Health and Nutrition, Gender and protection and education in emergencies and/or related fields.
6. Data analyst team member should have demonstrated experience with quantitative and qualitative data analysis and must have undertaken large scale data analysis in similar work.
7. Strong comprehension, verbal, and writing capacity in English.
8. Ability to engage with and understand the needs of respondents from different backgrounds with different skill level.
9. Willing to travel and work in remote and difficult areas.

Desirable:

1. Proficiency in (local) languages in the country program implementation areas is an added advantage.

Duration, timeline, and payment
The expected duration to complete the assignment will be no more than 40 days from the day of this publication and expected to start from May 2024 to June 2024. All timings for outputs will be coordinated with the Regional Director for Africa and MEAL Coordinator, Global. Operational coordination and logistics support shall be provided by the individual Country Offices.

Location and support
The assignment will be carried out in any of the IsraAID Africa countries mentioned above. Interested consultants/consulting firms can bid for one or multiple countries subject to meeting the criteria set out in the ToR. Consultant/Consulting firms with capacity to deliver the evaluation in majority of the IsraAID Africa countries is/are strongly desired.