Individual Consultant Opportunity – Monitoring & Evaluation of JPF Funded Project in Türkiye

1. Background

Japan Platform (JPF) is an international aid organization which offers the humanitarian and emergency assistances to refugees, IDPs and communities in the countries and regions affected by man-made and natural disasters. JPF conducts such aid through a tripartite cooperation system where NGOs, business communities, and the Government of Japan work in close cooperation, based on equal partnership, and making the most of the respective sectors’ characteristics and resources.

JPF serves as an intermediary support organization providing various types of assistance to member NGOs in Japan to deliver quick and comprehensive aid on their own. JPF has supported aid activities of 43 member NGOs, each with its own set of diverse strengths. It has delivered humanitarian assistance to 50 nations and regions about 1,800 projects, with a total financial contribution of 72 billion yen. JPF has built a strong reputation based on trust by promoting cooperation among private sectors and NGOs and by accurately reporting all of its activities.

In line with its mandate and responsibility, JPF conducts monitoring and evaluation activities, project site visits to review progress towards achieved results as per the key performance indicators of the projects, identify anddocument lessons learned including human interest stories and the contribution of JPF to the development of the programmes/projects for NGO partners. JPF contracts individual consultants to be part of the JPF Project Evaluation Team to have expertise on sector specific subjects, in depth understanding on the local context and to receive support on logistics and security related issues.

2. Scope of Services

The scope of services covers evaluation of Phase-1 and Phase-2 of the project mentioned below;

Project Name: Project for Strengthening Information Sharing and Case Management for Syrian refugees in 6 Districts of Mersin, Türkiye

2.1. Phase-1:

Duration: 14 October 2022 – 31 August 2023

Status: Completed

Summary: In Mersin Province, Republic of Turkey, there are 243,936 registered Syrian refugees, with a significant number residing in six districts (four districts within Mersin City, Erdemli district, and Tarsus district). Due to the limited number of administrative and support organizations available to assist refugees in these areas, many refugees are left without adequate support. The prolonged economic downturn caused by COVID-19 and restrictions on movement have led to increased unemployment and economic hardship. Additionally, the devaluation of the Turkish lira at the end of 2021, coupled with the rise in prices of essential commodities due to the Ukraine crisis, has further exacerbated the plight of vulnerable refugees, particularly female household heads and economically unstable agricultural workers, making life even more difficult. Gender-based violence (GBV), including child marriage and domestic violence, has become more severe as a result. However, due to a lack of support agencies and access to appropriate information, as well as language barriers, many refugees are unable to access the administrative and public services they are entitled to, making it imperative to strengthen support tailored to the individual needs of each refugee and enhance GBV prevention and awareness.

Therefore, for the 6,300 Syrian refugees in the six districts of Mersin Province (four districts within Mersin City, Erdemli district, and Tarsus district), a consultation center will be established to provide information on Turkish laws, regulations, and administrative and support services provided by other organizations. Additionally, legal consultations, psychological counseling, Turkish language interpretation, rights and legal seminars, and referrals to other organizations (referral support) will be provided to refugees with identified individual needs and challenges. Furthermore, local partner organizations will be capacitated to address GBV prevention and response support in the long term, distributing leaflets on GBV and PSEA and conducting GBV prevention awareness sessions for 140 Syrian refugees to enhance their knowledge about GBV prevention, avoidance, and reporting resources.

2.2. Phase-2:

Duration: 01 October 2023 – 31 May 2024

Status: Ongoing

Summary: In the 6 districts of Mersin province (4 districts in Mersin city, Erdemli district, and Tarsus district), particularly economically and socially vulnerable Syrian refugees living in displacement face further hardship due to the impact of earthquakes, deteriorating economic conditions, and soaring market prices, leaving them with no choice but to resort to negative coping mechanisms. Therefore, outreach efforts will be strengthened, targeting especially vulnerable refugees in Tarsus district, including earthquake victims, women, people with disabilities, the elderly, and households headed by children. This initiative aims to provide information on laws, regulations, government services, and available support through consultation centers for 5,000 Syrian refugees. Simultaneously, tailored support will be provided to refugees with identified individual needs and challenges, including legal consultations, individual psychological counseling, Turkish language interpretation, rights and legal seminars, and referrals to other organizations. Moreover, local partner organizations will conduct capacity-building training on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response for external support organizations involved in refugee assistance, while also offering GBV prevention awareness activities for refugees, providing them with the opportunity to acquire knowledge about GBV prevention, avoidance, and reporting resources.

3. Purpose and schedule of assignments

The Consultant is expected to conduct project evaluation for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 in order to;

1. verify that the project funds are being used according to the project proposal;
2. verify that the humanitarian principles and standards are respected;
3. understand the beneficiary satisfaction;
4. analyze the impact of the project with the available data;
5. provide technical assistance, guidance, and advisory service to NGOs, project implementing partners, JPF with aims to improve project implementation.

Phase 1 is already completed, and the evaluation will mainly consist of desk review of project and contextual documents and interview with the relevant internal and external stake holders.

Phase 2 is expected to be completed as of 31st of May 2024 and a field visit to Mersin (Turkey), is scheduled to be conducted between 13-15 May 2024, which might be subject to change according to project progress and planning with relevant parties. It is planned to have trip to the project locations on these days. A more detailed field visit plan will be developed with the selected candidate in coordination with the JPF member NGO and their implementing partner.

4. Key Responsibilities:

The project evaluation covers both Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is already completed, and the evaluation will mainly consist of desk review of project and contextual documents and key informant interviews (KII) with the relevant internal and external stake holders.

Phase 2 of the project will be evaluated based on a desk review, direct observation of project activities and conducting household (HH) visits, key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD) with stakeholders, including but not limited to; project beneficiaries, representatives of implementing partners of member NGOs, relevant cluster, UN and government agency representatives.

Specific responsibilities are:

• Preparing an Inception Report to outline the scope of project evaluation including the details of the field visit along and tools
• Conducting an Inception Meeting with the member NGO and relevant parties
• Conducting a desk review of project documents related to Phase 1 and Phase 2 including relevant contextual external documents such as HRP of Turkey.
• Conducting KIIs with member NGO and their partner staff as well as external stakeholder who are either familiar with the project or with the intervention area.
• Assisting JPF M&E Officer for the organization of the field visit for evaluation activities in Mersin, Turkey.
• Setting the Project Specific HH Visit, FGD and KII targets and objectives together with JPF M&E Officer in line with the project proposal, country context, humanitarian standards and principles.
• Developing project specific questionnaires/checklist for HH Visit, FGD and KII, site visit and meeting with NGO.
• Conducting targeted number of HH Visits, FGDs, KIIs and site visits to the project locations together with JPF M&E Officer.
• Conducting an exit meeting on the last day of the field visit with the management of the member NGO to clarify any outstanding issues and providing overall feedback on the field visit.
• Analyzing the data collected during the field visit and preparing the draft project evaluation reports for Phase 1 and Phase 2 and finalize them after member NGOs’ review.
• Preparing and conducting a debriefing meeting to share findings with the member NGOs and JPF. It may include the report to JPF Review Committee.

5. Skills, Experience and Knowledge:

• Knowledge, awareness and demonstrated commitment to JPF’s values and vision.
• Minimum 5 years previous development or humanitarian work experience on M&E, focusing on one of the humanitarian sectors.
• Knowledge and understanding of humanitarian standards (e.g. CHS, Sphere and INEE).
• Bachelor or master’s degree in relevant subject.
• High level of computer literacy and excellent working knowledge of databases.
• Ability to prioritize own workload, work independently, be pro-active and innovative and work to deadlines.
• Good interpersonal and team skills and proven ability to be flexible in demanding situations.
• Experience of working with/for NGO, INGOs and/or UN agencies.
• Candidates fluent in both Turkish and English, with Arabic proficiency considered a valuable asset
• Candidate residing in Türkiye are given priority in selection.