Country: South Sudan
Closing date: 05 Jan 2018
--- The evaluation will take place from 22nd January until 9th February 2018 ---
Background
Concern Worldwide South Sudan has been operational in three former states of Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal (NBeG) and Central Equatorial states. The Country office is located in Juba, Jubek state and field offices are also in Bentiu and Aweil West.
The violence that erupted in South Sudan mid-December 2013 has led to a humanitarian crisis involving a massive displacement of 1.5 million people. The on-going conflict has resulted in accommodating the displaced people in Protection of Civilian (POC) sites, host communities and neighbouring countries. Concern started its emergency nutrition activities in POCs in Juba and Bentiu in early January 2014 as a result of the mid-December 2013 conflict which caused displacement of people from different counties and thus there was a great need to save lives.
Concern’s nutrition response focuses on the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition among the most vulnerable groups: such as under five children and pregnant and lactating mothers through the therapeutic and supplementary feeding programme as well as behaviour change communication through the promotion of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. Concern’s nutrition response is funded through a pool of donors and partners (USAID/OFDA, GAC, UNICEF and WFP). UNICEF supported project entitled Improved Nutrition Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Malnutrition in South Sudan started in July 2017 for 7 months (end of project: 20/02/2018). The total grant received from UNICEF for this project is Cash USD 1,097,585 and SSP 6,630,255. In kind donation with supplies are equivalent to USD 5,023,793. Concern also contributes and co-funds the nutrition activities in line with UNICEF partnership strategy.
The project is integrated in 3 main results of the 2017 HRP nutrition cluster plan aiming to:
i) Deliver quality lifesaving management of acute malnutrition for the most vulnerable and at risk populations (result 1)
ii) Increase access to integrated programmes preventing undernutrition for the most vulnerable and at risk (result 2).
iii) Ensure enhanced needs analysis of nutrition situation and robust monitoring and effective coordination of responses (result 3).
In Juba, Concern is running two OTP and two TSFP sites in UN House in Juba, located in POC 1 and POC 3 and blanket supplementary feeding for all children under five (excluding those registered in TSFP and OTP) in POC1. Concern is the lead nutrition partner in the Juba PoC, with an estimated population of around 38,000 individuals (including 7,400 under 5 children and 9,373 18-60 women). Concern is also operating nutrition services in 3 sites under the Ministry of Health authority in sub-urban areas of Juba (namely Khor Romula, Gumbo and Rajaf).
In Northern Liech State, Concern is supporting two OTP and two TSFP sites in Bentiu PoC (sectors 3 and 4 with a total estimated population of 47,000 individuals including 17,000 under 5 children). As part of the Beyond Bentiu Response targeting the rural communities (returning or permanent), Concern provides nutrition services (MAM/SAM) in Guit county with 3 nutrition static sites. An element of mobile response is maintained in the programme to ensure emergency response capacity as the security context remains fluid in the State.
Objectives of the Evaluation
The final evaluation of the current nutrition project supported by UNICEF will review the achievements of the project compared to its expected outputs within the 2017 HRP. The overall objective of the evaluation is to analyse the successes, challenges and constraints faced in the delivery of Concern’s emergency nutrition response to the current crisis in South Sudan, in order to provide insightful recommendations on ways of improving the quality of and access to nutrition services of Concern. The focus of the evaluation will be on the community component of the nutrition programme and how the treatment outcome is perceived by the beneficiaries.
The evaluation will focus on the achievements related to results 1 and 2 of the project indicated above. The evaluation will focus on the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) evaluation criteria - relevance/appropriateness, connectedness, coherence, coverage, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact (including the exit strategy) of the response and its contribution to the implementation of the 2017 HRP. Cross cutting themes will be included where relevant: conflict management; protection; participation of primary stakeholders; coping strategies and resilience; gender equality; and environment.
In addition, the evaluation will also assess whether the organization effectively mainstreamed equality, accountability and the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4) in the emergency response.
Specific objectives of the evaluation are indicated below.
To evaluate the achievements compared to the initial targets in line with the expected results of the project framework;
With a clear distinction between the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, to analyse successes, challenges and constraints at programmatic and support levels within Concern as well as externally;
To bring specific attention focus on the community component (answering questions such as: What are the communities’ perceptions of the on the nutrition programme, and their perception of the treatment outcome? Are we addressing the needs of the people? Are there any changes in people’s lives through the nutrition intervention? What are their priorities?)
To assess the coordination mechanisms in place with the national and state nutrition clusters, as well as gaps in these coordination mechanisms;
To identify best practices and lessons learnt to inform the continuation of the nutrition programme in those locations;
To assess opportunities to strengthening the integration of Concern’s nutrition programme with the other sectors implemented by Concern (WASH, shelter, food assistance) in those locations.
To identify recommendations to improve the nutrition programme; based on a context-based analysis.
Scope of work (Key deliverables and outputs of this consultancy)
The final external evaluation will be conducted in both Bentiu and Juba programme locations: PoC and locations in Juba and Guit counties. The evaluation will take place from 22nd January until 9th February 2018.
The main responsibility of the consultancy is to design and undertake a final evaluation survey of the Concern emergency nutrition response in Juba and Northern Liech State.
The consultant will be expected to develop a structured methodology for conducting the evaluation. The methodology should include desk review and primary source documentation, meeting with Concern staff at office and field levels, conduct interviews with beneficiaries of the nutrition programme, conduct FGDs at community level in the areas of intervention, as well as meeting with other stakeholders to ensure comprehensive understanding of the context. The consultant should use participatory methods where all key stakeholders provide inputs into the evaluation. These include Concern staff and beneficiaries including beneficiary leadership in the PoCs and outside of the camps, as well as other humanitarian agencies (OCHA, UNICEF, Protection partners, Care, IMC, World Relief, IOM, DRC, MSF), Camp Coordination, and local authorities. The consultant will also assess the quality of data and apply standard evaluation methods to get additional information required to effectively evaluate the success of the programme and to identify the reasons for success or failure.
Expected deliverables and outputs
· Final evaluation methodology and data collection tools
· Producing preliminary findings and recommendations within one week after the evaluation completed
· Final survey report within two weeks after preliminary presentation/submission
Report format:
The report will be presented in English. Without annexes, it should not exceed 25. The report will include at minimum the following: (i) Executive summary; (ii) Introduction; (iii) Background, Programme Description & Context; (iv) Objectives of the Evaluation; (v) Methodology Used; (vi) Evaluation according to logical framework indicators; and against DAC criteria (vii) Limitations; (viii) Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendations. The consultant will conduct debriefing meetings with the Concern field team, which could include other relevant stakeholders (i.e. UNICEF); if required by Concern EPD or CD.
Reporting
The evaluation consultant will report to the Emergency Programmes Director during the duration of the consultancy.
Security: The Country Director as the person responsible for security will make the final decision on travel plans of the Consultant based on security assessments. The Consultant must accept the Country Director’s decision and must adhere to all Concern South Sudan security protocols while in-country.
Documents for Review by consultant:
· Project documents
· 2017 HRP / 2018 HNO-HRP
· 2017 HRP Nutrition cluster strategy
· Concern Anti-Fraud policy and P4 policy
Timeframe and Period:
The planned period is from 22/01/2018 to 15/02/2018; based on the project timeframe.
Activity
Number of days required
Travel day (International/Local)
1 day
Preparation in Juba office (familiarize with Concern DDG, desk review, inception report)
1 day
Juba evaluation: site visits and meetings with stakeholders
4 days
Travel to/back field
2 days
Northern Liech evaluation: site visits and meetings with stakeholders
6 days
Data cleaning, analysis and preliminary report write up
3 days
Review of the preliminary report
1 day
Travel back
1 day
Draft final report write up
2 days
Incorporate comments and submit final report
1 day
Availability for questions at home afterwards
2 days
Total
23 days
General conditions of the consultancy
· The consultant must adhere to Concern’s Code of Conduct and related documentation.
· Concern will provide transport in-country to facilitate activities under this consultancy.
· Flight/travel to and from the country of residence and visa costs shall be paid by Concern.
· Accommodation will be provided by Concern in Juba/field in compliance with Concern’s policy while the consultant will cover his/her food subsistence related costs.
· The consultant will conduct his/her work using his/her own laptop.
· Final payment based on submission of final report including Concern feedback on draft report.
Skills and competencies required
Education:
The consultant should
· A holder of post graduate degree in nutrition, public health, epidemiology, social sciences or related discipline.
Work Experience:
· Minimum experience of 3 years in implementing nutrition emergency programmes with a humanitarian organization.
· Experience in leading programme evaluation surveys.
· Proven team leading and managerial experience.
· Knowledge of working with conflict-affected populations.
· Previous experience in South Sudan POCs will be an added advantage.
Technical Competencies:
· The consultant must have a strong background in emergency nutrition programmes
· Excellent report writing and presentation skills.
· Excellent knowledge of and experience with humanitarian guidelines and principles.
· Fluency in English and local languages spoken in the working area is an advantage.
· Computer literacy in MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint, digital data gathering devices.
· Willingness to travel extensively and work under pressure & meeting deadlines.
· Ability to work in a multicultural and inter-sectoral environment.
· Ability to work collaboratively as a team.
· Ability to coordinate, direct and supervise others to achieve a common goal.
· Ability to live and work in an isolated area in basid conditions
Languages:
Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of local language is an added advantage.
Application procedures
All expressions of interest should include:
· Cover letter: A short (maximum one page) letter addressing the survey criteria
· Technical Proposal (maximum 4 pages) highlighting: brief explanation about previous experience in conducting the nutrition programme evaluation; understanding of the TOR, description of the specified evaluation methodology and the task to be accomplished as well as draft survey framework and work plan.
· Detailed CV (maximum 4 pages) should be annexed to the technical proposal
· Financial Proposal: The financial proposal should provide cost estimates for services rendered including daily consultancy fees.
· Copies of previous evaluation reports.
Interested parties should send their expression of interest that includes CV, cover letter, short description of methodology, proposed budget and one example of previous evaluation report (Concern will keep it confidential).
Expression of interest should be sent to nina.gehm@concern.net and southsudan.logs@concern.net
Deadline for submission of expression of interest is COB 5th January 2017.
How to apply:
Application procedures
All expressions of interest should include:
· Cover letter: A short (maximum one page) letter addressing the survey criteria
· Technical Proposal (maximum 4 pages) highlighting: brief explanation about previous experience in conducting the nutrition programme evaluation; understanding of the TOR, description of the specified evaluation methodology and the task to be accomplished as well as draft survey framework and work plan.
· Detailed CV (maximum 4 pages) should be annexed to the technical proposal
· Financial Proposal: The financial proposal should provide cost estimates for services rendered including daily consultancy fees.
· Copies of previous evaluation reports.
Interested parties should send their expression of interest that includes CV, cover letter, short description of methodology, proposed budget and one example of previous evaluation report (Concern will keep it confidential).
Expression of interest should be sent to nina.gehm@concern.net and southsudan.logs@concern.net
Deadline for submission of expression of interest is COB 5th January 2017.