Background:

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo (hereafter “the Mission”) aims to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of its youth mainstreaming efforts, initiated since 2018, through the engagement of an external evaluator. This evaluation will review the tools, structures, and processes designed to integrate youth into the Mission’s programming and operations. While the Mission’s youth mainstreaming architecture represents a considerable advancement, it also shows some limitations due to a lack of detailed methodology in place. The assessment will therefore assess the extent to which this architecture supports this Mission’s declared objective of promoting youth leadership, participation and engagement. It will also provide critical insights into the strengths and limitations of the current approach, helping the Mission to identify ways forward to increase its relevance and impact when working with and for the youth.
The assessment is expected to deliver a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of the Mission’s youth mainstreaming efforts, alongside key lessons learned and recommendations for improving future youth-focused initiatives within its programming and strategic planning. It will clarify how well the existing framework supports the Mission’s strategic objectives, particularly in advancing youth leadership, participation and engagement in decision-making processes.

Objective of Assignment:

Under the supervision of the Director of the Democratization Department, who chairs the Youth Working Group, the Mission will conduct an evaluation of its work with and for youth from 2018 to the present. The overall purpose of the evaluation is to assess the Mission’s efforts and to generate an analysis of the results achieved and lessons learned performance.

Duration of Assignment:

The Consultant will be hired for 24 working days.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• To conduct desk research of available documents, and preliminary discussions with the Secretariat of the Mission Youth WG, summarizing the findings into an inception report;
• To design tools for primary data collection among all relevant stakeholders, beneficiaries and interlocutors, and collect the data both qualitative and quantitative;
• To collect and analyse the collected data and evaluate the performance of Mission’s processes, structures and interventions on Youth as per the guiding questions;
• In consultation with the Evaluation Manager identify results, progress, strengths weaknesses, and opportunities of the Mission’s operational framework around Youth;
• To suggest ways of collating the youth work with other thematic issues in the Mission such as gender equality, VAW, VERLT, and other relevant topics;
• Formulate long- to short-term recommendations for the future Mission’s operational framework around Youth;
• Prepare overall evaluation report synthesizing the analysis of youth projects, cross-cutting analysis, and overall Mission portfolio analysis,
• Maintain regular and timely communication with the Evaluation Manager

Deliverables:

• Inception meeting or online consultation;
• Inception report with a detailed proposed methodology and evaluation matrix;
• Interview protocols;
• Desk research note and finalized methodology;
• Agenda of in-person and online meetings;
• Interviews, surveys and/or group discussions;
• Field visits/ Data collection;
• Email correspondence and online meetings;
• Draft versions of the evaluation report;
• Evaluation report (draft and final);
• Feedback, including possible workshop/meeting, and report revisions;
• Email correspondence and online meetings.

Necessary Qualifications:

• University degree in education, social sciences, development studies, youth, gender equality and/or interdisciplinary studies, human rights, law or similar;
• A minimum of 5-7 years of proven expertise and track record in evaluating projects and programmes, and qualifications around the specific thematic issues under evaluation, preferably in the youth and social inclusion area;
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality evaluation reports, including recommendations for future work of an international and/or regional organization;
• Familiarity with mainstreaming of youth, gender equality, disability, and non-majority communities’ concerns in the contexts of good governance and public safety;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Outstanding writing and reporting skills;
• Experience designing research/evaluation tools (e.g., structured observation, interview, and focus group discussion questionnaires, desk review methodology, reporting templates);
• Experience conducting interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys for primary data collection;
• Experience in cross analysing both qualitative and quantitative data;
• Capacity to co-ordinate with a multitude of interlocutors to ensure comprehensive data collection;
• Professional fluency in the English language, including excellent drafting and analytical skills in English;
• Familiarity with OSCE Mission’s mandate is desirable;
• Experience working in multicultural, multilingual environments is a strong asset.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant’s/expert’s qualifications, experience, the tasks, and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

In order to apply for this position, you must complete the OSCE’s online application form, found under OSCE Careers – Jobs. Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system, you may use the offline application form Offline application form | OSCE Employment and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: consultancy.omik@osce.org. In line with your qualifications please indicate a preference for one or more fields of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds to apply.