Result of Service

Under the leadership of the International Consultant, national consultant(s) should contribute to the following results: Inception Report, containing a preliminary analysis of the CF ToC (theory of change) or, in its absence, reconstruction of the CF ToC; an elaboration of the evaluation approach and methods, including the evaluation design matrix; and a detailed evaluation plan and timeline, including a tentative list of interviews to be arranged or plans for field visits – First draft – mid June 2024; Final draft – end June 2024 Draft and final CF Evaluation Report, including the annexes – Preliminary findings presentation in a template agreed with the Evaluation Manager and First draft – mid August 2024; Final draft – 20 September 2024

Work Location

Country Based (North Macedonia)

Expected duration

1 May – 31 October

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF, from now on) is a key strategic document that guides the work of all UN agencies working in the country in the period of five years from 2021 to 2025. As outlined in the UNSDCF, an independent terminal evaluation will be carried out in the penultimate year of its cycle. The evaluation will be participatory and will gauge the influence of UNSDCF on the lives of the people, especially the vulnerable groups, who will be interviewed during the evaluation process. The key audience of the CF Evaluation is the UNCT, the Government, the development partners and the general public. The evaluation will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including document reviews, analysis of quantitative secondary data, individual interviews with key informants and focus groups or other types of discussion to collect data. The Independent External Evaluators shall be guided by Annex 1 (standard methodology section) of Appendix 2 (Terms of reference) of the UNSDCF Evaluation Guidelines – Engl – Revised July 2022 to develop the evaluation methodology. They shall also develop the necessary tools to collect data and information to answer the overall evaluation questions. The UNSDCF evaluation should adhere to and be guided by the UNEG Norms and Standards (2016) and the UNEG Ethical Guidelines (2020) at every stage of the evaluation process including but not limited to informed consent of participants, privacy, and confidentiality considerations. The relevant ethical standards will be identified and the mechanisms and measures to ensure that standards will be maintained during the UNSDCF evaluation process should be provided in the inception report. Each Evaluation Team member will also be provided with and sign off on the UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluators, which provides ethical guidelines for the conduct of evaluations. The Evaluation Team is made up of an international evaluator (a Team Leader) with extensive evaluation expertise and a national evaluator/s with specific expertise in areas agreed between Evaluation Team Leader and Evaluation Manager. The national consultant(s) will contribute to the evaluation process substantively through data collection and analysis. Team members will share responsibilities for conducting the initial desk review and the field phases of the evaluation and provide substantive inputs to the inception report, the presentation of preliminary findings as well as to the draft and final reports. The local expert or experts will be engaged as soon as the selection of the international expert is concluded. Specific profiles of the local experts will be agreed upon with the international expert, taking into high consideration the gender aspect and ensure female representation among the evaluators. The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The selected consultants are required to clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches to the evaluation, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the evaluation process in their proposal.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced University Degree (Master or PhD) in a relevant field international development, economics, political science, governance, social sciences or a related field) is required; Minimum five years of relevant professional experience in governance, socio-economic or environment field is required. Previous work with UN is desirable; Prior experience in working with multilateral agencies is desirable; Experience and knowledge in the UN programming principles including leaving no one behind LNOB, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, disability inclusion; environmental sustainability and resilience, and accountability is required; In-depth knowledge and strong research record of country socio-economic development and environment context is required; Technical competence in undertaking complex evaluations which involve use of mixed methods and knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly UNSDCF is desirable. Process management skills such as facilitation skills and ability to negotiate with a wide range of stakeholders with excellent timely delivery and time management and strong data collection and analysis skill is desirable.

Languages

Fluency of English and Macedonian is required. Fluency in Albanian is desirable.

Additional Information

After submitting the application in INSPIRA, interested candidates shall send documentations to ivona.georgievska@un.org (please use for subject: 230666) demonstrating why they are the best-suited to carry out the above task. This should include: Latest CV and sample of previous works; Financial Proposal (inclusive of expenses related to travels and DSA). No additional costs outside of the scope of this TOR will be covered. The consultants will have to possess their own laptop and other technical equipment to complete the assignment. The documents produced during the period of this consultancy will be treated strictly confidential and the rights of distribution and/or publication shall solely reside with the UN. For more information, please visit the Term of Reference: https://northmacedonia.un.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/Terms%20of%20Reference%20for%20North%20Macedonia%20UNSDCF%202021-25%20evaluation%202024.docx (please copy and paste to the browser).

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.