Evaluation of Malawi WASH Programme

CONSULTANCY POSITION

Evaluation of Malawi WASH Programme

VACANCY#: UNICEF/MLW/2015/022

1.BACKGROUND

UNICEF currently has funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, DFID and the EU, for the ongoing country programme. It is anticipated that UNICEF will continue to receive donor funds after this date and be called upon to influence the strategic direction of National WASH development and demonstrate a clear comparative advantage in ensuring accountability, strengthening sector governance, innovation and ‘value for money’. Given these external drivers of change, there is a need for UNICEF to reflect on recent experience and review the outputs from the UNICEF-Netherlands partnership programme in order to identify the risks and opportunities for future programming, and ensure that the next country programme is both strategic and relevant; and geared to more effective risk management.

The UNICEF-Netherland WASH programme evaluation is being undertaken as part of a Country Programme review which is a key milestone in UNICEF’s country programming process; and provides an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress towards achievement of the results outlined in the current programme documents. The evaluation will also be the basis for making the strategic choices that the country office needs to make for the forthcoming country programme. This will inform the country programme document (CPD) process for the new country programme, which will commence in 2017.

UNICEF is therefore seeking to hire a consultant to assess the achievement of project objectives of UNICEF-Netherlands WASH in the 12 target districts between the period 2007 and 2012.

· To pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and identify risks and opportunities for the WASH programme

· To assess the extent to which the programme focused on the deprived and vulnerable; systems and capacity development including for financing in the sector

· To assess programme contribution to; risk management; and internal UNICEF capacity, especially in relation to upstream engagement

2.SCOPE OF WORK

The Consultant will specifically carry out the following tasks:

The criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability will be applied to programme objectives and strategic results areas (i.e capacity development, equity, policy, women and children empowerment and risk management). Specifically, the evaluation will seek to answer, but not limited to, the following questions:

Relevance

· Assess the internal, vertical and horizontal consistencies between sector policy/strategy and the UNICEF WASH programme;

· Appropriateness of the project objectives in the overall problem context, needs and priorities of the target groups and beneficiaries

· How well the programme has identified the needs of the most deprived populations and how these have been built into programme results and monitoring;

· How well the programme has identified and addressed the challenges of balancing between equity and efficiency dilemma for optimal results

Efficiency

Project efficiency refers to the extent to which the various activities transformed the available resources into the intended outputs in terms of quantity, quality and timeliness. Specifically answer the following questions:

· To what extent did programme implementation strategies contribute to national results

· What are the factors affecting the pace and quality of implementation and how can these be mitigated

· How efficient were the procedures and approaches adopted for infrastructural works and were they in conformity with UNICEF’s regulations

Effectiveness

· What actual results were achieved against planned results as outlined in the results matrix and against key performance indicators.

· What capacities were developed in the sector as a result of the WASH programme and how did these contribute to the achievement of results

· What advocacy was carried out and how effective these have been;

Impact

· What impact did it achieve for against its planned targets

· What community capacities and competencies were developed and how did these contribute to sustainability and resilience

Sustainability

· What strategies for sustainability have been adopted and how effective these have been;

· What competencies within the WASH section have been useful and what are the key human resource and skills gaps;

· What is the likelihood of continued flow of benefits for beneficiaries after the project end

· What is the extend of programme influence on national level commitment for resource allocations and leveraging

· To what extent results achieved are sustainable at their respective levels (National, sub-national, communities) and if they can be replicated or integrated into policies, strategies and programmes

Performance Ratings

The evaluation shall include an overall performance rating for each of the above five evaluation criteria, on the basis of the following scale:

· Highly satisfactory (fully according to plan or better);

· Satisfactory (on balance according to plan, positive aspects outweighing negative aspects);

· Less than satisfactory (not sufficiently according to plan, taking account of the evolving context; a few positive aspects, but outweighed by negative aspects):

· Highly unsatisfactory (seriously deficient, very few or no positive aspects). Each rating should be stated as part of the conclusions for each of the five criteria.

3.EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

· Advanced degree in water and sanitation related area preferable;

· At least 5 years’ work experience in water and sanitation at national and sub-national levels;

· Experience of sector policy advocacy , strategy development and funding arrangements;

· Experience of WASH sector reviews and evaluations of WASH programmes;

· Experience of risk assessment methodologies;

· Knowledge of the Malawian water and sanitation sector desirable;

· Knowledge of UNICEF internal procedures and programming an asset;

· Excellent communication, analytical and writing skills, including writing reports, strategies and proposals in English;

· Ability and flexibility to work to short deadlines and prioritise work, with minimal supervision;

· Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationship both within and outside the organisation;

4.DURATION

45 Days

HOW TO APPLY:

5.METHOD OF APPLICATION

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:-

1. A cover letter, no longer than 2 pages, and curriculum vitae of the proposed members of the team (national team), showing how the consultant meets the required qualifications, experience and expertise.
2. A technical proposal, no longer than 3 pages, highlighting:
3. How they have understood and interpreted the assignment and any suggestions to improve the outcomes of the assignment.
4. The proposed methodology that the consultant will utilize, including sampling frame, data collection methods and tools, processing, analysis and interpretation and reporting framework.
5. Logistics and resources requirements, e.g. transport, perishables etc.
6. Any ethic concerns that could affect people involved in the study
7. Financial proposal, no longer than one page, including all eligible fees, (salaries, transportations and Daily subsistence allowance for data collection and fieldwork, communication costs.

iv. Personal History Form (P-11 form) (which can be downloaded from our website athttp://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html) and attach copies of their certificates.

Applications should be sent on or before 02 June 2015 to the following address:hrmalawi@unicef.org

NOTE:

· UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply.

• Only shortlisted applicants will be acknowledged.
• Applications sent through the post office or hand delivered is not accepted.

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