IWPR regional office in Central Asia is looking for external Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Consultant (MEL) to monitor and evaluate the “Go Viral Network and Festival 2.0” project.
About the Project
The “Go Viral Network and Festival 2.0” is an IWPR’s project focused on enhancing regional connectivity, supporting economic development, and strengthening civil society in Central Asia by creating and sustaining deep partnerships among an emerging generation of innovative Central Asian thought leaders. The Project is supported by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Central Asia and implemented in partnership with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Central Asia.
Go Viral is currently finalising its second year of implementation and is delivering strong results. MEL plan, system and tools are already in place.
Project period: October 2021 – September 2023
Location: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Objective of the consultancy: The Consultant is responsible for conducting the final external evaluation of the “Go Viral Network and Festival 2.0” project. The consultant will work closely with stakeholders to identify and define the key areas of focus for evaluation and provide clarity on what aspects of the project need to be assessed, and ensure that the evaluation is targeted and relevant. The evaluation should contribute to learning, and decision-making processes, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding the project’s continuation, scale-up, or replication.
Utilization focused evaluation: findings, learnings and recommendations should be reliable, understandable and “actionable” in full by intended users of the evaluation. Intended users are: project manager, project staff, donor, IWPR staff, partners, mentors, direct beneficiaries. Methodologies, deliverables and debriefing sessions should prioritise inclusive, users-friendly formats.
Complex changes, expected and unexpected: Special attention should be paid to uncovering the peculiarities of the changes in actions, relationships, policy or practice of both beneficiaries and external actors linked to the project activities. The nature of the changes in question may be positive or negative, intended or unintended.
Significance and context: The consultant is to provide a detailed account of the interconnection between the project and the larger observed social trends happening within the region. Results, challenges and recommendations for future programming should be outlined in the light of local and regional context mindful of factors that may limit or enhance impact and sustainability.
- Tasks and responsibilities: The consultant(s) is expected to:
- Study the relevant project documents (including, but not limited to the work plan, events’ evaluation sheets, content produced throughout the project life), review and revise the log frame and result matrix, and revise the indicators (both target and achieved) study project progress reports and annual and mid-year evaluations;
- Suggest and conduct data capture activities to track the qualitative impact of the project (interviews with beneficiaries, focus-groups, evaluation of the content produced, etc.). Collection of stories that exemplify/explain achievement or challenges is encouraged.
- Conduct evaluation of the project’s short-term and long-term impact towards the target groups/individuals. Utilisation of rigorous methodologies like “outcomes harvesting” is encouraged.
- Compare the existing project progress against the established baseline. Outline trends of success baseline-target vs year achievements and overall achievement.
- Identify new sources of verification that the project can use. As much as possible, use existing data sources embedded in existing systems. Consider utilisation of IWPR Stakeholders or/and Network Engagement indexes.
- Submit draft and final agreed deliverables
- Debriefing and feedback session to support utilisation of the findings with project staff, Donors, partners and others as per previous agreement with Project Manager.
The successful candidate will possess:
- A minimum of 3 years of experience in leading project evaluations;
- Significant experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL);
- Methodologies, with particular expertise in Outcomes Harvesting;
- Excellent virtual facilitation skills;
- Proven expertise in qualitative data analysis, quantitative/qualitative data management and data visualisations (graphs, dashboards);
- Proven spoken and written communication skills in English;
- Ability to attend online (Zoom) meetings, storytelling sessions, etc. in GMT+6 timezone;
- Highly organised, analytical, adaptive and responsive to feedback and changes in direction when needed;
- Demonstrated commitment to freedom of speech values;
- Highly efficient and flexible approach to work, with ease in collaborating with others;
- Ability to work with limited supervision, as part of a small team and independently;
Based: Central Asia (desired), other locations can also be considered
Reporting to: Regional director with oversight of the IWPR MEL Manager Status: Consultant contract (remote, gmt +6 time zone) Contract length: 2 months (10 July- 10 September 2023)The full scope of work can be found in the Terms of Reference: ToR_GV 144 Final Evaluation Consultant (new)
The deadline for submission is June 30, 2023.
Interested candidates must fill out a special application form at the link: https://iwpr.bamboohr.com/careers/348