Jordan: Evaluation Consultant (Emergency Cash Assistance Evaluation)
Country: Jordan
Closing date: 24 Aug 2013
TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5.3 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff.
Evaluation Consultant(Emergency Cash Assistance Evaluation)
BACKGROUNDIn response to the current humanitarian crisis in Syria UNRWA provides emergency cash assistance to more than 400,000 Palestine refugees inside the war-torn country. In order to support the efforts of UNRWA Syria Field Office to adequately respond to the humanitarian crisis and to learn lessons for future emergency interventions, the Department of Internal Oversight Services (DIOS) is commissioning an evaluation of the Emergency Cash Assistance Programme in Syria. The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the Programme’s effectiveness and efficiency with the aim of improving operations.The Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for conducting this evaluation. (S)he will work at UNRWA Headquarters Amman and report to the Chief, Evaluation Division in DIOS. Further information regarding the evaluation is available in Annex 1 below.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESThe Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for conducting the evaluation and managing the entire evaluation process. (S)he will carry out the following duties:
Draft a concept note, which will provide the theoretical background for the evaluation. The concept note will be based on an extensive review of relevant internal documents and external literature on humanitarian assistance in emergencies, as well as on discussions with the Field Relief and Social Services Programme and other key stakeholders. The concept note will clearly define the purpose and scope of the evaluation, the evaluation questions, as well as the sampling and data collection methodology to be used by the evaluation (presented in the form of an evaluation matrix). During the development of the concept note, the Consultant will be in close contact with the DIOS Audit Division in order to discuss a potential contribution of the Division to some aspects of the evaluation.
Collect qualitative data through interviews with UNRWA staff from Syria Field Office (by phone), Headquarters Amman, and Lebanon Field Office (by phone). The Evaluation Consultant will arrange for these interviews her-/himself with minimal support provided by the Administrative Assistant of the DIOS Evaluation Division. A preliminary list of UNRWA staff proposed to be interviewed is available in Annex 2.
Manage data collection from beneficiaries in Syria. Identify a Syria-based research institute or academic institution or individual researchers that are able to interview beneficiaries on the ground. Manage related contractual processes with minimal support provided by the Administrative Assistant of the DIOS Evaluation Division. Develop research instruments and train data collectors on their usage. Backstop data collection from Amman.
Analyse data collected from UNRWA staff and beneficiaries and organize data into a usable format. Convene a video conference meeting with relevant stakeholders to verify data and preliminary findings.
Write a draft and final report incorporating UNRWA comments on the draft report into the final report. UNRWA comments will be submitted within two weeks after issuance of the draft report. The draft and final evaluation report should not exceed 25 pages (excluding annexes).
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE• Advanced university degree in social sciences or a related field;• Several years of work experience in evaluation;• Previous work experience in humanitarian assistance in conflict areas;• Strong analytical skills;• Excellent drafting skills; and• Fluency in English.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE• Previous work experience in emergency cash assistance programmes;• University degree in humanitarian assistance;• Previous work experience in the Middle East;• Working knowledge in Arabic; and• Previous work experience with UN agencies.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICEThe starting date for the assignment will be in September 2013. It is expected that the assignment can be completed within 90 consultant days.
APPLICATION PROCESSApplicants should submit a cover letter, a CV or UN Personnel History Form, two samples of their work, as well as their expected daily consultant rate via consultancy@unrwa.org clearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Evaluation Consultant” in the subject line of the message. CVs should contain the contact details of a minimum of three references. The deadline for the submission of applications is 24/08/2013 (late applications will not be considered).
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.
ANNEX 1: THE EMERGENCY CASH ASSISTANCE EVALUATIONFor more than two years, Syria has witnessed an internal armed conflict that has led to almost a third of the population (31%) departing or fleeing their normal place of residence. 2.3 million jobs have been lost so that the unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 48.8 per cent. More than half of the Syrian population of 21.4 million persons is now living in poverty.
Syria hosts a total Palestine refugee population of 529,000 individuals. Of these, 420,000 are currently in need of basic food and non-food assistance. 235,000 Palestine refugees, including 54,000 children, have become displaced within Syria as a result of the armed conflict.
UNRWA’s Relief and Social Services Programme distributes emergency cash assistance of USD 42 per person per six months to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and poor families assessed thought a rapid poverty assessment. More than 401,000 Palestine refugees in Syria benefited from the first round of assistance. The second round has started on June 9th, 2013 and is expected to serve a similar number of beneficiaries. It will use different payment modalities such as ATM cards, agreements with banks and physical distribution at UNRWA Damascus Training Center and UNRWA Area Offices. An emergency data module linked to the Agency-wide Refugee Registration Information System is used to track refugee records and assistance.
UNRWA has also distributed food parcels to more than 47,800 families unable to meet their basic food needs, as well as non-food items such as mattresses, blankets, cooking kits, diapers, tents, hygiene kits and other sanitary items to approximately 100,000 refugees. The Agency’s Social Safety Net Programme, which is ongoing and not related to the current emergency, provides a further 13,000 abject poor families annually with quarterly cash and food assistance.
Within UNRWA operations, the combination of humanitarian assistance mechanisms described above is unique to the Syrian context. Moreover, the Emergency Cash Assistance Programme uses some new ways of disseminating cash. In order to support the efforts of UNRWA Syria Field Office to adequately respond to the humanitarian crisis and to learn lessons for future emergency interventions, DIOS is commissioning an evaluation of the Emergency Cash Assistance Programme in Syria. The main aim of the evaluation is to assess the Programme’s effectiveness and efficiency in order to improve operations. The evaluation’s clients are the Executive Office and the Field Relief and Social Services Programme in UNRWA Syria Field Office. Potential areas of assessment that need to be further defined in cooperation with the client include:a. Effectiveness and efficiency of targeting mechanisms;b. Effectiveness and efficiency of distribution mechanisms;c. Risks involved in different distribution mechanisms;d. Relevance of different assistance mechanisms for beneficiaries’ needs;e. Coordination of different assistance mechanisms applied;f. Effectiveness of the emergency data module;g. Coordination with assistance provided by UNRWA Lebanon Field Office in Lebanon; andh. Communication with beneficiaries.i. Workload of staff of the Relief and Social Services Programme and the Finance Department who are involved in the cash assistance process and its impact on the quality of the services delivered.
The evaluation should be conducted taking into consideration that Syria Field Office is under significant strain to deliver services. Emphasis will therefore be given to the document review that will be part of the concept note in order to limit requirements regarding interviews with staff in Syria to a minimum. Relevant internal documents that have already been identified as important for the evaluation include (i) Standard Operating Procedures for the Distribution of Cash Assistance, (ii) Standard Operating Procedures for the Distribution of Food Assistance, and (iii) Cash Distribution Plan for June – August 2013.
ANNEX 2: PRELIMINARY LIST OF UNRWA EMPLOYEES TO BE INTERVIEWEDTitle Location Assessment AreaDirector of UNRWA Affairs SFO a,b,c,e,f,g,h,iDeputy Director of UNRWA Affairs (Programmes) SFO a,b,c,e,f,g,h,iChief, Relief and Social Services Programme SFO a,b,c,e,f,g,h,iEmergency Cash Assistance Project Manager SFO a,b,c,e,f,g,h,iField Programme Support Officer SFO a,b,c,e,f,g,hField Finance Officer SFO b,c,e,f,i,Data Project Coordinator SFO f,gEmergency Cash Assistance Administrative Officer SFO h(Assistant) Area Officers Damascus, Central, North, South Area a,b,c,e,f,g,h,iSocial Workers who are running complaints desks Damascus, Central, North, South Area a,b,c,d,e,h,iArea Data Operators Central, North, South Area a,b,c,e,f,hData Entry Clerks Damascus Area Office fClerks at Bemo Saudi Fransi Bank Damascus Area b,c,d,e,iClerks at Bank Syria and Overseas Damascus Area b,c,d,e,iDirector, Relief and Social Services Department HQA a,b,c,e,f,g,hSenior Poverty Adviser HQA a,b,c,e,f,g,hHead Relief and Social Services Information Systems Unit HQA fMonitoring and Evaluation Officer HQA a,b,c,e,f,g,hChief, Relief and Social Services Programme LFO g(Non-shaded staff are not considered essential for the evaluation.)
How to apply:
APPLICATION PROCESSApplicants should submit a cover letter, a CV or UN Personnel History Form, two samples of their work, as well as their expected daily consultant rate via consultancy@unrwa.org clearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Evaluation Consultant” in the subject line of the message. CVs should contain the contact details of a minimum of three references. The deadline for the submission of applications is 24/08/2013 (late applications will not be considered).
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.
