Evaluation of Humanitarian Action Lead Consultant Job in Save the Children

Evaluation of Humanitarian Action Lead Consultant

General scope

A year after the crisis broke in Somalia; Save the Children is commissioning an external evaluation of humanitarian action to assist with planning for the ongoing response, and in line with donor commitments.

As SCiSOM currently has 39 active emergency grants, the scope of this evaluation will not be on a per-grant basis, but rather on the overall progress against the organisational emergency response strategy.

The evaluation will therefore assess the extent to which proposed objectives and outcomes in SCiSOM’s response strategy have been achieved, including predicted reach, scale, activities and areas of implementation.

Assessment of individual grants (which will be selected to reflect the response as a whole) will help to inform the evaluation of the overall progress against the response strategy.

The Evaluation of Humanitarian Action in Somalia/Somaliland will:

• Assess the extent to which the projects of emergency response met their objectives.
• Measure the extent to which the response has been accountable to the affected population (specifically looking at children and their care-givers).
• Recommend improvements for longer-term strategies, focusing on programme and management quality and accountability, and contribute to learning in a wider sense within the agency

The Consultancy period for the Team Leader of the Evaluation of Humanitarian Action will between 14th May and 23rd June – This includes the reporting period.

Organisational relationships

• The assessment will be undertaken by a team of three people with an experienced team leader responsible for assessing a range of program performance and management issues and for producing the report. S/he will be supported by two colleagues.
• The evaluation team leader will report directly to Save the Children, working closely with the M&E Expert. The M&E Expert will provide key background documentation to the team (Response strategy, Real Time Evaluation Report, Operational Review, Revised 2012 strategy, contingency plans etc.)

Responsibilities and tasks

• Before starting, be thoroughly familiar with the response strategy (objectives, outputs, previous phases including previous activities, outputs, problems, budget time schedule, context, etc.).
• Consult closely with the M&E Expert to finalise the methodology and timeframe of the EHA.
• Ensure the OECD-DAC criteria is used as a framework for the EHA.
• Work with M&E Expert to finalise quantitative and qualitative data collection tools.
• Finalize sampling and sample sizes to facilitate analysis.
• Lead data collection including primary, secondary and participatory approaches – security constraints may limit access to field sites and therefore opportunities for primary data collection.
• Produce a clear report on the Evaluation of Humanitarian action as per the guidelines in the TOR.

Expected outputs

• Final methodology and tools
• Draft report
• External Final report (data set for quantitative and qualitative data attached)
• Debrief with programme and management staff

Qualifications and experience required (Essential)

• Ability to provide strategic recommendations to key stakeholders
• Strong knowledge of operational management of humanitarian operations in complex environments – ideally in Somalia.
• Demonstrable knowledge of how Save the Children operates in emergencies
• Demonstrable experience in conducting evaluations of humanitarian action in complex environments
• Capacity to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and on a team
• Strong analytical skills and ability to clearly synthesize and present findings, draw practical conclusions and to prepare well-written reports in a timely manner
• Strong workshop facilitations skills
• Knowledge of participatory methodologies
• Demonstrable experience with Accountability to Beneficiaries
• Proven experience in child-focused programming
• Ability to provide recommendations for the Relief, Recovery, and the Rehabilitation & Development Phases.

Qualifications and experience required (Desirable)

• Somali national.
• Competent Somali language skills

How to Apply:

Applications should be sent to vacancies@scsom.org. Deadline for applications is 22nd April 2012