Afghanistan: Project Evaluation Consultant

Background and Context

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) strives to promote education in Afghanistan as a fundamental human right while aiming to provide access to quality, relevant and inclusive education for all. Across Afghanistan, UNESCO Kabul is currently providing technical and financial support to the Deputy Ministry of Education for Literacy (DMoEL) or Literacy Department (LD) to implement Basic General Literacy (BGL) and Skills Based Literacy (SBL) programmes, and to strengthen the quality of adult literacy programmes and non-formal education more broadly. The Programme for Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) has been implemented since 2009 to 2018 as a national literacy programme. With the new funding from the Government of Republic of South Korea, further coverage has been extended to 21 districts of five provinces (Farah, Kabul, Logar, Parwan and Panjshir) in 2018. The aims of the Support for Adult Literacy in Afghanistan (SALA) project are as with ELA to improve the proficiency level of literacy and numeracy of the youth and adult populations, particularly for women and girls, by targeting 60% female learners aged 15 and above. This project purposed to also increase awareness about the importance of literacy among national-level stakeholders and to address the challenges of literacy in a sustainable manner, noting that the current budget allocated to literacy under the MoE is approximately only 2% of the national education budget.

Main duties and responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Kabul office, and the Chief of Education of the UNESCO Office in Kabul , the direct supervision of the Program Manager, Adult Literacy and Non –formal Education (ALNFE), the incumbent, as the team leader of the Quality Education Team ALNFE (QETA), will be responsible for the development, planning, management and implementation of the programme on the promotion of the quality of adult literacy and non-formal education, with particular focus on curriculum development and reform, Adult literacy and NFE teacher Education , youth and adults skills development, and learning assessment. The incumbent will also will be involved in the coordination of projects within and across the education sector as well as under inter-sectoral platforms. Within this context, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

Project Goal:

Through the acquisition of literacy skills, to prepare young people and adults, in particular women, to pursue their human rights, access to quality continuing education, further learning opportunities, and improved livelihoods. In parallel, to contribute to the fulfilment of the Economic and Social Development Pillar of Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), National Priority Programs, National Education Strategic Plan Phase III (NESP III), the national Citizens’ Charter programme, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 4.

Project Objectives:

The overarching objective of SALA Project is to contribute to the acquisition of literacy skills for all men and women aged 15 and above in Afghanistan.

The specific objectives of this intervention can be summed up as:

• To complete the development and implementation of youth and adult literacy curriculum and instructional materials up to the general basic education level as embodied in the Third National Education Strategic plan (NESPIII), 2017-2021;

• To improve access to quality, equitable and inclusive youth and adult literacy education for illiterate and semi-illiterate youths and adults (15 years and above), in particular women and girls;

• To strengthen the capacity for planning and decentralized management of Governmental Organizations (GO) at provincial and district levels, and in doing so support the national literacy strategy, and to reinforce the linkages between lifelong learning and vocational skills development.

Outcome 1: Improved Quality and Relevance of youth and adult learning and education

Expected Indicators:

• Percentage of curriculum framework developed/revised;

• Percentage of training course programme developed;

Outcome 2: Increased Equitable and inclusive Access youth and adult learning opportunities

Expected Indicators:

• Enrolment and completion rates;

• Number of facilitators trained;

• Supplies and kits procured and distributed;

• Pass rates among BGL & SBL learners;

• Percentage of study conducted;

Outcome 3: Improved Efficient and Transparent Management

Expected Indicators:

• DMoEL’s role to coordinate literacy assistance in the country strengthened;

• Number of literacy stakeholders sensitized and disseminating advocacy messages literacy providers through LIFE coordinated;

• National/provincial/District Literacy Committees operationalized;

• Number of government staff with improved performance;

• Percentage of NFE-MIS implemented;

• Number of government staff trained and mentored;

• Submit the final written report of end term evaluation of SALA Project.

Objective of Evaluation

The overall purpose of the final evaluation is to assess the extent to which SALA has or has not been successful in meeting its objectives. In this, the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and gender perspective of SALA project will be measured. The organizational structure and management of SALA project in the context of DMoEL and UNESCO will be taken into account with respect to (but not limited to) programme design, planning, implementation and monitoring including data management, progress reporting, provision of feedback and the timeliness and appropriateness of management decisions.

Scope of work

The period that will be covered by this evaluation is implementation phase of SALA, from December 2017 to June 2019. Geographically, the project covered Kabul and all provinces with technical support and 5 provinces (Kabul, Parwan, Panjir, Logar and Farah) with provision of Basic General Literacy (BGL) and Skill Based Literacy (SBL) classes. The final evaluation of SALA shall assess the following outcomes:

Main responsibilities and tasks

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Kabul, the general direction of the Chief of Education, and the direct supervision of the Literacy Project manager with the technical supervision of Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, the consultant will conduct the final evaluation of SALA project. The consultant will provide a detailed evidence-based assessment and analysis of its major achievements, constraints and lessons learned; and, based explicitly on this evidence, recommend forward thinking to inform future programming for both UNESCO and the DMoEL.

Specifically, the international consultant will perform following tasks:

• Lead the evaluation process, including desk review of the relevant secondary data, developing the evaluation design/methodology, evaluation questions, data collection tools, and data collection plan, data collation, cleaning and analysis, and report findings reflecting systematic and appropriate analysis and interpretation of the data.
• duct meetings with key stakeholders to design the evaluation;
• Work collaboratively with national staff members in data collection and analysis;
• Conduct fieldwork (KII, FGD, surveys, observation) for primary data collection from and the relevant key stakeholders and beneficiary stakeholders;
• Prepare initial draft of a written final evaluation report (logically structured with clarity and coherence.
• Conduct a knowledge sharing workshop with key literacy stakeholders to share preliminary findings;
• Prepare a draft report on evaluation and incorporate comments and feedback from the stakeholders for review; and
• Submit the final written report of end term evaluation of SALA Project.

Methodology

The methodology applied to this evaluation must clearly explain how the evaluation has been specifically designed to address the evaluation criteria, yield answers to the evaluation questions and achieve the evaluation purposes. In addition, the overall methodological and design should specify the methods for data collection and analysis. The evaluation methodology should also include multiple methods (triangulation); preferably with analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data and with a range of stakeholders to be covered by the data collection methods. The design will be developed by the International Consultant in close consultation with UNESCO team and Deputy Ministry of Education for Literacy (DMoEL). The evaluation approach and method must ensure the most reliable and valid answers to evaluation questions, which will be designed and developed by the international consultant in consultation with LD and UNESCO team members within the limits of resources; a theory of change and an evaluation matrix will be prepared as part of the Inception process. The methodology will include:

• Desk Study: The Evaluation lead will examine all relevant secondary data documents. The desk review should explore other literacy initiatives globally and within the region, including of UNESCO, as a basis for future advice and relevant lessons learned and best practices.
• Development and finalization of methodology: The international consultant will overall methodological approach and design of the evaluation, data collection and analysis methods, and finalize data collection tools and plan. This will be done in close consultation and discussion with the SALA teams including LD and UNESCO.
• Field Visits: Where possible (and dependent on the limitations of security or other factors), the international consultant, with the support of LD and UNESCO team members will collect primary data from different stakeholders both at national and subnational levels (in a few selected representative provinces). The international consultant will be tasked with the responsibility of developing a sampling plan to ensure complete, fair and unbiased assessment.
• Interviewing key stakeholders: At national level, the international consultant will pay particular attention to interviewing the key stakeholders, i.e. senior management, heads of departments and key focal points in the DMoEL, senior management and other key focal points in the UNESCO and LD literacy teams, key managerial and advisory personnel. At subnational level, the international consultant and/or LD and UNESCO team members should also interview the provincial government staff i.e. Provincial Education Officer, Provincial Literacy Manager, District Education Officer, Shura Members, and others as relevant implemented SALA project. The international consultant will also conduct KII with selected learner from both BGL and SBL cohorts. The international consultant should hold interviews with key persons DMoEL at central level; as well as development partners, especially SALA donor and/or other ELA donors. A final list of KII/FGD respondents will be developed/approved as part of the inception process.
• Surveys/Literacy Assessment: The lead consultant will develop a literacy and numeracy assessment tool that will be used to measure the reading, numeracy and vocabulary skills of selected learners who successfully completed BGL and/or SBL courses. This could be triangulated/linked to data sources provided by LD on the pass rates/summative test results.
• Review and finalization of report: The draft of the final evaluation report will be shared with all stakeholders including Internal Oversite Services (IOS), UNESCO Head Quarters for feedback/ comments and inputs shall be incorporated in the final written report.

Timelines and Deliverables

The final evaluation should be completed between mid-July and mid-August 2019 with a final report submitted by end of August 2019.

Expected deliverables as follows-

• An Inception report with theory of change, an evaluation matrix and outlining the evaluation questions (and reasons for the selection of the evaluation questions), a detailed outline of the evaluation process, the data collection tools and a detailed work plan for the final evaluation;
• Initial written draft evaluation report that is logically structured with clarity and coherence and includes objectives of the evaluation, evaluation purpose, objective and scope, evaluation methodology, key findings, conclusions, recommendations, and crosscutting theme such as gender and human rights. The report should specifically highlight key achievements, lessons learned, challenges and constraints, and recommendations on the scope for forward thinking in regards to future programming of youth and adult literacy programme in Afghanistan as directly derived from the evidence of the SALA evaluation;
• A knowledge sharing workshop on evaluation findings and recommendations in presence of all key stakeholders; and
• A draft written report of the evaluation incorporating all the comments and feedback from stakeholders for review and feedback.
• Final written evaluation report incorporating feedback from UNESCO for publishing and dissemination.

Expected time Duration of the assignment: Initial duration of 6-7 weeks.

Competencies

A successful candidate will be required to demonstrate the following competencies:

Core Competencies

Building Partnerships

Accountability

Communication

Teamwork

Creativity & Innovation

Planning and organizing

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Client Orientation

Technological Awareness,

Result Based Management and Budgeting,

Promoting Organizational Change and Development**.**

For detailed information please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework

Required qualifications

Education

The international consultant will have:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in the evaluation of education policy development and implementation, with particular focus on Adult Literacy and Non-Formal Education. Relevant experience in education and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• University degree (preferably PhD) in education, psychology, sociology or related studies in social science field is required.
• Experience in organizational management, structures and systems, operations, capacity development, reporting, and monitoring;
• Minimum of two years of work experience in conflict-affected areas; experience in Afghanistan is highly desirable;

In addition, it is required that the international consultant will be able and willing to travel to the provincial areas covered by the programme (where security clearance is given).

Competencies and Skills:

· Primary expertise in coordinating of highly technical cooperation.

· Proven expertise in institutional capacity building and system strengthening for government ministries, preferably in conflict /post conflict and reconstruction/recovery contexts.

· Good understanding of development partners ‘expectations and trends in education sector.

· Proven expertise in project design, planning, management and reporting, and donor communication.

· Strong experience in management and implementation of education programs and coordinating teams in planning, implementing, monitoring and reporting

· Strong sensitivity and adaptability in post conflict countries and diversity (cultural, gender, religion, race and nationality)

· Ability to interact with a wide range of high–level partners

· Excellent strategic and analytical skills.

· Excellent organizational and knowledge management skills

· Excellent communication skills, including writing and oral expression.

· Excellent computer and other IT skills.

Languages

Applicants must be fluent in both written and oral English; capacity in Dari and/or Pashto is desirable

Assessment

An assessment exercise may be used in the evaluation of candidates

How to apply

To apply, please send your application letter and UNESCO CV (CV Form to be used) in English to k.human- resource@unesco.org before 15 June 2019 (Kabul time).

Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.

Benefits and entitlements

UNESCO’s salaries are calculated in US dollars. They consist of a basic salary and a post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, as well as exchange rates. Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, home travel, education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance. More details can be found on the ICSC Website.

Please note that UNESCO is a no-smoking Organization.