Project Evaluator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is recognized globally as a leader in preventing and responding to violence against women. Our comprehensive approach supports the pursuit of the IRC’s broader vision: a world where women and girls live free from violence as valued and respected members of their community.

                BACKGROUND

The IRC has been implementing specific programs to promote and protect the rights of women and girls affected by GBV in Sierra Leone since 2001. Currently the WPE / GBV program works in Freetown and the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone in three districts, Kono, Kenema and Kailahun. The Ebola outbreak that began in Guinea in December 2013, spreading most significantly to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has had a huge impact on women and girls. As in all emergencies, the Ebola crisis has exacerbated the already existing inequalities and vulnerabilities of women and girls to violence, and the demands of the crisis have devastated the support services and systems that previously helped to mitigate risk and provided women and girls with some levels of protection from GBV.  

                SCOPE OF WORK

The external Evaluator will conduct an evaluation of a 2-year project funded by UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (herein “UNTF”), Let’s Promote Justice for Our Women and Girls of Sierra Leone, implemented by IRC’s Women’s Protection & Empowerment program between 1^st December 2011 – 30^th November 2014. The evaluation will provide an understanding of the extent to which the project objectives were achieved, and will take into consideration the impact that the Ebola crisis has on the project, its outcomes and other areas; the effectiveness of the project methodology; and lessons learned to inform future programming. The evaluation will cover - project interventions at national level (in Freetown) and in at least three (3) or the five (5) implementing districts: two where IRC is implementing directly, and one where the local partner, Timap for Justice (Timap), implemented activities; the targeted beneficiaries (survivors of violence and women/girls in general).  The evaluation will also cover key stakeholders participating in the project (such as government agencies, traditional leaders, community leaders, and other service providers).

The evaluation results will be: used by the IRC to improve its future programming approaches in the area of addressing violence against women, building on what approaches achieved results and modifying those that were less effective; used to influence IRC’s programming in other sectors as well.  Results will be shared with key stakeholders including government agencies and implementing partners in the project, and with other organizations and agencies involved in programming to address violence against women.  Results will contribute to advocacy focusing on legislation, policy, and services. 

                ABOUT THE PROJECT

The project to be evaluated aimed to improve access to justice for survivors of sexual violence and/or intimate partner violence through the formal justice system, and by strengthening links between the formal and informal justice systems.  It aimed to do so through four key components focused on the national level and also five districts targeted in this project:

1)Strengthening national legislation and its application / enforcement

2)Improving the links between the informal/customary and formal justice systems by training and mentoring chiefs and local authorities in five districts to implement their roles and responsibilities

3)Increasing public understanding of the relevant legislation in five districts through a range of community education activities, training activities, and radio programs

4)Strengthening response, coordination, and service delivery of key service providers and agencies in five districts, including the Sierra Leone Police

The project covered five districts in Sierra Leone - the IRC implemented activities directly in Kenema, Kono, and Kailahun districts, while the IRC’s implementing partner in this project, Timap for Justice (Timap), implemented project activities in Bombali and Tonkolili Districts (and provided paralegal services in all of the 5 districts).

As the Ebola crisis gained momentum, it impacted upon this project and those the project engaged with, including the government ministries and departments as they turned to focus their support, personnel and resources on the outbreak response. Despite the huge challenges faced, the links and relations already built through this project helped to ensure the continuation of certain project areas, with the inclusion of Ebola messages, and bolstered the Ebola response efforts around addressing the intersections of Ebola and gendered-violence on the lives of women and girls, and their access to justice.

OBJECTIVES OF THE EVALUATION:

• To evaluate the entire project in terms of effectiveness, relevance, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, with a strong focus on assessing results at the outcome and project goals.
• To generate lessons learned and identify promising practices for learning, both in Sierra Leone and in similar contexts.
• To identify strategies and approaches that were less effective and suggest possible modifications or alternative strategies that can be more effective.
• To evaluate how the different levels of project interventions (national, district, and community) complemented and enhanced each other (or in what ways they did not).

KEY TASKS:

The Evaluator will be responsible for: undertaking the evaluation to completion; managing the evaluation process with support and supervision from the WPE Coordinator; data collection and analysis; and report drafting and finalization.

DELIVERABLES:

• The Evaluator will produce the final evaluation report in-line with UNTF guidelines that will include the following contents:            
  1. Title and cover page
  2. Table of Content
  3. List of acronyms and abbreviations
  4. Executive summary
  5. Context of the project
  6. Description of the project
  7. Purpose of the evaluation cxv
  8. Evaluation objectives and scope (as pre-defined)
  9. Evaluation Team
  10. Evaluation Questions (as pre-defined by UNTF)
  11. Evaluation Methodology
  12. Findings and Analysis per Evaluation Question
  13. Conclusions
  14. Key recommendations
  15. Annexes

TIMEFRAME (46 days):

• Advanced University degree in social sciences, public administration, international development studies, law or other relevant field
• At least 2-3 years’ experience in conducting external evaluations, with mixed-methods evaluation skills and preferably in a West African setting or similar.
• Must have experience and flexibility in using non-traditional and innovative evaluation methods
• Specific evaluation experiences in the areas of violence against women and girls
• Expertise in gender and human-rights based approaches to evaluation and issues of violence against women and girls; in depth knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Must have experience or understanding of the sensitivities involved in interviewing or collecting information from survivors of violence.
• Experience in collecting and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data.
• In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• A strong commitment to delivering timely and high-quality results, i.e. credible evaluation and a report that can be used by the grantee organization and by others.
• A strong team leadership and management track record, as well as interpersonal and communication skills to help ensure that the evaluation is understood and used.
• Ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders at all levels, and to express ideas and concepts concisely and clearly.
• Patience and flexibility in working in an environment with logistical and operational challenges.
• Experience and knowledge: in-depth knowledge of West Africa, preferably Sierra Leone.
• Language proficiency: fluency in English is mandatory; good command of Crio is helpful.

TRAVEL

The Evaluator will be based in Freetown, but will travel to the five districts of implementation, Kenema, Kono, Kailahun, Bombali and Tonkolili, to conduct the field-based components of the evaluation. All accommodation and travel (international and domestic) will be paid for by IRC.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.