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International Consultant for Gender Equality Project External Evaluation

10:25:00 AM

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP Afghanistan is supporting the Government to find innovative solutions to its development challenges based on the on-going Country Programme Document approved by the Executive Board for the period 2006 – 2009. A new Country Programme Document was approved by the Executive Board during September 2009 for the period 2010-2013. Key priority areas for UNDP assistance are in strengthening democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and reducing poverty. UNDP is strengthening the institutional capacities of key national government and sub-national authorities which aim to enhance human security, human development, peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Organizational Context:

Over the past ten years, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has made significant progress in terms of strengthening its state machinery and in developing instruments to promote and support the development and wellbeing of its citizens. Gender equality and the advancement of women have been given ample consideration in the nation building strategies. Ratification of the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discriminations against Women (CEDAW) in 2003, endorsement of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are some of the major steps taken by the government to this end. Rights and empowerment of women have been defended and emphasized upon in the Bonn Agreement, Berlin Plan of Action, the Constitution, Afghanistan Compact and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). All these documents include provisions that promote women’s empowerment and equality of women with men.

Within the overall framework of the ANDS the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expressed its commitments and set specific priorities for a lasting and equitable development. The main objectives of the ANDS are to attain security, good governance, economic growth and poverty reduction. Gender equality has been considered as one of the crosscutting themes, whose vision is an “Afghanistan where women and men enjoy security, equal rights and equal opportunities in all spheres of life”. To measure progress to that effect, a specific benchmark has been set and the full implementation of the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) is considered the minimum achievement.

Project Components: The Gender Equality Project (GEP) aims to develop and strengthen the capacity of government ministries and institutions to pursue gender mainstreaming in their systems and processes thereby raising the status of Afghan women. The project has three (3) components to assist in the pursuit of gender equality goals set out in the ANDS and NAPWA and consistent with the Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): (1) modeling gender mainstreaming through selected ministries; (2) sustainable knowledge building and management on gender; and (3) women’s empowerment through conflict resolution, justice, security and peace at the sub-national level.

Project Modality and Budget: GEP is implemented under the Direct Execution (DEX) modality of the UNDP in terms of an agreement entered into between the Government of Afghanistan and the UNDP in March 2007. The Project has a budget of USD 10 million approximately. In addition to UNDP, this project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Italy.

Project Outputs: This project aims to build the Government’s capacity for stronger policy formulation and gender mainstreaming to overcome deep-rooted gender inequalities in the country and achieve the goals set out in the ANDS. The outputs indicated in the Project Document are as follow:

  • Gender-sensitive budgets
  • Capacity building of partner ministries
  • Gender sensitive monitoring & evaluation mechanism
  • Local Access to Justice initiatives
  • Sensitization of religious leaders
  • Leadership training on women’s rights and legal rights
  • Economic empowerment.

Project Management and Oversight: The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day management and decision-making for the project. The Project Manager’s prime responsibility is to ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost. The specific role in this regard will include timely deployment and supervision of staff, launching of the project, negotiations with the partners and government counterparts. Assurance of sound financial resources management and compliance with reporting and donors requirements will also be the responsibility of the Project Manager. Under the guidance of the Project Manager, the three project staff will undertake the actual implementation of the activities including the provincial staff in Balkh, Herat and Nangarhar and Bamyan.

The Project Board provides oversight for effective implementation and quality delivery of the project. The Board meets periodically to study progress and deal with challenges, concerns and provide necessary guidance. The members of the Project Board are: Ministries of Women’s Affairs, Economy Finance, Agriculture, Hajj and Religious Affairs, Justice, Rural Rehabilitation and Development and other implementing partners. The members take part in the Board meetings and share observations, concerns and offer solutions to overcome challenges.

The project assurance role is held by a UNDP Programme Officer who closely follows the actual implementation and progress made and keeps the Project Board all time informed of the latest status of the project and make sure that project management team is given timely and necessary support and reports for monitoring workshops and the evaluation of the project.

Objective:

The objective of the Gender Equality Project Evaluation Mission is to conduct a review of the project’s interventions, assess the impact of the capacity building programmes, assess funding prospects and produce an overall report on future direction of support to strategic government/ non-government partners at the national and sub-national levels in pursuing gender mainstreaming.

Evaluation process and Methods:

The consultant will review all existing project documents, periodic reports and project outputs, the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, UNDP Country programme and other relevant documents; consult extensively with project partners and stakeholders, UN personnel, other agencies/ donors (UNIFEM, GTZ, CIDA, UNFPA, JICA, etc.) and mechanisms (Gender Donors’ Coordination Group, UN Country Team Gender Working Group, etc.) involved in gender/ women work.

The mission will also assess funding prospects and proceed to assess project implementation and provide recommendations on improving project components.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

The mission will specifically focus on the following issues:

  • An in depth review of implementation of various project components with a view to identifying the level of achievement of the original project outputs and in cases of not achieving, an analysis of the underlying reasons;
  • Assess the impact of the capacity building programmes conducted for partner ministries;
  • Extract the lessons learned and best practices that can be considered in the planning and design of future support activities for government and recommendations for future direction and areas of focus for the next phase of project.

The mission will be fielded in Kabul and pilot provinces from mid of July 2011 for one month approximately. The consultant evaluating the projects should pay particular attention to the following criterias:

  • Relevance: Evaluate the logics and unity of the process in planning and designing the activities for supporting the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and other strategic partners in gender mainstreaming and for providing subsequent capacity building programmes for gender mainstreaming;
  • Efficiency: Evaluate the efficiency of the project implementation, the quality of the results achieved and the time/political constraints;
  • Effectiveness: Conduct an assessment of how assumptions have affected project achievements and the subsequent management decisions vis-à-vis the cost effectiveness; to which extent the project outputs have been effectively achieved;
  • Impact: Evaluate the impact of the project on its wider environment and its contribution to the wider sectorial objectives summarized in the projects’ overall objectives;
  • Sustainability: Assess the sustainability of results with specific focus on national capacity and ownership over the process.

Impact of Results/Deliverables:

The mission shall produce the following documents:

  • A report on the findings of the mission vis-à-vis the impact of the current project outputs;
  • Recommendations on future support to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and strategic partners and stakeholders for enhancing the empowerment of women across different sectors: governance, economic, social among others.
For the purposes of providing effective support to the covering line ministries, the areas of focus in the current phase should be evaluated and areas of future support with modified emphasis on the above-mentioned components should be highlighted.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN.

Functional Competencies

  • Institutional strengthening of strategic partners for gender mainstreaming and capacity development strategies;
  • Women’s access to justice in an Islamic and post-conflict context.

Required Skills and Experience
  • Master Degree in Gender, Development and Human Rights;
  • 7 years of relevant experiences;
  • Proficiency in English language;
  • Excellent written and analytical Skills.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.


International Consultant for Gender Equality Project External Evaluation

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