International Lead Evaluator for Mid-Term Evaluation of the "Dare to Care" Regional Programme - International Consultant, Home-based

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. 

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Gender inequality continues to prevail across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with the area demonstrating the second largest gender gap globally according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022. The region faces a striking paradox: while achieving relatively high levels of educational attainment for women, it maintains the world's lowest female labour force participation rates estimated at 18 percent in 2020 compared to 77.7 percent for men. Central to these persistent inequalities are deeply entrenched patriarchal social norms and structures that assign disproportionate unpaid care and domestic work responsibilities to women. Regional data indicates that women in the MENA region perform 4.7 times more unpaid care work than men—the highest ratio globally—severely limiting their opportunities for economic participation and career advancement.

Programme Design and Strategic Approach: 

Against this backdrop, UN Women's Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) initiated the "Dare to Care" (DTC) regional programme in October 2023. This groundbreaking three-year initiative represents a first-of-its-kind approach in terms of focus, scale, and methodology, building upon substantial foundations laid by its predecessor, the Men and Women for Gender Equality (MWGE) programme implemented between 2015 and 2023. The programme's unique approach centers on transforming patriarchal masculinities and social norms by promoting increased involvement of men and boys in caregiving and household responsibilities as an entry point to broader gender equality outcomes.

The DTC programme operates with regional coverage across six countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia), with a regional component and direct in-country investments and partnerships established in four target countries: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. The programme's overarching impact is that more women and girls across the MENA region benefit from the transformation of patriarchal masculinities and social norms achieved using caregiving and household responsibilities of men and boys as entry point.

The programme operates with a total budget of approximately USD 9 million, supported by three key donors: the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) contributing USD 7,176,750, German International Development Cooperation (GIZ) contributing USD 1,465,662, and the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation (AVC) contributing USD 436,000. Implementation is coordinated by UN Women's Regional Office for Arab States in collaboration with Country Offices, leveraging strategic partnerships with governments, civil society organizations, academic institutions, religious leaders, and private sector entities.

After approximately 24 months of implementation, a comprehensive mid-term evaluation is required. The evaluation serves both accountability and learning purposes: assessing overall performance and achievement against planned results, while studying intervention processes to determine effective strategies and identify areas requiring course correction. The evaluation will contribute toward building evidence on transforming patriarchal masculinities and social norms for gender equality, informing future programming by UN Women and other actors in this field.

The Lead Evaluator will work collaboratively with a Support Evaluator (Arabic speaker) to ensure comprehensive coverage and cultural sensitivity across target countries. The Support Evaluator will work under a three-tier management structure further described below. For recruitment and management purposes, the UN Women’s Regional Programme Manager of the Dare to Care will act as the hiring manager, reviewing and approving the deliverables of the Support Evaluator prior to each payment.

Theory of Change

The DTC programme is guided by a comprehensive Theory of Change grounded in the socio-ecological model for social norms change. The programme is based on a set of assumptions and preconditions to create a