International Consultancy for Team Lead for the evaluation of the UNICEF Lao PDR Country programme (2022-2026)

UNICEF is a UN organization mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. In Lao PDR, UNICEF is working with its partners to support the Government to realize children’s rights on survival, development, protection and participation.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, support

UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for an International Consultancy for Team Lead for the evaluation of the UNICEF Lao PDR Country programme (2022-2026). The duration of this assignment is 4 months starting as soon as possible. The assignment is home based with one travel to Vientiane and to one province for data collection and validation workshop.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Scope of the Evaluation

The CPE will focus on the implementation period of the current Country Programme from 2022 to the present. Since the current Country Programme logically builds upon the previous one, examination of the programmes carried over from the last Country Programme (2017-2021) will be expected where needed. The CPE will analyze results both at the national and sub-national levels, as many UNICEF programme areas start with pilot activities in selected areas (ranging from cities, districts to provinces) and can only be expected to achieve national-level results in later phases of programming. The specific sub-national level programme areas within the scope will be determined following discussion with the evaluation reference group (ERG) and the evaluation team, during the inception phase of the evaluation.

As implementation of the current Country Programme has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some programs and projects may not have achieved full expected results by the time of the CPE. In these cases, the focus of the evaluation will be formative, assessing interim results, determining key lessons learned and providing recommendations for the continuation of the programme. Conversely, there are programme localities where UNICEF has had a presence and engagement spanning multiple programme cycles. These will be particularly instructive for measuring what concrete results have been achieved.

The CPE will assess the Country Programme in its entirety. Given the large scale of UNICEF’s activities in Lao PDR, and the number of existing sectoral and cross-sectoral evaluations conducted in the current programme cycle, specific focus will be placed on the following areas:

• Use of the following strategies to achieve equity in child outcomes results: a) improving the quality of service provision; b) strengthening the social service workforce; c) strengthening data and evidence-driven approaches; d) utilizing multisectoral service delivery models; e) generating demand and building trust in services; and f) efficient allocation and use of financial resources.
• Ability of the country programme to expand engagement, dialogue and cooperation with new and existing partners to promoting children’s issues.

Work Assignment Overview:

1. Inception:

• Kickoff meeting

• Initial desk review and discussion with key UNICEF focal points)

• Preparation of draft inception report and data collection tools

• Ethical review (as needed)

• Final inception report submitted to ERG, addressing all comments received on the draft

1. Data collection and validation:

• Logistical arrangements for country visit, with support of UNICEF LCO

• Pilot tools, review documents, conduct data collection

• Prepare, present, and validate emerging findings and reflect on conclusions and learnings with the ERG

1. Reporting and dissemination:

• Further processing and analysis of evidence

• Draft evaluation report

• Revise draft final report based on ERG feedback

• Document all comments raised and how they have been addressed in a comments matrix

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Qualification and experience:

Master’s in international development, Public Administration, Development Programme & Evaluation, or any related social science discipline

Knowledge and skills:

- A minimum of 15 years of experience in development program evaluation, with excellent understanding of evaluation principles and methodologies

- Master's degree in International Development, Publi