Horn Relief ELRI Project Final Evaluation Consultancy Job

Horn Relief is an international development and humanitarian organization which focuses on increasing sustainable livelihoods for (agro-) pastoralists and coastal communities in Somalia as well as cross-border areas in neighbouring countries.

Presently it has programmes focusing on water & sanitation, food security, non-formal education, vocational training, cash relief, as well as humanitarian emergency response. The present donor portfolio includes European Commission, USAID, UNICEF, HRF, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oxfam Novib, Oxfam Canada and others.

The Head Office in Nairobi is responsible for programme and policy development, project identification, planning, monitoring and, evaluation, logistical, personal and security support activities, recruitment, financial accountability, networking, fundraising and reporting. The field offices are responsible for project implementation in partnership with the community and other stakeholders.

Assignment Summary

Horn Relief is seeking a qualified consultant(s) specialized in evaluating integrated Water and Sanitation and Livelihood projects, to evaluate Horn Relief’s ELRI project in Garissa County in Northeastern Kenya.

The consultancy is for a period of 28 days, beginning mid March and will include desk review work, field data collection, data analysis and report writing. Horn Relief encourages Consultancy firms or groups who can assign at least two consultants specialized in Water and Sanitation, and Livelihoods programmes.

Project Summary

The goal of the project is to reduce the effects of the drought-affected population in Northern Kenya by enhancing the purchasing power of the most vulnerable households and increasing accessibility to safe water and sanitation practices.

• Total Number of Individuals Affected in the Targeted Area: 92,577 individuals (In Humanitarian Emergency and Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis)
• Total Number of Beneficiaries Targeted (Individuals): 14,000 individuals
• Total Number of IDP Beneficiaries Targeted (Individuals) as sub-set of above

The Emergency Livelihoods and Recovery Intervention (ELRI) Project is designed to address the immediate food security needs of the drought-stricken population in Fafi District of North-Eastern Kenya.

The objective of this 12 month OFDA-funded intervention is to improve the purchasing power and livelihoods of 2,000 drought-affected households (14,000 persons based on the estimated household size of 7) through a combination of Cash Relief distribution and Cash-for-Work activities so as to address the immediate food security needs, economic asset recovery and critical infrastructure rehabilitation.

Objectives of the Assignment

The overall objective of this assignment is to carry out the final evaluation that is coming up soon after the end of activity implementation. The assignment involves an assessment on how adequately the project has achieved its stated objectives as well as to determine the nature and extent of impact the project has had so far on the main target communities, in terms of access to clean water, sanitation and livelihood security.

The final evaluation will also provide good knowledge base on what worked and what did not, providing solid practical recommendations for potential replication and scale-up in program intervention areas.

Deliverables

• Data collection tools and trained field enumerators.
• Presentation on the main findings of the draft evaluation report to the Programme Management team in Nairobi for comments.
• Final Evaluation Report in English (3 hard copies and a soft copy on CD ROM).

Scope of Work

The following key issues need to be addressed by the mission. The present list however is not exhaustive and additional issues might come up during the mission.

1) Relevance (including coherence and the appropriateness of project objectives to the problems that it was supposed to address, and to the physical and policy environment within which it operated)

• Appropriateness of the design and approach used to meet the specified goal and objectives of the project;
• Relevance of the targeting approach to reach the vulnerable households, while ensuring gender balance;
• The consistency of Horn Relief’s planning and response in implementation.

2) Efficiency (Cost effectiveness and resource allocation in relation to management efficiency to meet the stated objectives of the project)

• Project activity management and implementation, and resource allocation (including human resources and financial management);
• Involvement of the beneficiaries in the design and identification of water sources to rehabilitate/construct;
• Sustainability of the water structures constructed/rehabilitated
• Gender balance in relation to beneficiary participation and benefits,
• Assessment of value of internal controls i.e. monitoring tools, information management, Activity plan and implementation;
• Assessment of money transfer company efficiency and effectiveness.

3) Effectiveness (assess the contribution from the project results and how assumptions have affected the project) in relation to:

• Project design as the best approach to achieving the set objectives;
• Effectiveness of Beneficiary targeting and selection criteria used to reach the most vulnerable;
• No of beneficiaries reached within the different components (cash for work, access to clean water, infrastructure construction and rehabilitation) of the project (broken down by gender);
• Improving behavior change in hygiene practices and restoration of the range land;
• Capacity building and behavior change activities success rate;
• To what extent did the external assumptions in the proposal hold true and how well were the mitigating measures put into use?

4) Impact (the effect of the project on its wider environment, and its contribution to the wider objectives summarized in the project overall objective)

• Impact of the project activities to alleviate vulnerability to food insecurity in the target population;
• Impact of the project activities to reduce vulnerability to waterborne diseases;
• Impact of project activities on power relations (i.e. at the HH level);
• Impact on conflict mitigation as a result of the project design;
• Impact of project activities on non-beneficiaries.

5) Sustainability (the likelihood of a continuation in the stream of benefits produced by the project)

• Design of the project in relation to sustainability;
• Sustainability of project outcomes;
• Efficiency of activities geared at sustainability (e.g. management of water structures).

6) Additional tasks

In addition to the above, the final evaluation mission will specifically assess and evaluate the following issues:

• Assess the processes and systems used by Horn Relief to ensure the involvement of all the stakeholders, particularly women, youth and minorities in design, planning, implementation and monitoring stage;
• The mission will also identify lessons learnt and give recommendations of general and specific nature which are useful to the Horn Relief for the planning, preparation and implementation of WASH projects in the future;
• Unintended project impact.

Methodology

The methodology involves direct and indirect data collection, analysis and cross referencing, formulating recommendations and lessons learnt. The direct data collection will be done through visits to project sites in Garissa County in Northeastern Kenya and indirect data collection will be done through extensive literature review.

To the extent possible, field data should be collected using participatory appraisal techniques. Village leaders; such as Chiefs, Coucillors, elders, women, men, minorities and youth from pastoral, agro-pastoral and other livelihood groups in the community should be involved as much as possible, in addition to government partners from the respective government of Kenya counter part ministries/departments.

It is envisaged that the methodology used during this final evaluation will include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Documentation review e.g. baseline, monitoring reports, existing data, etc;
• Discussion with key project staff in Horn Relief Nairobi, field staff and other key informants;
• Field visits in the implementation areas for sampling, data collection and observation;
• Conduct structured household interviews with sampled project stakeholders;
• Focus group discussions and interviews with field staff and with sample beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries;
• Field observations for triangulation of information;
• Data analysis and verification of analyzed data;
• Other, as deemed necessary.

Work Plan for the Evaluation and Reporting

A work plan for this assignment should be developed in relation to the methodology suggested by the consultant, and the number of day set for this assignment. This will include a one day briefing on the findings to get input from project and programme staff, as well as build consensus around the recommendations.

The Consultant team will report to the Programs Director at Horn Relief and work directly with Programme Officer-Livelihoods and Programme Manager for ELRI.

Qualification Profile

• Post graduate degree in development studies or social sciences (WASH related field of study preferred).
• Good understanding of cash response programming and monitoring tools;
• At least five years of hands on experience in conducting assessments, midterm reviews and evaluations.
• Experience as team-leader in project evaluations/mid-term reviews is essential;
• He/she must have profound knowledge in economic analysis of development projects;
• Familiar with issues related to hygiene practices and water source management within Somali cultures;
• Familiar with environmental issues and semi-arid and arid lands;
• He/she must be experienced in developing and implementing gender sensitive evaluation methodologies in WASH and food security frameworks;
• Ability to assess/review critically the project activities and results;
• Good knowledge and experience in survey design, implementation of surveys and statistical data analysis is required;
• Experience in the use of participatory appraisal techniques in data collection;
• Previous work experience in Northeastern Kenya and knowledge of the local cultures is an added advantage.

Intellectual Property Rights:

All documentation related to the assignment shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Horn Relief.

How to apply

Application Process

Applications should be submitted no later than 20th March 2011. Horn Relief will conduct interviews on an on-going basis. The selection committee will review all applications as they arrive. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Horn Relief is an equal opportunity employer.

Each application should include the following:

• An application letter addressing the selection criteria including how the candidate’s previous experience matches the consultancy objectives as well as his/her interest for the position. It should also indicate the candidate’s availability and consultancy rates. The letter should be no longer than two pages;
• An updated CV including relevant work experience and qualifications;
• A sample of recently written report for a similar assignment;
• Contact details of 3 references.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

All applications should be sent to Horn Relief at vacancies@hornrelief.org with the subject line: “Final Evaluation Proposal – ELRI” or by post to:

Horn Relief Kenya
P.O. Box 70331 - 00400
Nairobi, Kenya.

Applications should be submitted no later than 20th March 2011.

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