Evolution Specialist: Capacity Building for Gender Statistics and Monitoring Systems

Result of Service

The Evaluator will assess as objectively and systematically as possible the performance of the project vis-à-vis its overall objective as defined in the project document and deliver a carefully edited and formatted evaluation report and evaluation summary in accordance with the terms of reference and to ECA quality standards and specifications.

Work Location

ECA OESE SPORD

Expected duration

5 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is launching a terminal evaluation of the project, “Capacity Building for Gender Statistics and Monitoring Systems”. In line with the ECA Evaluation Policy and the Grant Agreement, the terminal evaluation is being conducted to assess the project performance and enhance learning within ECA, stakeholders including the funding and strategic partners. Findings and recommendations of the evaluation will also provide valuable inputs to strengthening the management capacity of ECA as well as inform future project design and delivery. The evaluation will be conducted as an independent evaluation where, it is managed by an ECA official and conducted by an external Evaluator selected through a competitive process in consultation with the Project Management Team (PMT). ECA is seeking a qualified Evaluator with demonstrable evaluation experience in various development contexts, and exposure to a broad set of practices in the following areas of work, strategic planning approaches, gender mainstreaming, and statistics. Ideally, and for reasons related to independence, candidates should not have been recently involved in the formulation, implementation, or backstopping of work related to this project. Candidates are advised to consult the detailed terms of reference which will form the basis of the contract by requesting via email eca-evaluation@un.org with the subject: Evaluation of the Gender Statistics Project. Project Background and Technical Focus: African countries are signatories to various global and regional declarations, conventions and protocols that commit them to pursue policies that eliminate discrimination against women, and to take appropriate measures to ensure the full realization of the rights of women and girls. The commitments include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) and AUC Agenda 2063, both adopted in 2015. These commitments recognize that the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is a fundamental human right and an efficient development strategy for addressing fragility, building resilience and sustainable development. Lack of timely and comprehensive gender statistics impairs evidence-based policy formulation as part of the planning process and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. Progress and measurement towards achievement of commitments will only be possible if there is appropriate data to measure development impact. Reliable and relevant gender statistics are required to assess progress or lack of it. Without timely and reliable data, development interventions risk being based on anecdotal evidence, with all the risks that come with inadequate planning, poor designs, ineffective targeting, inadequate policies and poor programming and implementation. Quality data informs effective development interventions. Through its Africa Centre for Statistics (ACS), ECA supports member States to strengthen national statistical systems to produce, disseminate gender disaggregated statistics for evidence-based policymaking, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. In 2004, through its Gender, Poverty and Social Policy division (GPSPD), ECA developed the African Gender and Development Index (AGDI), a voluntary mechanism, to support member States in measuring the gap in the relative status of African men and women, and assessing progress in implementing government policies that promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In 2020 in collaboration with AfDB, ECA launched the 2019 Africa Gender Index (AGI), which uses gender-disaggregated data to highlight the gaps, challenges, and progress towards gender equality on the continent. However, the index was still challenged by limited data from some of the countries, and in particular countries in transition. While there have been improvements in the availability of gender statistics, production and dissemination of quality gender statistics remains a major challenge in most African countries. Existing data gaps areas include lack of comprehensive, standardized/harmonized quality statistics on gender and the economy in general, such as data on access by men and women to economic resources and opportunities such as access to credit from formal financial institutions, ownership of land and other assets, decent employment, entrepreneurship, and time use for paid and unpaid care and domestic work. One of the main challenges related to gender statistics is the poor technical capacity for production, data collection, analysis, interpretation, reporting and dissemination. Consequently, countries do not systematically integrate gender into their regular statistical surveys, such as household budget surveys and living standards surveys. In addition, wherein, some countries may produce gender statistics, they often lack the capacity to analyze and interpret the data to inform policymaking. In many countries, there is also a lack of coordination and harmonization of the data collected, while few countries have budgets, or the technical expertise dedicated to gender statistics. The project aims to contribute to improved gender responsive programming by beneficiary countries, to foster inclusive development. Project Intervention Logic: The project development objective is to improve the availability of gender statistics in transition states/countries, providing a foundation for inclusive national development planning. The project expects to achieve the following outcomes: (1.) The statistical systems of the beneficiary countries produce quality, comparable, and regular gender statistics to address national data gaps and meet policy and reporting commitments under the SDGs. (2.) Monitoring and reporting mechanisms of the beneficiary countries integrate gender indicators across sectors. Objective and Scope of the Evaluation: The final evaluation will assess as objectively and systematically as possible, the performance of the project in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact orientation, and sustainability. Further it will assess the extent to which UN cross-cutting concerns of human rights, environmental sustainability and disability inclusion are being incorporated or mainstreamed in the project. Specifically, the final evaluation will: I. Assess the continued relevance and validity of the theory of change and planning assumptions given contextual changes and shifts over the past two years. II. Assess the coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of emerging results of the project at mid-term and probability of achieving intended results over the remaining period. III. Assess the appropriateness of the chosen strategies and implementation modalities, and management arrangements. IV. Identify enabling and hindering factors to the achievement of expected results. V. Provide strategic and operational recommendations as well as highlight lessons to improve project performance and delivery. The terminal evaluation will cover the period of implementation from inception to project closure and the full geographical coverage. The final evaluation will cover all outcomes with particular attention to coherence and synergies across components. All beneficiary countries should be assessed as part of the desk review and in-depth analysis, including interviews with the stakeholders and beneficiaries. gender should be addressed specifically throughout the final evaluation process and all data should be sex disaggregated. Tasks and Responsibilities: The Evaluator will be responsible for the overall evaluation process and deliverables including and not limited to the following responsibilities: i) Designing, planning, and implementing the final evaluation in accordance with the ToR. ii) Leading the data collection, consulting, and liaising as required, with project stakeholders, key informants, and partners to ensure satisfactory delivery of all deliverables. iii) Analyzing of key findings to arrive at an overall assessment of the performance of the project, conclusions, and recommendations, identification of lessons learned and best practices leading to the preparation of the final report. iv) Drafting the evaluation report, using an approach agreed with the Evaluation Manager, and delivered in accordance with ECA’s specifications and timeline. v) Preparing and delivering a presentation on the draft evaluation report. vi) Making themselves available, if required, to take part in briefings and discussions, online or, if judged necessary, at ECA or other venue, on dates to be agreed, in line with the work outlined in these ToRs and to be agreed in the inception phase.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced University Degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Development Studies, Economics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Public Policy, or related social science field is required. A first-level university degree with combination of 3 years of additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. At least 7 years of experience evaluating international development interventions is required. Proven experience designing and leading theory-based evaluations of development interventions is required. Proven experience with strategic planning approaches, M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory), information analysis and report writing are required. Experience in gender mainstreaming, policies, and practices especially within an African context will be an advantage. Experience conducting evaluations of UN programmes and projects will be an asset.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this assignment, fluency in English is required and working knowledge of French will be a distinct advantage. Knowledge of one or more local languages spoken in the target countries will be an asset.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.