Management Arrangements and Quality Assurance

• The evaluator/s will be recruited by and report to the ESARO Evaluation Section under the overall oversight of the ESARO Regional Director. For the day-to-day management of the CPE, the Evaluation Section will appoint an Evaluation Manager who will be accountable to the Regional Evaluation Adviser. UNICEF’s Evaluation Office will provide quality assurance.
• Eswatini Country Office will appoint an Evaluation Focal Point who will act as the primary liaison with the Evaluation Manager and will facilitate the data collection and evaluation process at the country level.
• The Evaluation Manager will work with the Eswatini Country Office to constitute an Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) comprising critical stakeholders of the CPE, including Government counterparts; several senior Eswatini Country Office and ESARO staff members; select development, civil society organizations, and private sector partners.
• The ERG’s responsibilities are described in the ERG terms of reference. The ERG has an advisory capacity whose primary role is to review evaluation milestones (terms of reference, inception report, draft evaluation report) and to provide comments. The ERG Secretariat will maintain a written record, as part of an audit trail, of all ERG comments, which the evaluator is expected to respond to in writing (agree – actions taken; disagree – justification).

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience

• The Country Program Evaluation (CPE) is envisioned to be completed by one experienced individual. However, if the consultant proposes a team, the number of team members shall be determined by the consultant based on the requirements for the successful completion of the assignment. Each team member’s involvement level must be specified in the proposal. UNICEF will not be involved in the contractual and financial agreements between the team leader and team members.

Minimum Requirements

The consultant must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Education: Advanced university degree in disciplines relevant to evaluation (e.g., social policy, economics, demography, anthropology, public health).
• Experience: At least ten years of experience conducting strategic program evaluations or evaluative reviews, with a proven track record of evaluating large multisectoral and multi-stakeholder country programs supported by UN or UNICEF. Experience in conducting country program/portfolio evaluations is preferred.
• Expertise: Demonstrated expertise in evaluating institutional support systems, including operations and human resource functions.
• Knowledge: Familiarity with programming theories and strategies employed in each program outcome component.
• Regional Experience: Work record in a Middle-Income Country in Africa.
• Language Skills: Excellent command of English, with proven ability to prepare high-quality reports.
• Analytical Skills: Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
• Capacity: Demonstrated ability to carry out the CPE and complete deliverables.