Whitelum Group is seeking expressions of interest from an evaluation team leader, or small team to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of DFAT’s COVID-19 Pacific and Timor-Leste Preparedness Recovery NGO Partnership.

• Timing: October 2020 – March 2022
• Budget: Up to $200,000
• EOI Due Date: COB Friday 16 October

Background

Australia’s response to COVID-19 and concurrent natural disasters has been swift, with NGOs playing a key role. DFAT’s existing NGO funding mechanisms (chiefly the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, Pacific Women and partnerships with the Australian Red Cross and the International Planned Parenthood Federation) enabled DFAT to provide flexible, multi-sector support, drawing on established relationships with local organisations and communities.

In addition, in June, the $25 million COVID-19 Pacific and Timor-Leste Preparedness and Recovery NGO Partnership was established (described in this document as the Partnership). This funding was allocated to the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP), the Australian Red Cross (ARC) Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situation (SPRINT) initiatives to be implemented over an 18-month period. This $25M COVID-19 Pacific and Timor-Leste Preparedness and Recovery NGO Partnership is the focus of this evaluation.

Purpose

The overarching purpose of the evaluation is to:

1. Evaluate the outcomes of the COVID-19 Pacific and Timor-Leste Preparedness and Recovery NGO Partnership
2. To inform adaptive management by DFAT and the NGOs by:
   a) Providing strategic, evidence-based recommendations
   b) Conducting the evaluation in a way which provides a learning platform for the implementing NGO

The evaluation will take place over an 18-month period (mid-late October 2020 to March 2022).

Evaluator/Evaluation Team

As this is a large-scale evaluation, it is expected that a team effort will be most effective. EoI submissions should outline the team approach, key roles of the team members etc. The Team Leader will be a senior evaluation specialist with the experience and skills specified below. Additional technical specialists could be in the areas of gender equality, disability and social inclusion, localisation, and recovery programming, particularly the intersection between humanitarian and development interventions, or other key areas identified in the submission. Strong links to Pacific and Timor-Leste based researchers or research institutions will be important in order to ensure local knowledge and local languages support direct data collection and analysis.

Team Leader Criteria

Required skills, qualifications and experience:

• Qualifications in evaluation or research, and a minimum of 15 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation
• Demonstrated experience leading evaluations in the humanitarian, health sector, and/or other related international development sectors, particularly involving people marginalised by age (especially children), ethnicity, disability and gender
• Strong understanding of evaluation ethics and a commitment to ethical working practices
• Demonstrated high level skills with quantitative and qualitative research and analysis
• Knowledge of DFAT monitoring and evaluation standards
• Demonstrated experience in remotely managing evaluation processes, including working with and managing in-country researchers
• Highly developed communication skills, including advanced English writing skills, and the ability to write clearly and concisely
• Demonstrated experience of working in the Pacific and Timor-Leste

Desirable skills, qualifications and experience:

• Demonstrated understanding of humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery and knowledge of humanitarian standards (CHS, Sphere, Code of Conduct)
• Experience evaluating complex humanitarian crises responses in the Pacific and Timor-Leste context
• Knowledge of DFAT funding mechanisms, including for humanitarian responses
• Relevant subject matter knowledge and experience regarding the key sectors of the Partnership intervention – risk communication, WASH, protection, food security and livelihoods
• Experience in working with international organisations or NGOs
• Strong understanding of the linkages between humanitarian and development programming
• Expertise in one or more of the following areas: gender equality; disability inclusion; localisation; recovery programming (with particular interest in the humanitarian-development nexus)

Please see the following link for answers to FAQs: https://whitelumgroup.com/app/uploads/2020/10/FAQ_V2-13.10.2020.pdf.

A position description is attached.