BACKGROUND
The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University (AAU) was established in 2007 with the vision of becoming a premier African Institute for knowledge production and dissemination in the field of peace and security. IPSS offers quality education and capacity training in the specialized field of peace and security to students and other stakeholders, as well as foster peace and security through research, dialogue, and other outreach activities in Ethiopia, the greater Horn of Africa and across Africa. The institute has excelled in this area, ranking among the top 50 think tank in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 University of Pennsylvania Global Go To Think Tank Index Reports.
IPSS is implementing the third phase of a four-year (2017-2020) project, ‘Supporting Peace and Security Management in Africa’, funded (450,000 Euros) by the Austrian Development Agency, whose goal is to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for effective management of peace and security in Africa. With a particular emphasis on conflict prevention, management, and post-conflict development, the project seeks to support peace and security in Africa. This project is particularly grounded in the IPSS Strategy 2015-2020 and translates the African Union’s Executive Council decision to take up the intellectual challenge of finding African-led solutions to peace and security in Africa.
OBJECTIVES
IPSS wants to hire an individual consultant or a consultancy company who will conduct the mid-term evaluation of Supporting Peace and Security Management in Africa project. The main objective of the mid-term evaluation is to establish strong evidence on the performance of the project and assess the progress made in light of the expected results. IPSS will use the evaluation findings to learn from its experience and adapt the contents of the results framework as well as reshape its future programming.
Specific Objectives:
1. Assess the extent to which the project’s indicators were achieved, taking into account their relative importance,
2. Assess the progress made so far to the achievement of the project’s main goal. Moreover, identify if project indicators are met.
3. Investigate further the project’s actual performance vis-a-vis the plan and analyse causes of deviations, if any.
4. Assess which factors have been (positively or negatively) contributing to the achievement of results
5. Assess the extent to which the project implementation is consistent with IPSS clients’ needs (including students, the African Union, donors, and government stakeholders)
6. Assess the relevance of the risk and assumptions of the project identified in the logical framework (e.g. were the assumptions relevant, have new risks/assumptions emerged etc.?)
7. Assess the project’s contribution to the inclusion of marginalised populations including women, youth, and persons with disabilities
8. Assess the project’s role in building IPSS’s internal capacity to ensure the sustainability of its programmes, and to the creation of mutually beneficial partnerships
9. Identify the key challenges, lessons learned, and best practices and make a list of recommendations that IPSS can use to improve the design and implementation of future projects.
DELIVERABLES
The selected consultant is expected to deliver the following;
· Submit an inception report, with clear methodologies and approaches to the assignment. It should also encompass a clear time table of activities and work plan including staffing and number of working days;
· A written draft report in English of maximum 20 pages on the finding of the mid-term evaluation. The report should be structured to reflect the contents of the specific objectives stated above (+annexes as required);
· Submit the updated mid-term evaluation report, incorporating the feedback from IPSS;
· Produce a well-analyzed summary report of the mid-term evaluation;
· Deliver a PowerPoint presentation based on the mid-term evaluation report;
· Present the findings (recommendations and discussions) of the mid-term evaluation at a workshop. It is foreseen that a workshop will be held at the IPSS conference room where the report is to be presented.
DURATION OF THE CONSULTANCY
20 working days, start date beginning of August 2019: with a termination date of not later than 30 September 2019.
QUALIFICATIONS
Qualifications/specialized knowledge/experience required: Minimum (but not limited to) consultants’qualifications are as follows:
• A Master’s Degree in Peace and Security, Development Studies, Project Management or a related social science field;
• Minimum of 7 years of related professional experience, with hands-on experience in the project evaluation field;
• Familiarity with peace, security and development projects;
• Excellent analytical capacities; excellent ability to synthesize information and relate action to results. Familiarity with contemporary data analysis software such as Atlas Ti, NVivo, SPSS, STATA, etc.
• Experience in work for organizations that emphasize results-oriented corporate culture;
• Ability to multi-task and produce quality outputs with minimal supervision and on short deadlines;
• Excellent communication, presentation, team-work and cooperation skills; ability to listen and express opinions sensitively; high work ethics;
• Very good command of English language, both oral and written, including report-writing skills
• Previous similar work experience with Policy Thinks Tanks and/or governmental programs concerning related field is an advantage.
Soft Skills Required: Initiative, independence, due diligence, timeliness, appropriate demeanor and delivery of results.
Highest professional standards of work including good cooperation with IPSS; time-management skills demonstrated; Integrity and commitment to the task; and exceptional communication skills.
REPORTING AND SUPERVISOR ARRANGEMENTS
The selected consultant will work under the direct supervision of the IPSS Programme Management and Institutional Development Team Leader who will regularly communicate with the Director, Africa Peace and Security Programme and provide feedback and guidance and necessary support to the consultant so as to achieve objectives of the consultancy, as well as remain aware of any upcoming issues related to consultants’ performance and quality of work. The draft evaluation report should be submitted by the first week of September 2019. The Final Report should be submitted electronically in the English language on 27 September 2019.