Job Description

Background to SWR Ethiopia

Stichting Wageningen Research Ethiopia (SWR Ethiopia) is an international NGO based in Ethiopia. SWR Ethiopia is affiliated to Wageningen University & Research (WUR; the Netherlands). Its mission is to leverage transformation in Ethiopian food systems. SWR Ethiopia has a research-for-food-systems-transformation (R4FST) approach to co-create evidence of innovations in the areas of practices, policies and institutions that contribute to the transformation of the food systems with due focus on leverage points in relation to functional seed and agricultural input system, bridging productivity gaps, enhancing value chain performance and improving human nutrition for improved food security while minimizing the impact on the environment and ensuring social inclusion. SWR Ethiopia serves as a hub for projects that WUR undertakes with all kinds of partners in Ethiopia. In doing so SWR Ethiopia will facilitate innovation co-creation through active engagement of implementing partners.

Introduction

This Terms of Reference is written for the Mid Term Review (MTR) of two projects funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) and hosted by Stichting Wageningen Research Ethiopia (SWRE). The specific projects are the Ethiopia-Netherlands Seed Partnership (ENSP) and the Resilient Agriculture for Inclusive and Sustainable Ethiopian Food systems (RAISE-FS) (hereafter called ‘the projects’). For both projects we would like to determine whether the interventions are contributing towards achieving their set goals at the end of 2025.

The two projects each have their specific outcomes and objectives, however they share the great majority of stakeholders and both contribute to the overall vision and mission of SWRE. As such it was deemed efficient to have a joint MTR, consisting out of a shared part, and a project specific part. This tender is described as such.

The objectives of this MTR are:

To assess the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of each of the projects;
To advise on possible synergies and strengthening of the combined projects;
To provide concrete recommendations till the end of 2025.

The MTR will look back in order to look forward and this MTR is primarily geared towards learning, steering and the improvement of implementation. The commissioners and main clients of the review are the projects. The primary objective of the review is not accountability and/or (just) scoring and reporting how the programme did or did not achieve its envisaged outcomes. The MTR team is contracted to support the projects to learn and adapt. The findings and concrete recommendations of this MTR are meant to feed into the continuous reflection on the Theory of Change of both projects and the final years of implementation till the end of 2025.

The end-users of the MTR are both projects, its implementing partners, SWRE as well as EKN as the donor. The findings and concrete recommendations of this MTR are meant to feed into the final 2 years of implementation. The results furthermore feed into the continuous reflection on the project outcomes and results which are the basis for quality improvements and scaling.

Click the link bellow for more information.

ToR Mid Term Review of the ENSP and RAISE-FS projects Ethiopia

Job Requirement

Qualifications of the MTR leader

Proven experience in conducting reviews/evaluations and institutional strengthening;
Proven experience with participatory methodologies;
Ability to write concise, readable and analytical reports;
Proven experience for (food) systems thinking, systems analysis and transformation with awareness for not only food security and nutrition, but also socio-economic (including diversity, equity and inclusion) and environmental outcomes is highly appreciated;
Experience in Ethiopia will be an added advantage.

Qualifications of the MTR team members

Good knowledge of policy, polity, politics, and business in the agricultural sector in Ethiopia;
Proven experience in conducting reviews/evaluations of (preferably) large, complex and multi-annual development programmes;
Proven experience for systems thinking, systems analysis and transformation with awareness for not only food security and nutrition, but also socio-economic (including diversity, equity and inclusion) and environmental outcomes is highly appreciated.