Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. 

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted crises. Afghan women and girls face severe restrictions on their rights and participation in public life, compounded by humanitarian and economic challenges. UN Women Afghanistan remains committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and ensuring their leadership and participation in all response efforts. The Country Office focuses on five programmatic pillars: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization; (2) Women’s Civil Society; (3) Policy and Research; (4) Economic Resilience and Empowerment; and (5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. The office operates from Kabul with sub-offices in Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar, and Nangarhar.

The Twinning initiative was conceived as a catalytic pilot under Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) Output 4 to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of women-led organizations (WLOs), enhance their engagement in humanitarian and Basic Human Needs (BHN) programming, and institutionalize their participation within Afghanistan’s aid architecture. 

The initiative is administered by UN Women Afghanistan Office, with a Project Implementation Unit embedded within its Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Unit and supported by sub-offices in Herat and Nangarhar.  The project is being implemented in Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman Province in the eastern region and Herat and Farah Province in the western region. The project engaged 3 INGOs across the project and 7 Women’s Organisation each in the Eastern and Western region.

In line with the “Delivering as One” approach, the project builds synergies with other UN-supported CSO strengthening initiatives and pooled funding mechanisms, aiming to institutionalize women-led and focussed CSOs’ participation in humanitarian and BHN programming while advancing localization and gender-responsive aid delivery. 

A Final Evaluation is being undertaken to independently assess the overall performance, achievements, limitations, and sustainability of the initiative. The evaluation will examine the extent to which the initiative achieved its intended outcomes, including strengthened institutional capacities of participating WLOs, improved technical competencies for gender-responsive programming, enhanced engagement within coordination mechanisms, and strengthened partnerships between WLOs, INGOs, and relevant stakeholders. 

The evaluation team will comprise of one national and one international consultant.

The National Evaluation Consultant will be reporting to the Programe management support manager, who will serve as the primary focal point for the evaluation, and will work in close collaboration with the international consultant. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The national consultant will support the international consultant and will be involved in all phases of the evaluation, from the design and development of evaluation tools to data collection, reporting and dissemination of results. The national consultant will accompany the international evaluation consultant for the data collection at the field and support with translation and delivery of the tools.  The international evaluation consultant will hold the overall responsibility for the design and implementation of the evaluation.

The duration of the assignment/consultancy is 30 working days (over a period of two months) after signing of contract. Days are inclusive of travelling, field work and reporting. 

UN Women Afghanistan Country Office is seeking a consultant (National Evaluation Consultant) to be part of the Evaluation Team and closely support the evaluation process, ensuring cultural sensitivity, accuracy, and quality of evaluation outputs. The consultant is expected to fulfill the following responsibilities:

Contributions to the Inception Phase: 

• Review and Adjustment of Data Collection Tools and Plan:
• Develop and/Review data collection tools and the data collection plan, make suggestions to ensure they are culturally and contextually appropriate and translate the final versions.
  • Provide inputs to the inception report: 
• Ensure the overall evaluation methodology is contextualized and culturally sensitive.

Data Collection and quality control: 

• Work closely with the international consultant to collect the dataTranslate the tools and interview notes where needed.
• Verify the accuracy and cultural appropriateness used in the evaluation tools and protocols, ensuring a do no harm approach.
• Ensure progress of the data collection according to plan.
• Coordinate with the key stakeholders including the 14 Women Led Organization (WLOs) and the 3 INGOs to facilitate smooth communication
• Provide interview notes in the prescribed format and a summary report of key findings from consultations.

Reporting phase:

• Contribute to preparation of the preliminary findings, the draft report, and the synthesis report.
• Review evaluation products to ensure cultural sensitivity and alignment with the local context.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Engage with the international consultant and join presentations as requested. 
  • Engage with key project stakeholders to gather relevant data and insights as necessary.

Deliverables

The National Evaluation Consultant will be required to contribute an estimated 30 days for the following deliverables:

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with travel to Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Well-developed communication, leadership, and team-building skills.
• Excellent ability to communicate and write in English.
• Ability to facilitate multi-stakeholder discussions.
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• An advanced degree in relevant disciplines (e.g., gender, development and social studies, sociology, political science, etc.)
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years in evaluations, review or assessment assignments with international organizations is required.
• Proven working experience in gender equality is required.
• Work experience in, and good knowledge of, the Afghanistan context is required.
• Familiarity with UN Women or other United Nations organizations’ mandates and activities is desirable.

Languages:

Fluency in written and spoken English, Dari and Pashto.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.