International evaluation consultant (decentralized evaluation) on organized crime (SSA)

Background:

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo (the OSCE), through the Serious and Organized Crime Section (SOCS), supports Kosovo institutions in strengthening capacities to prevent and combat serious and organized crime. Support includes strategic advisory services, capacity building, inter-agency co-ordination mechanisms, and operational training interventions.

As part of the decentralised evaluation of UB implemented from 2022-2025, this assignment under activity 1.4 of the project Strengthening capacities of local law enforcement institutions to tackle serious and organized crime and violent extremism (Phase VIII), focuses on evaluating initiatives aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of Kosovo law enforcement institutions, primarily the Kosovo Police and Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The evaluation will assess the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of OSCE support and its contribution to institutional behavioural and operational change in line with UB Outcome 1: improved capacity of security sector institutions to detect, investigate, and disrupt serious and organized crime. The findings from the final evaluation report will be shared with partner Kosovo institutions. Furthermore, this evaluation will explicitly provide the OSCE with strategic directions for future SOCS initiatives based on verified achievements and lessons learned. Any external sharing of these findings will be subject to the standard OSCE Mission clearance process.

Objective of Assignment:

Conduct an independent decentralized evaluation of OSCE support under UB Project 2101288 in strengthening institutional capacities to prevent and combat serious and organized crime.

The evaluation will:
• assess relevance of interventions to institutional needs,
• assess effectiveness of achieved outputs and outcomes,
• assess sustainability of institutional changes and capacities,
• generate evidence-based findings, lessons learned, and actionable recommendations for future programming and strategic planning.

The evaluation will apply a theory-based mixed-methods approach using Contribution Analysis to assess OSCE’s plausible contribution to observed institutional changes.

Duration of Assignment:

The Consultant will be hired for 20 working days.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Review project documents and prepare the inception report in consultation with the OSCE Activity Manager.
2. Collect data through interviews, focus groups, and document review with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the Kosovo
3. Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC), EULEX, KFOR, etc.
4. Analyze the collected data and prepare the draft evaluation report.
5. Finalize the evaluation report based on OSCE feedback and validation.
   

Deliverables:

• By August 2026, submit an inception report including methodology, tools, evaluation questions, stakeholders, and work plan for approval.
• Performance Indicator: Inception report is submitted on time and approved.
  By September 2026, complete all planned field and desk data collection activities.
• Performance Indicator: Required data is collected from key stakeholders and properly documented.
  By November 2026, submit a draft report covering relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of OSCE support provided during the period 2021-2025.
• Performance Indicator: Draft report is complete, evidence-based, and follows OECD-DAC criteria.
  By November 2026, submit the final evaluation report with findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Performance Indicator: Final report is approved and delivered on time.
  

Necessary Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in criminology, law, political science, social sciences, security studies, or related field.
• Minimum seven years of relevant professional experience in law enforcement, security sector reform, or organized crime.
• At least five years of proven evaluation experience using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches.
• Strong knowledge of OECD-DAC evaluation criteria and theory-based evaluation approaches.
• Experience in security, legal, gender-responsive, communities and human rights-based evaluations.
• Experience working with government institutions and international organizations.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

In order to apply for this position, you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under OSCE Careers- Jobs. Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system, you may use the offline application form found at Offline application form | OSCE Employment and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by email to: consultancy.omik@osce.org. In line with your qualifications please indicate a preference for one or more fields of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds to apply.