TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR RI NIGER CHILD SURVIVAL PROJECT MIDTERM EVALUATION CONSULTANT
I. STATUS
Title: External Impact & Quality Evaluation of RI USAID Child Survival Project in the Department of M’Birni Konni, in the region of Tahoua
Location: Tahoua Region, Niger
Cooperative Agreement Number: GHS-A-00-07-00028-00
Duration: Four-week consultancy.
II. Background of the Program
Summary:
With support from USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grants Program, Relief International is implementing a four-year Child Survival project in Niger (2007-2011). The goal of the project is to reduce morbidity and mortality rates of women of reproductive age and children less than five years of age in 90 villages in the Department of M’Birni Konni in Tahoua region. The strategic program objectives are:
- To increase the access to, demand for, and use of quality maternal and child health services, including emergency care; in order to generate improved family behaviors related to maternal and child health.
- To improve case management of malaria at the community and health post levels; increase access to treatment for malaria; improve access and use of treated mosquito nets; and to improve use of chemoprophylaxis (IPT) for malaria among pregnant women.
- To improve prevention and treatment of diarrhea disease among rural children under five.
- Improve nutrition of women and children, through education and household/community food security and nutrition activities.
- To improve the capacity of Ministry and local partner agencies, to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate child survival interventions at the community and district levels, with an emphasis on capacity in maternal and child health, nutrition, and household food security.
The estimated number of beneficiaries of the Child Survival project totals 174,421 persons: 91,297 women of reproductive age and 83,124 children less than five years of age,
Target Area:
Relief International’s Child Survival project targets Konni Health District in the Department of Konni, in Tahoua Region, Niger.
III. SCOPE OF WORK
The Midterm evaluation will focus on the process of project implementation as planned in the Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP). The midterm evaluation will use data and information from the project’s monitoring system and other sources to:
- Assess progress in implementing the DIP;
- Assess progress towards achievement of objectives or yearly benchmarks;
- Assess if interventions are sufficient to reach desired outcomes;
- Identify barriers to achievement of objectives;
- Provide recommended actions to guide the project staff through the last half of the project in order to achieve stated targets and indicators by the final evaluation.
Time-frame for Consultancy: It is expected the consultancy will be completed within a four-week period.
Approach and Methodology: The consultant is expected to have good research methodology background and extensive experience in designing and evaluating assessments and conducting sensitive community surveys. Furthermore, the consultant must have experience in the sectors outlined and must possess demonstrated exceptional skills in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, and demonstrated exceptional report writing skills that emphasize objective analyses. The consultant is free to choose his/her own evaluation methodology. RI expects a review of primary data. Interviews and focus groups with beneficiary and non-beneficiary populations, RI staff, USAID contacts in Niamey, should be included to the extent possible. Sources of secondary data will include program documents (proposal, results framework, work plan, and budget) documents and reports, articles, books, research reports, UN and INGOs surveys, and eventual existing evaluation reports.
The final evaluation report will be prepared in English (in Microsoft word and PDF versions) and will be ready for distribution after the consultancy end-date (as will be outlined in the Consultancy Contract between the selected Consultant and RI). It is expected that the final report will meet USAID CSHGP standards and will be no longer than 40 pages in length (excludes annexes, cover page/table of contents) and written in English.
Outputs required from the Consultant
- To support the CSHGP Evaluation team i.e. RI-Niger CSP team, to complete the Statement of Work for the CSHGP evaluation in a timely and participatory manner.
- To submit a draft evaluation report within 4 days of completion of the field evaluation
- To respond to any comments or queries from RI staff on the evaluation report within 1 week of submission of the draft evaluation report so that RI can submit it to USAID by the 31st of December 2009.
- To promote an effective learning experience for the evaluation team and other stakeholders through a participatory evaluation process that encourages problem analysis and development of solutions by project staff and partners.
- Support the Niger CSHGP evaluation team to review program progress and achievements to date and explore challenges to be addressed in the remaining program time frame.
RI expects the evaluation will assist in answering the following basic questions:
1. What type of impact has the RI program had on beneficiaries in the target area?
2. What type of impact has the RI program had on RI staff?
3. Does RI staff feel they have the necessary skills to carry out their day to day responsibilities?
4. What are the current perceptions of RI among the community, RI staff, and peer agencies?
5. What lessons have or can be learned from the RI program to date?
6. What successes/achievements have been achieved by the RI program to date and what elements are appropriate for replication?
7. What challenges or mistakes have been faced by the RI program to date?
8. How effective are RI’s planning and management tools and how can they be improved?
Consultant Qualifications & Requirements:
This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment:
- French fluency preferred;
- Background/ experience in International Nutrition/Health Sciences;
- Post graduate qualification (Masters Level), preferably in Nutrition/Public Health;
- Experience in evaluating USAID funded Child Survival Programs;
- Experience in evaluating health and nutrition development programs;
- Be familiar with the health challenges facing rural Nigerienne communities;
- Five or more years of work experience in monitoring and evaluation;
- Demonstrated proficiency in survey implementation, statistical analysis and use of analysis software;
- Demonstrable written communications skills;
- Preference will be given to candidates living/currently stationed in West Africa Region.
Salary: Commensurate with experience and qualifications.
To be considered for this recruitment, please submit a cover letter, resume, salary history, 3 professional supervisory references (whom we may contact after a second interview) with the date of availability to hrprogram@ri.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The email subject line should include the following: NIGER CHILD SURVIVAL PROJECT MIDTERM EVALUATION CONSULTANT
