Consultancy Services :External Evaluation

ACTED seeks an experienced individual or firm to conduct an external evaluation of an EU-funded project entitled “Strengthening rural cooperatives in Salfit and Qalqilya Governorates”

Location: Ramallah
Starting date: Immediately
Application deadline: 31 October 2012
Contract Duration: 4 weeks

Background

ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) is an international NGO registered in France. ACTED’s vocation is to support vulnerable populations affected by wars, natural disasters and/or economic and social crises, and to accompany them in building a better future. ACTED started its activities in the occupied Palestinian territory in May 2007, through food security interventions in the West Bank and then in Gaza. ACTED is currently implementing projects funded by the Humanitarian Response Fund and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Crisis Centre that aim to protect vulnerable households in the West Bank,


Objectives of the external evaluator:

The external evaluator is required to evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of an EU-funded project entitled “Strengthening rural cooperatives in Salfit and Qalqilya Governorates”. He/she shall provide an independent assessment of the achievements of project targets. The evaluation report will highlight key findings, conclusions, challenges and opportunities .The evaluation will be carefully considered in designing ACTED future development interventions and possible actions.

The evaluator will:

Evaluate awareness raised on cooperatives principles among cooperatives within the project activities
Evaluate Efficiency of implemented activities with beneficiaries
Assess Sustainability: Provide evidence as to whether or not the project’s feedback  is continuous / sustainable
Produce evidence of reaching projects’ overall and specific objectives
Assess the activities techniques and methods
Evaluate implementation of micro-grants projects and improvement of sustainable of future finance of cooperatives
Review project documents, files, and reports
Evaluate capacity of cooperatives at management, administration, financial and strategic planning.
Evaluate improvement on cooperatives’ quality products and enhancement of marketing strategies and tools  Asses all efforts aimed at institutional strengthening and capacity building training for beneficiaries/ cooperatives members  Consulting and meeting with ACTED, partners, and beneficiaries (cooperatives members, volunteers, etc)
Liaise with project team for coordinating field visits to meet beneficiaries

Submit a fully edited evaluation report in English in a period of two months to ACTED
Provide recommendations on the implemented project
Assess the impact of the project beneficiaries and community livelihoods
Assess any trends in the grantees ’ capacity and effectiveness in cooperatives
Analyze grantees’ sustainability regarding institutional, financial matters and natural resource
Provide insights/recommendations where applicable for modification and strengthening of similar future development projects.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables:
The expected outputs from the External Evaluator are:
-A methodology and work-plan outlining the program of work of this Consultancy, due by the end of the first working week
-A final presentation on the findings and recommendations of the evaluation
-A final evaluation report on the impact of project, due by the end of the contract.

Qualifications of applicant:

For Firms:
-Legally registered in the country of origin
-An established entity in the area of monitoring, evaluation and research
-Several years of experiences in conducting evaluation of development programs in the occupied Palestinian territory.

For Individual Evaluators:
-A master’s degree in business administration, economics
-At least 5 years of experience in evaluation, monitoring, data Collection and statistical        analysis of development projects, agricultural sector is preferable
-Proven experience in monitoring and evaluating EU - funded projects
-Demonstrated analytical, reporting and computer skills
-Proficiency in English language (reading, writing, speaking)
 
Interested candidates are invited to send a cover letter, CV, and 2 references (in English) no later than 31 October 2012 no later than 12:00 PM to:  [email protected]   ,

Indicating the (External Evaluation) in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.