Individual Consultancy: Country Programme Evaluation Team Lead, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Hiring Office:

UNFPA Cameroun

Purpose of the consultation:

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the United Nations agency dedicated to creating a world in which every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person realizes their full potential. UNFPA's strategic objective is "to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, ensure reproductive rights for all, and accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). With this call to action, UNFPA contributes directly to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in line with the Decade of Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."

To achieve this goal, UNFPA focuses its work on three transformative outcomes: (1) elimination of preventable maternal deaths; (2) elimination of unmet need for family planning; and (3) elimination of gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage. These transformative outcomes will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but directly contribute to the following: (a) ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages (Goal 3); (b) achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls (Goal 5); (c) reducing inequality within and among countries (Goal 10); taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (Goal 13); promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and ensuring effective, accountable and inclusive policymaking at all levels (Goal 16); and strengthening the means of implementation of the global partnership for sustainable development (Goal 17). In line with the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNFPA seeks to place greater emphasis on "leaving no one behind" and "reaching those furthest behind first."

UNFPA has been active in Cameroon since 1969. The support that the UNFPA Cameroon Country Office provides to the Government of Cameroon (GoC) under the 8th Country Programme (2022-2026) focuses on the national development needs and priorities set out in:

• Vision 2035, in which the Government aims to make Cameroon an emerging, democratic country united in its diversity. 
• The National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS30), whose main pillars focus on transformations based on a more sustainable structuring of the economy, inclusive and more egalitarian human development, the strengthening of democratic governance for a more peaceful and just society, and a transition towards sustainable management of the environment and resources.
• The Health Sector Strategy 2020-2030 (Updated Sector Strategy 2016-2027)
• Multi-Year Operational Plan for Family Planning in Cameroon 2024-2030 Draft 1
• National Strategic Plan for RMNCAH-Nut 2024-2030
• Strategy to Combat Obstetric Fistula in Cameroon: Strategic Plan 2018-2023
• National Health Development Plan (NHDP) 2021-2025
• Agenda Health System Transformation
• Community Health Strategic Plan 2021-2025
• Triple Elimination Strategy for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis 2024
• National Strategic Plan 2024-2030SRMNIA_Nut
• Strategic Plan for Securing Health Products 2021-2025
• National HIV Strategic Plan 2024-2030
• National Strategy to Combat Hepatitis and STIs
• Orientation Framework for Community-Based HIV Response Interventions
• National Strategic Plan to Combat HIV for Religious Denominations
• National Youth Policy 2015
• Youth Plan 2015
• National Strategic Framework for Responding to HIV in Adolescents/Youth 2021-2023
• MINJEC Sector Response Plan HIV, AIDS, and STIs 2024-2030
• Sectoral Plan to Combat HIV in the Regional Development Cooperation Areas (MINDEVEL) 2022
• Education Sector Strategy - 2023-2030
• United Nations Common Country Assessment (CCA), 2022-2026
• National Gender Policy 2022-2027 (NGP) (undergoing validation)
• Cameroon's Gender Profile (2020)
• Cameroon's Second Action Plan for the Implementation of Resolutions 1325 and Related Actions (2023-2027)
• National Strategy to Combat GBV 2022-2026 (SNLVBG)
• National Action Plan to Combat Female Genital Mutilation 2022-2026
• Guidelines for the Management of Safe Spaces in Cameroon
• Draft Law Against Gender-Based Violence in Cameroon (2024) (currently being validated)

United Nations Development Cooperation Framework

Scope of Work:

(Description of services, activities, or results)

• Provide the UNFPA Cameroon Country Office, national stakeholders and rights holders, UNFPA WCARO, UNFPA Headquarters, and the general public with an independent assessment of the 8th UNFPA Cameroon Country Program (2022-2026).
• Expand the evidence base for the design of the next program cycle.

    The specific objectives of this country programme evaluation are to:

• Provide an independent assessment of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of UNFPA support.
• Provide an assessment of the geographic and demographic coverage of UNFPA humanitarian assistance and UNFPA's ability to connect immediate and lifesaving support to long-term development objectives.
• Provide an assessment of the role played by the UNFPA Cameroon country office regarding the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) coordination mechanisms to improve the collective contribution of the United Nations to development results. Furthermore, provide an assessment of the role played by the UNFPA Cameroon country office regarding the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) coordination mechanisms to improve the humanitarian response and ensure its contribution to longer-term recovery.
• Draw conclusions from past and ongoing collaboration and provide a set of clear, strategic, and concrete recommendations for the next program cycle.

The Evaluation Team Leader will assume overall responsibility for the design and implementation of the evaluation. They will be responsible for the timely production and submission of all products in accordance with the ToR. They will lead and coordinate the work of the evaluation team and ensure the quality of the evaluation products at all stages of the process. The Evaluation Manager will provide guidance to the evaluation team regarding the development of the design report, including the methodological approach, work plan, and preparation for the fieldwork phase. They will lead the drafting and presentation of the design report and the draft and final evaluation reports and will play a leading role in meetings with the ERG and the PR. The Team Leader will also be responsible for communication with the CPE Manager. Beyond your responsibilities as Team Leader, you will also be a technical expert responsible for one of the thematic areas of the country program described below.

Duration:

60 days

Place where services are to be delivered:

The evaluation will cover the regions where UNFPA has implemented interventions: Adamawa, Centre, East, Far North, North, North West and South West. These regions were chosen because some of them have quite worrying development indicators, particularly in the areas of health, gender-based violence and youth, and others because they are in humanitarian and socio-security crisis situations (North West, South West and Far North) or are affected by these crises due to the reception of internal populations and/or refugees (Adamawa, East, Centre and North).

Delivery dates and method of delivery of the work (e.g., electronically, on paper, etc.)

The evaluation team's expected outputs are as follows:

• Design report. The design report should translate the requirements of the TOR into a practical and feasible evaluation approach, methodology, and work plan. In addition to presenting the evaluation matrix, the design report also provides information on the country situation and the UN and UNFPA response. Section 2.4 of the manual provides the required structure of the design report and guidance on how to write it.
• PowerPoint presentation of the design report. The PowerPoint presentation will be given at an ERG meeting to present the content of the design report and the fieldwork schedule. Based on comments and feedback from the ERG, the CPE manager, and the regional M&E advisor, the evaluation team will develop the final version of the design report.
• PowerPoint presentation for the debriefing meeting with the country office and the evaluation reference group. The presentation will provide an overview of the main findings emerging from the evaluation at the end of the fieldwork phase. It will serve as a basis for an exchange of views between the evaluation team, UNFPA Cameroon country office staff (including management), and members of the reference group. This will give them the opportunity to provide additional information and/or correct any misinterpretations of the data or information collected.
• Draft evaluation report. The draft evaluation report will present the findings and conclusions based on the evidence provided by the data collection. It will be reviewed by the evaluation manager, the country office, the reference group, and the regional M&E advisor, and the evaluation team will revise accordingly.
• Recommendations sheet. The process of co-creating CPE recommendations begins with a set of draft recommendations proposed by the evaluation team (see Handbook, section 4.3). 
• Final evaluation report. The final evaluation report (maximum 80 pages, excluding the opening pages and annexes) will present the findings and conclusions, as well as a set of practical and actionable recommendations to inform the next program cycle. The Handbook (Section 4.5) provides the structure and guidance necessary for preparing the report. All annexes must be comprehensive and include the evaluation matrix containing all supporting evidence (data and information and their sources).
• PowerPoint presentation of the evaluation results. The presentation will provide a clear overview of the main findings, as well as the conclusions and recommendations. It will be used to facilitate the dissemination of the final evaluation report.

Monitoring and control of progress, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

The UNFPA Cameroon Country Office CPE Manager, in close consultation with [government partner] coordinating the country programme, will be responsible for managing the evaluation and supervising the evaluation team in accordance with the UNFPA Evaluation Manual. The Country Programme Evaluation (CPE) Manager will oversee the entire evaluation process, from preparation to dissemination and facilitating the use of evaluation results. The CPE Manager is primarily responsible for ensuring the quality, independence, and impartiality of the evaluation in accordance with the UNFPA IEO Methodological Framework, as well as the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards and the Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation. The tasks assigned to the CPE Manager, for each phase of the CPE, are detailed in the Manual.

Supervision modalities:

The UNFPA Cameroon Country Office CPE Manager, in close consultation with [government partner] coordinating the country programme, will be responsible for managing the evaluation and supervising the evaluation team in accordance with the UNFPA Evaluation Manual.

Travel:

The evaluation team will collect the data and information necessary to answer the evaluation questions during the fieldwork phase. Toward the end of the fieldwork phase, the evaluation team will conduct a preliminary data analysis to identify emerging findings that will be presented to the country office and the ERG. The fieldwork phase should allow the evaluators sufficient time to collect valid and reliable data to cover the thematic scope of the CPE. A four-week data collection period is planned for this evaluation. However, the CPE manager will determine the optimal data collection duration in consultation with the evaluation team during the design phase. The fieldwork phase includes:

● Preparation of all logistical and practical arrangements for data collection

● Launch of the fieldwork phase

● Collection of primary data at the national and subnational levels

● Supplementation with secondary data

● Collection of photographic material

● Completion of the evaluation matrix

● Facilitation of a data analysis workshop

● Debriefing meeting and consolidation of feedback for the debriefing

At the end of the fieldwork phase, the evaluation team will hold a debriefing meeting with the Country Office (CO) and the ERG to present the initial analysis and emerging findings from the data collection in a PowerPoint presentation. The debriefing meeting provides an invaluable opportunity for the evaluation team to expand, qualify, and verify information, as well as to obtain feedback and correct any misperceptions or misinterpretations.

Detailed activities for the field phase and guidance on how they should be undertaken are provided in the Handbook, Chapter 3.

Required expertise, qualifications and skills, including language requirements:

The evaluation team leader's skills, abilities, and experience should include:

• Atleast a Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, demography or population studies, statistics, development studies, or a related field. A Ph.D will be an asset.
• 10 years of experience conducting or managing evaluations in the field of international development and/or humanitarian assistance.
• Open to Cameroonians and Non-Cameroonians.
• Extensive experience conducting complex evaluations, including those commissioned by United Nations agencies and/or other international organizations and NGOs.
• Proven expertise in one of the thematic areas of the country program covered by the evaluation (see expert profiles below).
• In-depth knowledge of theory-of-change evaluation approaches and proficiency in qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, as well as the ability to maintain a high level of evaluation quality in accordance with the standards defined by UNFPA and UNEG. 
• Good knowledge of humanitarian strategies, policies, and frameworks, international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles, as well as the international humanitarian architecture and coordination mechanisms.
• Ability to ensure the ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and the principle of doing no harm.
• Ability to integrate human rights and gender issues into all phases of the evaluation process.
• Excellent skills in leading and coordinating the work of the evaluation team and the ability to share technical evaluation skills and knowledge.
• Ability to mentor the work of a young, emerging evaluator, create an environment conducive to their effective participation in the evaluation team's work, and provide the necessary supervision and support to build their capacity.
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of experts.
• Excellent ability to analyze and synthesize large volumes of data and information from diverse sources.
• Good experience with artificial intelligence tools.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral).
• Experience working in, or good knowledge of, the region and Cameroon's national development context.
• Fluency in English language. Working knowledge of French is desirable.

Inputs/services to be provided by UNFPA (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

The work can be conducted remotely, with group work and frequent meetings at the UNFPA office. A workspace with all the necessary support will be provided if required.

Resources:

UNFPA Strategic Plan 2022-2025

Politique d’évaluation UNFPA 2024 ExBo FR P.24 

https://www.unfpa.org/admin-resource/unfpa-evaluation-policy-2024

UNEG, Norms and Standards for Evaluation (2016). The document is available at https://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/1914