Evaluation of the Transition to Employment Project

Evaluation of the Transition to Employment Project

Jordan, Norwegian Refugee Council

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-profit organization registered with the Ministry of Interior of Jordan since 2008 and operational in Jordan since 2012. Since 2012, NRC has worked to build the resilience of Syrian refugees and Jordanian communities that host them. NRC supports vulnerable refugees and Jordanians in north and central Jordan and Azraq and Zaatari camps. In Jordan, NRC provides services in the following sectors: Shelter, Education, Youth, Basic Needs, Livelihoods and Information, Counselling, and Legal Assistance (ICLA).

NRC’s Transition to Employment (T2E) project runs since September 2018 and is focused on integrating Syrians and economically vulnerable Jordanians into the labour market through labour intermediation activities. T2E is based on global best practices where nearly all high performing employment projects start with the early and substantial engagement of employers. This project is a step in meeting the needs of job seekers who feel disenfranchised and employers that are unhappy with the current support they are receiving. Currently, T2E activities are located in the northern governorates of Jordan (Irbid, Mafraq, Ajloun) and Amman, covering both Syrian refugees and Jordanians, where the focus is on entry-level job opportunities.
This evaluation aims to learn more about the impact of the current project on target beneficiaries as well as the appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of activities in the Jordanian context. This learning will contribute to shaping the upcoming multi-year Core Competency strategy that the Livelihoods team will design in Q3 of 2020 and inform an anticipated extension of the project from September 2020 to September 2022.
At a minimum, the methodology should include a desk review of key documents, including analysis of existing quantitative data, semi-structured interviews with key informants, and methods to seek the views and perceptions of the targeted communities and key stakeholders. Also, a field validation exercise, for confirming preliminary findings with beneficiaries and program staff should be conducted towards the end of the field part of the study.
Throughout the desk study and field work, to the extent possible, the above analysis should look into the different subgroups and their needs, i.e. for job seekers by gender, nationality, disability and age and employers by typology, sector and years of enterprise as well as geographical location. The final report is expected to demonstrate a strong use of data triangulation methods, to strengthen conclusions about findings and to reduce the risk of false interpretations.
The fixed price or output based consultancy will take place over a period of three and a half months with minimum of two weeks spent in the field. The consultants are expected to start as soon as possible. All the outputs should be delivered by August 2020.

Experience and Qualifications

· NRC seeks expressions of interest from individuals or joint applications, ideally with the following skills/qualifications and expertise:

· Post-graduate degree in a relevant field in the humanities or social sciences;

· Proven experience in conducting field level programmatic evaluations, particularly utilization and learning focused evaluations;

· Expertise in participatory qualitative data collection techniques;

· A proven track record in design and implementation of livelihoods programming, particularly in labour intermediation and employment service programmes.

Necessary Skills:

· Fluency in written and spoken English is required;

· Excellent writing skills with the ability to summarize complex information to non-expert audiences;

· Prior experience working in/on the Middle East;

· Proven experience of managing evaluations of livelihood/ economic inclusion projects;

· Experience of working / collaborating with private sector actors;

· Experience of designing qualitative data collection methods and of managing participatory and learning focused evaluations;

· Excellent team working and communication skills, flexibility and good organizational skills.

The application must be sent in PDF files as an attachment to the resume. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications should include the following:

· CV (max 3 pages)

· Cover Letter (max 1 page)

· Project proposed methodology (max 10 pages)

· Sample of previous consultancy report/lessons learned/evaluation document (max 2 relevant samples)

· Detailed budget aligned to technical proposal and proposed timeline. Financial offers must be submitted based on the deliverables for each phase and not as daily rate.

· A COVID-19 contingency plan that clear states how the evaluation methodology and timeline would be adjusted in case of sever travel restrictions or risk of contagion (max 1 page).

· Applications should be submitted by 29/4/2020 strictly through email address: [email protected]

· Failure to meet the closing date and manner of submission will result in the bid being rejected.

Evaluation criteria
NRC is not bound to select any of the companies/individuals who submitted bids and does not bind itself to select the lowest price offer.
NRC will award the consultancy contract after evaluation based on the following themes and prioritisations:

· Evaluation methodology and suitability for NRC (30%)

· Value for money (30%)

· Proven ability and experience with similar consultancies (30%)

· Experience and demonstrable understanding of the context (10%)

Please refer to the NRC Global Evaluation Guidance in the Annex I.
This document outlines NRC’s standards and guidelines for carrying out evaluations. It is tailored for consultants undertaking evaluations for NRC and should be included as an annex to all evaluation TORs. Mandatory actions are highlighted in the orange boxes.

Please check the below link for more details

https://norwegianrefugeecouncil-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/nada_am…