CONSULTANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization, dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. Concern is currently recruiting the below post:

Job CODE: 23-002 NC (You must quote this code on your application)

Job Title: FINAL ENDLINE EVALUATION – CONSULTANCY – Improving Food and Nutrition Security through Sustainable Agricultural Interventions (I-FaNSI)

Location: Buchanan, Grand Bassa County

Reporting To: PD, PC, MEAL Team and Programmes Team

Job Purpose: The I-FaNSI project focuses to address two key outcome: Increased purchasing power of targeted households through savings and alternative/enhanced livelihood strategies; b) Improved nutritional status of children under-5 through nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. The consultant will therefore do the I-FaNSI project endline evaluation and write a report of the project guided by performance from the baseline. Concern Worldwide will share the report with donor – Latter-Day Saints Charities. Concern Liberia will use as guide in its approaches on future programs. The followings are the measurable outcome indicators of I

FaNSI Project.

Background

Liberia is a coastal country in West Africa, with a population of approx. 5 million according to the most recent 2023 Liberia population census result. Liberia ranked 175 out of 189 countries in Human Development Index 2020 and 156 out of 162 in Gender Inequality Index 2020. Its agriculture sector (including forestry) accounts for 60% of GDP and 36% of total employment.1 More than 47% of the country’s population live in rural areas and an estimated 80% are engaged in smallholder subsistence agricultural production – mainly rice farming.2 The national poverty rate for 2020 is estimated at 52.2 percent (USD 1.9, in 2011 purchasing power parity).3 The minimum cost of a locally available nutritious diet represents 198%, 134%, of annual household income for the very poor, and poor households.4 The 2020 report revealed an increase food insecurity and malnutrition and according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation a significant deterioration in food insecurity in Liberia can be expected.5Liberiais one of the countries with the highest illiteracy rates in the world – adult literacy rate is 48%6(52% of women and 75% of men age 15-49 are literate).7 There is very limited progress on improving maternal mortality which has listed Liberia with 694 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2011, slightly reduced to 661 per 100,000 live births in 2017 8. The data is an issue and World Bank uses modelled estimates, and Liberia remains one of the countries with the highest MMR in the world.

Concern Worldwide is a nongovernmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. Concern’s integrated programming approach aims to tackle all dimensions of poverty, focusing on the overlapping areas of health, gender transformation, education and livelihoods while maintaining response to emergencies.

Improving Food and Nutrition Security through Sustainable Agricultural Interventions (I-FaNSI) is one of the projects Concern Liberia has engaged in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa. During the implementation period from 1st January 2021 to 30th April 2023 the project made substantial progress towards the goal of improving the food and nutrition security of 1, 275 vulnerable households (reaching 5,100 individuals) in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County. Currently the project has achieved over ninety five percent (95%) of the target and established 51 Community Savings and Loan groups in 40 communities in Buchanan City.

1. Purpose of the consultancy

The I-FaNSI project focuses to address two key outcome: Increased purchasing power of targeted households through savings and alternative/enhanced livelihood strategies; b) Improved nutritional status of children under-5 through nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. The consultant will therefore do the I FaNSI project endline evaluation and write a report of the project guided by performance from the baseline. Concern Worldwide will share the report with donor – Latter-Day Saints Charities. Concern Liberia will use as guide in its approaches on future programs. The followings are the measurable outcome indicators of I-FaNSI Project:

2. Key Objectives of the Endline Evaluation

The Endline evaluation objective is to independently determine results and verify the measurement answers for the each of the five (5) outcome indicators as defined in the project log frame.

3. Endline Evaluation Methodology

The evaluator commissioned to conduct the endline evaluation and Concern Liberia will jointly choose the methods that are the most appropriate for the result. The methods should be proportionate and appropriate to the context of the log frame and project intervention. The evaluator will involve Concern-Liberia, project participants, including community members to make meaningful contributions to the endline evaluation. The evaluator, with support from Concern’s MEAL team, will furnish a written methodology for the baseline assessment (including the proposed number of key informant interviews, focus groups discussions, observations, and locations) and may be shared with project stakeholders for comment before the evaluation commences.

4. Evaluator Characteristics

The I-FaNSI Project endline evaluator should be a suitably-qualified and experienced consultant. Key team members, their affiliations, and disclosure of conflicts of interest must be listed in the proposal and in an annex to the evaluation report. The evaluator will coordinate closely with the Concern-Liberia team regarding tool finalization, evaluation methodology, timeline, and draft report finalization.

Requirement for Lead Evaluator

BSc but preferably Masters in Statistic, or related discipline.

▪ At least five years’ demonstrated experience leading evaluations or conducting research/evaluations of livelihoods recovery and nutrition projects ▪ Strong understanding communities in Buchanan City

▪ Excellent English writing skills (Concern will not be providing editing services), ability to deliver a quality product that meets Concern’s standards on time ▪ Team player and willingness to lead this evaluation with Concern’s MEAL team

▪ Adaptable, flexible, and able to spend the days in Buchanan City leading the evaluation

▪ Excellent communication and facilitation skills with which to foster effective relationships with staff and project stakeholders in Buchanan City. ▪ Excellent report writing skills.

5. Expected Timeline and Deliverables

The I-FaNSI Project endline evaluator will submit the final report to Concern-Liberia. The main body of the report must be limited to 20 pages maximum (including annexes). The report should include a summary of answers to the five outcome indicators as defined in the log frame. The evaluation timeline must be limited to a maximum 10 working days, excluding days of report writing and submission. Exact working days should be proposed by consultant with deadlines in consideration.

5.1 Key Tasks of the Evaluator

The following tasks are expected to be completed under the consultancy. All tasks under pre-field work should be completed and approved before commencement of field work period.

Pre-Field Work

▪ Review project documents and resources to understand the project

▪ Participate in meetings with Concern-Liberia to discuss and review the scope of work, field work schedule, team composition, and methods ▪ Produce a brief inception report

▪ Develop methodology including creation of data collection tools, training and facilitation guides, and sampling plan. Methodology and tools require approval by Concern-Liberia.

▪ Recruit evaluation team members for data collection, as necessary

Field Work

▪ Train evaluation team members on objectives, tools and process of the evaluation

▪ Lead the evaluation team in person to complete the collection, analysis, and synthesis of supplemental information

▪ Interpret both proportional and percentage results and draw conclusions

Post Field Work

▪ Draft report on or before May 20th 2023.

▪ Prepare report and submit to Concern-Liberia on or before May 25th, 2023. The final report will be free of grammar errors and formatted according to Concern guidelines, with input and comments from Concern addressed.

5.2 Final Deliverables

Over the course of the consultancy period, the following are expected to be completed, submitted, and approved by Concern: ∙ Inception report including literature review, final methodology, and a detailed plan for fieldwork and post-fieldwork.

∙ Data collection tools.

∙ As appropriate, financial invoices and supporting documentation for payment.

∙ Completion of fieldwork in a timely manner.

∙ Submit final tools and all raw data collected to Concern at the conclusion of the fieldwork period.

∙ Prepare a draft report in line with the guidelines and submit to Concern with at least 3 working days’ time for review.

∙ Prepare the final report, addressing responses and comments from Concern on the draft, and submission to Concern on or before May 25th 2023. ∙ As appropriate, standard financial invoices and supporting documentation for payment(s).

6. Budget

The total budget for the evaluation will be negotiated with Concern and the lead evaluator in compliance with Concern rules and regulations. All anticipated costs should be included and detailed in the budget. Proposals submitted without a detailed budget will not be considered. Insurance and medical expenses, including accidents on the job, are not covered by Concern. If other expenses are anticipated, these must be approved discussed and approve by Concern in advance.

How to apply:

By email to: liberia.hr@concern.net with the JOB CODE 23-002 NC – FINAL ENDLINE EVALUATION – CONSULTANCY (I-FaNSI) clearly in the SUBJECT LINE.

By Hand to: HR Department, Concern Worldwide, Building Number-5 Andalucía’s Complex Compound Number-2, Between 6th & 7th Streets Sinkor Beachside, Behind Home City Furniture Store, Monrovia.

JOB CODE 23-002 NC – FINAL ENDLINE EVALUATION – CONSULTANCY (I-FaNSI)

Proposal

All interested persons/consultants/consultancy firms should submit an application including the following:

∙ CV(s) of the lead person(s)

∙ A list of projects, clients, and dates of previous works

∙ A sample of a similar evaluation report undertaken by the applicant

∙ Technical proposal that includes methodology and a detailed work plan.

∙ The Technical proposal should be accompanied a budget.

∙ Proposals submitted without a detailed budget will not be considered

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS Wednesday 10th May 2023 @17:00GMT, proposal received after this time will not be considered. ONLY SHORTLISTED CONSULTANTS WILL BE CONTACTED.

WOMEN ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

Safeguarding at Concern: Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies

Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.

Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all sections of society. While all applicants will be strictly assessed on their individual merit, qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.

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