Local Project Evaluation Expert
Background:
The OSCE Presence in Albania (the Presence) has been supporting the national authorities since 2015 to better understand environmental crimes, build law and non-law authorities’ capacity, and develop technical and awareness-raising tools to prevent, fight and prosecute these crimes.
The extra-budgetary project “Enhancing environmental governance and security in Albania”, financed by the Governments of Norway, France and Italy and implemented by the Presence has as its primary objective to support Albania in enhancing environmental governance and security and tackling environmental violations.
The project aimed at: (i) strengthening institutional and operational framework at the central and local level (ii) enhancing technical capacities, skills, and resources of law enforcement authorities, and (iii) increasing wider society commitment toward environmental governance and security.
The decentralized evaluation (DE) aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions carried out, achieved output and outcome during the indicated evaluation period. It will focus on the evaluation of three (3) criteria which are: effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability for the assessment of which interviews will be conducted with OSCE project team, representatives from various institutions and interest/beneficiary groups.
The project commenced implementation in August 2022 and will terminate on 30 June 2025. The project has been developed and is being implemented in close collaboration with host authorities, especially the Ministry of Interior, School of Magistrates, Police, Prosecution Office, and the subordinate beneficiary agencies, as well as local authorities and NGOs.
Objective of Assignment:
The Presence is seeking to hire a national evaluation consultant to conduct the DE as the final evaluation of the project implemented during August 2022 – June 2025. The DE will be structured and designed as per OSCE evaluation policies and procedures, which will be made available to the expert.
Duration of Assignment:
This consultancy is envisaged to be completed during a period of approximately 2 months May-July 2025.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
The evaluation expert will work closely with the Evaluation Managers of the OSCE Presence in Albania [the Project Manager and the Programme Co-ordination Unit (PCU)] throughout the evaluation process.
The Evaluation Managers will provide the necessary support, including access to OSCE and third-party data, logistical assistance, and feedback on evaluation deliverables.
The consultant will collaborate with relevant stakeholders and experts from the Presence, ensuring a comprehensive and inclusive perspective. Any deviations from this ToR shall be executed only after consultations and written agreement with the Evaluation Managers.
The consultant will perform the following tasks listed below under the supervision of the Project Manager.
Task 1: Inception phase, including, methodology and desk research.
The expert will follow the following steps during this phase:
i) Meet with the Evaluation Managers;
ii) Inception report that includes a detailed evaluation methodology, evaluation design and evaluation matrix;
iii) Conduct desk research;
iv) Compile and propose a list of interviewees and develop and submit semi-structured questions for the interviewees.
During this phase, all the available project documents will be provided to the expert to help him/her to understand the achieved results and gaps encountered throughout the project implementation. Project documents will be Logical framework, overview of project activities and background, reports submitted to the donors, project’s budget and expenditure report and other project supporting documents generated by project activities, such as list of participants, developed deliverables, stakeholders involved, media activities, etc.
Task 2: Data collection phase.
During this phase the expert will:
i) carry out desk research and data triangulation, as relevant;
ii) conduct one-to-one interviews with project beneficiaries, stakeholders’ representatives, partners and project donors.
The list of interviewees will be defined in the inception report (Task 1) and will be approved by the Presence’s Evaluation Managers.
Task 3: First draft of the evaluation report.
The expert will submit the first draft of the evaluation report, following the agreed outline. The draft report shall be delivered to the OSCE Project Manager. The Presence’s Evaluation Managers will review the report and provide their comments to the draft report within 3 working days from the date of submission. The evaluator will have 3 days to address all the comments and feedback before submission.
Task 4: Finalise the final evaluation report.
The expert will work on the comments and suggestions provided. Based on quantitative and qualitative information collected through desk research, in-depth interviews and evaluation questionnaires the report should provide answers to each of the key evaluation questions.
Task 5. Prepare and deliver a power point presentation and a 2-page Factsheet.
The presentation should include main findings, methodology, recommendations of the report.
A two-pager Factsheet summarizing the key findings and recommendations for further support in a separate Word document.
Deliverables:
D.1 Submission of the Inception Report which is a predefined OSCE template and will include: (methodology, design method, semi-structured questions, work-plan and final report outline)
D.2 First draft of the evaluation report as per specifications under Task 2 and 3
D.3 Final evaluation report of the project as per specification under Task 4
Evaluation managers will have 5 days to revise for a final comment/question.
D. 4. Presentation of the Evaluation Report in a Power Point Form to OSCE team (Project Manager, PCU and/or other staff as relevant) and submission of a two-page Factsheet with findings and recommendations.
Necessary Qualifications:
• Master of Science degree in environmental economics, international development, economic studies;
• A minimum of 6 years of documented professional experience on issues related to governance, political, economic and institutional issues associated with the environmental institutions;
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in conducting independent and/or decentralized evaluations for international organizations, INGOs or governments;
• Proven experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, including theory of change, logical frameworks and indicator-based evaluations;
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality evaluation reports and present findings to target audience;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into evaluations;
• Substantive experience in evaluating similar technical assistance projects, preferably those involving OSCE or other United Nations development agencies and/or other major donors is highly desirable;
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English.
Remuneration Package:
Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.
If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.
The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.
Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.
The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.
Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.
Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.