Endline Evaluation Consultant, THRIVE at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. In Nigeria, CRS has been operating for over 2 decades – and has maintained operations since 2014 in the Northeast (NE), where it implements lifesaving interventions for communities affected by the crisis.

For over a decade, populations in NE Nigeria – particularly the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) - have grappled with a prolonged conflict attributed to violent insurgency by AOGs. Of the BAY states, Borno continues to bear the brunt of the conflict’s ramifications. Approximately 45% of the 3.9 million people in need (PIN) of humanitarian assistance reside in Borno. This number includes 1,633,829 (41% of PIN) Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). Borno is home to over 77% of all IDPs in the BAY states. Most of these IDPs (89%) are displaced within their own state. Borno has 59 formal camps and 182 government recognized informal settlements that host 48% of IDPs. The remaining 52% reside in host communities and/or undocumented informal settlements.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Endline Evaluation Consultant, THRIVE

Location: Maiduguri, Borno

Background to Task

• CRS leads the consortium implementing THRIVE, a two-year integrated multi-sectoral program from May 2022 to May 2024 that targets seven communities in three wards, Mashamari, Dusuman and Mairi, of Jere local government area (LGA) in Maiduguri , Borno State.
• THRIVE is funded by the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID) Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance ( BHA).
• The consortium partnership also comprises Mercy Corps (MC), the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Salient Humanitarian Organisation (SHO) and Women in New Nigeria (WINN).
• As part of its deliverables to USAID/BHA, CRS intends to conduct an end line evaluation for THRIVE and submit a final evaluation report to the donor.

THRIVE Project

• THRIVE delivers an integrated and coordinated package of immediate lifesaving, life-sustaining, and life-building support to vulnerable households (HH) in food assistance ( FA), nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), protection, agriculture, and economic recovery and market systems ( ERMS). THRIVE explicitly aims to reduce vulnerability in Jere by layering lifesaving, life-sustaining, and life-building interventions informed using an area-based approach (ABA) to minimize inefficiencies and build synergies. The interventions target host communities, returnees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) impacted by the violent insurgency in Borno State.
• THRIVE is expected to reach approximately 120,000 (72,000 female, 48,000 male) unique participants over the two-year project lifespan, spanning ten sectors. THRIVE is implemented across seven communities in the three wards of Jere LGA, that is Dusuman, Mairi, and Mashamari.

The program’s interventions contributed to the following purposes:

• Goal: Crisis-affected Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), returnees, and host communities in Jere LGA live in dignity and transition to early recovery.
• Purpose 1: Crisis-affected IDPs, returnees, and host communities in Jere LGA meet their immediate and continuous basic needs by the first quarter of 2024.
• Sub-purpose 1.1: Affected individuals have increased access to sufficient, diverse foods and essential non-food items (NFI) in a dignified manner for the most vulnerable crisis affected IDPs, returnees, and host community households in Jere LGA. Sectors: Food Assistance and Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)
• Output 1.1: Participants receive unconditional food and NFI assistance through food e-voucher and multi-purpose cash assistance.
• Sub-purpose 1.2: Affected individuals have increased access to lifesaving health and nutrition services to prevent common childhood illnesses, as well as identifying,treating,andpreventingacute malnutrition in children under-5years old (CU5) and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) Jere LGA. Sectors: Health and Nutrition
• Output 1.2: Participants, including CU5, PLWs, and women of childbearing age (WCBA) receive malnutrition treatment, Maternal, Infant Young Child Nutrition in Emergencies (MIYCN-E), trainings, and community health services.
• Sub-purpose 1.3: Affected individuals have increased capacity to meet food production and subsistence needs with the resilience to manage shocks for IDP, returnee and host households in Jere LGA. Sectors: Agriculture and Economic Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS)
• Output 1.3: Participants receive assistance to restart livelihoods and engage in new livelihoods to transition to early recovery.
• Purpose 2: Crisis-affected IDPs, returnees, and host communities in Jere LGA live in safe, dignified, and resilient communities by the first quarter of 2024.
• Sub-purpose 2.1: Affected individuals, women, men, girls, boys, have an improved enabling environment to lead lives without the threat of protection abuses. Sector: Protection
• Output 2.1: Participants receive GBV prevention sensitization and gain access to safe spaces and protection services in the community
• Sub-purpose 2.2: Affected individuals have increased access to safe and dignified living spaces. Sectors: Shelter and Settlements
• Output 2.2: Participants receive emergency, transitional and building repair shelter solutions to improve their living standards.
• Sub-purpose 2.3: Affected individuals have increased access to safe WASH facilities and dignified services with improved hygiene practices in the communities of intervention in Jere LGA. Sector: WASH
• Output 2.3: Participants receive WASH NFIs, capacity building, construction of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities reinforced by hygiene promotion (HP).
• Purpose 3: Humanitarian community in Borno State has access to nuanced, contextual research, relevant assessments, and analysis to guide implementation of effective and relevant programming.
• Sub purpose 3.1: Improved access to applied humanitarian research, assessment, analysis, tools, and resources by humanitarian actors. Sectors: HCIMA and HPSAA
• Output 3.2: Stakeholders receive coordinated assessments, survey reports, presentations, statistical analyses, and risk/crisis mapping to inform decision making and adaptive management.

Purpose of the Evaluation

• The project intends to conduct a multi-sectoral endline study to measure project indicators at the conclusion of the program. This study will provide a comprehensive assessment of the project's effect and the extent to which it has achieved its goals across the different sectors.
• The primary objective of the THRIVE evaluation is to assess the progress and effect of the project throughout its entire lifecycle, spanning from inception in May 2022 to close out in December 2024.
• This comprehensive evaluation will include an analysis of changes in food security status, change in hunger scores, the adoption of food security coping strategies by communities, enhancements in the nutritional well-being of malnourished children who have received support, and the retention of knowledge, practices, and skills resulting from training, sensitization, and counseling sessions promoting optimal MIYCN-E practices. Furthermore, the evaluation will consider improvements in the utilization of water and sanitation facilities, alterations in hygiene behavior and practices, shelter, ERMS, livelihoods, and agricultural practices.
• The evaluation will also investigate the relevance and effectiveness of adaptations and innovations made by the program during the course of its implementation.

Methodology of the Evaluation
The endline will provide post-intervention measurement for THRIVE’s ITT indicators and comprehensive information on HH characteristics. The endline will also provide end value measurement for resilience-related indicators tracked by CRS. The evaluation will use a mixed method approach:

• Conduct two participant based HH surveys, one among registered participants for food assistance and the other among nutrition and WASH participants’
• Conduct one population-based HH survey for the nutrition and WASH sectors maintaining the necessary level of precision to detect the change targeted for the relevant WASH and nutrition indicators;
• Conduct a secondary analysis of the registration data for MPCA, agriculture and ERMS, shelter and settlements interventions;
• Hold focus group discussions (FGD) with relevant stakeholders and implementers;
• Hold key informant interviews (KII) with local government stakeholders, local leaders and other community stakeholders.

Evaluation team composition and Requirements

• The evaluation is expected to be conducted by at least two external evaluators: a lead evaluator and co-evaluator(s). The lead evaluator will oversee the execution of the entire evaluation process in partnership with CRS staff.
• The CRS MEAL Coordinator/Manager will provide the overall coordination of the evaluation, checking quality and compliance issues to the CRS and USAID evaluation guidelines.
• The evaluator will work with support from enumerators engaged by CRS to collect the endline data. To allow better collaboration among the different actors involved, clear roles and responsibilities will be outlined as part of the contract for the external evaluation team.

Required qualifications for the lead evaluator are as follows:

• Postgraduate qualification in Development Studies, Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, Economics, Sociology, International Development or a related field.
• Extensive knowledge of evaluating multisectoral projects in emergencies and previous work experience of humanitarian programming Northeast Nigeria.
• At least five years’ experience in conducting evaluations in complex and insecure environments and experience in evaluating USAID/BHA funded projects;
• Extensive experience in evaluating multi-sectoral programs implemented through multiple partners.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and oral fluency in Hausa. Fluency in Kanuri would be an added advantage.
• Extensive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analytical methods and techniques.
• Experience in generating strategic, informative, and action-oriented recommendations to CRS project staff and strategic management.

Consultancy Deliverables

• The consultancy will provide a full report, not to exceed 25 pages, excluding title page, list of acronyms, table of contents and annexes. The report should be structured in accordance with the following guidelines:

Cover Page • List of Acronyms

• Table of Contents which identifies page numbers for the major content areas of the report.
• Executive Summary (1 page) should provide an accurate reflection of the most critical elements of the report, including the evaluation purpose and questions, background information, methods, limitations, findings, recommendations, and conclusions. It should only include information found elsewhere in the evaluation report.
• Tabular summary of results presenting endline findings in table form against the program baseline indicators included in the IPTT.
• Introduction: Describe the project’s scope, locations, timing of endline data collection. This should include the objectives of the study
• Methodology: sampling method including strengths and weaknesses of method used, confidence intervals, inclusion/role of stakeholders and staff, rough schedule of activities, description of any statistical analysis undertaken, including justification and software package used. The discussion of any random sampling used should include details on how the random respondents were identified and invited to participate. This section should also address constraints and limitations of the evaluation process and rigor. The methodology section should also include a detailed description of data collection techniques used throughout the evaluation.
• Detailed findings: A presentation of the findings in response to endline questions, and the program objectives, as appropriate. Endline values must be presented in quantitative format as required by the IPTT, complemented by descriptive analysis.
• Synthesis and programmatic implications: Additional analysis of the data and results, drawing out programmatic and organizational recommendations, lessons learned, and best practices for planning or modifying program design. Everything presented in this section must be directly linked back to the information presented in the Results section of the report. Recommendations must be relevant to program and context and must include concrete and realistic steps for implementing or applying the recommendation. Recommendations that are not directly tied to Results can be included in an Evaluator Comments section of the report.
• Report annexes:
  • Updated Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT)
  • List of stakeholder group consulted with number, type and date of interactions.
  • Data collection instruments in English, including developed and used
  • Photos
  • TOR
  • Other special documentation identified as necessary or useful.

Application Closing Date
5th July, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should submit an electronic expression of interest to: [email protected] with the subject line “CRSNGBHA-EOING15164-01-Application THRIVE Endline Evaluation” to obtain the complete terms of reference for the evaluation.

Note: Expressions of interest should reach CRS procurement email no later than close of business on 5th of July, 2024 by 5pm, only requests made within this period will be responded to.

Final Submission
The deadline for final submission of complete applications to CRS is on or before 5pm on Monday 15th July, 2024. All submissions should be made to: [email protected] with the subject as "CRSNGBHA – EOING15164-01 THRIVE Endline Evaluation Consultancy."