CONTRACT OPPORTUNITY
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is an international development organisation that applies and promotes volunteering for development as a powerful and practical method to tackle structural causes of poverty and inequality. VSO’s Programmatic approach is people centred, and we believe in enabling the most marginalised groups of people, their organizations, and communities to play an active role in their own development. We believe this is an essential pre-condition for systemic and sustainable change. Active citizenship is expected to lead to building inclusive and resilient societies along with accountable systems. VSO’s vision is a fair world for everyone, and its mission is to bring people together to fight poverty and inequality through our global programmes in three practice areas: Resilient and Inclusive Education, Sexual Reproductive, Adolescent, Maternal, New-born and Child Health and Resilient Livelihoods.
VSO is currently looking to identify an organization or team of evaluators with the necessary skills and experience to be considered for undertaking both the mid-term and final evaluations of its programme called Active Citizenship through Inclusive Volunteering and Empowerment (ACTIVE), an accountable grant funded by the UK Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The end of project evaluation assignment will directly depend on the satisfactory performance on the mid-term evaluation by the awarded agency.
The evaluation will serve several purposes. These are:
- To provide accountability to Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) on the investment in the Volunteering for Development approach and method in accordance with the grant agreement,
- To generate evidence and learnings on the extent to which the volunteering for development methodology builds local people and their collectives’ agency and sustains citizen action on their rights to improved service delivery and holding duty bearers to account.
- To generate evidence and learnings on the extent to which capacity building and advocacy with service providers has created or improved accountable mechanisms in public service delivery in health, education, and livelihoods rights.
- To generate learnings on the extent to which the Global Standard is improving volunteering practice globally and actions to be taken to further the practice.
- To generate evidence and learnings on the overall effectiveness of implementation against the outputs and outcomes laid out in the grant logframe vis a vis, value for money in the grant delivery.
- To inform the implementation of the second phase of the ACTIVE grant.
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable experience in conducting and managing multi-country evaluations in the international development field
- Demonstrated experience in conducting mid-term and final evaluations as supported by examples of past work and references
- Team Leader should have a minimum of a master's degree (ideally a PhD) in social science or other relevant expertise
- Evaluation Team Leader should have a minimum of twelve years of experience in undertaking international and cross-cultural evaluation
- Evaluation team members should have a minimum of a master's degree in social science or related expertise and seven years’ experience in undertaking international evaluations and value for money assessments
- Demonstrable experience in participatory approaches and methods
- Demonstrable experience in conducting primary research both in Africa and Asia
- Demonstrable experience in using mixed methods in data collection and analysis
- Experience working with diverse cultures and a range of stakeholders
- Excellent analytical and research skills
- Strong facilitation and communication skills
- Excellent command of English and report writing skills
VSO reserves the right not to award a contract.
Voluntary Service Overseas is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (registered number 703509).
Registered Office 100 London Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 6QJ. Charity registration 313757(England and Wales) SC039117 (Scotland)
How to apply
Expressions of interest: All Expressions of Interest must be received by VSO by 7 May 2023 and must be emailed to the following email address: rebecca.pursellgotz@vsoint.org
The EOI must include a contact name, company name, company address, phone number and email address.
Tender documents: Tender documents will be sent to those who expressed an interest shortly after the close of the EOI period.
Anticipated contract start date: September 2023