UNICEF is a UN organization mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. In Lao PDR, UNICEF is working with its partners to support the Government to realize children’s rights on survival, development, protection and participation.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, support

UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for a National Consultancy for Team Member for the evaluation of the UNICEF Lao PDR Country programme (2022-2026). The duration of this assignment is 4 months starting as soon as possible and the assignment is home based with one travel to one province for data collection.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

The CPE will focus on the implementation period of the current Country Programme from 2022 to the present. Since the current Country Programme logically builds upon the previous one, examination of the programmes carried over from the last Country Programme (2017-2021) will be expected where needed. The CPE will analyze results both at the national and sub-national levels, as many UNICEF programme areas start with pilot activities in selected areas (ranging from cities, districts to provinces) and can only be expected to achieve national-level results in later phases of programming. The specific sub-national level programme areas within the scope will be determined following discussion with the evaluation reference group (ERG) and the evaluation team, during the inception phase of the evaluation.

As implementation of the current Country Programme has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some programs and projects may not have achieved full expected results by the time of the CPE. In these cases, the focus of the evaluation will be formative, assessing interim results, determining key lessons learned and providing recommendations for the continuation of the programme. Conversely, there are programme localities where UNICEF has had a presence and engagement spanning multiple programme cycles. These will be particularly instructive for measuring what concrete results have been achieved.

The CPE will assess the Country Programme in its entirety. Given the large scale of UNICEF’s activities in Lao PDR, and the number of existing sectoral and cross-sectoral evaluations conducted in the current programme cycle, specific focus will be placed on the following areas:

• Use of the following strategies to achieve equity in child outcomes results: a) improving the quality of service provision; b) strengthening the social service workforce; c) strengthening data and evidence-driven approaches; d) utilizing multisectoral service delivery models; e) generating demand and building trust in services; and f) efficient allocation and use of financial resources.
• Ability of the country programme to expand engagement, dialogue and cooperation with new and existing partners to promoting children’s issues.

Work Assignments Overview:

1. Inception:

•  Kickoff meeting

•  Initial desk review and discussion with key UNICEF focal points)

•  Preparation of draft inception report and data collection tools

•  Ethical review (as needed)

•  Final inception report submitted to ERG, addressing all comments received on the draft

2. Data collection and validation:

•  Logistical arrangements for country visit, with support of UNICEF LCO

•  Pilot tools, review documents, conduct data collection

•  Prepare, present, and validate emerging findings and reflect on conclusions and learnings with the ERG

3. Reporting and dissemination:

•  Further processing and analysis of evidence

•  Draft evaluation report

•  Revise draft final report based on ERG feedback

•  Document all comments raised and how they have been addressed in a comments matrix

 

Qualification and experience:

Bachelors in International Development, Public Administration, Development Programme & Evaluation, or any related social science discipline

Knowledge and skills:

- A minimum of 7 years of experience in collecting data, undertaking research or evaluations in development related topics in Lao PDR

- Bachelors degree in International Development, Public Administration, Development Programme & Evaluation, or any related social science discipline

- Strong inter-personal skills and ability to engage effectively with senior stakeholders

- Bringing a strong commitment to delivering timely and high-quality results, i.e., credible evaluations that are used for improving strategic decisions

- Commitment and willingness to work independently, with limited regular supervision; s/he must demonstrate adaptability and flexibility, client orientation, proven ethical practice, initiative, concern for accuracy and quality

- The ability to concisely and clearly express ideas and concepts in written and oral form as well as the ability to communicate with various stakeholders in English

- Ability to write and communicate in Lao at a professional standard is an asset

 

Submission of applications:

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents:

• Letter of Interest (cover letter)
• CV or Resume
• Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available)
• Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including medical insurance with medivac, travel and accommodation cost for this assignment as per work assignment

Additional requirements:

• Technical proposal in Annex A - Technical response form

 

Assessment Criteria:

A.  Technical Qualification, 80 points

1.   Overall Response:

1.1     Completeness and concord of the technical proposal (10 points)

1.2     Demonstrated understanding of the purpose, objectives, scope, and deliverables of the evaluation (10 points)

2.      METHODOLOGY

2.1 Quality of the proposed approach and methodology. This will entail providing a detailed description of the proposed methodology and approach that will be taken to deliver the outputs for each phase of the evaluation (10 points)

2.2 Quality of the proposed implementation plan. The plan will identify key tasks and timelines, focal person for each activity/deliverable, and proposed internal quality assurance arrangements of all evaluation products (10 points)

2.3  Innovative ideas for collection, analysis and presentation of evaluative evidence (5 points)

2.4 Risk assessment - recognition of the peripheral problems (at least 2) and methods to prevent and manage the peripheral problems (5 points)

3.  CANDIDATE CAPACITY AND QUALIFICATIONS

3.1 Relevant experience, qualification, skills, and competencies for the assignment (15 points)

3.2 Professional expertise, in-depth knowledge and experience, client reference, quality of work samples, and recent assignments with similar projects/ agencies (15 Points)

B) Financial Proposal, 20 points

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 56 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

 

Please find the full detail TOR here:  ToR for consultant CPE Team Member for VA.pdf

 

Form to be completed and uploaded in the application by the candidate:

1. Financial Proposal template:  Financial Proposal Template-updated Oct 2024.doc

2. Technical response form:  Annex A - Technical Proposal - LCO CPE.docx

 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at here

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.