Junior Research and Evaluation Expert , Job Ref. MAL/UNWOMEN/0509/23-024

The evaluation will apply in its process and analysis the key principles of a human rights-based approach, including gender-responsiveness. It will adhere to the UNEG Norms and Standards (2016), the UNEG Ethical Guidelines (2020) and UN Women Evaluation Policy and Handbook, observing the  principles of integrity, accountability, respect and beneficence.

Data collection and analysis:

The evaluation will assess the country portfolio using a theory-based approach in its contribution analysis of the Strategic Note 2020-2024. It’s mainly qualitative method will use various sources (document reviews, interviews, surveys,) to ascertain its findings through data triangulation.

The evaluation will employ the following data collection methods:

·         Document reviews and analyses at the early stage of the evaluation to inform the evaluation approach.

·         Evaluability assessment to identify data gaps related to outcome and output indicators, including an assessment of the conduciveness of the context to the evaluation undertaking.

·         Contextual analysis of the key external influencing factors affecting the realization of women’s rights in the country

·         Document review to analyze.

·         UN Women Mali’s portfolio, including its program documents, the Development Results Framework (DRF) and Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework (OEEF)

·         the management structure of the Country Office, its budget and expenditures using corporate systems to retrieve financial records and institutional information.

·         Interviews and Focus Group Discussions with key informants identified through the stakeholder analysis. The evaluation is expected to apply a purposive sampling approach to take into account a diverse range of perspectives. A case study could be conducted for an in-depth assessment of contributions to outcomes.

·         Surveys of UN Women personnel, UN agencies, government stakeholders and other partners, including Civil Society Organisations.

Management of the evaluation:

This evaluation will have the following management structures:

Oversight: The Director of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Services (IEAS) oversees all evaluation activities. The Chief of the Independent Evaluation Service (IES) is responsible for the evaluation of related activities. Both will examine key evaluation outputs. Evaluation products, including inception and final reports are cleared by IEAS.

Team Leader: The Regional Evaluation Specialist (RES) of IEAS will be responsible for the methodological approach, data collection and analysis and assure the quality of the report writing. He will coordinate the work of the evaluation team with the support of the Country Office M&E Officer for day-to-day logistics and contractual management.

Evaluation team: Evaluation team members will include a Senior Evaluation Expert to support the Team leader in designing and conducting the CPE and a Research & Evaluation Consultant to provide key contextual information and support data collection.

Evaluation Reference Group (ERG):  The ERG plays a critical role in ensuring a high quality, transparent process, providing insights on the key questions and approach, providing context, and ensuring factual accuracy. The ERG will include UN colleagues, National government partners, Civil Society representatives, Development partners/donors to provide the stakeholder perspective. Feedback will be sought from the Country Office Senior Management, UN Women program leads and Country Office Evaluation focal persons.

Dissemination and uptake:

During the inception phase, the country M&E focal point will work with the evaluation team to develop a dissemination plan. The plan will identify approaches to support dissemination and uptake for the target primary and secondary users of the evaluation, along with how this will be tracked.  The evaluator will also be responsible for developing a short brief with key findings and recommendations that will be disseminated more widely.

The Country Representative will issue the management response to facilitate the use of the CPE report not later than 6 weeks counting from the date the report is signed off by IEAS management.