Impact Assessment Consultant

Job Description

Impact Assessment Consultant

Remote

60-day project from June 1, 2023, to October 31, 2023

Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, The Asia Foundation addresses critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century: governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation. We work with innovative leaders and communities to build effective institutions and advance path-breaking reforms. Together with our partners, we are committed to Asia’s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.

The Foundation’s work in these areas is informed by eight key strategies that define and distinguish our role as a trusted partner, facilitator, and innovator: nurture leadership, inform public policy, strengthen institutions, expand access to information, mainstream gender, leverage technology, forge strategic partnerships, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since 1954, the Foundation has implemented a wide variety of education-related programs as a part of program pillars and strategies defined above.

Strengthening Education in Afghanistan II (SEA II) is an umbrella project that began in May 2014 and will complete on December 2023. In this position, the consultant will support the team in the development of an impact assessment report of the project’s activities.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the capacity, operations, management, and programming of educational institutions and CSOs in Afghanistan that implement activities in line with higher and basic education needs of Afghanistan. The project has three key objectives:

Objective 1: To improve primary-level reading skills of students in grades one to three or adults being introduced to literacy.

Objective 2: To improve the organizational capacity of Afghan education institutions with the aim of enhancing organizational governance, diversifying funding streams, and reducing dependence on USAID funding.

Objective 3: To implement educational opportunities for Afghan youths that prepare them to improve their likelihood of finding employment.

Evaluation of Scope

The Asia Foundation seeks a Consultant to support the impact assessment of the SEA II project. Since its inception, the umbrella project has implemented over 15 activities ranging from a duration of six months to seven years. The scope of the activities has included educational projects in primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, and the beneficiaries have included students, teachers, and the administration (principals, headmasters, finance officers, and so on). The focus of most educational activities has been girls and women living in all provinces across Afghanistan. Likewise, SEA II activities have also focused on the development of skills to enable women to upskill and/or enter the workforce in a wide variety of fields that included, but not limited to, teaching, midwives, journalists, prosecutors, doctors, and so on. The Foundation, on many activities, partnered with local organizations for implementation and in two cases, established the organization from inception. In most of these activities, the Foundation helped the development of institutional capacities in the areas of finance, procurement, and human resources to assist in strengthening the organizations and support their ongoing sustainability.

The impact assessment will look into the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of SEA II project from May 2014 onwards. The assumptions around which sustainability of this project was designed fell apart with the replacement of the previous government with the current de-facto government. The assessment will also reflect on how much of the sustainability efforts were compromised, which parts remained and is contributing to the development of Afghanistan, and recommendations on how the design could have been different to be more endurable in a post-conflict region.

Terms of Reference

The Consultant will examine the project’s impacts through the lens of the three objectives listed in the TOR while keeping in mind the project’s intermediate results framework, cross-cutting impacts related to relevance, effectiveness, sustainability, collaborations, innovations, public-private partnerships, and gender equity and social inclusion. The assessment will also document the Foundation’s institutional and programmatic strengths on educational projects in Afghanistan, suggest potential niche areas for the Foundation moving forward, and make recommendations for changes in implementation methodology for future education programs. Finally, the assessment will take into consideration the effects of the current de facto government on the potential and realized impacts of the SEA II project interventions.

Purpose

The impact assessment aims to:

• Document the achievements and challenges from the project implementation.
• Capture lessons learned and resulting recommendations to inform design of future programming.
• Examine the relevance of the project interventions and its applicability in the current context.
• Document significant innovations adopted during the project implementation.

Intended User and Use

• The impact assessment will inform the Foundation and USAID about the impacts of the project as well as its applicability in the current context. In addition, the assessment will assess the relevance of the design, cost and efficiency of the intervention, and any unintended effects. The assessment is also expected to include recommendations to improve the design of future interventions.

Evaluation Questions

• The assessment will focus on responding to the following key questions about SEA II:
• To what extent SEA II responded to needs in the education sector in Afghanistan?
• To what extent are SEA II activities applicable in the current context in Afghanistan?
• Did SEA II achieve the expected results during the project design in terms of planned activities, outcomes and impact?
• How likely are the institutions and organizations supported by SEA II to sustain the achieved results?
• How effective and relevant was SEA II response to unforeseen situations such as the COVID-19 outbreak and Afghanistan’s collapse to the Taliban?
• How did SEA II coordinate its efforts with other stakeholders working in the education sector?

Evaluation principle and methodology

The assessment will adopt a participatory approach engaging SEA II team in design, data collection, and analysis. The assessment will adopt Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach to reflect on how power dynamics based on gender and other forms of discrimination affecting the intervention’s implementation and its results. The assessment is required to mainstream the Do No Harm approach to minimize risk to the participants and all individuals involved in the assessment.

Methodology

• The Consultant will have a team of people to support the gathering of information. The research methodology will include:
• A desk review of relevant documents and interviews with TAF staff involved in the education program in Afghanistan.
• Support the team in the development of data-gathering tools directed toward the project’s primary and secondary beneficiaries.
• Review and analysis of the data to support the development of the impact assessment report.

VIII. Roles and Responsibilities

The Consultant and project team members of the Foundation will work closely together in the development of this report. Within this framework, the roles and responsibilities will be divided as follows:

Consultant

• Provide leadership, guidance, and technical expertise in the development of the report.
• Develop the approach, assessment methodology, and tools needed to gather data for analysis of the project’s impact.
• Analyze the data collected and develop the draft report.
• Modify and finalize the impact assessment report with feedback received from the team and the donor.

The Foundation

• Support the Consultant to ensure a clear understanding of the project, its objectives, the results framework, and the project’s activities.
• Support the Consultant in the development of the assessment methodology, approach, and tools to gather data.
• Lead the effort to gather the data and submit it to the Consultant.
• Review all output developed by the Consultant and give input for consideration.
• Serve as the liaison between the Consultant and the donor.
• Submit all documents to the donor, gather feedback, and submit the same to the Consultant.
• The Foundation will be the final approver of the evaluation document.
• Deliverables
• A clear outline of the report documenting the key components and a clear explanation of what needs to be included for each component.
• Submission of the outline to the Foundation for their review and approval.
• Development of the draft report and submission to the Foundation.
• Review of the report following the formatting of it by the Foundation.
• Submission of the report to the Foundation for their review and feedback.
• Submission of the final report to the Foundation.

Duration

The duration of the consultancy will be for 60 days. However, these will not be continuous as there will be downtime for tasks such as data gathering by the team or wait time for USAID and the project team to review and give feedback.

Qualifications:

Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant technical experience in the development of project evaluation reports with experience in the education sector.
• Demonstrated familiarity with and knowledge of working in countries experiencing conflict or post-conflict environments.
• Experience with and knowledge of the development of USAID impact assessment reports.

Education

Candidates must have an advanced degree (or a bachelor’s degree with 6-8 years of experience) in a field relevant to the Terms of Reference.

Skills

• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, including interviewing with tact.

Why work with The Asia Foundation?

At a critical moment in history, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the development, stability, and growth of the Asia region. You will help promote a more constructive engagement between government and citizens and advance learning and awareness about The Asia Foundation. You will work with and learn from dedicated, intelligent, and accomplished colleagues and local partners and, in the process, improve your skills and expertise.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications should be submitted by visiting our website. To be considered, please upload your cover letter and resume/CV in one document. You can also upload both in separate documents, but please note to do so, you will have to sign out of the system and go back into your record for additional documents.

The Asia Foundation offers excellent salaries commensurate with experience. We are an equal-opportunity employer. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply.

No phone calls, please.

About the Organization

The Asia Foundation

Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, The Asia Foundation addresses critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century: governance and law, economic development, women's empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation. We work with innovative leaders and communities to build effective institutions and advance path-breaking reforms. Together with our partners, we are committed to Asia's continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.