Consultant: Final Evaluation Assessment - Yes Project at Mercy Corps

Background 

• Youth Empowered for Success (YES!) is a partnership with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) and Harambee which seeks to enhance employment for 25,000 young people in six African countries by 2018, and 500,000 by 2022.
• Mercy Corps is the lead implementer in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya.
• The program has three work streams:
  • Core YES! Model: Localizing the YES! model in 6 countries to improve the employment and entrepreneurship of 11,000 youth.
  • Innovation and Digital: Driving innovation in youth employment in Africa through business solutions including digital tools, reaching 14,000 youth.
  • Thought leadership: Research and learning on youth economic empowerment in Africa, building an evidence base enabling partnerships to scale to reach 500,000

YES! Program Description

• YES! began operating in Nigeria in 2017. YES! is unique in its focus on linking youth to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, rather than just training. We are working to develop a low-cost and replicable model based around three processes:
  • Youth engagement through ‘hubs’ - natural convening points for youth - to efficiently and effectively reach youth;
  • Strong private sector engagement based on local opportunities; and
  • Facilitated linkages’ to enable youth to access these opportunities.
• In Nigeria, we are working with WAVE (West Africa Vocational Education) to scale their job-matching models for vulnerable youth:
  • Youth engagement: YES! works to reach the most vulnerable young people using WAVE’s extensive participant recruitment process, which sees their hunger and commitment as a strength to be channelled into entry-level jobs. We screen hundreds of youth to find the best fit for the program
  • Private Sector engagement: YES! leverages WAVE’s network of over 170 employers, and build new relationships with companies in the hospitality, retail and service sectors looking for keen, work-ready entry-level employees
  • Facilitated linkages: In order to prepare young people for the job market, YES! in Nigeria uses WAVE’s three-week intensive work-readiness training, building soft skills through a practical learning methodology including job shadowing. We then shortlist and support participants through the job-match process. Critically, we provide post-placement support and mentoring to ensure workplace retention and career growth.
• Through this partnership, YES! has established a brick-and-mortar Academy in Ajah and provided training to 250+ young people. YES! has established 4 partners to ‘replicate’ WAVE’s model, ranging from small non-profits to government institutions. Through the latter stream, YES! has facilitated the training of 2000+ young people; overall, the partnership has enabled 100+ participants to access new income streams, primarily entry-level jobs in the hospitality sector.  

Objectives of the Consultancy

• So far, the program has not carried out any significant assessments to determine intermediate outcomes of our strategies. As YES! closes out its first phase, the program is committed to continue building its evidence base on what works and what does not in our current strategy to empower young people in Nigeria as well as to contribute meaningfully to the global conversation on youth economic empowerment. 
• The YES! Program in Nigeria is seeking qualified consultant/s to conduct a final evaluation examining the outcomes and any impact of the program against the program plan, the effect of various strategic changes during the life of the program, as well as the sustainability of its actions. 
• Key areas of inquiry to be investigated in this evaluation are outlined below; these shall be revised and refined in consultation with the successful bidder.

Learning and Livelihood Outcomes

• YES! employs a “mixed livelihoods” approach, which moves beyond a conception of employment as static and rigid, in the form of formal wage employment, to a more robust understanding of youth employment as complex and dynamic.
• YES! recognizes that neither youth ‘unemployment’ nor ‘employment’ are black and white in Africa; most young people have complex livelihoods, piecing together their employment from a combination of different income streams rather than through full-time salaried positions, which the local economies do not provide.
• YES! therefore measures its impact on youth employment in four domains of change:
  • Skills: includes work readiness as well as financial literacy skills
  • Security: indicated by the stability and/or diversity of work portfolios, as well as viability of youth businesses
  • Income and savings: indicated by the Net Additional Income Change (NAIC), and financial management capacity
  • Meaningfulness: indicated by work satisfaction and retention, confidence in employment and entrepreneurship potential, and presence of supportive environment
• Apart from assessing outcomes based on the above domains of change, the consultant/s will determine: to what extent YES! has reached ‘vulnerable youth’; the constraints and enablers of youth benefiting from the program; and the effectiveness of various program components in facilitated desired outcomes in participants. 

Program Sustainability
The Consultant/s will also examine the sustainability of the program, specifically,

• The ability of the community and local governments to continue program initiated activities after Mercy Corps’ exit
• The capacity of local institutions for improved support
• The capacity of community structures to maintain the infrastructure developed in the program

Consultancy Objectives

• The consultant/s will develop their own approach, in collaboration with the YES! Results, Learning & Research Coordinator and the project team based in Lagos.
• They will employ research methodologies with sufficient rigor to generate actionable answers to the research questions within the resources and time frame available for this effort.
• They will have access to the monitoring data from YES! Implementation so far, but much of the research will require on-the-ground observation, interviews, surveys, focus groups, participatory activities and more.
• The tools will be submitted to Mercy Corps program staff for review prior to field testing or deployment. The assessment should actively and respectfully engage primary stakeholders throughout the research cycle. 
• The consultant/s will deliver a final evaluation report that outlines the achievements, challenges and learning of the program, and will provide recommendations for future programming in the particular geography and technical area.
• A draft copy of the report will be reviewed for feedback by Mercy Corps for completeness and accuracy of program objectives and results.
• The report will be no longer than 35 pages excluding annexes.
• The target audience for the report is Mercy Corps, its partners, and other organizations operating in the region.

Consultancy Activities
The Consultant/s will:

• Develop a sampling frame based on geography and program beneficiary numbers that justifies the methodology
• Develop qualitative and quantitative tools that will be reviewed by program staff before piloting and implementation
• Thoroughly test the survey tools before full field deployment
• Use survey tools to survey program participants and beneficiaries
• Travel to YES! Hubs in Nigeria to undertake data collection activities
• Use tested qualitative tools to conduct focus group discussions and key informant interviews with community partners, and key program staff

Consultancy Deliverables:

• The Consultant/s will deliver:
  • An inception report no more than one week after the signing of the contract including a detailed sampling frame
  • All survey and interview tools for review prior to testing and deployment
  • A draft final evaluation report for review by YES! management
  • A final evaluation report highlighting the results and achievements of the program in relation to its stated  objectives
  • The full raw dataset of surveys and interviews conducted for the evaluation
• The consultant/s will have responsibility for ensuring quality and rigor of the research findings.
• The work from start to finish is estimated to take 35 days. This contract will be deliverables-based and payment will be based on the successful completion and delivery of all components of the work.

Time Frame

• The consultancy will take place over 35 days 

Resources
Mercy Corps will be responsible for:

• Field logistics
• Access to program documents and key program staff
• Workspace while in the field

The Consultant/s will be responsible for:

• Travel to Nigeria/primary Mercy Corps site
• All field expenses (food, accommodation, communications, etc.)
• Any computer or software needed for the assignment

Qualifications
The Lead Consultant should possess the following qualifications:

• Advanced University Degree in Education, Program Management or other development related fields 
• Experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, with a minimum of 6 years, demonstrating a strong record in designing and conducting/leading evaluations, particularly in the area of education
• Experience carrying out participatory assessments in Western Africa; experience evaluating entrepreneurship or youth livelihoods preferred
• Excellent language skills in English (oral communication and report writing); knowledge of local languages preferred