Consultant - Developmental Evaluator at Search For Common Ground’s International

Location: Maiduguri, Borno

Position Summary

• Our Strategic Development department is seeking a results-oriented individual to serve as a Developmental Evaluator. This is a unique opportunity to be a core member of the project team, focusing on capturing innovative, strategic and timely learning, as well as provide ongoing advice and evidence-based program suggestions to the program team and the management
• S/he shall incorporate findings into reports outlining critical evidence, lessons learned, and adaptive management best-practices. Moreover, s/he shall write case studies/success stories to document project outcomes of critical processes such as: dialogue process and shift in relationships between stakeholders within communities
• These case studies will be supported with quantitative and qualitative data, and will be shared with communities, local partners, and with DRL
• As the project is mid-way into implementation, the embedded evaluator will be continuing the DE approach, drawing from and improving upon what previously had been done on DE on the project.

About the Project

• It is constructed on existing initiatives of supporting an overarching community-owned peace architecture in North Eastern Nigeria
• The project builds on a process of convening and training influential local leaders for community dialogue-to-action processes in order to promote increased collaboration and confidence in insecure areas, supported through a suite of media and community activities, and strengthening structures to work with the state and linking them to civil society groups
• A core component is an early warning/ early response system to identify emerging conflict threats and appropriate solutions
• The project also develops strategies to increase learning and building capacity of partners engaged in the project.

Goals

• The goal of the project is: Expanding and strengthening early warning and early response processes to enhance community and state actors’ ability to protect citizens in Borno and Adamawa States. It is supported by three specific objectives:
  • Objective 1: Reinforce and expand a community-based early warning and early response system;
  • Objective 2: Strengthen engagement between state and local actors to secure communities;
  • Objective 3: Strengthen Partners’ Capacity to Support and Monitor Early Warning Systems

Specificity of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan:

• Given the innovative nature of the project, and the fluidity of the implementation zones, there is an important learning and adaptation approach
• Through active monitoring and evaluation processes, the project seeks to continually identify and adapt lessons learned to develop activities, identify shortcomings and opportunities to address drivers and risks in the region
• Lessons learned and best practices will be use to adapt the program design to ensure it is as effective and impactful as possible
• Data generated from the monitoring and evaluation will also be shared, when relevant, both at Local Government Area (LGA) level through Community Security Architecture Dialogue and at State level through Peace Architecture Dialogues.
• Lastly, lessons learned from the project shall be used to support the institutionalization of EW/ER systems and inform similar interventions in Nigeria and elsewhere. SFCG follows monitoring and evaluation (M&E) best practices based on an inclusive participatory process for engaging and sharing with the State Department, local partners, and the peacebuilding community
• Included in this project are two important complementary and evaluation element that will capture emerging lessons learned and measure the projects’ expected impact, namely a developmental evaluation and a quasi-experimental evaluation.

Developmental Approach:

• A developmental evaluation (DE) approach is apt for the project considering the innovative aspects as well as its dynamic environment
• The project is part of a highly complex system, and the evaluation shall explain how the issues are embedded in the system and how it can be part of the solution
• It is critical to incorporate the concepts of systems and observe, document, and discuss, as it is frame through which problems and solutions can be understood.

Roles and Responsibilities
The Developmental Evaluator will have overall responsibility for the design and implementation of the DE within the project and ensure its quality. She/ he will be responsible for the following:

• Collaboratively conceptualize and update the DE design (learning framework, methodology, reporting, etc.) using a participatory approach, including a re-introduction workshop for SFCG, partners and other stakeholders;
• Update the living work plan for the DE and DE data collection tools;
• Conduct DE data analysis, document findings, and recommendations and share regularly with program staff and management for real-time and evidence-based decision making;
• Maintain a periodic field diary and work with program and DMEL staff to keep individual daily diaries during the project implementation, documenting incremental changes among participants.
• Record decision-making and other cores processes, program changes and/or changes in the environment in report logs (that track details of DE and document events that occur i.e. planned and unplanned and associated outcomes);
• Submit DE findings for incorporation into monthly reports, and elaborate DE reports every quarter which are shared with DRL outlining critical evidence, lessons learned, and adaptive management practices;
• Develop case studies to document project outcomes of critical processes such as: dialogue process and shift in relationships between stakeholders within communities;
• Provide DE related capacity building to SFCG staff and partners;
• Contribute to strengthening SFCG DMEL processes, including coaching of the DMEL team and embedding of DE in SFCG DMEL system.

Deliverables:
Given the nature of the DE, deliverables are expected to evolve throughout the course of implementation and will be adjusted and negotiated on a rolling basis. Preliminary expected deliverables include, but are not limited to:

• The re-introduction workshop and after-action report regarding learnings, key findings, and results;
• Update DE design plan;
• Submission of a work plan for the DE;
• Monthly progress updates and quarterly DE reflection meetings and reports;
• Bimonthly meetings with Deputy Country Manager, the International Learning Team and DE Forum;
• Case studies;
• Final Developmental Evaluation report at the end of the project.

Qualifications
Education:

• Graduate Degree in Conflict Studies, International Development, Social Work, or other relevant Degree;

Required Experience:

• Experience with evaluating complex systems and familiarity with developmental evaluation;
• Experience in international development, including programming and evaluation experience in peace-building, conflict resolution or other related sectors;

Other Relevant Requirements:

• Technical knowledge, skills and expertise in evaluation design, evaluating complexity, and multi-methods, in particular qualitative and participative methods;
• Analytical skills in qualitative and quantitative research and proficiency in Excel;
• Facilitation skills, particularly design and execution of stakeholder consultations;
• Excellent oral and written communication and report writing skills in English;
• Leadership and strategic thinking;
• Added Advantage
• Understanding and familiarity with North Eastern Nigeria and preferably prior working experience in the region;
• Speaker of Hausa and/ or Kanuri

Timeframe

• The Developmental Evaluator is part of the project and DMEL team, and reports the North East Head of Office
• S/he has a close collaboration with the Country DMEL team and Regional Institutional Learning Team, and will provide services on a part time basis for 50 days in a year
• This includes 5 days of physical work in Maiduguri or Yola as required with the project team every quarter. Other days of work will be required for report writing and participation in virtual meetings on Developmental Evaluation with Search Nigeria, Regional and HQ staff, and with the project donors as required.