Independent Evaluator (Consultancy) at The Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA)

Background

• As part of our commitment to learning, accountability, and adaptive programming, Yiaga Africa seeks an experienced Independent Evaluator to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Community Organizing Program.
• The evaluation will assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact of the program since its inception in 2013, and provide actionable recommendations to inform strategic direction, program improvement, and stakeholder engagement moving forward.

Objective of the Consultancy

• The main objective of this consultancy is to independently assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, outcomes, and lessons learned from the Community Organizing Program, and to provide actionable recommendations to inform future programming.

Scope of Work
The Independent Evaluator will be responsible for:

• Review of relevant program documents (proposal, workplan, reports, training materials and other relevant materials.)
• Development of the evaluation framework and detailed work plan in consultation with Yiaga Africa’s Knowledge Management and Learning (KML) team and program departments.
• Designing appropriate evaluation methodology and tools
• Data collection through interviews, focus group discussions, surveys and field visits with program participants, partners and stakeholders.
• Analyzing evaluation data and drawing evidence-based insights on program relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact.
• Identifying best practices, key challenges, gaps and emerging opportunities within the program’s implementation and approaches.
• Producing a comprehensive evaluation report with clear findings, conclusions and actionable recommendations, including a results tracking and learning agenda for future programme cycles.
• Presenting evaluation findings and recommendations to Yiaga Africa’s leadership and key stakeholders.

Qualifications and Consultancy Requirements
Applicants should demonstrate the following:

• A minimum of a Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, Development Studies, Public Policy, or a related field.
• 8 to 10 years of professional experience in programme evaluation, research and learning, preferably within civil society, youth development, democratic governance or community organising contexts.
• Proven experience leading independent evaluations of multi-year programmes, with strong expertise in mixed research methods.
• Demonstrated understanding of youth organising, civic engagement or community mobilisation in the African context.
• Excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information into clear and compelling reports.
• Experience with participatory evaluation approaches and stakeholder engagement.
• Strong ethical standards, objectivity and adherence to confidentiality in evaluation work.

Deliverables
The Independent Evaluator will be expected to deliver:

• An inception report outlining the evaluation framework, methodology, and timeline.
• Data collection tools and evidence-gathering instruments such as survey questionnaires, interview/FDG guides, observation checklists and document review templates for Yiaga Africa review and approval before fieldwork.
• A draft evaluation report for review and feedback.
• A final evaluation report incorporating stakeholder inputs and clear recommendations.
• A summary of key lessons and a proposed learning agenda for future programming.