UN Women: National Consultant - (x2 Positions) - Evaluation of the WRD Programme

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. 

The Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries.  Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas: 

Independent Evaluation Service / IES

The UN Women Independent Evaluation Service (IES) evaluates the work of UN Women to enhance organizational accountability, provide evidence-based information for decision-making and to contribute to learning on gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women IES is conducting the final evaluation of the Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Programme to conduct the evaluation more efficiently and ensure key lessons learned on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) inform programming at both regional and global levels moving forward. 

The Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Programme, with a budget of approximately 13.5 million AUD funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Government of Australia, was launched as UN Women’s flagship initiative on disaster risk reduction (DRR)r, putting women and girls at the centre of DRR and resilience. The program aims to strengthen women’s voice, agency, and leadership by securing gender-responsive decision-making, governance, and systems, enabling targeted action for building the resilience of women and girls to current and future disasters and threats.   The key strategies of the Programme include policy and technical support, capacity-building initiatives, and partnerships, aimed at ensuring that women, particularly those from marginalized communities, are actively involved in disaster prevention and  preparedness, response, and recovery.

The WRD Programme is implemented in four countries: Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. In the Pacific, disaster risks converge with critical socio-economic vulnerabilities, environmental degradation, and climate change. The remoteness, socio-economic status, and fragile biodiversity of Pacific countries make them highly vulnerable to hazards and exacerbate existing development challenges in the region, affecting women and people with disabilities the most. This is complemented by regional and global components, which focus on supporting gender-transformative, disability-inclusive, and human-rights-based disaster and climate-resilient systems and governance.   It was designed to be driven at the country level and supported by a regional Pacific and a streamlined global component. The WRD Programme supports two primary outcome areas: 

OUTCOME 1: BUILDING THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT. Prevention, preparedness, and recovery systems, plans, processes, and tools are gender-responsive. 

OUTCOME 2: TARGETED ACTION. Women and girls are prepared to withstand multiple hazards, recover from disasters, and increase their resilience to future disasters and threats. 

The programme was launched in the Pacific after a two-year inception phase (2019-2021) for a period of four years, 2021-2025 (ending on 30th June 2025, with a probable no-cost extension of several months). The programme Mid-Term Review was completed in February 2024 with the objectives to assess progress, identify challenges, refocus priorities, enhance accountability, and ensure the sustainability of the Programme. 

The WRD Programme has a diverse array of stakeholders across Fiji, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, including governmental bodies, women’s organisations, civil society organisations (CSOs), women and girls in local communities, including those with disabilities and those in the LGBTQI+ community. 

Purpose, Objectives and Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation aims to assess UN Women’s overall performance in implementing the WRD Programme at a global, regional, and national level, foster accountability to its key stakeholders, and enhance learning within UN Women and among the Programme's key stakeholders. 

The findings, lessons learned, and good practices provided by this evaluation will contribute to the improvement of similar disaster risk reduction and climate resilience programmes  in the future. The primary intended uses of this evaluation are:

Objectives

The main objectives of the evaluation are to:   

Scope of the Evaluation

The final evaluation will cover all aspects of the WRD Programme, including both technical and financial components over the entire programme duration from June 2021 to June 2025, analyzing key milestones, strategic shifts, and WRD interventions across different levels. 

The final evaluation will assess WRD’s implementation in Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, examining country-specific and regional gender-responsive DRR and resilience-building as a result of the WRD interventions. Additionally, the evaluation will review WRD’s influence on global DRR policies and coordination mechanisms, considering its contributions to global disaster resilience efforts.

Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation is employing a non-experimental, theory-based approach using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. A re-constructed Theory of Change will be used as the basis for contribution analysis. Case studies will be the primary source of information for the assessment of contributions to outcomes in the selected thematic or operational area. 

The possibility of employing participatory data collection methods will be explored during the inception stage.  At least two of the four countries will be visited for data collection: Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.  Given the accessibility to remote locations and communities covered by the Programme, face-to-face primary data collection may be limited. The evaluators will consider using online data collection tools or other applicable tools to the extent possible to mitigate the risk of limited data access. The evaluation will engage the UN Women programme team, government counterparts, implementing partners, direct rights holders (beneficiaries), and other stakeholders. 

The evaluation team will develop a purposive sampling frame for data collection. The evaluation will employ the following methods of analysis and data collection: 

Key document analyses undertaken primarily during the inception phase will inform the evaluation approach and help to contextualize findings, conclusions and recommendations. The team may utilize different analytical frameworks such as from a diverse SOGIESC perspective, the building block framework to look at the integrated mandate, and gender at work framework.  The following analyses will also inform the overall evaluation: 

The methods will include a wide range of data sources (including documents, potential field visits and observation, institutional information systems, financial records, beneficiaries, staff, funders, experts, government officials, community groups, etc.). NVivo qualitative analysis software will be used to analyze interviews and focus group discussions. Multiple lines of evidence will inform the contribution analysis. Sources and methods of information will be triangulated to ensure robust findings that can be used with confidence. 

The inception report will provide more details on the selected approach and methods based on desk review and evaluability assessment, scoping interviews, and consultations with the Evaluation Management Group (EMG) and Evaluation Reference Group (ERG). 

Data collection methods and processes should be gender-responsive10 and data should be systematically disaggregated by sex and, to the extent possible, disaggregated by age, geographical region, ethnicity, disability, migratory status and other contextually relevant markers of equity11. Specific guidelines should be observed, namely the UNEG guidance on Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations (2024) and UN Disability Inclusion Strategy Evaluation Accountability, 2019.  The evaluation should adhere to and be guided by the UNEG Norms and Standards (2016) and the UNEG Ethical Guidelines (2020) at every stage of the evaluation process, observing the principles of integrity, accountability, respect and beneficence. 

Stakeholder Participation

A human rights-based stakeholder mapping will be completed by the evaluation team during the inception phase. The evaluators are expected to discuss during the Inception Workshop how the process will ensure participation of a diverse range of stakeholders at all stages:

The evaluators are expected to validate findings through engagement with stakeholders at stakeholder workshops, debriefings or other forms of engagement.

A reference group will be established representing UN Women key government, civil society, donor and UN system partners. The reference group will be asked to engage and provide input at every stage of the evaluation process, from design to preliminary results and final draft report. The reference group plays a critical role through remote and in-person meetings in ensuring a high quality, transparent process, providing insights on the key questions and approach, ensuring factual accuracy, ensuring gaps and misinterpretation of information is avoided. They will also be key informants. The reference group also plays a key role in the dissemination of the evaluation findings and recommendations and ensuring the use of the information by UN Women and key partners. 

Evaluation Timeline Deliverable Indicative Time Frame for Submission[1]

Inception Phase:  Inception Presentation and Report 

The evaluation team will draft an inception report upon reviewing available documents and conducting initial discussions with the Evaluation Management Group (EMG).  The team will present the inception report to the Evaluation Reference Group (ERG). The inception report will outline the final evaluation questions and sub-questions, methodology, samples, data collection techniques, and tools. It will also include limitations of the chosen methodology and of the final evaluation. The report will align with UN Women’s evaluation guidelines and be reviewed by the EMG and ERG and cleared by the Chief Independent Evaluation Service and Director Independent Evaluation, Audit and Investigations Service. 

Data Collection Phase

The evaluation team will undertake the data collection and provide a briefing for the WRD Programme team and Fiji MCO upon finalization of in-country data collection. 

Reporting Phase: Preliminary Findings presentation to the Evaluation Reference Group

The evaluation team will prepare preliminary evaluation finding presentation and present them to key stakeholders for validation, ensuring alignment with Programme realities. WRD Programme team will provide administrative and logistical support for the workshop.

Draft Evaluation Report 

The draft evaluation report will be prepared in accordance with UN Women’s evaluation guidelines, ensuring clarity in findings, conclusions, and recommendations. EMG and ERG will provide consolidated feedback using Evaluation product comment template provided, which the evaluators will incorporate into the revised report.

Final Evaluation Report and Brief

The final report will integrate all feedback EMG and ERG and be formatted according to UN Women’s evaluation standards. It must generally include an executive summary, methodology, key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations. The evaluation report will be approved by UN Women IEAIS and disseminated to stakeholders on the GATE website.

Consultancy Deliverables

Each National Consultant will contribute to the WRD final evaluation in either Fiji or Vanuatu by supporting the inception phase, adapting data collection tools, conducting field-based qualitative data collection (e.g., interviews, FGDs), and summarizing key findings. They will also provide contextual insights to inform the evaluation’s analysis and reporting. 

The National Consultants will work closely with the core evaluation team to ensure the cultural, linguistic, and contextual appropriateness of the evaluation approach. They will report to the Lead Consultant and operate under the supervision of the UN Women Independent Evaluation Service, contributing inputs to the overall synthesis. No. Deliverable Description Timing

Consultant to review data collection tools and provide feedback to ensure they are culturally relevant and translated into local languages.

Consultant to undertake on-site data collection in local languages and/or interpret for the Team Leader: