Summary
Date Posted: Monday, March 28, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Consultancy-to carry out a midterm review of ‘Developing Smallholder Strategies for Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Management in Southern Africa.
Job Opening ID: 499
Terms of offer
The mid-term review will be carried out for a maximum of 3 months and is scheduled to take place in the period between 15th April 2022 to 15th of June 2022.
Job Description
This is a remote position.
Scope of the mid-term review
The mid-term review will cover the period of 1st of July 2018 to 31st of December 2021. The geographical area to be reviewed covers Zambia and Malawi though some activities have a broader regional scope for all countries in the SADC.

Approach and Methodology
The consultant should apply appropriate methods and data to answer the review questions so that all findings and conclusions are backed by evidence and proper analysis.
The consultant is expected to develop a review plan based on the suggested review questions above but may suggest additional questions or modifications. The inception report will be prepared including a review/evaluation matrix presenting how the key issues will be addressed, the data sources, data collection methods and data analysis methods.

The consultant should ensure that the proposed methodology adopts consultative and participative approaches to ensure that all the key stakeholders are involved. Methods may include quantitative and qualitative, or mixed, approaches, and methodological challenges and hence potential limitation in findings and conclusions must be included in the report.

The following may be used as a minimum guide to collect information:
Desk review: Review and analysis of documents related to the project, including Theory of Change, Results Framework, M&E Plan and Framework, Implementation plans, Annual reports, Technical reports. The desk review will allow the consultant to make initial findings that in turn may point to additional or fine-tuned questions.
Interviews (Individual and Group): A list of key partners and stakeholders will be identified in the inception report. All stakeholders consulted should be able to present their views in confidence to the consultant and to identify issues, opportunities, constraints, and options for the future
Field visits: The consultant may also participate in project activities (workshops, coordination meetings, training, data collection etc.) to gain a deeper understanding of the project. A visit to some of the project sites in Zambia and Malawi will be organized.
Quality standards
In line with the OECD/DAC Quality Standards for Development Evaluations, all findings and conclusions should be backed by reference to evidence (source) and their magnitude/representativeness commented.
The review process shall be carried out in accordance with recognised ethical standards. The rights and welfare of all participants in the review shall be protected and informed consent obtained. When interacting with stakeholders, the consultant shall behave professionally and respectfully, strive to reduce the time and other demands on stakeholders, and actively manage expectations to avoid unjustified expectations. The review team shall show sensitivity to gender, beliefs, manners and customs of all stakeholders and act with integrity and honesty. The anonymity and confidentiality of individual informants shall be protected when requested and/or as required by law, the context or ethical considerations. Direct references to informants’ statements in reports shall be done in ways that do not make it possible to trace statements to individuals, unless agreed with the informant concerned or unless the statements were made in public. If the review team during implementation finds any reason to suspect corruption or misuse of Norwegian aid funds, the team shall immediately use the ‘whistleblowing’ procedures described at Norad’s website. In such cases, members of the review team shall not consult anyone suspected of involvement in corrupt behaviour.

Management of the review
The consultant will report directly to the CIFOR-ICRAF Country representative and the FAW project Principal Investigator – PI, and Finance Manager. S/he will also be expected to work closely with other senior staff involved in the project.

ICRAF will provide:
• Relevant project documents
• Guidance and technical support as required throughout the review.
• Copies of all key background resources identified.
• Introductory meetings with key stakeholders where necessary.
• Comments and feedback on, and approval of, all deliverables within agreed timeline.

The consultant will be responsible for:
• Developing the detailed review methodology and submit inception report.
• Review documents
• Logistical arrangements for all field travel.
• Conducting all data collection.
• Analysis of data and reporting in a clear and accessible format.
• Regular progress reporting to the review manager, including responding to any comments or technical inputs wherever reasonable.
• Production of deliverables within agreed timeline and in accordance with quality requirements.
• Seeking comments and feedback from ICRAF in sufficient time to discuss and incorporate these into the final report.
• Production of the final review report containing data against all indicators in the project results framework, evidence-based responses to the key review questions, summary of lessons learnt and recommendations for future implementation
According to the scope of work, the review shall be conducted by a team of at least 2 consultants with relevant competencies. ICRAF requires the review team to hold experience with assessing field research programmes on agriculture and related fields in the region. Specific experience in agroecological will also be a benefit.
Deliverables/ Expected Outputs

The main outputs of the mid-term review will be comprised of:
Inception report/ review plan
A more detailed method is to be outlined in an inception report to be approved by the one commissioning. The consultant will develop a detailed analytical framework of questions and sub-questions, based on the review questions defined in this ToRs, and consistent with the project Results framework and Theory of Change.
Draft Mid-Term Report and preliminary findings presentation
Draft report and summary for validation by stakeholders. The consultant will submit a draft report to ICRAF and present the preliminary findings for discussion with ICRAF outlining preliminary findings and any areas that require further attention or discussion prior to drafting the Final Mid Term Report.
Final Mid-Term Report
The final report and summary including feedback from all stakeholders. The report shall be no more than 25 pages (excluding annexes). The final report shall present conclusions backed by reference to findings and give clear recommendations.
Final Presentation
A session or workshop focused on disseminating the key findings of the review to core stakeholders. A short PowerPoint should be created and shared as part of this deliverable.
The reports content and format should be in line with Norad’s guidelines https://www.norad.no/globalassets/filer-2017/evaluering/guidelines-for-the-evaluation-process-and-reports.pdf

Requirements
• At least 2 years’ experience as an evaluator with demonstrated quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills, with proven record of conducting formative, process and impact evaluation; including leading evaluations of multi stakeholder programs for development organizations in Africa.
• Proven experience in evaluating similar projects of value above 1 million dollars
• Possess at a minimum, a master’s degree.
• Extensive experience of program formulation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Job Summary
ICRAF in partnership with ZARI and DARS with support from Norad are conducting research on the potential of agroecological practices for fall armyworm management in Zambia and Malawi. The goal of this project is to alleviate the impact of FAW on smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa by enabling use of appropriate, low-cost pest control strategies based on agroecological approaches. The project will generate knowledge on effects of habitat diversity and crop management on FAW abundance, level of crop damage, and yield. It will also assess current smallholder pest management strategies and how they are adapting to FAW. This information will be communicated to policy makers and enable formulation of appropriate strategies for FAW management. The project is currently in its fourth year of implementation.

Education Requirement: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 24

Job application procedure
To apply for this job please visit recruit.zohopublic.com.

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