TERM: 
October/November 2023
JOB DESCRIPTION: 
Action Against Hunger is seeking an evaluation consultant, or consultants, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the project to determine whether it has strengthened the ongoing Community-led Local Development (CLLD) approach to rural development in the region and support to Local Acton Groups (LAGs) in Akhmeta, Zugdidi, Gali and Tkvarcheli to better apply inclusive approaches in development planning and decision-making. Also, the evaluation will determine if the community representatives working within these Local Action Groups have been capacitated to increase the engagement of women, youth and the most vulnerable in development planning and decision-making processes and have provided new local opportunities in the three development priority areas. Finally, the evaluation will assess if the project has broadened the LAGs networking potential – regionally within the Eastern Partnership (Armenia and Moldova) for the Georgian LAGs, and within Abkhazia for the Abkhazian LAGs. The main objective of the evaluation is to assess and report to Action Against Hunger and the Austrian Development Agency the extent to which the project outputs have been delivered and the desired outcomes have been achieved. The evaluation will be used for both accountability and learning purposes to assess whether the actions of the project have had the intended impact and as well as to identify lessons learned and good practices to inform future project design and implementation.
RESPONSIBILITIES: 
The project aims to accomplish the following three outputs:
Output 1: Women and youth capacitated to engage in governance, decision-making and inclusion processes: The project will provide focused support to women and youth in the form of the Women’s Economic Engagement and Leadership (WEEL) programme and the Youth Leadership and Peer Education programme. The project will ensure, through targeted awareness raising campaigns, appropriate information materials and meeting locations and times, that vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and individuals are able to access and engage in these initiatives and benefit from the support provided. Both approaches will look to motivate and provide skills and knowledge to women and youth to act as an entry point to the LAGs in their locality and to increase their capability to successfully engage in the sub-project opportunities earmarked for women’s social and entrepreneurial support and youth inclusion.
Output 2: Community-led local governance structures strengthened and better informed on inclusive rural development best practices: Under this output the project will offer new learning and experiences for the target LAGs to broaden their knowledge on CLLD and inclusion practices and approaches, so that they are better prepared to incorporate new measures within their strategies to support the inclusion of women, youth and the most vulnerable.
Output 3: Local development solutions designed and delivered supporting socio-economic inclusion, environmental protection and climate action: Once the LAGs members have been capacitated, the project will assist them to all the necessary tools and systems to professionally run a sub-project competition that will support community-led initiatives in line with the 3 thematic development priorities of the project, and ensure that vulnerable communities and individuals benefit from the support measures.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 
The evaluation team will consist of either one or two members who have the possibility to travel to both Georgia and Abkhazia.
Key Qualifications in the team should be:
- Academic degree (master level) in Research Methods, Social Sciences, Statistics, Economics, or relevant subject;
- Solid experience in project Monitoring and Evaluation having conducted at least three evaluations in the last five years ideally;
- A minimum of three years of experience and expertise in the field/sector of social inclusion with a focus of the LEADER/CLLD approach;
- Experience of working in the South Caucasus and/or knowledge of the region’s context is an asset;
- Experience analysing a theory of change;
- In case of a team of two evaluators, a gender balance and diversity would be considered an advantage;
- Excellent oral and written English skills;
- Russian or Georgian language skills are an advantage;
- Strong communication and analytical skills;
- Demonstrated skills in drafting reports;
- Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
- Computer literacy.
N.B. The evaluation consultant(s) must not have been involved in the design, implementation or monitoring of this project.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES: 
The evaluation is scheduled to be conducted in October/November 2023 with a timeframe of 25 working days. The evaluation will be taking place at the end of the project implementation period and will be a combination of desk review and in-country analysis in the target geographical areas of Zugdidi and Akhmeta municipalities in Georgia proper and Gali and Tkvarcheli districts in Abkhazia.
At the outset the evaluation consultant(s) should discuss with Action Against Hunger representatives and its partner, LNGO Alert, to better understand the rural development context in the region, as well as other NGOs and UN Agencies working in the target locations and sector. The evaluator(s) will be provided with all relevant project documents/report for desk review at the outset and then the evaluation research should be conducted through Key Informant Interviews, and Focus Group Discussions in the target locations. This process should encompass a wide range of stakeholders and beneficiaries in each of the target municipalities/districts including the LAG members, project beneficiaries (Young Leaders, WEEL participants etc.), sub-grant recipients and other key stakeholders – including remote meetings with project stakeholders in Armenia and Moldova. The evaluation consultant(s) should also observe and assessment the inputs provided to the sub-grant recipients and the quality of support delivered. For this reason, it is important for the evaluation consultant(s) are able to travel to the municipalities and districts where the project activities have been undertaken.
Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this announcement through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am. Thanks.
REMUNERATION/ SALARY: 
The financial proposition should include the proposed gross daily rate for remuneration in Euros. The rate should also include subsistence costs. Please note that all costs for flights, accommodation, internal travel and translation will be paid by Action Against Hunger and should not be included in the financial proposition.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: 
Further details ca be found at:
https://bit.ly/AAH_Evaluation_TOR