United States: Program Evaluator-Protecting & Promoting Children’s Rights Program

ABA ROLI’s project entitled “Protecting and Promoting Children’s Rights” is a 60-month project that seeks to strengthen civil society and government actors’ efforts to address child rights violations and build their capacity to respond to child sexual abuse (CSA) and child domestic labor (CDL); strengthening local institutions; generating tools for use beyond the life of the project; and affecting legal and policy reform. This program is being implemented in Asia and the specific country details will be provided upon selection of a consultant.

To achieve these goals, ABA ROLI has partnered with four local organizations as well as other justice sector academies to implement a series of activities in furtherance of the following four objectives:

1. Objective 1: To increase awareness of child sexual abuse and state obligations to child rights protections.
2. Objective 2: To improve capacity of justice sector actors to investigate, prosecute, and prevent child sexual abuse.
3. Objective 3: To expand access to services for victims and their families and improve the quality of legal services available to victims.
4. Objective 4: To strengthen enforcement and implementation of laws and policies that outlaw child domestic labor and protect the rights of child domestic laborers.

1. Evaluation Purpose and Objectives: 

The evaluation is commissioned to assess whether the project objectives have been achieved, to assess what specific approaches led to observable achievements or successes, and will reflect on lessons that can be derived from the activities and approaches as contributions to future rule of law and child rights programming in the program country.

Furthermore, the evaluation should focus primarily on the capacity building activities provided to beneficiaries, as well as on key partnerships that have been critical to project implementation, including partnerships with project beneficiaries and with external stakeholders who are not directly involved with the Project but influence its trajectory.

2. Evaluation Methodology: 

The evaluation methodology to be developed should include the use of mixed methods approach, with analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. It should be able to capture the Project’s contribution to the achievement of expected and unexpected outcomes. The evaluation will be carried out through a desk review, field visit to cover both informant interviews and focused discussions, and surveys in country and will require that a team of local enumerators be hired under the evaluator’s contract. The evaluation methodology should also be participatory, to provide an opportunity for ABA ROLI and its local partners to reflect on the Project’s key milestones, successes, challenges and shortcomings, and any significant changes that may be attributed to the Project.

Interview and/or focus group discussion participants will be determined in coordination with ABA ROLI, and with consideration of the Project’s context and timeframe and the potential sensitivities of the operating environment in the program country.

3. Scope of the Evaluation: 

The evaluation scope covers the entire duration of the project from September 29, 2018 to September 30, 2023; however, particular focus should be given to the outputs and activities within the period of February 1, 2021, through August 31, 2023. In addition to identifying achievements toward the project objectives, the evaluation should provide insight into the wider context of the project operating environment, highlighting the following: contextual and political challenges that have affected the Project; partnerships or coordination efforts that have contributed to the Project’s successes and/or shortcomings; and coordination efforts that have complemented other initiatives within the program country to advance rule of law and protect children from CSA and CDL.

Furthermore, the evaluation should focus primarily on capacity building activities under the Project, as well as on key partnerships that have been critical to project implementation, including partnerships with project beneficiaries and with external stakeholders who are not directly involved with the Project but influenced its trajectory.

4. Expected Deliverables: 

The evaluator will work with ABA ROLI, four local partner organizations, and a local enumerator to provide the following deliverables to ABA ROLI:

• Inception report for ABA ROLI: including proposed methodology, data sources, and data collection tools.
• Data collection and fieldwork: The evaluator will engage locally-based enumerators for field work. The evaluator will be responsible for coordinating with the enumerator to collect all necessary data from in-country beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders.
• Evaluation Report: The report should be in English. It should include an executive summary, the key findings around the core evaluation questions, and the conclusions and recommendations, as well as a description of approach and methodology.
• A 2–3-page summary and redacted version of the report: The evaluator will summarize findings and lessons learned.
• Presentations of key findings and recommendations for ABA ROLI and partners: The evaluator may be asked to present to key stakeholders to share the evaluation methods, findings and recommendations.

5. Activities, Responsibilities, and Timeline: 

The DC-based ABA ROLI Evaluation Manager will supervise the overall evaluation process with support from the relevant Project Management Unit and the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Division, as needed. ABA ROLI and partners will coordinate introductions and meetings with relevant stakeholders and provide the evaluator with all key project documents. ABA ROLI DC staff will review and approve each of the final deliverables.

6. Budget and Compensation: 

The costs for this evaluation will be covered by the project grant.

ABA ROLI will allocate the total compensation amount across a six-month period, the amount of time expected to complete all evaluation activities. The evaluator will be paid based on successful completion of each deliverable.

7. Logistical Arrangements: 

The evaluation consultancy is a home-based position and travel to program country is not expected. ABA ROLI and local partner staff will assist the evaluator in arranging online meetings with key stakeholders.

Data collection activities may require the local enumerator to travel within the program country. Local partner staff will assist in arranging meetings with key stakeholders in-country.

8. Qualifications, Experience, and Expertise: 

The evaluator will have the following qualifications:

• A university degree in law, human rights, development, international relations, evaluation or other relevant discipline.
• At least 7 years of experience in program evaluation, including conducting key informant interviews, qualitative data analysis, and reporting on key findings, particularly for rule of law, governance, or human rights programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of outcome and performance evaluations.
• Familiarity with child protection framework and/or juvenile justice system, including justice sector actors and relevant child protection government bodies, as well as experience conducting evaluations of rule of law and justice sector reform projects is highly preferred.
• Fluency and effective communication skills in English is required.
• Local enumerators should have knowledge of at least one local language. Knowledge of other local languages would be an advantage.
• Familiarity with international laws and standards on child protection, child labor and children’s rights, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ILO Conventions and/or laws related to children’s rights would be an advantage.

How to Apply: 

Please send a CV, cover letter describing your relevant experience in program evaluation, a summary of your evaluation approach in response to the TOR (maximum two pages) and how many working days envisioned plus your daily rate to Childrights-Consultancies@americanbar.org and CC Elizabeth.Smith@americanbar.org by Monday, May 1, 2023.