Country Program Evaluation (CPE) Consultant of UN Women Kenya Country Office Strategic Note 2022-2027

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.

The Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) will assess the UN Women Kenya Country Office Strategic Note for the period 2022–2027. The Strategic Note is the primary planning tool guiding UN Women’s normative, coordination, and operational work in Kenya, aligned with the UN Women Global Strategic Plan, the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022–2026, and Kenya’s national development frameworks including Vision 2030. With a new Strategic Note due to be developed starting January 2027, this evaluation is commissioned to assess portfolio performance, document lessons learned and inform future programming.

The Strategic Note has an estimated total budget of USD 58.15 million and is implemented by a Country Office based in Nairobi. The portfolio addresses structural barriers to gender equality across governance and political participation, women’s economic empowerment, and the women, peace and security and humanitarian agenda. Kenya operates under a devolved governance system and faces persistent gender gaps despite a progressive constitutional framework, including low women’s political representation (23% in parliament), high informal sector employment, and recurring climate-induced humanitarian crises.

The evaluation will examine the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and integration of human rights and gender equality principles of the Strategic Note. The consultant will report to the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist , who will provide technical support in data analysis and interpretation.

Purpose, objectives and use of the evaluation

The UN Women Evaluation Policy and the UN Women Evaluation Strategic Plan 2022-25 are the main guiding documents that set forth the principles and organizational framework for evaluation planning, conduct and follow-up in UN Women. These principles are aligned with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System and Ethical Guidelines.

The CPE has seven objectives:

• Assess the relevance of UN Women contribution to the intervention at national levels and alignment with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Assess effectiveness, organizational efficiency and coherence in progressing towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the Strategic Note. 
• Enable the UN Women Country Office to improve its strategic positioning, including its programmatic design, partnership modalities and financing approach, to better support the achievement of sustained gender equality and women’s empowerment in a lower middle income country context.
• Analyze how human rights approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the design and implementation of the Strategic Note. 
• Identify and validate lessons learned, good practices and examples of innovation that can be scaled up and replicated to support gender equality and human rights.
• Provide insights into the extent to which the UN Women has realized synergies between its three mandates (normative, UN system coordination and operations).
• Provide actionable recommendations with respect to the development of the next Strategic Note.

The Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) is a systematic assessment to validate the contributions made by UN Women Country Office’s portfolio of interventions to development results with respect to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the country level. It also assesses the Country Office’s organizational effectiveness and efficiency in delivering the planned results. It uses the Strategic Note (including the DRF and OEEF) as the main point of reference. 

Methodology:  Data collection and analysis 

The evaluation will employ a non-experimental, theory-based approach. The performance of the country portfolio will be assessed using contribution analysis, using the theory of change set out in the Strategic Note 2022-2027 as a basis. The evaluation will apply a mixed-method using qualitative and quantitative methods. The method will draw on data sources including documents, field information, institutional information systems, financial records, beneficiaries, staff, funders, experts, government officials, community groups, etc. The evaluation will employ the following data collection methods: 

• Document analyses undertaken primarily during the inception phase will inform the evaluation approach. 
• Evaluability assessment to identify gaps in secondary data which will be used to determine the evaluation approach, including an assessment of the Theory of Change, the conduciveness of the context to undertaking the evaluation, the management structure at the Country Office and the quality and completeness of the Development Results Framework and Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness Framework. 
• Contextual analysis of the key external influencing factors affecting realization of women’s rights in the country. 
• Portfolio analysis of UN Women Strategic Note & Project Documents, synthesizing secondary results data for the Development Results Framework and the Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework of the Country Office. 
• UN Women financial analysis of the budget, expenditure and trends in type of expenditures.
• Interviews and Focus Group Discussions with key informants identified through the stakeholder analysis (across all stakeholder groups), and observations of programme activities and outputs where relevant. 
• Surveys of UN Women personnel and UNCT partners, including Civil Society Organisations and government stakeholders (should the context allow).

Data collection methods should be gender-responsive. Cultural aspects that could impact the collection of data should be analysed and integrated into data collection methods and tools. Evaluators are expected to include adequate time for testing data collection tools. Data should be systematically disaggregated by sex and age and, to the extent possible, by geographical region, ethnicity, disability and migratory status. Specific guidelines should be observed. Data should be triangulated to ensure valid findings. 

Sampling approach

The evaluation is expected to apply a purposive sampling approach to take into account a diverse range of perspectives. The main interventions undertaken by the Country Office have been mapped into a sample frame for evaluation (see Annex 1). In addition, up to two Case studies could be selected for an in-depth assessment of contributions to outcomes. This will be updated in consultation with the Evaluation Reference Group at the inception stage.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

•  Review and assess all activities outlined in the Strategic Note, including normative, coordination, and operational work across all thematic areas.
•  Evaluate regional and global programme activities implemented at the country level, including joint programmes and programming initiatives.
•  Analyze joint programmes by assessing both UN Women’s specific contributions and the added value, benefits, and costs associated with joint implementation modalities.
•  Pay particular attention to projects not previously evaluated (as listed in Annex 2), as well as portfolio-level and country-level normative and coordination work, including interventions funded through core resources.
• Draw on comparative insights from other UN agencies operating in Kenya or in similar lower middle-income country contexts, including findings from UNSDCF and other country programme evaluations, to inform lessons learned and recommendations especially in relation to financing approaches, stakeholder engagement, and delivery models.
• During the inception phase, define and refine the evaluation scope and sampling approach, including establishing clear evaluation boundaries and identifying which stakeholders and initiatives will be included or excluded, based on the evaluability assessment, existing evaluations, finalized evaluation questions, and data availability.

Expected Limitations:

The evaluation is expected to face the following limitations: 

• The evaluation budget is lower than the recommended budget, which may affect the budget available for in-person field visits. Remote data collection methods will be used to complement in-person data collection. 
• Participation of some county level stakeholders in focus group discussions and key informant interviews may be limited due to competing priorities, especially in light of the ongoing UNSDCF evaluation and Kenya Country Office Let it Not Happen again Phase 2 evaluation. 

Deliverables

Task	Time frame
Inception Workshop	1 or 2 days
Portfolio analysis and draft Inception Report	3-4 weeks
Validation of draft Inception Report	2 weeks
Final Inception report	1 week
Data collection	3-4 weeks
Data analysis, preliminary findings and draft report	3-4 weeks
Draft report reviews	3 weeks
Final Report	1 week
Report brief	2 days
TOTAL	26 weeks

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with field travel to the project implementation locations. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of programme formulation and implementation and Results Based Management.
• Strong knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, and reporting.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports. 
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in in gender/women studies, sociology, international development, or related area.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing and conducting gender-responsive evaluations of development strategies, policies and programs, including in the Kenya context.
• Experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

 

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.