Terms of Reference (ToR)
Third-Party Evaluation for EU Funded Project
Introduction
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit civil society organization founded in 2004. It works to achieve justice, defend human rights, promote media freedom, support civil society, and encourage active citizenship. The center has gained expertise in combating impunity and promoting the rule of law. The center has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2011. Its work focuses on documenting human rights violations and presenting legal cases to hold perpetrators accountable, strengthening the role of victims and their families, and supporting journalists, human rights defenders, and independent media to build democracy and support civil peace. The center has established a developed database to serve as a reference for transitional justice processes.
Background
The project “Empowering Survivors and Victims’ Families in Syria to Pursue Justice”, funded by the European Union, is being implemented in Syria, neighboring countries, and Europe from 1 January 2023 to November 2025.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of survivors and families of victims of torture and enforced disappearance in Syria to play an active role in combating impunity, uncovering the truth, and advocating for reparations. It further seeks to ensure that their needs and demands are integrated into political discussions, recommendations, and policy development, thereby promoting a victim-centered approach within the Syrian justice process.
Scope of Work
The Third-Party Evaluation service provider shall be responsible for independently verifying the implementation of project activities as outlined in the approved Description of the Action. The service provider will assess the quality, relevance, timeliness, and effectiveness of project interventions, ensuring they align with the objectives, indicators, and targets specified. The service provider will collect both quantitative and qualitative data using appropriate tools such as field visits, structured interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. The service provider will also identify challenges, provide evidence-based recommendations, and report on the overall performance and compliance of the project with EU requirements.
General Objective:
To provide an independent and credible assessment that will:
- Verify that project activities are implemented as planned;
- Assess the achievement of intended results and the quality of deliverables;
- Assess and validate the final values for each indicator in the logical framework matrix (impact, outcomes, outputs);
- Evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and sustainability of the project’s implementation and resource use;
- Identify key lessons learned and provide evidence-based insights to inform future programming and strategic decision-making.
Specific Objectives:
- Verify the alignment of implemented activities with the project design, plans, and contractual agreements;
- Evaluate the short-term and potential longer-term impacts of the interventions on targeted beneficiaries;
- Provide practical and actionable recommendations to improve future project design, delivery, and results;
- Strengthen accountability and transparency to both donors and beneficiaries.
Key Evaluation Questions:
- Were activities implemented as planned in terms of timing, scope, and quality?
- Were any deviations justified and documented?
- To what extent have the activities contributed to achieving the intended outputs, outcomes, and impacts?
- Were financial, human, and material resources used optimally to achieve results?
- To what extent were the interventions appropriate to the needs and priorities of the target groups?
- Are the benefits of the project likely to be sustained after its completion?
- What major challenges or obstacles affected implementation?
- How effectively were these addressed?
- What lessons can be drawn to inform similar future projects?
- What opportunities exist for improving future programming?
Methodology:
The consultant/firm is expected to:
- Review key project documents (agreements, progress reports, operational plans).
- Conduct interviews with key stakeholders, beneficiaries, and project staff.
- Carry out field visits (where feasible) for on-site data collection.
- Apply mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative tools such as surveys, FGDs, case studies).
- Ensure ethical standards are met (informed consent, confidentiality).
Expected Deliverables:
- Inception report: including a detailed work plan and methodology.
- Final evaluation report: with findings, analysis, conclusions, and recommendations.
- Presentation of findings.
Required Qualifications:
Proven experience in conducting external evaluations of donor-funded projects (preferably EU-funded).
Fluency in English and Levantine Arabic (spoken and written) is required, including the ability to draft professional documents and communicate effectively in both languages.
Strong analytical skills and experience with mixed-methods approaches.
Proven experience working with conflict-affected populations and a strong understanding of the Syrian context.
Excellent reporting and recommendation drafting skills.
Duration of the Assignment:
Two months (November–December 2025)
Submission Deadline:
31 July 2025
Terms of Reference (ToR) document
External evaluator for an EU-funded project
Introduction:
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit civil society organization, founded in 2004. It works to achieve justice, defend human rights, promote media freedom, support civil society, and encourage active citizenship. The center has gained expertise in combating impunity and promoting the rule of law. The center has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2011. Its work focuses on documenting human rights violations and presenting judicial files to hold perpetrators accountable, while strengthening the role of victims and their families. It also supports journalists, human rights defenders, and independent media as a means of building democracy and fostering civil peace. The center has established a sophisticated database to serve as a reference for transitional justice processes.
Background:
The EU-funded project “Empowering Survivors and Victims’ Families in Syria to Seek Justice” will be implemented in Syria, neighboring countries, and Europe from 1 January 2023 to November 2025.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of survivors and families of victims of torture and enforced disappearance in Syria to play an active role in combating impunity, uncovering the truth, and advocating for redress. The project also seeks to ensure that their needs and demands are integrated into political discussions, recommendations, and policy development, promoting a victim-centered approach to the Syrian justice process.
Scope of Work:
The third-party evaluation service provider is responsible for independently verifying the implementation of project activities as described in the approved work description. The provider will assess the quality, relevance, timeliness, and effectiveness of project interventions, ensuring their alignment with the established objectives, indicators, and targets. They will collect quantitative and qualitative data using appropriate tools such as field visits, structured interviews, focus groups, and document review. They will identify challenges, provide evidence-based recommendations, and prepare a report on the overall performance of the project and its compliance with EU requirements.
The overall objective
is to provide an independent and reliable assessment that aims to:
- Verify that project activities are implemented as planned;
- Evaluating the extent to which the desired results have been achieved and the quality of outputs;
- Evaluate and document the final values for each indicator in the logical framework matrix (impact, results, outputs);
- Evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and sustainability of project implementation and use of resources;
- Extract lessons learned and provide evidence-based insights to guide future programs and strategic decision-making.
Specific objectives
- Verify that implemented activities are consistent with project design, plans and contractual agreements;
- Evaluate the short-term and potential long-term impact of interventions on the targeted beneficiaries;
- Provide practical and actionable recommendations to improve future projects in terms of design, delivery, and outcomes;
- Enhancing accountability and transparency towards both donors and beneficiaries.
Key questions for evaluation
- Were activities implemented according to plan in terms of timing, scope, and quality?
- Have any changes been documented and justified?
- To what extent did the activities contribute to achieving the desired outputs, outcomes and impact?
- Are financial, human and material resources optimally used to achieve results?
- To what extent were the interventions appropriate to the needs and priorities of the target groups?
- Are the benefits of the project likely to continue after it ends?
- What are the main challenges or obstacles that have affected implementation?
- How effectively are these challenges addressed?
- What lessons can be learned to guide similar projects in the future?
- What opportunities exist for improving future programs?
Methodology
The consultant/firm is expected to:
- Review key project documents (agreements, progress reports, operational plans);
- Conduct interviews with key stakeholders, beneficiaries, and project staff;
- Conduct field visits (when possible) to collect data in the field;
- Applying mixed methodologies (quantitative and qualitative tools such as questionnaires, focus groups, case studies);
- Ensure adherence to ethical standards (informed consent, confidentiality).
Expected outputs
- A preliminary report including a detailed work plan and evaluation methodology;
- Final evaluation report including findings, analysis, conclusions, and recommendations;
- Presentation of results.
Required qualifications
- Proven experience in conducting external evaluations of donor-funded projects (preferably EU-funded projects);
- Proficiency in English and Levantine Arabic (written and spoken), including the ability to draft professional documents and communicate effectively in both languages;
- Strong analytical skills and experience using mixed methodologies;
- Proven experience working with conflict-affected populations and a deep understanding of the Syrian context;
- Excellent reporting and recommendation writing skills.
The duration of the assignment is
two months (November – December 2025)
Application deadline:
July 31, 2025
How to apply
Proposal Submission
Interested consultants/firms should submit the following documents to jobs@scm.ngo:
- A technical proposal detailing methodology, work plan, and timeline.
- A detailed financial proposal.
- CV(s) of the proposed team member(s).
- Samples of similar previous work (if possible).
- Applicants must submit two recent references who can speak to their qualifications and past performance in similar roles.
- Submission of Proposals
Interested consultants/companies are requested to submit the following documents to the email address: jobs@scm.ngo - Technical proposal including methodology, work plan, and timeline;
- Detailed financial presentation;
- CVs of the applicant or proposed team members;
- Samples of previous similar work (if possible);
- Provide two recent references that can evaluate the applicant’s qualifications and performance in similar roles.