Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity-building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.
Project Description:
On January 19, 2023, USAID/Tanzania awarded International Business Initiatives (IBI) and SI a four-year contract for the Tanzania Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Adaptation (T-MELA) Activity. This activity is to assist the USAID/Tanzania Mission with strategy- and activity-level performance monitoring, evaluation, and learning. This activity will also provide data gathering and verification, data visualization (including Geographic Information Systems), data quality assessments, impact and performance evaluations, assessments, organizational learning, and collaboration among USAID’s implementing partners and DO teams. The MEL Support Platform will also implement a capacity-building agenda for the mission, developing a baseline of M&E knowledge within the mission and tailoring a curriculum to provide skills development to mission staff. USAID/Tanzania has commissioned SI to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity.
Background of Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity
The overall 5-year goal of Tuhifadhi Maliasili is addressing dynamics that hinder habitat connectivity and the long-term persistence of biodiversity in Tanzania. This Activity incorporates a series of interventions that support and strengthen government and civil society capacity for biodiversity conservation in a manner that:
builds the capacity of the public sector and civil society.
increases private sector engagement in conservation and natural resource management (NRM);
strengthens the policy and regulatory framework for conservation and NRM.
These interventions together are expected to reduce threats to biodiversity in Tanzania while moving Tanzanian institutions further on their Journey to Self-reliance. The Activity focuses on seven selected wildlife corridors in Tanzania: 1) Kwakuchinja, 2) Amani-Nilo, 3) Nyerere Udzungwa-Selous, 4) Kigosi Moyowosi – Burigi Chato, 5) Mahale – Katavi, 6) Ruaha Rungwa – Inyonga, and 7) Ruaha Rungwa – Katavi1. By the end of the activity, the following results are expected:
Strengthened capacity of Tanzanian government institutions to conserve biodiversity and sustainably manage natural resources
Increased economic benefits from biodiversity and natural resource management-related enterprise activities for local communities in high priority areas.
Reduced wildlife and forest crime
Key biodiversity areas and corridors better managed
Position Description:
SI is seeking a Evaluation Specialist (local) to support the Team Lead in conducting the Tuhifadhi Maliasili Mid-term evaluation.
The Evaluation Specialist shall be an English and Kiswahili speaker strong evaluation processes and procedures from the development of the evaluation design. She/he will support the TL in all stages of the evaluation including planning the evaluation, coordinate data collection. She/he will support TL in generating all key deliverables including a Design Report, Draft Evaluation Report, Final Evaluation Report, and other key knowledge products. The Evaluation Specialist will work under the guidance of the TL and Senior Assessment and Evaluation Specialist in Tanzania.
*This is a local position, and only Tanzanian applicants will be considered*
Purpose and use of Tuhifadhi Maliasili Midterm Evaluation:
This mid-term evaluation aims to assess the performance of the USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity, with a particular focus on reviewing the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance and sustainability of the intervention as it relates to host-country, development partner, and other stakeholder interests. To the extent possible, the Evaluation team will assess what interventions are working well and what interventions require adaptive management or course correction. To the extent practicable, the mid-term evaluation will support USAID strategic programming needs to better understand and validate the threats and drivers to biodiversity loss in Tanzania and the strategic-level opportunities for leveraging change as relates back to the Activity goal.
Evaluation Questions:
EQ1 Effectiveness: To what extent has the Activity been effective in achieving planned outputs and outcomes to date?
Theory of Change – Which Strategic Approaches has the Activity identified within each of the seven corridors (as well as those that relate to policy-level interventions) and how effective are they in reaching intended results? To what extent has the TM activity meet its intended objectives?
Theory of Change – Has resource allocation been effective (such as direct implementation and sub-awards) in ensuring the expected outcomes within these Strategic Approaches are achieved by the project’s conclusion?
Integrated Government Management – How do these different governance systems interact within the Activity’s interventions, and how has the Activity been successful (or not) in bringing them together towards mutually agreed upon goals or outcomes?
Integrated Government Management – To what extent does Tuhifadhi Maliasili effectively strengthen local governance (as identified in corridor-scale stakeholder engagement meetings)?
Integrated Government Management – How effective is the Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity in strengthening policy frameworks, particularly within the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism?
EQ2 Relevance: Do Activity interventions continue to be relevant, addressing key threats and opportunities in the sector (and what are those threats and opportunities), or are revisions needed to meet the Activity’s objectives?
Theory of Change – To what extent does the Theory of Change (including Assumptions) remain valid? How might it be improved?
Sustainability and Local Capacity – Is this approach to strengthen the capacity of local systems (government, local NGOs, private sector, and others) to implement conservation programs in each of the selected wildlife corridors realistic given the capacity of these institutions and organizations?
Integrated Governance Management – Using USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity selected wildlife corridors, what are the key communities’ perceptions regarding wildlife corridors restoration and management in Tanzania? How should USAID and USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity support governance and policy to ensure wildlife corridor work is a success amid these communities’ perceptions?
EQ3 Sustainability: Which interventions are likely to produce sustained corridor conservation efforts by government, communities, and the private sector, and which interventions are likely to be less efficient and should be modified?
Theory of Change – At what state within the theory of change is each corridor likely to be in at the end of the Activity and what aspects might need continued or additional support to be sustainable?
Sustainability and Local Capacity – Is the approach to strengthen the capacity of local systems (government, local NGOs, private sector, and others) to implement conservation programs in each of the selected wildlife corridors more/less sustainable to achieve the desired biodiversity and wildlife outcomes compared to direct implementation support?
Sustainability and Local Capacity – What’s working well and sustainable beyond the 5-year project life (to be replicated/scaled)? What’s insufficient/unsustainable (to be graduated/released)?
Integrated Governance Management – How can corridor work be effectively scaled with the Government of Tanzania and other donors, and where do USAID and USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili have the most added value moving forward?
Responsibilities:
The Evaluation Specialist will be responsible for contributing to all aspects of the evaluation, including supporting the development of the assessment’s methodology, data collection, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and writing the draft and final reports. The Evaluation Specialist will provide key support to the evaluation in completing the following duties alongside the Team Lead and other Evaluation Team members:
- Document key Tuhifadhi Maliasili interventions and results through a comprehensive desk review and contribute expertise and technical inputs to the work plan.
- Through desk review, identify additional information required for analysis and data collection.
- Support the design of the evaluation, methodology, development of instruments, data collection, synthesis of data, presentations, and report.
- Schedule and interview key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
- Work closely with project team members and the contracted local firm to ensure that data collection and analysis activities are well-coordinated and aligned with the project’s goals.
- Manage tasks and timelines effectively, ensuring that deliverables are completed on time and within budget.
- Be prepared to travel within Tanzania and adapt to fieldwork conditions as needed, while maintaining open lines of communication with the project team and stakeholders.
- Contribute to the consultant team’s collaborative production of the following high-quality deliverables:
- Work plan with methodology and interview protocols
- PowerPoint presentations to USAID/Tanzania
- Draft and Final Report
Deliverables:
With support from USAID/T-MELA and team members, the Evaluation Specialist will be expected to participate in the production and management of the following:
Final Evaluation Design: A detailed, full evaluation design and work plan following an initial consultation with USAID that will include chosen methodologies and data collection tools.
Kick-off meeting/In brief: A PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation summarizing the Inception Report for USAID/T-MELA and key partners prior to the launch of data collection.
Findings Conclusions and Recommendations (FCR) Matrix: An analysis tool through which data is triangulated and findings, conclusions, and recommendations specific to each evaluation question are produced. Two FCR matrixes are expected, a preliminary document after the first full week of data collection, and a final matrix at the end of the data analysis period.
Outbrief: The team will present the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the wider USAID/Tanzania Mission through a PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation. The Team Lead is expected to update this PowerPoint after the final report.
Draft Report: A draft report with fully developed findings, conclusions, and recommendations, no longer than 30 pages excluding annexes, will be submitted to the T-MELA COP who will submit to the USAID COR for T-MELA activity. The format will include an executive summary, table of contents, methodology, findings, and recommendations. USAID/T-MELA and key local stakeholders will provide comments on the draft report.
Final Report: The team will submit a final report that incorporates responses to USAID’s/partner’s comments and suggestions. The report will be submitted electronically in English. The report will be disseminated within USAID and key stakeholders.
Qualifications and Skills:
The Evaluation Specialist must have/hold:
- Advanced Graduate Degree in Natural Resource Management related field.
- Minimum of five years of experience conducting large evaluations. Experience in Natural Resource Management projects such biodiversity, wildlife conservation or any other related field is preferred.
- Proven expertise in conducting operational research (both quantitative and qualitative data collection), monitoring and evaluation of biodiversity, Natural Resource Management etc is preferred.
- Strong background in qualitative data collection methods, including focus group discussions (FGD), key informants/ in-depth interviews (KII/IDI).
- Significant experience in conducting qualitative/quantitative data analysis is recommended.
- Advanced skills in data analysis software such as Dedoose for Qualitative and SPSS/STATA for quantitative.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team.
- Ability to develop effective working relationships with USAID, local organizations, other program partners and counterparts.
- Experience in preparing high-quality analytical reports, presentations, and policy briefs based on survey findings and data analysis.
- Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and prioritize effectively.
- Ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse team.
- Must be fluent (writing and speaking) in English and Kiswahili
Level of Effort (LOE)
Up to 52 days. Only actual time spent is billable. Please see the below table for a sample breakdown of suggested LOE by project task.
Expected timeline: December 2023– June 2024
The position will be open until filled. The selection and interview will be performed on a rolling basis, and interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
To apply, please merge both your CV and a cover letter into one PDF file and submit it through the online portal.
Come join our energetic and innovative team! We offer you the opportunity to play a leading role in the growth of our company, work as part of a creative and committed team, and make a difference in the well-being of our world.
To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com
SI is an EEO/AA/ADA Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.
Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.