Consultancy: International Team Leader, Mid-Term Evaluation, YouthRISE, Bangladesh At EnCompass

Position Description

EnCompass LLC is seeking an international Team Leader to conduct the Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the YouthRISE Activity and lead a team of local subject matter specialists.

Encompass is implementing the four-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Upoma Activity, providing a range of analytical and advisory services in support of USAID’s design, performance monitoring, evaluation, and operational learning and adapting efforts. Under Upoma, EnCompass has been tasked to conduct a Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the USAID-financed YouthRISE activity in Bangladesh.

YouthRISE is a four-year consortium program funded by USAID and led by BBC Media Action consortium. This program is being implemented in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), Shushilan, and Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK). This mid-term evaluation will critically analyze YouthRISE’s efforts to build youth resilience and propose recommendations for the improvement and sustainability of the program.

The overarching goal of YouthRISE is to mitigate conflict and violence (including GBV), prevalent in communities affected by the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar district. The program’s core objective is to fortify the resilience of young individuals, cultivating their ability to resolve local conflicts through peaceful means and steering them away from engagement in violence. The geographic focus encompasses host communities impacted by the Rohingya crisis in Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazila, with a specific emphasis on youth aged 18 to 35, ensuring substantial participation from young women. Furthermore, the program prioritizes the inclusion of religious and ethnic minority youth in beneficiary selection.

Goal and Objective of the MTE

To achieve the program goal and objectives, interventions under YouthRISE are grouped into the following Intermediate Results (IRs) for the life of the program:

IR-1: Strengthened life/leadership skills, shifts in gender norms and improved livelihood skills and opportunities increase young people’s resilience to violence.

IR-2: Increased confidence of host community youth to engage positively and non-violently in their community mitigates conflict.

IR-3: Local justice systems are strengthened to reduce the use of violence and solve disputes, which fosters youth engagement and trust in local justice mechanisms.

The specific objectives of the MTE are:

To measure the effectiveness of the activities, if or not the current YouthRISE interventions are appropriate to achieve its goal.
How well did the activities of each of YouthRISE’s three components contribute, in a coordinated way, to build conflict resiliency among youth in the host community?
To what extent has YouthRISE’s performance management system provided useful data to support management decisions?
To what extent have YouthRISE management and stakeholders incorporated knowledge gained through YouthRISE’s MEL into project management?
Assess the potential benefits of integrating Rohingya youth into existing initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of interventions aimed at fostering social cohesion.
Evaluate the feasibility of partnering with the private sector to amplify the impact of youth empowerment programs and initiatives promoting social cohesion.
What are some early signs of sustainability of YouthRISE activities beyond USAID support?

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential functions:

Lead the assessment team including one Country Context Specialist, one M&E Specialist, and one Logistics Support Specialist.
Review relevant secondary data, both to inform the Inception Report as well as the final report, integrating secondary data to answer the MTE’s learning questions.
Collect primary data through various means, such as interviews and focus groups, and stakeholder surveys, ensuring data quality and integrity.
Develop and implement an inception plan, inclusive of methodology, tools, and a timeline to execute the MTE.
Act as the principal point of contact for USAID’s DRG Activity Manager, providing regular updates on the progress of the evaluation.
Manage the team’s primary data collection efforts, ensuring methods are ethical and thorough.
Oversee the collection, analysis, and synthesis of secondary data to complement primary data findings.

Deliverables and Timing:

Inception report including work plan, detailed methodology, data collection tools, lists of KIIs and FGDs, outline of the final report presenting the proposed structure of the report and timeline.
In-brief meeting with USAID’s DRG Activity Manager upon arrival in Bangladesh
Regular progress reports/updates to the USAID’s DRG Activity Manager.
Out-brief presentation at the end of field work/data collection on key findings and recommendations,
Comprehensive draft and after receiving feedback from USAID, final version of the report.

Period of Performance and Level of Effort (LOE):

The LOE for the Team Leader is approximately up to 60 days. The period of performance is from on or about June 1, 2024, to October 30, 2024.

Travel:

The position requires travel by the Team Leader to Bangladesh.

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

Master’s degree in international development, conflict resolution, political science, or related field is required

Experience and Skills

A minimum of 15 years of experience in conflict mitigation and resilience, specifically in the context of humanitarian crises
Proven track record in leading evaluations, with expertise in application of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
Excellent communication skills in English are required
Experience working in crisis-affected areas
Fluency in Bengali is not required but preferred
Demonstrable experience in project management and team leadership within multi-cultural settings
Significant knowledge of the socio-political context of Bangladesh. Previous experience working in Bangladesh is not required but preferred