Afghanistan: Senior International Expert/HPS Mid-Term Evaluation

Jun 28, 2015 | Afghanistan National Horticulture Development Organization
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Since 2003, The European Union (EU) continues its support to the creation of the required institutional and organizational frameworks for enabling the agriculture sector to finally play the expected role as an engine of growth and for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) to provide support to and facilitate the private sector development. The main aim of the EU has been to foster a quick recovery of private sector capacity to deliver to all the Afghan farmers, quality inputs and services in the seed industry, animal health, and horticulture sector. In this respect, four sub-sector programmes were developed and continue to be implemented; namely: the "Afghanistan Variety and Seed Industry Development Programme" (AVSIDP), the "Animal Health Development Programme" (AHDP) and the "Perennial Horticulture Development Programme" (PHDP) and the "Strengthening of the Agricultural Economics, Market Information and Statistics Services" programme (SEAMISS). In addition support has been provided to a number of NGOs with the specific objective to stimulate the development of the private sector at the sub-national level.
 
This Action has a great advantage in being able to build on seven years of horticultural development in the PHDP and PHDPII. In this respect, all the activities proposed are based at the very least on some PHDP/PHDPII pilot effort or study, and are designed with the current situation in the country in mind. The Action “Support to the Development of Agriculture Private Sector: Perennial Horticulture - HPS” (DCI-ASIE/2013/335-321) was awarded on 19-Dec-2013 and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Afghanistan National Horticulture Development Organization (ANHDO, Leader) and Relief International (RI, Co-Applicant) and funded by European Aid - EU Delegation in Afghanistan. ANHDO is broadly contributing the technical expertise, while RI is mainly contributing the managerial expertise. Implementation activities are under the technical coordination and supervision of the EU Technical Assistance Team, namely PHDP TA.ANHDO is an Afghan non-governmental organization registered with the Ministry of Economy that was founded in 2009 and supported until 2010 by the World Bank funded Horticulture and Livestock Project (HLP) until 2010. When HLP dissolved its relationship with ANHDO, PHDP and then PHDPII made the development of ANHDO as an apex institution for horticulture in Afghanistan one of their highest priority activities (Agriculture Master Plan 2009 and National Priority Program II 2012). ANHDO’s development is part of the EU and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) long term strategy for the development of the horticulture sector in Afghanistan.
 
RI INGO is a humanitarian, non-profit, non-sectarian agency which provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, and development interventions throughout the world. Since 1990, RI’s programs linked immediate emergency assistance with long-term economic and livelihood development through innovative programming at the grassroots level. RI has been operating in Afghanistan since November 2001 implementing development and emergency assistance programs in several provinces.
 
Position:
The assignment will take place partly home based, partly in Kabul, Afghanistan under the guidance of the EU Delegation in conjunction with PHDP TA and ANHDO. Assignment is foreseen to start in late August 2015.
 
REQUIRED ACTIVITIES / OUTPUTS:
The consultant is expected to carry out the following activities and produce the following outputs:
 
a. Produce and present the proposed detailed methodology of the evaluation for final approval. Attend a briefing session with the project Stakeholders and the Task manager from the EU Delegation upon arrival in Afghanistan. During this session, the stakeholders group will elaborate in more detail and, if required, adjust the specific questions for the evaluation assignment as stated in these TOR.
b. Present a schedule of meetings to be held with project implementing actors and with relevant stakeholders, like the line ministry, including site visits and interviews with relevant beneficiaries. The project team will assist the drafting of this schedule 2 weeks before the start of the evaluation in Kabul by considering the availability of stakeholders and beneficiaries and the logistic movement requirements.
c. Conduct interviews and site visits with the identified key actors, beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders;
d. Conduct a debriefing session with the project stakeholders on the last day of the evaluation mission. Produce a power point presentation (PPP) for the de-briefing with preliminary findings, main lessons learnt and recommendations. After the debriefing session, submit the PPP to the project stakeholders.
e. Produce a draft evaluation report within 7 days after the end of the in-country mission and submit it in electronic version to the EU Task manager and all the main stakeholders. Comments will be provided within 10 days after the submission of the draft report.
f. Attend to the comments on the draft evaluation report by either accommodating or commenting on these. Produce the evaluation report within 10 days after receiving the comments and submit the electronic version to the evaluation manager and the members of the reference group. ANHDO will produce 15 hard and bound copies of the Mid Term Evaluation report and distribute to the EU Delegation and to the main stakeholders.
 
The length of the report will be maximum 25 pages plus annexes. It will include Executive summary, an Introduction, the Methodology applied, the details on the five Evaluation criteria, a Conclusion, and Lessons learnt. Obligatory annexes to be attached are: the list of documents reviewed, the list of people met, the TOR, and other supporting documents as needed.
 
All reports shall clearly contain the following disclaimer: “This report was prepared with the financial support of the European Commission. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the European Commission.”
 
LOCATION and SCHEDULE:
The assignment will take place partly home based, partly in Kabul, Afghanistan under the guidance of the EU Delegation in conjunction with PHDP TA and ANHDO. Assignment is foreseen to start in late August 2015.
 
The maximum number of working days for the senior International Expert will be: 16
The maximum number of working days for the junior National Expert will be: 09
 
Requirements:
 
Senior*International Expert:*
• At least a Master's degree in Agriculture or a related field. In the absence of a MSc degree, an equivalent of an additional five years' experience in the related field.
• At least 10 years' experience in monitoring and evaluating of donor-funded projects or programmes, preferably in EU-funded assistance instruments. Previous experience in Afghanistan, specifically in monitoring or evaluating EU-funded projects will be an asset.
• Good knowledge and experience in development cooperation, and in EC cooperation (procedures and structures) in particular.
• Good understanding of the situation in the region and specifically in the agriculture/ horticulture sector in Afghanistan
• Specific knowledge in the principles used in cooperative structures and associations
• Capacity to address essential cross–cutting thematic issues, when required (e.g. gender equality, environment)
• Good analytical skills and proven field work capacity
• Excellent communication skills. Excellent oral and written skills in English are required.
• No conflict of interest (no involvement in project programming or implementation)
 
Contract conditions:
 
Compensation based on experience
1 return tickets between Afghanistan and home country
Accommodation & Living Expences: per diem
 
HOW TO APPLY:
 
Please submit your CV along with three references and a Cover Letter outlining the approach that you would take to complete the assignment and your commitment to meet the objectives, timelines and obligations described in this document. The application should not be more than two pages long with an Arial font size 11, excluding CV. Applications should be sent to najib_enayat@afghanistanhorticulture.org