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Background

Evidence generation, policy advice, dialogue and advocacy are core strategies of UNICEF's engagement in Tanzania. UNICEF supported research, studies and evaluations are intended to provide strategically relevant information and evidence to inform decision-making and to influence policy makers on child rights, particularly with regards to key areas of strategic interest which inform the Country Programme. They are also essential to promote corporate learning and accountability.

In August 2018, the standard operating procedure for management of research, studies and evaluations of UNICEF Tanzania Country Office (TCO) was revised to provide clearer guidance and strengthen the quality assurance. The purpose of the system is to ensure high quality and ethical standards. It should also ensure that ethical procedures and standards are met according to UNICEF guidance.

• The UNICEF Tanzania 2019/20 Plan for Research, Impact Monitoring and Evaluation (known as PRIME) contains 28 research and studies and 6 evaluations.
• UNICEF research and evaluation policies and procedures that have recently issued (see Annex 2):
• UNICEF Office of Research's Taxonomy for Defining and Classifying UNICEF Research, Evaluation and Studies
• UNICEF Policy on Research (2016)
• UNICEF Procedure for Quality Assurance in Research (2015)
• UNICEF Procedure for ethical standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis (2015)
• UNICEF Guidance note on external academic publishing (2017)
• UNICEF Evaluation Policy (2018)
• Guidance for UNICEF Staff: Evaluation Management Response (2018)
• UNICEF-Adapted UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Terms of Reference (2017)
• UNICEF-Adapted UNEG Evaluation Reports Standards (2017)
• UNICEF Data for Children Strategic Framework
• Global Evaluation Reports Oversight System (GEROS). 
• UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Evaluation Framework 2019-2021.

Justification

• To support the production of high quality evidence that will feed into UNICEF Tanzania's programming and advocacy efforts, as well as to support decision-makers to make informed choices and plan strategically, it is crucial to further strengthen quality assurance for research, studies and evaluations. Given the substantial number of research, studies and evaluation commissioned and the increasingly specific requirements for managing research, studies and evaluation, the Tanzania Country Office (TCO) seeks to engage an international consultant who will provide professional and practical feedback on quality and ethical aspects during key stages of all TCO's research, studies and evaluations.
• The main objective of this consultancy is to support the TCO with providing quality and timely feedback and recommendations for the improvement of research, studies and evaluation products it commissions from institutional and individual contractors. The feedback and recommendations will be informed by the requirements established by UNICEF and other commonly accepted research and evaluation standards.

Methodology

 The selected consultant will mainly use the systematic review of research and evaluation policies and policies established by UNICEF and other commonly accepted research and evaluation standards when developing tools for the quality assurance.

Specific Tasks

The selected consultant is expected to conduct the following tasks

• Develop tools, including assessment templates and checklists for quality assurance of terms of reference, inception reports and draft reports of research and studies based on research policies and guidelines established by UNICEF and other commonly accepted research standards;
• Review, rate and provide detailed feedback on terms of reference, inception reports and draft reports of the TCO commissioned research and studies (in English), submitted between August 2019 and June 2020, up to a maximum of 30 products;
• Review, rate and provide detailed feedback on terms of reference, inception reports and draft reports of the TCO commissioned evaluation reports (in English), submitted between August 2019 and June 2020, up to a maximum of 6, using GEROS tools and based on UNICEF evaluation policies and guidelines.
• The selected consultant will carry out the review referred to under Task 2 and 3 for a maximum of three (3) working days for Terms of Reference, and five (5) working days for inception reports and draft reports. 

Expected Deliverables

The selected consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• Methodological approach and tools for quality assurance of research and studies;
• Reviews of and feedback on terms of reference, inception reports and draft reports of TCO commissioned research and studies (in English), submitted between August 2019 and June 2020, up to a maximum of 30, using the tools developed under Deliverable 1;
• Reviews of and feedback on terms of reference, inception reports and draft reports of the TCO commissioned evaluation reports (in English), submitted between August 2019 and June 2020. up to a maximum of 6, using GEROS tools;
• The consultant will be paid by number of actual reviews multiplied by the cost per review. Quarterly billing will be based on actual work done.

Duration of contract

The contract is expected to start the 1st of August 2019 and will expire on July 31st 2020.

Reporting

The selected consultant will report to the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist (Child Rights Monitoring, Research and Evaluation) who is the direct supervisor of this consultancy

Payment:

• The 1st payment will be made upon the submission of the 1st deliverable: Methodological approach and tools for quality assurance of research and studies;
• Subsequent payments will be made on a quarterly basis, depending on the actual number of completed quality reviews of research, studies and evaluations, multiplied by the agreed-upon unit cost per report. This is due to the uncertainty over the total number of actual reports that will be received. All invoicing will be based on actual work done to minimize cost if expected levels of activity did not materialize.

Expected background and Experience

The consultant should meet the following requirements:

• Academic qualifications: Advanced university degree in economics, demography, statistics, research, evaluation, public policy or other relevant social sciences with strong background in research and evaluation design and methodologies, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in managing, designing and conducting research and evaluations covering a wide range of qualitative and qualitative methods.
• Expertise and deep understanding of quality and ethical issues in research and evaluations, in both humanitarian and development contexts, in areas of UNCEF intervention (child protection; education; health; nutrition; HIV/AIDS; water, sanitation and hygiene; social inclusion).
• Experience in conducting quality assurance for research and evaluations.
• Proven experience and capacity in providing quality and ethical reviews of research and evaluation processes and outputs such as draft terms of references as well as inception and draft reports, preferably with UN agencies or other international organizations.
• Familiarity with UNICEF or other UN agency evaluation and research quality and ethical standards is an asset.
• Language proficiency in English is required.

Required bidding documents

• Cover letter
• CV and P11 form of the consultant
• Description of the relevant experience in similar assignments
• Financial proposal, with the following details:
• Cost of developing tools for quality assurance of research and studies;
• Respective daily fee rates of reviewing terms of references, inception reports and draft reports of research, studies and evaluations.

General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics

• The consultant will work remotely from home.
• The consultant should provide his/her own materials, i.e. computer, office supplies, etc.
• Plan for schedule of payment. The contract will be paid by number of actual reviews multiplied by the cost per review. Quarterly billing will be based on actual work done.
• Policy both parties should be aware of:
• Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.
• Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime.  All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
• No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor.
• For international consultants outside the duty station, signed contracts must be sent by fax or email.  Signed contract copy or written agreement must be received by the office before Travel Authorisation is issued.
• No consultant may travel without a signed travel authorisation prior to the commencement of the journey to the duty station.
• Unless authorised, UNICEF will buy the tickets of the consultant.  In exceptional cases, the consultant may be authorised to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the most economical and direct route but this must be agreed to beforehand.
• Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on UNICEF budget.
• Consultant will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.
• The Form 'Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary' must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.