Request for applications: External consultant for

Increased Support and Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in East Africa

Project Description

The Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale (AVSI)— under the cooperative agreement GPO-A-00-05-00020-00— is starting to implement a 4-year program among the most needy areas of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. Building upon past experiences, the on going Distant Support Program and replicating best practices, this program will scale up quality services already offered to 5780 orphans, vulnerable children and their communities through an operative network of 93 local partners. At the end of the program at least 12,000 HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children will be provided with quality services for dignified living conditions, at least 50,000 families, communities and at least 120 local community-based organizations will be assisted in their capacity to care for OVC and to support their growth.

These goals will be met through a two-pronged approach to holistic service provision that is focused on the individual person and his/her needs as well as on supporting direct service providers which are deeply embedded in community settings. The activities and services that will be scaled-up, enhanced or replicated during the life of project have emerged as responsive and appropriate solutions to the concrete situations faced by OVC in these three countries. The entire program combines indirect and direct forms of assistance. Direct assistance, provided through qualified local partner organizations, will include requirements for school attendance, learning materials, after-school programs, vocational training, health care, recreational activities and emotional support. Indirect assistance will consist of support for quality education, IGA, community projects and sensitization and family support. Training and consultations will be provided for individual partners and local networks to address institutional and operational weaknesses and to improve capacity, efficiency and quality.

Goal of the baseline evaluation.

To provide a thorough starting point for areas which the project hopes to change/improve upon, so that an adequate assessment of project impact can be made at mid-term and final evaluation moments. Emphasis of this baseline should be on two domains of the four the project is focusing on. It will focus on the child; looking at education in terms of attendance, performance, etc. and the psychosocial aspect, considering the relationship with peers among others. The second domain of emphasis will be the local partners, looking at the capacity the local partner has in providing services and dealing with vulnerable children.

Title:                  Short-term Baseline Survey Consultant

Code: AVSI/UGA/2005/12

Posting Date: 27/06/2005

Closing Date: 25/07/2005

Duty Station: Kampala

Consultancy Description

The Baseline survey Consultant will be responsible for designing, implementing and communicating the results of the project’s Baseline Evaluation as an integrated part of the overall Monitoring and Evaluation System covering the four-year project.  The Consultant will work closely with the M&E officer under the direction of the Program Manager, and with input from other resource persons inside AVSI. During the implementation phase, the Consultant will rely on a team of local staff, including Country Coordinators and the M& E officer.

Scope of work

A general description of the scope of work that is required to be performed by you;

• Design baseline evaluation in coordination with the OVC project team and taking into considerations best practices and accepted guidelines.
• Review project documents so that they guide you in designing and coming up with focused baseline needs.
• Work together with the OVC project team to design indicators, review the already existing ones or redefine them and propose strategies of how these indicators can best be assessed.
• Oversee preparation of data collection tools, including a preliminary review of existing tools (surveys, focus groups, interviews, others).
• Communicate with and train evaluation implementers to ensure successful completion of tasks and a high degree of reliability of collected data.
• Test the data collection tool together with the survey enumerators to ensure that it captures the desired information before undertaking the actual survey.
• Participate in dialogue with other grant recipients through the informal working group and personal communication.
• Lead the process of data analysis of data collected during the baseline evaluation.
• Write a Baseline Evaluation report to include the methodology employed, data collected, suggested areas of follow up and when this should be done, review of implementation, and findings/conclusions.
• Study the database developed for the project to ensure that it is suitable for storing all the information collected during the baseline.
• Prepare a guide for the mid-term and final evaluations.
• Offer feedback and lessons learned on all aspects of the process.

Deliverables

1. Baseline Evaluation Strategy
2. Baseline Evaluation Implementation Plan
3. Training Materials
4. Baseline Report
5. Lessons Learned

Application Process

Interested candidates should send a CV in AVSI format and a letter of interest, specifying the expected remuneration, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it from June 27 to July18. Include the job title and code (AVSI/UGA/2005/12) in the email subject line. Send requests for an AVSI curriculum vitae format to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Time frame.

This baseline is to be carried out around the months of September, October and November and be completed within 60 working days from Monday – Friday (Saturday may be included).