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Position information
 
CLOSED POSITION
 
Job Title: Project Evaluator
Project: Preventing Electoral Violence in the Countries of the SADC (PEV SADC)
Duty Station: Brussels for data gathering / Home-based for report-writing
Reports to: Project Director
Duration: Max 16 working days (5 working days at least in Brussels)
Period: 10.07.2017 – 26.07.2017
 
 
Organizational context
ECES is a non-profit private foundation headquartered in Brussels with a global remit. ECES carries out identification, formulation and implementation of its projects taking on board the direct experience of over 70 contracts signed since February 2012 and the electoral field experience of the founders and the personnel of ECES; that taken together, allows ECES to implement projects considering lessons learned and experiences of over 70 electoral processes around the world. Building upon donors' evaluations of the electoral support programmes of the last 10 years, ECES focuses on the promotion of sustainable long-term capacity development throughout the electoral cycle, without detracting from the crucial activity of supporting electoral events and operations.
The key focus areas of ECES are to support: i) Capacity development through training programs, Effective Electoral Assistance Training and courses on Election Observation; ii) Advisory support; iii) Procurement of electoral material; iv) Evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the logistic and operational electoral chain; v) Ballot paper design and securisation; vi) Transmission of election results systems design and implementation; vii) Media monitoring and institutional communication activities; viii) Confidence-building dialogue initiatives at regional, national and community level; ix) Facilitation of political dialogue among electoral stakeholders; x) Crisis management/mediation process with key electoral stakeholders including political and religious leaders; Religious networks and association mapping and inter- and intra-faith dialogue; Political economy analysis; xi) Management of basketfunds in view to maximize the coherence and the complementarity of external contributions to the electoral processes; xii) Support EMB to enhance their capacity to manage donors’ funds including reporting procedures and expending evaluation; xiii) Development of innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) user-friendly solutions and applications adapted to electoral support.
 
 
PEV SADC project
The overall objective of the PEV-SADC project is contributing to the prevention of electoral conflicts and violence in the Southern African region and more specifically targeting the following countries:
Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe. This is done by supporting the Electoral Support Network of Southern Africa - ESN SA (formerly SADC Electoral Support Network) which is the regional umbrella organisations regrouping the national networks of civil society organisations doing election observation in the SADC region. The project started on 6th February 2013 and is funded 75% by the European Union and 25% by ECES. Working on preventing every aspect of pre-electoral, electoral and post-electoral violence, the specific
objectives outlined in this project are:
1) To develop the capacities of the ESN-SA member-organisations, especially in preventing electoral violence. This objective directly relates to the Needs Assessment Missions and the delivery of BRIDGE and LEAD training packages on a country-by-country basis.
2) To support the establishment and development of necessary functions within the ESN-SA platform of CSOs. It involves support to establishing an observatory of electoral violence prevention and creates tools to address this issue as well as supporting the network ingeneral regarding expansion, relations with other stakeholders.
3) To promote research, communication, networking, and visibility of the ESN-SA, which is directly linked to the activities envisaged to develop and establish the website and the publication of research and findings from the NAMs. The aim is to make the network a visible and credible actor in regards of electoral processes in their area of operation and more efficiently address electoral violence.
 
 
Functions / Key Results Expected
The objective of this evaluation is to analyse the performance and results of PEV SADC project, taking into account both its goals and the relevance of its activities with the context of implementation. It is also about whether the project was implemented in an effective and efficient manner. Thus, the assessment is to verify that the various components of the project were executed in accordance with stipulated conditions and if the expected results were achieved. Incidentally, the evaluators will meet all relevant stakeholders, beneficiaries of the project, implementing partners and the donor, to the collection of information necessary for the implementation of the external evaluation. The evaluators shall evaluate the achieved results, implementation strategies and progress and is being conducted to meet the contracting requirements of the European Commission, as well as to provide accountability and contribute to future work programme for all partners.
It is thus to assess the project according to the following principles:
1) Relevance: How well did the Action meet the needs of the partners and networks for which it was intended?
2) Effectiveness: Whether the planned benefits have been delivered and received, as perceived by all key stakeholders.
3) Efficiency: Quality of day--‐to--‐day management (operational work planning and implementation, management of the budget, management of personnel, management of risk, relations/coordination with local partners and quality of information management and reporting). Did any unplanned outputs arise from the activities? Evaluate cost versus value of implemented budget.
4) Impact: What changed because of the Action? Whether the effects of the project produced any unintended or unexpected impacts, and if so how have those affected the overall impact.
5) Sustainability: To what extent will the benefits, outcomes and impacts of the project continue after donor funding ceased (ownership of objectives and achievements, policy support, institutional capacity, socio--‐cultural factors and financial sustainability)
6) Mutual Reinforcement: The extent to which the programme (objectives, beneficiaries) is likely to contribute or contradict other EC policies with evolving strategies in Preventing of electoral violence/conflicts for the Development of Thematic Programme of the EC.
 
In line with the above:
The Consultant will liaise with the Management PEV SADC Team throughout the evaluation and have meetings at specific points to review progress, discuss methodologies and any foreseeable difficulties that have or may arise. The Consultant will also liaise with PEV SADC Partners in the related countries during the evaluation process. In order to facilitate the evaluation, it will take place during the Seminar of launching of the Handbook in Brussels on 10th to 14th July 2017, which will gather most stakeholders and partners. Those not present in Brussels can be interviewed via teleconference. The PEV SADC project team is dedicating one full day to the evaluator for interviews and going over project documentation.
 
Reporting:
  • The evaluator will produce a report analysing the results obtained by the project, highlighting the lessons learned during the implementation and advocating recommendations for performance, impact and sustainability.
  • The report will also include an analysis of the degree of ownership by the beneficiaries and partners and identify recommendations for optimal ownership of this kind of project.
  • A draft of the evaluation report shall be submitted and discussed with ECES HQ and the team of the project at the end of the mission on the field. The report should also highlight the following aspects:
  1.  the development and transfer of capacity;
  2.  the sustainability of the achievements of the beneficiaries;
  3.  innovation of the intervention and the added value in the implementation of the electoral cycle;
  4.  the inclusion of the gender dimension;
  5.  development of recommendations as per EU-funded projects in a similar vein.

 

Competences and skills
i) Autonomy, sense of initiative and anticipation;
ii) Strong analytical skills;
iii) Ability to work under pressure of deadlines and results with initiative, dynamism and proactivity;
iv) Ability to communicate effectively with the various partners involved in the implementation of the project and with beneficiaries;
v) Excellent English speaking and writing skills
vi) Sensitivity to the specific objective of the project and adherence to the principles and value of ECES and the Project
 
 
Qualifications
 
Education:
  • Master Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Development or other relevant field.
  • Professional experience:
  • Minimum five (5) years of professional experience within the field of democracy and/or electoral support with at least three (3) years in an international setting;
  • Work experience from the implementation of multifaceted projects in the field of elections;
  • Work experiences in a) conducting Needs Assessment Missions; b) project monitoring and donor reporting;
  • Experience of evaluating EU-Funded programmes/projects.
  • Knowledge on EU cooperation in development and democratization support: electoral assistance and election observation, leadership and conflict prevention. The experience in this kind of project is an asset.
  • Knowledge of Project Cycle Management and the approach of the EU logical framework
  • Demonstrable knowledge and experience in civil society, electoral violence, human rights and advocacy issues preferably in an African context.
  • Good knowledge of and experience in SADC region will be an asset.
Computer skills:
  • Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, internet and web search tools;
Language skills:
  • Fluent English is required – both oral and written (French and Portuguese is an advantage.) 

 

THE CALL FOR APPLICATION WAS CLOSED 30/06/2017

 

In-country Researcher on ERV

 

CLOSED POSITION

 

Terms of Reference

Position Information

Job Title: In-country Researcher (ICR)
Duty Station: Home-based
Duration: 60 days full-time during the period of June 2014 – Feb 2015 (possibility of extension)
Reports to: Research Coordinator

 

  • Organizational context

The ESN-SA in partnership with the European Center for Electoral Support and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa was awarded a contract for implementing the "Prevention of Electoral Violence in the SADC Region (PEV-SADC) in February 2013 from the European Union's Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. The overall objective of the project is to prevent electoral violence in Southern African countries, through support to SADC-Election Support Network. Specifically, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of ESN-SA member organisations in prevention of election-related violence and to support the establishment of an observatory of electoral violence for research and sensitization on election related violence in the SADC region. The project's two main thrusts are capacity building and conflict management. As an outgrowth from the PEV SADC project and building on the lessons learned and best practices, ESN-SA and ECES have jointly developed a second element sprung out of the project, entitled PEV SADC II by the establishment of an Electoral Observatory with an overall objective of contributing to support the prevention of electoral violence and conflict in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

  • The PEV-SADC project

This initiative will see the establishment of an "Electoral Observatory" of Electoral Violence which will bring together ESN-SA members who will jointly develop a common strategy for mapping, managing, and preventing election-related conflict. The Observatory will play an important role in overseeing the research and publication of electoral violence research briefs to be undertaken in the context of the Project. Moreover, the Observatory is meant to support member CSOs in building a positive relationship with the respective election management bodies as well as engaging with other stakeholders such as political parties and the media with the purpose of opening the space for dialogue, tabling issues of concern and identifying appropriate responses to managing election conflict. Based on the input of the member organisations, the Observatory will act as an early warning system in the pre-, during and post-election cycle where data gathered will be fed to the Observatory at country level and shared with the EMB and relevant authorities to enable them to respond before the conflict escalates into violent confrontation. The observatory will consist of 15 country researchers, who will be expected to provide monthly reports and assessments of each of the SADC states supported by the ESN-SA and ECES secretariat who will offer technical assistance as well as consolidate the country findings. The outputs of this activity will culminate into a regional conference in which the ESN-SA members as well as other civil society actors in the region such as the SADC Election Commissions Forum (SADC-ECF), SADC-CNGO and various development partners will attend and receive the findings and also extend into covering lessons learned and a curricula development session between the ESN-SA and the other partners. It is envisaged that publications, research papers and the development of a Democracy Toolkit for CSOs in SADC region will be produced as a result of this project and these will also be shared at the regional conference. The aim of this exercise is thus to carry research on electoral violence and conflict in each of the SADC countries according to three steps, namely desktop research, collect first-hand data in the field through surveys and follow up on survey-findings with interviews. The data-collection is thus to be carried out using a mixed-method, meaning both quantitative and qualitative means of data-gathering. In the long-run, the purpose of the research is to contibute to a systematic databank over processes of electoral violence and conflict in order to carefully mapp and trace tendencies, to eventually being able to mitigate it's occurrence. On a shorter timeframe, this research excersise will produce policy papers, article, case studies and a handbook that is built from the accounts on electoral violence and conflict that the qualitative and quantitative research yields. At the end of the Action, data and empirical material will be available from each of the SADC countries, enabling cross-country comparison and even cross-regional, made possible through the large sample from the quantitative part.

  • Functions / Key Results Expected

Under the supervision of the PEV-SADC Research Coordinator, the in-country researchers (ICR) will provide empirical date on electoral violence according to three main research clusters, namely Electoral Violence and Electoral Administration, Gender and Electoral Violence and Electoral Violence and Media to feed into the framework of the observatory developed though the PEV-SADC II initiative. The ICR will have the following specific responsibilities and will provide the following deliverables, the prioritization and timing of which will be planned and discussed with the Research Coordination and PEV SADC II Steering Committee. Reporting should be made on a bi-weekly basis where the researcher submits a one-page memo of the research progress, how the research is advancing and if any challenges have impeded the original plan, and what measures can be taken to carry on. In general, reporting shuold be made the 1st and 15th of every month.

  • Needs assessment & baseline analysis
  1. Prepare and carry out Needs Assessment Missions to identify and establish contact with key stakeholders i.e. informants
  2. Prepare a draft research plan as per the Researchers Guidelines and templates
  3. Collect and consolidate baseline data and conduct a literature / policy paper review that maps out previous research along these lines.
  4. Research, writing, and analysis on elections-related violence
  5. Collect and analyze first hand empirical country data on election-related violence
  6. Apply a mixed-method approach i.e. combined quantitative and qualitative research.
  7. Reference to large-scale samples such as the Afrobarometer is welcome as a compliment. However, the most material shall be collected by the researcher him/herself.
  8. Interviews should be conducted in a semi-structured way, meaning guiding questions are prepared but allow for flexibility should any interesting yet unplanned track related to the subject occur.
  9. Develop a theoretical framework in which the empirical data is understood.
  10. Clearly account for the methodology of the research and how the data is analyzed: The coding, stratification, sample size and standard error of quantitative data treated in software's (SPSS and STATA) must be reflected in the methods-chapter as shall the methods be clearly described for interpreting the qualitative data.
  11. Provide expert advice, input, identify and peer review other country contribution when and if needed as indicated by the research coordinator.
  12. Produce one or more papers linked to one of the three research clusters (max 10'000 words excluding annex, footnotes and bibliography) for submission to be peer-reviewed to the research coordinator with the possibility to be presented during the regional conference as a result of the research from all 15 SADC countries out of which 5 papers will be selected.
  13. Identify new research needs and opportunities and identify publication, conference and workshop opportunities, and other dissemination venues in order to develop a research and publications strategy for future possibilities for the PEV SADC II.
  14. Adapt research findings for funding proposals and donor reports.
  15. The project and the researcher will jointly own the material produced.
  16. The researcher will be in home-based while regional travel and field visits may occur.
  • Values

The ICR:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of ESN-SA and ECES;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism; and
Demonstrates integrity by modelling ESN-SA and ECES values and ethical standards.

  • Qualifications and Skills:

Masters Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Development or other relevant field. A PhD is an added advantage.
Professional experience:

Minimum five (5) years of professional experience within the field of research particularly on democracy, human rights and/or electoral violence
Experience in publications of articles, policy papers etc
Knowledge of and/or work experience from the SADC region is an advantage;
Computer skills:

Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, internet and web search tools;
Awareness of online learning tools and systems is an asset.

  • Language skills:

 

 Fluent English is required – both oral and written;
Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.
Interested, suitable and qualified candidates are invited to submit their applications to sadcesn@gmail.com and also copy rindai@zesn.net and victoria.florinder@eces.eu. Please add in the subject line of your email: ICR PEV SADC followed by your country, for example: "ICR PEV SADC ZIMBABWE". The remuneration will only be disclosed to shortlisted candidates.

 

The call for applications closes 19 April 2014.