Mid-Term Review for Ukraine and Impacted Countries Emergency Appeal

Organizational Context

Background

1. The conflict in Ukraine
The ongoing international armed conflict in Ukraine is causing widespread humanitarian crises, affecting approximately 27 million people both within and outside the country. Communities face dire conditions like damaged infrastructure, lack of necessities such as water and food, and severe mental health repercussions due to displacement and exposure to traumatic events. Beyond immediate suffering, the conflict disrupts essential services, leading to long-term consequences like damage to infrastructure, displacement, increased risks of violence and exploitation, and strains on global communities hosting refugees.

The ongoing international conflict in Ukraine has had devastating consequences for its people, leading to widespread civilian casualties, critical damage to infrastructure, and displacement from front-line areas. By December 2023, over 27,449 civilian casualties have been confirmed, but the actual number might be much higher. Millions have fled across borders or within the country, seeking safety and essential services to rebuild their lives.

2. The IFRC Secretariat response
The IFRC provided support across various sectors including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), shelter, food security and livelihoods, protection, gender inclusion, and other sectors through multiple National Societies in Ukraine and the affected countries. Currently, this Emergency Appeal2, seeking CHF 800 million, has reached 60% of its funding goal, leaving a significant gap of CHF 322 million.
Additionally, the IFRC extended support to an additional 18 National Societies3 in other affected countries that have requested international assistance in response to the ongoing crisis. The response is being coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other 17 partner National Societies present in those countries.

In Ukraine, the Movement strengthened coordination, with URCS as the focal point. A Joint Statement by URCS, ICRC, and IFRC continues to serve as the basis for this cooperation. Deployment of a Movement Coordination Officer helped build coordination across strategic, operational and technical levels. This includes strategic meetings among URCS, IFRC, and ICRC, operational coordination through MEOPs with Partner National Societies, Membership Coordination meetings and Technical Working Groups. These coordination mechanisms have been vital for implementation of One URCS Plan4 2023-2025.

In the impacted countries, IFRC collaborates closely with National Societies to craft responsive strategies tailored to each dynamic situation. This involves partnering with Host and Partner National Societies to enhance technical and human resources, expanding services for both refugee and host populations. Key focuses include bolstering cash aid, managing volunteers, and implementing digital solutions. Globally, IFRC, ICRC, and impacted National Societies align efforts to showcase collective impact through data and diverse perspectives. Unified communication becomes paramount in a changing and polarized environment, prompting joint efforts by IFRC, ICRC, and National Societies to educate the public on their distinctive roles and principles while addressing risks and criticisms. This collaborative approach ensures safety for responders, access in affected areas, and fosters community trust.

Job Purpose

Background (CONTINUED)

3. Evaluation approach for the Emergency Appeal
The Mid-Term Review (2024) aims at assessing the progress made towards operational and strategic goals of the IFRC Emergency Appeal in Ukraine and the impacted countries during the initial 2 years (February 2022 to December 2023) and to formulate practical recommendations to inform the future evolution of the EA in those countries and the specific role of the IFRC in supporting the impacted National Societies during the coming two years (2024-2025).

This mid-term review will consist of two phases, with the first phase involving a comprehensive review of the existing data and measurements collected in Ukraine and the impacted countries. The second phase of the evaluation is the review exercise proposed in these Terms of Reference.
The first phase was conducted in late 2023 to support IFRC in examining the available secondary data and reports related to IFRC interventions in Ukraine and impacted countries. The outcome of this first exercise will be shared with the selected evaluator to support the inception phase.

Federation-wide impact of our operations will be the focus of a Final Evaluation to be carried out in late 2025 (or early 2026) in coordination with all our member National Societies.

Evaluation Purpose & Scope

The purpose of this Mid-Term Review is assess the progress made towards operational and strategic goals of the IFRC Emergency Appeal (MGR65002) in Ukraine and the impacted countries during the initial 2 years of response (February 2022 to December 2023) and to formulate practical recommendations to inform the future evolution of the EA programming in those countries and the specific role of the IFRC in supporting the impacted National Societies during the coming two years (2024-2025) until the Appeal ends in December 2025.

The mid-term review will take into consideration the distinctive features of the response in Ukraine and in the impacted countries, therefore it will provide tailored learning and recommendations for each of these two contexts separately:

• The situation in Ukraine is still one of an acute armed conflict where humanitarian needs remain, particularly along the lines of conflict (south and east) but also throughout the rest of the country (west and center) where air strikes are also frequent, the economy is gravely impacted and many IDPs and returnees have found refuge from the war. Even as emergency needs continue, the expectations and opportunities for early recovery are also high. URCS has grown substantially since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, in terms of personnel, local branches and reach of its services. The Movement response is also shaped in part by the large presence and co-convener role of ICRC and the numerous partner NS providing bilateral support to URCS.
• The situation in impacted countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Po-land, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Türkiye, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia) is more stable as the influx of Ukrainian refugees have diminished and the National Societies response focus transitions into longer term support to the integration and inclusion of the Ukrainian populations in those countries.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The Mid-Term Review will be guided by the IFRC Agenda for Renewal which articulates how the IFRC Secretariat sees its role in implementation of Strategy 2030. Therefore, the Mid-Term Review will analyse to what extent IFRC Secretariat delivered on its vision (as stated in the Agenda for Renewal) to coordinate and support the work of the member National Societies, driving the transformations that are essential for the IFRC network to fulfill its potential as a global humanitarian actor – engaged, accountable and trusted – and deliver on an agreed agenda.

Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation methodology should be aligned with the IFRC Framework for Evaluation, specifically focusing on the procedures that maintain the quality of planning, execution, and application of evaluations. The IFRC Evaluation Management Team (EMT) will oversee the evaluation alongside the consultant.

Evaluation Deliverables & Timeline

The consultant will be responsible for crafting the subsequent deliverables in collaboration with the Evaluation Management Team (EMT) throughout the assignment period.

WEEK 1 AND 2

ACTIVITIES

1. Document Review: Review intervention documentation and related primary/secondary resources for the evaluation, including the desk review report produced for the mid-term evaluation.
2. Initial briefings.
3. Development of inception report or data collection/ analysis plan and schedule, draft methodology and data collection tools.

Deliverable 1 – inception report with analytical framework, data collection/analysis plan and schedule, draft methodology, data collection tools, quality assurance process, timeline of each stage, locations, and the list of consultees.

WEEK 3, 4 AND 5

ACTIVITIES

1. Data collection and analysis in target locations according to data collection schedule.
2. Findings Workshop presenting initial findings, conclusions, and recommendations before draft report.

Deliverable 2 – weekly updates to be sent to EMT.

Deliverable 3 – Findings Workshop (The participants and the date to be determined after the consultation with EMT).

WEEK 6 AND 7

ACTIVITIES

1. Draft report.
2. Management comments and revision.

Deliverable 4 – the first draft of the evaluation report for review, feedback, and comments.

WEEK 8

ACTIVITIES

1. Final report submission.
2. Formal acceptance of the report by

Deliverable 5 – final clean version of the Mid-Term Evaluation Report.

WEEK 9

ACTIVITIES

1. Key findings presentation.

Deliverable 6 – webinar to present the evaluation key findings to IFRC senior management.

WEEK 10

ACTIVITIES

1. Key findings presentation (IFRC, National Societies, ICRC).

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Evaluation Quality and Ethical Standards

The evaluators should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the evaluation is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of people and the communities of which they are members, and to ensure that the evaluation is technically accurate, reliable, and legitimate, conducted in a transparent and impartial manner, and contributes to organizational learning and accountability. Therefore, the evaluation team should adhere to the evaluation standards and specific, applicable process outlined in the IFRC Framework for Evaluation.

It is also expected that the evaluation will respect the seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: 1) humanity, 2) impartiality, 3) neutrality, 4) independence, 5) voluntary service, 6) unity, and 7) universality.

Education

Evaluator/s Profiles Needed

The evaluation team proposed should have the following skills, experience and qualifications to be selected for this evaluation.

•    University degrees at the post-graduate level in relevant field of study.
•    Demonstrated experience planning and implementing evaluations required.
•    Minimum of 9 to 10 years of monitoring and evaluation experience required in large scale and complex humanitarian operations.
•    Demonstrated experience in the assessment and evaluation of humanitarian systems and processes such as Cash Assistance, Capacity building and Organisational Development, and Community Engagement.
•    Knowledge and experience working with the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement preferred.
•    Proven track record of conducting qualitative and quantitative research including the development of interview schedules and qualitative and quantitative data analysis required.
•    Experience in qualitative data collection and data analysis techniques (especially in the design of coding schemes).
•    Excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills.
•    Strong computer skills in spreadsheet, word processing, database management (MS Access) and statistical analysis software familiarity.
•    IM and Data visualization expertise to be able to analyze large amounts of data and present it in an engaging and meaning way to the audience.
•    Strong interpersonal and organizational skills required.
•    Working knowledge of English language strongly preferred.
•    Experience working in the Ukraine and Impacted Countries strongly preferred.
•    Experience working with representatives of the Governments strongly preferred.
•    Familiarity with trends and developments in international contexts (i.e. shelter CVA, CEA, MHPSS, Migration, and disaster Management) support preferred.
•    Demonstrated capacity to work both independently and as part of a team.
•    Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Applicants are expected to provide a detailed description of the evaluation team members, their expertise and capacities and the role that they will play within the evaluation team.

When providing the budget, applicants are also expected to indicate the number of days/hours of dedication per team member and the remuneration applicable to calculate the total cost.

Competencies, Values and Comments

Application Procedures

Interested consultants should submit their application material by 24 April 2024 to the following email: [email protected] with the title Mid-term Evaluation Ukraine Emergency Appeal. Application material is non-returnable, and we thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed consultants will be contacted for the next step in the application process.

1. Curricula Vitae (CV) for all members of the team applying for consideration.
2. Cover letter clearly summarizing your experience as it pertains to this assignment, your daily rate, and three professional references.
3. A brief description of your firm or institution (for applicants other than individual contractors).
4. Technical proposal not exceeding 7 pages expressing an understanding and interpretation of the TOR, the proposed methodology, and a time and activity schedule.
5. Financial proposal itemizing estimated costs for services rendered (team members, consultancy days, daily consultancy fees), accommodation and living costs, transport costs, stationery costs, and any other related supplies or services required for the evaluation.
6. At least one example of a previous evaluation report similar to the one described in this TOR.

Appendices
The contents for the Appendix can include:
• Bibliography of documents (secondary sources) to be reviewed.
• Maps of project & intervention location(s).
• List of persons/organizations to be interviewed.
• Suggested report outline.

The review will take place in Ukraine and impacted countries.