Terms of Reference for an Evaluation and Impact Consultant. 

ABOUT SPARK MICROGRANTS

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Spark MicroGrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Spark has pioneered a community-driven development model in East Africa, and works with NGO and Government partners to scale adoption and impacts for rural communities - on their own terms. Our model combines facilitated community meetings with a small, discretionary grant to catalyse local action and institution building. Read more about our Approach, Impact and Values on our website.

Spark seeks a seasoned consultant to advise Spark on our work in sector-leading community-driven program evaluation and assessment and program quality enhancement. This is a dynamic and innovative role which will inform Spark’s strategy for data-driven approaches in influencing its programming, government policy-making in community-driven development and institutional funding from bilateral and multilateral agencies.

This role requires collaboration with key leaders in the organisation to create a high-quality, interdisciplinary practice for evidence-program-policy linkages and supporting technical and technological innovations in program design and implementation.

We are looking for a senior strategic leader who will bring international technical expertise, champion a collaborative working approach and demonstrate excellence in management, mentoring, and leadership. 

OUR WORK

The foundation of our approach is the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) where communities are led through regular facilitated meetings to organize, conceptualize and implement local development projects, supported by a microgrant to fund it. Our currency is quality, which is evidenced in our impacts. Spark supports implementation of the FCAP in rural communities to improve local livelihoods, enhance social cohesion, and improve citizen engagement. Our community-based development model aims to catalyse social and economic transitions in the context of development opportunities present in each country we work in.

Spark is now active in 500+ villages in 6 countries, benefiting over 230,000 lives. In the next three years, we seek to accelerate the growth of this approach through i) establishing a global Community of Practice with partners based on cutting-edge facilitation and training design ii) establishing a national scale program in one to two countries.

Spark is partnering with the Governments of Rwanda and Malawi to roll out context-appropriate FCAP and subsequent large-scale expansion. We are strategically focussing on technology-led delivery of FCAP in all our communities to improve impact and reduce the delivery cost. As a learning organisation, we continue various testing on programmatic input areas, including grant sizes, length and duration of training and role of technology. Based on the learnings above, we aim to run a rigorous evaluation in Malawi in 2024. We are doing similar testing through our partners in Uganda and Ghana, leveraging our government and civil society partnerships. We are also testing options to deepen the impact of other programs by leveraging the upfront costs of the FCAP to support a broader set of development outcomes through a community-driven approach. 

WHO YOU ARE

You are a seasoned professional with significant expertise in community-driven development, monitoring and evaluation, qualitative and quantitative research methods, data analysis, and report writing for a range of audiences. You are excited to join us at a crucial juncture in our growth when we are investing heavily in high-quality research, growing our program and product design teams, and focused on maintaining sector-leading quality as we scale.

Scope of work 

1. Shaping Strategy: Review Spark’s evaluation strategy and provide feedback on the approach and overall strategy direction for learning and evaluation vis-a-vis Spark’s overall strategic objectives and programmatic focus and goals. 

2. Review of current ongoing evaluations: Spark has a number of ongoing external evaluations underway. Review the breadth of these evaluations and advise the team on - a) what the learnings are, b) how this influences the future evaluation work and c) incorporation of learnings into program areas. 

3. Literature review and advice: Based on #1 and #2 above and external evaluations of evidence gaps (based on literature review) advise on the type of research questions Spark should undertake over the next few years as part of the research strategy. This will include but is not limited to advice on research studies of different duration and quality to be undertaken to further Spark’s understanding and towards sector building. 

4. Review indicators. Review and provide feedback on streamlining M&E indicators for Spark's process evaluations and monitoring data. 

5. Research positioning. Based on #3, ensure that the research being undertaken also allows Spark to position its intervention in the broader landscape of social safety net programs (to influence governments and institutions like the WB and other stakeholders). Ensure the research is positioned well to respond well to external stakeholders. 

Reporting

In the execution of this task, the consultant will report to the Director of learning and Sector Building, who will provide necessary guidance and support. 

Requirements and other considerations

Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant experience, such as in evaluation design, delivering high-quality research and advisory in community-driven development, and human-centred design;
• Masters Degree in the field of Economics, International Development, Product Design, or related fields;
• Excellent track record in designing and managing rural development programs, partnerships, and/or research projects and partnerships with universities and researchers;

Desirable:

• Proven track record of developing and deploying program design tools, such as training guides, work plans, and partnership agreements;
• Strong project management skills and attention to detail are required;
• Demonstrated experience in management
• Ability to operate independently and strong in working as part of a larger team;
• Experience in strategy development;
• Excellent English written and oral communication;

Other Information:

Position: Evaluation and Impact Consultant

Contract period: Three months. Renewable

Location: Flexible

Application end date: 20 October, 2023 

To Apply

Follow the Link to apply: https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/careers/78 

Application Details:

• Attach your resume and a short cover letter that explains why your experience and background make you the ideal candidate for this position.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Spark Microgrants provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Spark are based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Spark does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by the law. Spark will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.