Evaluator – Dutch MFA Grant Individual Consultant Long-term contract

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) seeks the services of a Consultant to conduct a midterm evaluation pursuant to a core grant funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (Dutch MFA), covering 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2026.

The overall objective is to assess the success of this partnership and identify areas for improvement. This evaluation’s report will be provided to the Dutch MFA and other key partners of ICTJ. ICTJ’s work and leverage findings to improve the interventions for the remaining period of the grant.

The evaluation will cover work done under ICTJ project ‘Core and Designated Support 2022-2026’.

The grant provided Core and designated funding and therefore includes ICTJ’s work in the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026, with special focus on several designated thematic and country programs. Over these four years, this grant has funded work in the following countries:

• Lebanon,
• Libya,
• Sudan,
• South Sudan,
• Syria,
• Tunisia,
• Uganda,
• Yemen

The partnership also included specific policy and research work on Innovative Approaches to Accountability Transitional Justice and Sustainable Peace and Development, and indirect support to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, as well as a partnership with the Mukwege Foundation.

For the purpose of keeping the evaluation manageable and to align with current priorities of the Dutch MFA, ICTJ recommends stronger data collection and focus on some of the following sample programs, Syria, Sudan, Uganda, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as research-plus-policy work such as work conducted under the program “Transitional Justice and Sustainable peace and development” in partnership with the Justice Action Coalition.

Evaluation Criteria and Key Evaluation Questions

The consultant is expected to address the key evaluation questions below and provide recommendations for improving project effectiveness and sustainability going forward. This evaluation will follow the OECD-DAC evaluation criteriaand should comply with the Evaluation Quality Criteria of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB). While all criteria should beconsidered, we suggest evaluators focus on Relevance, Sustainability, Effectiveness and Coherence.

Relevance

1. ICTJ works at the local, regional and global levels. What type of work is conducted by the organization at different levels. How relevant is this work?
2. To what extent, if at all, are ICTJ’s interventions relevant to beneficiaries? What role does ICTJ play for its beneficiaries? What about other strategic partners? How is ICTJ perceived?

How does ICTJ use their contextual, local knowledge, working at the global level? How are continuous learning and feedback loops incorporated to ensure purposeful learning and adjustments are made based on data.

Effectiveness

1. Focusing on the level of victims, grass-root organizations; What change, if any, did the ICTJ’s work contribute to?
   1. At the level of boundary partners and stakeholders involved for specific sample programs selected
   2. At the regional or international level?
   
   
2. How did that change happen? How did it not happen? To what extent can outcomes be tracked to ICTJ’s contributions? What can be learned from those processes?
3. Were there any unintended consequences (either positive or negative)?
4. What can ICTJ and the Dutch MFA do to ensure its partnership is more effective and sustainable? How? What should they do more of/less of?

Efficiency

1. To what extent did the intervention deliver results in an economic and timely way?

Impact

1. Have there been other changes at the levels mentioned above that are attributable to ICTJ’s role, long term?

Coherence

1. How compatible has ICTJ’s intervention been regarding other interventions in the sector, country, or organizations where it is being implemented?
2. What actors do ICTJ interact with? What areas does ICTJ team up with others? – What is, if any, the added value of ICTJ? How are principles of joint decision-making applied, ensuring in-country partners have a significant say in the continuous program governance?

Locally Led Development

1. To what extent have local actors – including individuals, communities, networks, organizations, private entities, and governments –agency in: (i) framing; (ii) design; (iii) delivery, including resourcing; and (iv) accountability and learning of the proposed activities.
2. To what extent does ICTJ make use of an equitable partnership approach when working with in-country, local partners [= subcontractors] and establish partnerships on equal footing as part of the proposed activities, as evidenced by (i) the ownership and control of partners in the development, decision-making and implementation of activities; (ii) the existence of a reciprocal accountability mechanism; (iii) the degree in which benefits and burdens of the contract (e.g., financial resources, reporting) are shared between partners; and (iv) the degree of risk sharing.

Sustainability

1. To what extent, if any, will the contributions of ICTJ’s intervention and its partners last? Are there specific examples/evidence in that regard? What factors enable/hinder sustainable results.

The Consultant is expected to propose an evaluation design and select appropriate methodologies for collecting and analyzing results. Evaluators are encouraged to reconstruct and test the underlying assumptions and causal pathways of ICTJ’s Theory of Change and bring out the program’s contribution to results. Additionally, evaluators are encouraged to employ industry’s best practices for this evaluation, such as employing mixed methods, triangulating data sources, and establishing a clear sampling strategy. These steps would help ensure consistency and rigor throughout the evaluation process.

DELIVERABLES

Inception Phase (immediately after being hired)

• Develop an Inception report that describes in detail the overall evaluative framework, design, methodology, and protocols for data collection and analysis. We suggest including a brief evaluability assessment in the inception phase to reflect on the availability and quality of data, indicators, and monitoring systems, and adjust the approach accordingly. This deliverable needs to be approved by both ICTJ and the Dutch MFA.

During desk/field work:

• Conduct thorough interviews and other agreed-upon data collection methods.
• Store and secure all collected project information from interviews and the like.
• Conduct routine check-ins with the evaluations’ reference group, which will include ICTJ’s Senior DME lead and selected staff. These check-ins will include report on the evaluation’s progress.

During Data Analysis and Report Writing:

• Keep ICTJ updated on the progress of the evaluation assignment.
• Validate with ICTJ emerging evaluation findings and conclusions.

By the Deadline (agreed upon contract):

• A final evaluation report. The final report shall include the following sections:

– Executive summary: a paragraph describing the project; a paragraph summarizing the methodological approaches used; key findings including a summary of targets and intended outcomes; a conclusion of the projects’ relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, impact, and its contribution towards the attainment of the final goal.

– Methodology: a description of each method used, and target groups involved. Methodological constraints, challenges and limitations should be also discussed in this section.

– Findings: a section addressing the evaluation questions. The findings can be presented under evaluation criteria or by domains of impact. Findings must be supported by evidence. When evidence relies on perception or feedback of stakeholders interviewed during the evaluation, the consultant must illustrate key findings with selected quotes or careful summaries/translation of statements made by key informants.

– Recommendations

– Annexes: final terms of reference, evaluation schedule, table of project indicators measured, list of people interviewed, list of documents reviewed, acronyms and abbreviations used, and operational definition of terms, etc.

– Evaluators are encouraged to include stories of change based on their findings to illustrate changes identified.

The final report should not exceed 40 pages (without annexes)

ICTJ places great importance on independent and impartial reporting. We seek evaluations that are methodologically rigorous, ethical, and conducted autonomously. Although ongoing communication with ICTJ is encouraged, evaluators are ultimately responsible for their findings and conclusions.

SCHEDULE AND BUDGET

Time Frame:

Preparatory work for this evaluation will commence in May 2026; preliminary findings to be presented ICTJ for review in June 2026 and the final report should be submitted in June 2026 (Specific dates to be established).

Budget:

Proposals should include an estimate budget and appropriate number of workdays according to the methodology and approach of their choice within the budget.

This estimate budget should include all the costs incurred by the evaluator (e.g., consultant fees and per diem, accommodation, international and local transportation, communication costs, insurance costs, etc.). Relevant ICTJ Country Offices and ICTJ’s Headquarters (HQ), will make their best efforts to assist the consultant schedule virtual meetings and interviews. All evaluation costs shall be paid by the consultant as part of the budgeted amount. The proposal should also include a timeline.

REQUIREMENTS

Key qualifications to successfully complete this consultancy include:

• Solid experience in conceptualizing and conducting evaluations of transitional justice, democracy building, peacebuilding or human rights programs in post-conflict contexts.
• Extensive experience conducting evaluations of complex programs in diverse settings.
• International evaluation experience required.
• An advanced degree in a relevant field
• Knowledge and experience of relevant contexts preferred.
• Knowledge of transitional justice programs
• Excellent written and communications skills
• Experience in evaluation, justice, human rights or peacebuilding work in at least some of the indicated countries is desired.
• English proficiency (required), plus Arabic and Swahili desired.

How to apply

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates shall complete application form HERE or from ICTJ’s website by May 15, 2026.

To be submitted:

• A cover letter, including daily consultancy rate and estimated budget for this evaluation (Please note you do not need to develop the full methodology section before being hired, a short summary that allows ICTJ to understand your intended approach will suffice).
• CV
• An except/full report of a previous evaluation report
• Credentials; and
• Any other relevant information showing the suitability of the consultant for the assignment.

Should you encounter any issues, please email hr@ictj.org – include in the subject: “Evaluator Dutch MFA Grant“. Applicants must complete and submit an application form to be considered for the consultancy.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. ICTJ reviews applications as they arrive, so candidates are encouraged to apply early. The application portal will close before the deadline upon selection of a qualified candidate.

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