ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
Internews is contracting a consultant to provide external evaluation of a project run by the Internet Freedom & Resilience team. The purpose of this final evaluation is to assess the performance and success of the project, as well as the team’s overall approach to programming. It should also look at signs of potential impact of project activities on beneficiaries (both project beneficiaries as well as the broader Internet Freedom community) and sustainability of results.
LOGISTICS
Internews has offices in Arcata, CA, Washington, DC and London, UK. Ultimately this is a remote-based role and candidates based anywhere in the world will be considered. However, there are some locations where Internews does not support remote work.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply soon.
This is a limited-duration position, with an anticipated 12-20 days of work.
OUR COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING A CULTURE OF BELONGING
We are an organization of dynamic, mission-driven individuals who are passionate about our core values and about supporting positive change in the world. We pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and flexibility. We believe that diverse teams are strong teams and work to support an ethic of belonging, dignity, and justice for all people. Our current team includes a mix of genders, parents and non-parents, and people of multiple races, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations and socioeconomic backgrounds. We are an EEO employer and encourage candidates of all races, genders, ages, orientations, ethnicities, and national origins to apply, and welcome those with alternative backgrounds and experiences.
EVALUATION OVERVIEW
This evaluation has the following principal tasks:
- Assess the project impact on key target communities (open source tools, digital security practitioners, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, etc.);
- Assess performance of the project in terms of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability;
- Analyze underlying factors beyond Internews control that affect the achievement of the project results Provide recommendations for potential future interventions;
- In all services, uphold and demonstrate commitment to Internews’ Core Values.
Internews envisions a theory-driven evaluation that speaks to the international evaluation criteria, OECD/DAC (efficiency, potential for impact and sustainability,) and that pays particular attention to gender, and marginalized and at-risk groups. The evaluation should:
- Consolidate results by synthesizing past reports as well as collecting new data through a survey, and interviews with key staff, partners, and trainers;
- Capture lessons learned and effectiveness of the project. In addition to reporting what the project delivered, it is also important to learn from how it operated. By interviewing project staff and partners about how the work unfolded, the evaluation will seek to understand operational challenges and identify where things could have been handled better or differently;
- Formulate recommendations. The evaluation should gather lessons from experience in light of emerging trends and issues in the digital security trainer, organizational security, and private sector digital security communities, capturing and consolidating these as recommendations. Recommendations will be prepared in collaboration with Internews staff to ensure they are relevant and useful.
The evaluation will comprise of an estimated 12-20 days of work, and involve the following elements:
- Process + Evaluation Planning (1-2 days): The evaluator is expected to collaboratively create evaluation questions with the project team and draft an initial evaluation plan (to be reviewed by the project team);
- Desk Review (1-2 days): The evaluator is expected to review relevant documentation (made available by the project team) and complete initial analysis. Relevant documentation may include Proposal Narrative; Quarterly Narrative Reports; Partner Reports; Sustainability Action Plans; Resources developed under the project; etc.;
- Remote Surveys/Interviews (2-4 days): In coordination with the project team, evaluator will draft surveys, send to project partners, and analyze results. Additionally, the evaluator will set-up and conduct remote interviews with a sampling of project partners and relevant community members;
- Analysis (3-4 days): Analysis of gathered information from desk review, surveys, and interviews;
- First draft report (3-4 days): Internews staff will review the draft and the consultant will agree to incorporate comments by the project team (up to 2 revisions total);
- Final report (2-4 days): Final report will present findings and recommendations.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
The final product will be a 10-12-page report (not including appendices). The body of the report will provide a narrative description of results achieved, operational lessons, and recommendations. Where appropriate, it will also include illustrative graphs and charts that provide useful summaries of project data. Appendices will provide detail such as cross tabulations from reviewing quarterly reports and interviews, as well as a list of people interviewed, and survey results (if any), so readers can clearly see the data that supports the findings and conclusions.
QUALIFICATIONS WE’RE LOOKING FOR
REQUIRED
- Experience in providing external evaluation of US Government funded international development projects;
- English proficiency;
- Ability to work independently, efficiently, and reliably, to a high standard and to deadline.
PREFERRED
Note: Candidates who do not have these preferred qualifications, but who are interested and willing to learn, are encouraged to apply.
- Previous experience in open source tools AND/OR knowledge of sustainability of human rights-based technology.