Anunțuri de Angajare

LED Moldova is looking for an external project evaluator of the project Strengthening the Vocational Training System in Moldova.

1. Background

The Liechtenstein Development Service (LED) supports the reform of the Vocational Education and Training sector in Republic of Moldova since 2008. LED implemented its majour project Strengthening the Vocational Training System in Moldova (CONSEPT) till 2017, when the project implementation was taken over by a Moldovan NGO – Association Education for Development (AED).

The project aims at improving the educational services which VET schools are responsible to deliver, whether these are to be delivered in a traditional school-based model, or in a dual VET setting. In the framework of CONSEPT, great efforts are channelled to strengthening the capacity of teacher training centre at the Technical University; of managerial teams and teaching staff from partner VET institutions; of student Councils. Furthermore, the project assists the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research to update the qualifications with an assessment strategy. Development of learning materials and provision of support for using digital tools for facilitating learning are at the core of the project.     

The time period assigned for this evaluation includes the phase IV of CONSEPT (01.01.2019 – 31.12.2020). For more information, please check the Terms of Reference for the External Evaluation.  

2. Evaluation purpose

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the project, in order to provide guidance on how the project should continue and what actions are required to maximize the effectiveness and impact beyond 2021. Learning is in the centre of this evaluation exercise. The evaluation shall review whether the current intervention design (objectives / components and number of partners) is suitable and viable, or if it is preferable to reduce to distinct components and / or to particular partners that are currently being covered. Thus, the evaluation shall look forward and provide useful input for future improvement opportunities. For doing so, the evaluation shall address two objectives:  

• To assess the achievements and shortcomings of CONSEPT IV. The evaluation shall review the extent to which the project contributed to the effectiveness of the school partners and of public institutions (e.g. National Qualification Department/MECR, Continuous Teacher Centre, Sector Committees).
• To map options for possible adjustments to be made at the next planning stage. The report shall explain why the options would work and how the interaction between different components could contribute to achieving better outcomes.

3. Methodology

This evaluation will be a learning exercise for both LED and AED. It is, therefore, expected that the evaluators will conduct a participatory evaluation that will interview project implementers, representatives of national institutions and of donors active in VET, direct and indirect project beneficiaries.

To ensure validity and reliability in evaluation methodologies, a combination of methods will be used. LED suggests that the evaluator combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The use of a mix of methods will help the data triangulation to verify accuracy. Such methodology may include, but not limited to, desk-review of project documentation, survey, complemented with extensive direct exchanges with beneficiaries and stakeholders.

4. Team composition and expertise

The evaluation shall be done by an international or national consultant or consultancy firm. In case the consultant is an international expert, s/he should work together with a local consultant.

The consultant(s) should have the following qualifications and competences:

• Proven record in leading evaluations in the context of development work.
• Proven expertise in issues related to the fields of Vocational Education and Training, Pedagogy.
• Knowledge of, and experience in applying standard evaluation principles, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods.
• Ability to draft concise evaluation reports of high quality in English.
• One member of the team should be able to communicate fluently in Romanian.
• Ideally, the evaluators should be able to travel to the target country. There is a limited access to VET schools due to pandemic. Thus, a high volume of work will be conducted online.

5. Timeframe for the evaluation process

The estimated duration of the contract is from 01 February to 31 May 2021. In order to be able to make maximum use of the evaluation and its recommendations for the planning of the next phase, the final evaluation report must be submitted to LED Moldova not later than 15^th May 2021. It is up to the evaluators to propose a feasible schedule to LED Moldova with estimated working days to achieve this deadline.  

6. Budget and Terms of payment

The allocated budget for the evaluation is 15’000 EUR. The sum includes the evaluators’ remuneration and all the expenses for the services described above, including, travel, accommodation, communication expenses. Any international individual must include within their cost proposal the 12% tax required by Moldovan taxation law.  

7. Submission of Applications

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

1. A cover letter with a brief description of relevant previous experiences in evaluation of projects in VET,
2. If possible, 2 final reports of comparable evaluations recently carried out,
3. Contact details of 2 references expected to support claims of knowledge, skills and experience,
4. A Curriculum vitae (CV), including references to licences, certifications, accreditations, etc.
5. An evaluation proposal to shortly describe the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and how each question will be answered. The proposal must include a short description of the methodology, qualitative and quantitative data collection, stakeholder participation. The proposal shall contain a budget and a draft schedule of activities and deliverables.

Applications with the above details shall be sent by 16 January 2021 to o.poverjuc@led.md with the subject “CONSEPT External Evaluation”.  

For more information, please check the Terms of Reference for the External Evaluation.