Location: Agok and Twic, Baliet and Ulang Counties, South Sudan Provisional Time Frame: 30 consultant days including report writing Starting Date: ASAP Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Background GOAL has been piloting a new style of nutrition programme termed Nutrition Impact and Positive Practice (NIPP) circles in rural locations in South Sudan. The circles focus on eliciting sustainable behaviour change at a community level, concentrating on tackling the key, underlying causes of undernutrition. Although the aim is to improve the nutritional security of HHs and thus the occupant’s nutritional status, the foci of project are multi-sectoral, as is the nature of malnutrition. The 2013 Lancet Maternal and Child Nutrition Series estimated 165 million children aged younger than five years were stunted and ~100 million children are underweight. The results show that malnutrition is now responsible for around 3.1 million deaths in children under five annually and contributes to 45% of all deaths in children under five Introduction GOAL’s nutrition department has invested heavily in the support of governments taking responsibility for the curative care of acute malnutrition from 2006 onwards, but due to persistently high national malnutrition rates in most GOAL countries, it was decided in 2010 that GOAL needed to review and revisit its approach to tackling undernutrition. GOAL recognised that education-focussed approaches have a limited impact in terms of translating knowledge into practice, thus a new approach was designed in an attempt to elicit positive and sustainable behaviour change in communities where solutions can be accessed by all. NIPP Circles are used in contexts where under-nutrition is common in the community and where inappropriate social and care practices have been identified as a contributory factor in causing the illness. The circles aim to improve the nutrition security of households either affected by malnutrition or at risk of suffering from malnutrition through participatory nutrition/health education and diet diversity promotion. The circles aim to facilitate knowledge and skills sharing of both men and women, using locally available resources, focussing on three main components: • Behaviour Change Communication and Counselling - for improved awareness and practice, including themes from other sectors (health/WASH/HIV/LLH/child protection etc.) • Micro-gardening for improved food/nutrition security • Cooking demonstrations for improved child feeding and care practices. Circles employ principles from the PD Hearth and care group models and also include the use of Barrier Analysis to identify specific barriers to adopting positive behaviours. The circles use volunteers from the local community and employ peer led discussions, practical exercises & positive reinforcement methods to help families adopt sustainable, positive behaviours. To maximise compliance and impact, sessions are designed to be fun, interactive and thus engaging. The concept focuses around there being easy and viable solutions already existing in many community settings to address underlying causes of malnutrition, which in turn promotes sustainability. Responsibilities and lines of communication The evaluator will design the methodology of the evaluation, implement the evaluation and prepare a report and summary findings. GOAL will review and assist with the design of the methodology to ensure maximum learning from the process. The output of the evaluation will be reported to the GOAL South Sudan Country Management Team and the GOAL Head Office team in Dublin. GOAL staff in South Sudan will provide input and support to the evaluation as required. The Assistant Country Director-Programmes will be the key point of contact in South Sudan for the evaluator for arranging field visits for the evaluation. Purpose of the evaluation The overall purpose of the external evaluation is to assess the effectiveness, and impact of the NIPP Circles in Twic and Agok, Warrap state, south Sudan. The external evaluation will assess and document achievements, success, best practices, lessons learnt, key constraints and challenges. Scope of the evaluation The evaluation will focus on the following specific areas: • Assess the extent to which the NIPP circle approach has achieved its aims and objectives according to the activities and targets set for 2013. • Review the extent to which future sustainability has been built into the project approach and its effectiveness. • Assess the quality of the Behaviour Change Communication and counselling component of the programme, including the use of alternative methods to give information such as singing, role plays etc. • Assess effectiveness of approaches adopted by GOAL for implementing the project including integration of the project activities with other sectors (WASH and Livelihoods). Methodology The below list – agreed between GOAL and the Evaluator – will form the basis of the tools, techniques and approaches that this evaluation will use. Unless otherwise stated or because of mitigating circumstances (security), the evaluation will be conducted with participation from all relevant stakeholders. This will enable the evaluation’s purpose to be communicated in an accessible way, assuring the communication of the reporting and follow-up protocol. The evaluator will submit a draft methodology to GOAL before departure to the field. The methodology will include but will not be limited to: • Quantitative analysis of NIPP circle data, and comparison with TSFP data where available • In depth discussions with GOAL staff, NIPP circle participants, NIPP circle volunteers and other community members involved with the project • Key Informant Interviews with MoH, community leaders, other NGOs working in nutrition, Nutrition Cluster etc. • Other contextually relevant methodologies Detailed methodology and implementation plan to be designed and submitted to the ACDP and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator prior to the evaluation commencing. Report The Evaluation will be reported using GOAL’s Evaluation Report template, written in English and which will include the following sections: • Executive Summary • Context • Methodology • Results • Conclusions • Recommendations • Annexed ToR • Annexed Action Plan There will ultimately be two reports – one for internal use and one suitable for external sharing. Profile of the consultant Essential Qualifications, experience and competences • Health qualification (e.g. Public Health, Health Management Systems, Nutrition) or equivalent, MSc preferred • Extensive understanding and experience of working on Behaviour Change projects, in developing country contexts (significant field experience of at least 5 years preferred) • Significant experience in evaluating projects / programmes using both quantitative and qualitative methods (evidence of at least 2 previous evaluations conducted preferred) • Programme skills - knowledge of Project Cycle Management (PCM) • Knowledge of the limitations affecting implementation of grassroots-based development projects • Ability to work on own initiative and to meet deadlines • Attention to detail and ability to produce and present accurate information • Ability and willingness to travel to very remote areas • Fluent in written and spoken English Desirable Qualifications, experience and competences • Familiarity with South Sudan Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) • Previous work experience in South Sudan or Sudan. To apply for this position Please submit your CV, a covering letter and an outline of how you would propose to complete the evaluation (including methodologies and timeframe) via email to Eva Kiratu (ekiratu@ss.goal.ie), Nicki Connell (nconnell@goal.ie) and Hatty Barthorp (hbarthorp@goal.ie) stating in the subject field the job title and the country. Data Protection Please note, on submitting your application, you are agreeing to GOAL holding and using the information that you have given for the purposes of recruitment and employment – should an offer be made. Where required by donors funding requirements, some job offers are conditional on our ensuring that potential employees’ names do not appear on counter terrorism lists generated by the United Nations, European Union or the United States. On submitting your application, you are agreeing to GOAL using the information that you have given for checking that your name does not appear on these lists.