International Consultant for Country Programme Evaluation

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women leads and supports the UN system in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women, with the aim of improving the lives of women and girls. The UN Women Moldova Country Office Strategic Note is the main planning framework guiding UN Women’s normative, coordination and operational work in Moldova. This evaluation will assess the Strategic Note for 2023-2027 to inform strategic learning and decision-making for the next programming cycle. The Strategic Note is aligned with relevant national strategies and international commitments on gender equality, ending violence against women, and the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and it contributes to Moldova’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Despite improvements in the legal and policy framework, gender equality outcomes remain uneven. Persistent gaps include limited enforcement and resourcing of commitments, weak accountability mechanisms and coordination, and continued barriers for women—especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination—to access justice, services, education, decent work and leadership opportunities. Persisting gender inequalities are driven by discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes, alongside limited accountability and insufficient use of temporary special measures where needed. Women remain underrepresented in some decision-making spaces, particularly where quota mechanisms do not apply. Unpaid care and domestic work continue to limit women’s economic participation. Women spend more time on unpaid domestic and care work than men (20.1% vs. 11.3%), and limited childcare availability remains a commonly cited constraint. In 2025 (Q3), labour force participation was 44.9% overall, with 39.9% for women and 51.1% for men (ages 15+). Gender-based violence remains widespread and continues to undermine women’s rights and well-being. In Moldova, 25% of ever-partnered women and girls (18–74) reported intimate partner violence in the 12 months prior to the 2018 survey, and 73% reported experiencing IPV since age 15. While reporting and protective measures have improved, underreporting persists due to stigma, financial dependence, limited services, mistrust and fear, and lack of recognition of what constitutes violence.

The evaluation will apply five OECD/DAC evaluation criteria (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability) and Human Rights and Gender Equality as an additional criterion. The evaluation will seek to answer the following key evaluation questions and sub-questions: 

UN Women evaluations are gender-responsive meaning that both the process and analysis apply the key principles of a human rights-based approach: they are inclusive, participatory, ensure fair power relations, and transparent; and they analyze the underlying structural barriers and socio-cultural norms that impede the realization of women’s rights. UN Women evaluations are also utilization-focused, which means that it will be tailored to the needs of the organization through a participatory approach from the inception through to the development of recommendations, which will facilitate production of a useful evaluation.

The evaluation will be based on gender and human rights principles and adhere to the the UNEG Norms and Standards (2016), the UNEG Ethical Guidelines (2020) and UN Women Evaluation Policy and Handbook.

The evaluation is expected to be informed by the relevant evaluations conducted during the strategic note period, namely:

• EU 4 Gender Equality: Together Against Gender Stereotypes and Gender-based Violence — Final Evaluation of the Regional Joint Programme
• Evaluation Report: Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni Districts (EVA Project)
• Evaluation of the project: Building sustainable and inclusive peace, strengthening trust and social cohesion in Moldova
• UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 independent evaluation.
• Regional Evaluation of UN Women’s Support for Capacity Development of Partners to Respond to the Needs of Women and Girls in Europe and Central Asia
• Evaluation of UN Women’s Work on Gender-Responsive Budgeting in the Europe and Central Asia Region 
• Previous CPE (2022)

Where constraints create limitations in the data that can be collected, these limitations should be understood and generalizing findings should be avoided where a strong sample has not been used. In addition, cultural aspects that could impact the collection of data should be analyzed and integrated into data collection methods and tools. Evaluators are expected to include adequate time for testing data collection tools. The preliminary findings obtained through the data collection process should be validated through stakeholder workshops with evaluation management and reference groups towards the end of the primary data collection stage.

The evaluation will use a theory-based design. The performance of the country portfolio will be assessed according to the theory of change stated in the Strategic Note 2023-2027. To achieve sufficient depth, the evaluation will analyze coordination, and normative support and programmatic activities of the Country Office around the thematic areas stated in the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

The evaluation will undertake a desk-based portfolio analysis that includes a synthesis of secondary results data for the Development Results Framework (see Annex 1) and the Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework (see Annex 2) of the Country Office. It will cover all activities undertaken by the Country Office.

The portfolio analysis will be triangulated through a mixed methods approach that will include:

1. Desk review of additional documentary evidence.
2. Consultation with all main stakeholder groups; and
3. An independent assessment of development effectiveness using Contribution Analysis.

The evaluation is expected to apply a gender responsive approach to assessing the contribution of UN Women to development effectiveness. It should identify expected and unexpected changes in target and affected groups. It is anticipated that the evaluation will apply process tracing to identify the mechanisms of change and the probable contributions of UN Women.

The evaluation is expected to assess the strategic position of UN Women. It is anticipated that mixed qualitative/quantitative cases of different target groups will be developed, compared. The evaluation team will identify which factors, and which combinations of factors, are most frequently associated with a higher contribution of UN Women to expected and unexpected outcomes.

The evaluation is particularly encouraged to use participatory methods to ensure that all stakeholders are consulted as part of the evaluation process. At a minimum, this should include participatory tools for consultation with stakeholder groups and a plan for inclusion of women and individuals and groups who are vulnerable and/or discriminated against in the consultation process. The evaluator should detail a plan on how protection of participants and respect for confidentiality will be guaranteed.

The evaluation will use the following data collection tools:

• Interviews;
• Focus group discussions;
• Secondary document analysis;
• Observation;
• Others.

The method should include a wide range of data sources (including documents, field information, institutional information systems, financial records, beneficiaries, staff, funders, experts, government officials and community groups). The evaluators should take measures to ensure data quality, reliability and validity of data collection tools and methods and their responsiveness to gender equality and human rights; for example, the limitations of the sample (representativeness) should be stated clearly and the data should be triangulated (cross-checked against other sources) to help ensure robust results.

The evaluation is encouraged to use the following data analysis tools:

• Synthesis of results data and evidence.
• Qualitative Comparative analysis.

The evaluation is expected to reconstruct the theories of change using a participatory process during the Inception Phase of the evaluation. This should be critiqued based on feminist and institutional analysis.

The evaluation will apply Contribution Analysis to assess the effectiveness of UN Women’s country portfolio. This will use a model template to be provided to the evaluation team.

The evaluation will include a basic analysis of risks in the country portfolio based on the following framework:1) potential fiduciary risks, 2) risks of causing harm, 3) reputational risks, 4) programme performance risks, 5) risks of entrenching inequity and 6) risks of doing nothing. This will use a model template to be provided to the evaluation team.

It is proposed that the evaluation will use a sampling unit based on the UN Women CO impact areas. The main interventions undertaken by the Country Office have been mapped into a sample frame for the evaluation. See the annex. 

The evaluation is expected to apply a purposive sampling design based on the following minimum standards:

1. One or two projects per thematic cluster of operational work;
   1. The most strategically important thematic interventions to the CO:
2. Relevance of the subject. Is the project a socio-economic or political priority of the mandate and role of UN Women? Is it a key priority of the national plan, UN Women strategic note or the AWP? Is it a geographic priority of UN Women, e.g., levels of gender inequality and the situation of women in the country?
3. Risk associated with the project. Are there political, economic, funding, structural or organizational factors that present potential high risk for the non-achievement of results or for which further evidence is needed for management decision-making?
4. Significant investment. Is the intervention considered a significant investment in relation to the overall office portfolio (more than one-third)?
   1. The richest learning opportunities:
5. Potential for replication and scaling-up. Would the evaluation provide the information necessary to identify the factors required for the success in a thematic area and determine the feasibility of replication or scaling-up? Does the thematic area include a pilot and/or an innovative initiative?
6. Knowledge gap. Will the evaluation help to fill a pressing knowledge gap in relation to achieving gender equality or the empowerment of women?

The evaluation is expected to consider the main cultural, religious, social, and economic differences when analyzing the contributions of UN Women.

The evaluation team should ensure participation of stakeholders during the evaluation process, with a particular emphasis on rights holders and their representatives, considering limitations which may affect the ability to ensure engagement of stakeholders as per normal practice.

Stakeholders should include:

1. Target groups, their households and community members.
2. Programme and project partners.
3. National government institutions.
4. Internal UN Women stakeholders.
5. Civil society representatives.
6. Private sector and trade unions representatives.
7. Political leaders and representatives.
8. Donors and development partners.
9. UN Country Team.
10. Others.

The evaluators are encouraged to further analyze stakeholders according to the following characteristics:

1. System roles (target groups, programme controllers, sources of expertise, and representatives of excluded groups).
2. Gender roles (intersections of sex, age, household roles, community roles).
3. Human Rights roles (rights holders, principal duty bearers, primary, secondary and tertiary duty bearers).
4. Intended users and uses of the evaluation.

The evaluators are encouraged to extend this analysis through mapping relationships and power dynamics as part of the evaluation. It is important to pay particular attention to participation of rights holders—in particular women and vulnerable and marginalized groups—to ensure the application of a gender-responsive approach. It is also important to specify ethical safeguards that will be employed.

The evaluators are expected to validate findings through engagement with stakeholders at stakeholder workshops, debriefings or other forms of engagement.

The evaluation team is expected to establish the boundaries for the evaluation, especially in terms of which stakeholders and relationships will be included or excluded from the evaluation. These will need to be discussed during the inception phase of the evaluation.

The evaluation is expected to be conducted according to the following time frame (preliminary estimations), with the Inception Phase commencing in September 2026 and the entire evaluation process expected to be concluded towards the end of March 2027.

Under the guidance of the evaluation team leader/task manager the evaluators are expected to design and facilitate the following events:

1. Virtual inception meeting (including refining evaluation uses, the evaluation framework, stakeholder map, and theories of change).
2. In-country participatory data collection mission for UN Women staff and key stakeholders.
3. Findings, validation and participatory recommendations session (first with EMG and once validated with EMG a second meeting should be scheduled with ERG).

The evaluation process will be led by UN Women Independent Evaluation Service and the management structure for this evaluation will include:

1. ECA Regional Evaluation Specialist (RES), who is a member of the UN Women Independent Evaluation Service, will be the evaluation team lead and the task manager for this evaluation and will be supported by the UN Women Moldova CO M&E Focal Point during the evaluation process.
   1. Evaluation Management Group (EMG) for administrative support and accountability will include: Country Representative, M&E Focal Point; ECA RES (who will lead the group);
   2. External Evaluation Reference Group to foster stakeholders’ ownership and participatory approach; CSOs, state partners; development partners (including donors); representative of the UNCT.
   3. Internal Evaluation Reference Group integrated by key UN Women Moldova CO personnel and key RO staff, including ECARO Planning Specialist and ECARO Coordination Specialists, to foster ownership of the process and use of its results by the CO’s personnel. CO personnel are expected to be closely engaged during the entire evaluation process; personnel will be consulted during the inception and data collection phases of the evaluation (all personnel are expected to participate in the inception workshop and in the presentations of the preliminary findings and the final report). Regional Director and key ECARO personnel will also be invited to join the final presentation of the evaluation. 
   4. Since this is an independent evaluation service led evaluation, Independent Evaluation, Internal Audit, and Investigation Service leadership will provide oversight and quality assurance evaluation the TOR, the inception and final reports and will issue the final report. 

The main roles and responsibility for the management of the evaluation reports are:

1. Leads the conceptual and methodological approach and other aspects of the evaluation design.
2. Leads the quality assurance of deliverables.
3. Reviews the feedback on the draft and final report from the
4. management and reference groups.
5. Leads the production of all evaluation deliverables.

1. To avoid conflict of interest and undue pressure, the members of the evaluation team need to be independent, implying that they must not have been directly responsible for the design, or overall management of the subject of the evaluation, nor expect to be in the near future.
2. Evaluators must have no vested interest and must have full freedom to conduct their evaluative work impartially. They must be able to express their opinion in a free manner.
3. Under the guidance of the evaluation team leader the evaluation team prepares all evaluation reports, which should reflect an agreed-upon approach and design for the evaluation from the perspective of the evaluation team, the evaluation manager and RES.

To maximize stakeholder participation and ensure a gender-responsive evaluation, under the guidance of ECA RES, the EMG should support the evaluator(s) during data collection process in the following ways:

1. Ensure the evaluation process is initiated and follows the Standards and norms on evaluation. 
2. Consult partners regarding the evaluation and the proposed schedule for data collection.
3. Manage logistics for the field mission. Ensure the stakeholders identified through the stakeholder analysis are being included, the most vulnerable or difficult to reach, and provide logistical support as necessary contacting stakeholders.

1. Provide substantive comments and feedback to evaluation deliverables;
2. Participates in meetings and workshops.
3. Provide relevant information, as needed. 

1. Provide substantive comments and feedback to evaluation deliverables;
2. Clear and issue the final evaluation report.  

1. Provide substantive comments and feedback to evaluation deliverables;
2. Participates in meetings and workshops;
3. Provide relevant information, as needed.
4. Endorse evaluation management response to evaluation recommendations within six weeks after the final evaluation report is endorsed. 

UN Women has developed a UN Women Evaluation Consultants Agreement Form for evaluators that must be signed as part of the contracting process, which is based on the UNEG Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct. These documents will be annexed to the contract. The UNEG guidelines note the importance of ethical conduct for the following reasons:

1. Responsible use of power: All those engaged in evaluation processes are responsible for upholding the proper conduct of the evaluation.
2. Ensuring credibility: With a fair, impartial and complete assessment, stakeholders are more likely to have faith in the results of an evaluation and to take note of the recommendations.
3. Responsible use of resources: Ethical conduct in evaluation increases the chances of acceptance by the parties to the evaluation and therefore the likelihood that investment in the evaluation will result in improved outcomes.

Specific safeguards must be put in place to protect the safety (both physical and psychological) of both respondents and those collecting the data. These should include:

1. A plan is in place to protect the rights of the respondent, including privacy and confidentiality. As well in case of missions in the fields will be allowed the health protection measures to be envisaged.
2. The interviewer or data collector is trained in collecting sensitive information, and if the topic of the evaluation is focused on violence against women, they should have previous experience in this area.
3. Data collection tools are designed in a way that is culturally appropriate and do not create distress for respondents.
4. Data collection visits are organized at the appropriate time and place to minimize risk to respondents.
5. The interviewer or data collector can provide information on how individuals in situations of risk can seek support.

The evaluation’s value added is its impartial and systematic assessment of the programme or intervention. As with the other stages of the evaluation, involvement of stakeholders should not interfere with the impartiality of the evaluation.

The evaluator(s) have the final judgment on the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation report, and the evaluator(s) must be protected from pressures to change information in the report.

UN Women ECA Regional Evaluation Specialist will act as the team lead for this evaluation process. The team lead will be supported by two external independent consultants. The evaluation team consists of two evaluators, including an International Expert and an additional National Team Member, to be recruited by the UN Women Moldova CO based on the TOR. 

Consultant should have proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other.

An interpreter/translator will be used from the existing LTA agreement on such services for the inception consultations, data collection during the field mission and translation of final report, as needed.

This section describes the type of products (reports, briefs or other) that are expected from the evaluation/evaluator, who will use them and how they will be used. 

Language of deliverables 

The reports and timesheets delivered to UN Women shall be prepared in English. 

The assignment should be carried out within a period of 7 months.

The start date of the assignment is envisaged for September 2026 and will be completed by March 2027. 

A model Evaluation Report will be provided to the evaluator based on the following outline. The evaluation manager and the regional evaluation specialist will quality assure the evaluation report. The draft and final evaluation report will be shared with the evaluation reference group, and the evaluation management group for quality review. The final report will be approved by the evaluation management committee.

• Title and opening pages.
  • Executive summary.
    • Background and purpose of the evaluation.
    • Programme/object of evaluation description and context.
    • Evaluation objectives and scope.
    • Evaluation methodology and limitations.
    • Findings: relevance, coherence, effectiveness (normative, coordination, operational), efficiency, sustainability, and gender and human rights.
    • Conclusions.
    • Lessons learned
    • Recommendations.

Financial Arrangements Payments shall be made following certification by UN Women that the services related to each deliverable, as described above, have been satisfactorily completed and the deliverables have been achieved by or before the specified due dates. 

Performance evaluation. The consultant’s performance will be evaluated against performance criteria such as timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

Under the current assignment the consultant will be travelling to Chisinau for data collection mission. The payment of the consultant will include the transportation costs. 

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting.
• Ability to meet commitments by observing deadlines and delivering results.
• Process management skills, including facilitation and communication skills.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills and ability to interact with a wide
• range of stakeholders.
• Data analysis skills.
• Excellent analytical thinking and research, writing, reporting and presentation skills.
• Strong inter-personal, team working skills.
• Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment.

• Master’s degree in social science, sociology, international development, gender/women studies or related area.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• At least 7 years of practical experience in conducting gender-responsive evaluations of development strategies, policies and programs is required.
• Extensive experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods is required.
• Experience in designing and leading evaluations is required.
• Knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level will be considered an asset. 
• Country or regional experience in ECA region and in particular in Moldova would be an advantage.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.