International Consultant to Conduct Evaluation of SIDA Programme Support

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 Sudan Country Office (CO) has a long-standing commitment to promoting women’s rights and gender equality, working closely with Sudan’s diverse women’s movement. The momentum generated by the 2018–2019 revolution created an enabling environment for Sudanese women—particularly young women who were at the forefront of demonstrations—to engage in civic action and advocate for reforms. These included demands for peace, equal representation in governance at national and state levels, legal reforms such as the overhaul of family laws, gender mainstreaming in national policies, and the removal of restrictions on women’s mobility. The women’s movement also lobbied for the establishment of a Commission on Women and Gender Equality (CWGE) as part of the transitional constitutional framework.

During the transitional period, UN Women supported women’s participation in peace processes, including the Juba Peace Talks (2019–2021), by providing technical assistance and facilitating safe spaces for women to consolidate and advocate for their priorities. UN Women also contributed to strengthening gender mainstreaming within government institutions through the deployment of gender experts in key ministries.

Following the October 2021 military coup and subsequent political processes supported by UNITAMS, IGAD, and the African Union, women continued to play a critical role in peace and governance processes. They contributed to engendering the Political Framework Agreement, drafting gender-sensitive constitutional provisions, and advocating for inclusive governance arrangements.

Since the outbreak of conflict on 15 April 2023, Sudanese women’s groups and organizations have mobilized in unprecedented ways, calling for an end to the war, accountability for conflict-related sexual violence, and leading humanitarian responses under extremely constrained conditions. Despite displacement and insecurity, women’s networks have remained active through virtual and cross-border coordination.

In response to the evolving context, UN Women Sudan CO has adapted its programming to sustain support for women’s leadership, protection, participation, and economic recovery. Sida has been a key funding partner in enabling this work, contributing to strengthening engagement with the women’s movement, government counterparts, and the UN system, and advancing women’s political participation and gender equality outcomes.

1. Description of the programme

UN Women Sudan, with support from Sida, has implemented the following interventions:

1. Strengthening the Gender Architecture in Sudan (2019-2022). 

This project was a pivotal initiative aimed at establishing effective gender machinery and strengthening the capacity of state institutions during the transitional period. With a total budget of $1,476,360, the initiative forged strategic partnerships with seven ministries, academic institutions—including the University of Khartoum—and women’s movements. Its interventions reached multiple regions, including Eastern, Western, and Blue Nile states, alongside significant engagement in Khartoum, ensuring both national and subnational impact.

1. Enhanced capacities of the key targeted governmental bodies to develop gender responsive legal and admin frameworks.
2. Strengthened gender coordination mechanisms and processes at Federal level: 
3. Women movement strengthened to hold decision makers accountable to constitutional milestones related to gender equality and empowerment of women. 

1. Women influencing the Course of Peace in Sudan: A Leadership and Economic Empowerment Nexus  (2023-2024, prolonged several times, extended until 28 Feb 2026). 

This initiative, with a budget of $1,632,960, aims to empower Sudanese women across different intersectionalities to effectively influence the direction of ending the war and peacebuilding in Sudan.

The project has two interrelated objectives:

1. Strengthening the Women-Led Peace Movement: By enhancing coordination and communication between women in civic and political organizations and those who are displaced, including those in the diaspora and women in hosting communities.
2. Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities: For host communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to improve women's well-being, strengthen their economic leadership, and support peace initiatives.

1. Enhanced institutional capacity of women’s organizations (civic and political) and a feminist agenda on peace is developed to effectively advocate for sustainable peace and participate in regional and International political/peace processes. 
2. New forms and modalities of coordination and communication are adopted by women’s groups and their coordinated peace efforts are systematically reflected in media forums (at local, regional and international level).
3. Access to livelihood for women from hosting communities and displaced women is enhanced, income is generated and their participation in peace initiatives is strengthened. 
4.  Empowerment through Nexus: Women leading Peace and GBV Prevention and Response in Sudan. (2025-2026). 

Building on the “Women Influencing the Course of Peace in Sudan: A Leadership and Economic Empowerment Nexus” project (2023–2024), the new initiative retains the core outcome of fostering a more inclusive, coordinated, and sustainable women’s movement grounded in the nexus of feminism, peace, and humanitarianism that influences regional and international political and peace processes. This ensures continuity in advancing women’s leadership and strengthening their mediation and negotiation capacities.

In addition, UN Women Sudan has introduced a dedicated component on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response. With a total budget of $2,993,587, the project aims to further empower Sudanese women to actively participate in peace processes while addressing GBV, thereby contributing to more inclusive and sustainable peace outcomes.

1. Enhanced institutional capacity of women’s organizations (civic and political) to strengthen women’s leadership, skills, capacity, and knowledge on peace related issues at local, regional, and national levels.
2. Established platforms for women mediators, negotiators, providing opportunities/resources for their meaningful participation in peace talks and mediation efforts.
3. Increased inclusive dialogues, forums and engagement that amplify women’s voices at national, regional, and international levels, facilitating their participation in peace process.

1. Create a conducive environment for GBV survivors to come forward for support, thereby also increasing the use of GBV referral systems made available by UNFPA.
2. Women and girls are better informed on what constitutes GBV and options they have for protecting their rights and where to seek various forms of support.
3. Local communities, young males, male community leaders and aid field workers better sensitized on the issues around GBV, focusing on human rights, the criminal aspects of GBV and potential judicial consequences.

• Purpose of the Evaluation

The primary purpose of this evaluation is to assess the overall performance and results of the Sida-supported programme implemented by UN Women Sudan Country Office (CO) from 2019 to date, including its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, impact, and sustainability. The evaluation will generate evidence-based findings on programme achievements and its contribution to advancing gender equality, women’s empowerment, and peacebuilding in Sudan.

The evaluation will support accountability, learning, and decision-making by identifying strengths, gaps, lessons learned, and good practices, and by providing actionable recommendations to strengthen programme implementation and strategic positioning. The findings will also inform future programming, potential multi-year support plans, and broader strategic engagement between Sida and UN Women Sudan CO.

A participatory and inclusive approach will be adopted, involving consultations with key stakeholders and rights holders, including implementing partners (CSOs, women’s movements, academic institutions, and consultants), beneficiaries from selected programme activities, government institutions, regional bodies such as the AU and IGAD, Sida, and relevant UN agencies.

The primary intended users of the evaluation are the programme management team of UN Women Sudan Country Office (CO), UN Women Regional Office (Nairobi), and Headquarters (New York), as well as Sida’s Sudan Team, Sida’s Network for Gender Equality, and Sida’s focal point for UN Women.

In line with UN Women Evaluation Policy, the final evaluation report together with the UN Women management response will be disclosed publicly on the UNW ‘Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation Use (GATE) System’ at http://gate.unwomen.org.

•  Evaluation Objectives, Criteria and Key Questions.

The main objective of this evaluation is to assess the performance and results of the Sida-supported programme implemented by UN Women Sudan Country Office from 2019 to 2026, and to generate evidence-based findings to inform accountability, learning, and future programming with Sida.

The specific objectives of the evaluation are to:

• Assess the relevance of the programme to national priorities and the needs and priorities of women’s organizations and the women’s movement in Sudan, and its responsiveness to the evolving socio-political context.
• Assess the effectiveness of the programme in achieving its intended results, and the sustainability of those results.
• Assess the efficiency of programme implementation, including resource use and delivery modalities.
• Assess the coherence of the programme with other relevant interventions and actors. 
• Assess, where feasible, the programme’s contribution to gender equality, women’s empowerment, and human rights outcomes.
• Generate lessons learned and provide actionable recommendations to inform future programming and potential multi-year support with Sida.

The evaluation will apply the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability as well as the additional criterion of human rights and gender equality by addressing the key evaluation questions identified. At inception stage, the evaluator(s) are expected to develop an evaluation matrix summarizing key questions, indicators, sources of information and methodology to guide the analysis and triangulation.

The evaluation will also, in relevant parts, consider the conclusions and recommendations made during the Portfolio evaluation of UN Women’s work in Sudan, conducted in 2022. 

The indicative evaluation questions of the evaluation are identified below: 

-Relevance

• How strategic have the programmes been in positioning UN Women within Sudan and the UN system, and how were design and priorities determined? 
• To what extent have key stakeholders been engaged in programme design and implementation? 
• How responsive and adaptable have the programmes been to the evolving context and emerging priorities?

-Coherence

• How well do the programmes align with and complement national, regional, and partner initiatives on gender equality, in line with UN Women’s comparative advantage?

-Effectiveness 

• To what extent were planned results achieved, and how effectively did implementing partners deliver the programme, including their relevance, capacity, mandate, and added value? 
• What progress has been made towards the achievement of expected outcomes, and to what extent has the programme contributed to gender equality and women’s empowerment? 
• What broader changes have occurred, and to what extent can these be attributed to the programme? 
• What internal and external factors influenced the achievement or non-achievement of results (what worked and what did not)? 
• Were there any unintended effects of the intervention?

-Efficiency

• To what extent have programme funds and activities been delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner, and how well do UN Women’s systems, capacities, and processes support efficient implementation?
• How efficiently have programme resources and risks been managed to ensure results, including adaptation to changing contexts, shifts in donor funding, and the use of synergies across programmes?

-Sustainability

What is the likelihood that the benefits from the Sida programme in Sudan will be maintained and sustained? What, or whose, capacity has been developed to ensure sustainability of efforts and benefits? 

• What is the likelihood that the benefits and results of the programme will be sustained beyond the funding period, including through national ownership, systems, and accountability mechanisms for rights holders?
• To what extent has capacity been developed among relevant stakeholders to sustain results and benefits?

-Gender Equality and Human Rights

To what extent have gender and human rights considerations been integrated into the programme design and implementation? 

• Scope of the evaluation

This evaluation covers the Sida-supported programme implemented by UN Women Sudan Country Office from 2019 to 2026. It assesses all programme components, activities, and results over the full implementation period. Programme interventions across relevant geographical areas in Sudan are included, taking into account access and contextual conditions.

Key stakeholder groups such as programme beneficiaries, women’s organizations, government counterparts, civil society partners, and relevant UN agencies are within the scope of the assessment. Engagement with these stakeholders will depend on accessibility, security, and contextual constraints.

The assessment focuses on programme performance, results, and contributions to gender equality, women’s empowerment, and peacebuilding, with attention to relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and sustainability.

During the inception phase, the evaluation team will thoroughly assess the feasibility of the overall evaluation approach, including the scope, methodology, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that the evaluation is both comprehensive and contextually appropriate.

• Evaluation methodology

The evaluation will adopt a formative, gender-responsive approach using a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. This approach will ensure a comprehensive assessment of programme performance in a complex and evolving context.

The evaluation will be guided by UN Women principles for gender-responsive evaluation, including national ownership, participation and inclusion, independence and impartiality, transparency, ethical standards, and use of evaluation findings. The evaluation will apply the OECD-DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, alongside human rights and gender equality considerations.

Data will be collected through document review, key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and surveys where feasible. Data collection tools will be developed and validated during the inception phase prior to field deployment. Data will be triangulated across sources and methods to ensure validity, reliability, and credibility of findings.

A purposive sampling approach will be used to ensure representation of key stakeholder groups, including women’s organizations, programme beneficiaries, implementing partners, government counterparts, donors, and UN agencies. Any limitations related to access, security, or sampling will be clearly documented in the inception report and final evaluation report.

The evaluation will apply strict ethical standards, including informed consent, confidentiality, and “do no harm” principles, with particular attention to women, girls, and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

The consultants will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conduct a desk review of relevant programme and contextual documents.
• Develop an inception report outlining the evaluation methodology, evaluation matrix, data collection tools, stakeholder mapping, and workplan.

• Conduct KIIs, FGDs, document review, surveys, and field visits where feasible.
• Engage key stakeholders, including programme beneficiaries, implementing partners, government counterparts, civil society organizations, donors, and UN agencies.

• Analyse and triangulate collected data to assess programme performance and results.
• Identify key findings, lessons learned, and evidence-based recommendations.
• Prepare draft and final evaluation reports in line with UN Women GERAAS standards.
• Facilitate validation and dissemination workshops.

• Evaluation Ethics

The evaluation is to be conducted in line with UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation, the UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluations in the UN System, UN Women evaluation guidelines including Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Handbook, GERAAS evaluation report quality checklist, and the UN Women “How To Manage Gender-Responsive Evaluation” handbook. The evaluation will also apply the UNCT SWAP Evaluation Performance Indicator. In line with the UNEG Norms and Standards a management response will be prepared for this evaluation as practical means to enhance the use of evaluation findings and follow-up to the evaluation recommendations. The management response will identify who is responsible, what are the action points and deadlines. The finalised report will be quality-assured through the Global Evaluation Reports Assessment and Analysis System (GERAAS).

• Evaluation phases and timelines

The evaluation will be implemented over 45 working days and structured into five phases:

1. Preparation, mainly devoted to structuring the evaluation approach, preparing the TORs, compiling programme documentation, and selecting the consultants. 
   1. Inception, which will involve a stakeholder’s analysis, reconstruction of theory of change, inception meetings, inception report and finalization of evaluation methodology. 
   2. Data collection and analysis, including desk research and preparation of field missions, visits to the selected project sites. A fieldwork and debriefing session with UN Women will be conducted to share initial observations and identify data gaps.
   3. Data analysis and synthesis stage, focusing on data analysed, interpretation of findings and drafting of an Evaluation Report; and 
   4. Dissemination and follow-up, which will entail the development of a Management Response by UN Women 

1. Inception Meeting (Week 1). 
2. Draft Inception Report (Week 2). 
3. Final Inception Report (Week 3). 

1. Field Work and Debriefing Session (Week 4- 7). 

1. Post Data Collection Workshop (Week 8 - 9). 
2. Draft Evaluation Report (Week 10). 
3. Final Evaluation Report (Week 11). 
4. Validation presentation (Week 12). 
5. Dissemination Package (Week 12). 

• Evaluation Governance and Management

The evaluation will be a consultative, inclusive and participatory process and will include a two-fold management structure which consists of an Evaluation Management Group (EMG) and an Evaluation Task Manager (ETM)

UN Women will establish an Evaluation Management Group (EMG), supported by the Evaluation Task Manager (ETM), the M&E Officer, who will lead the day-to-day coordination of the evaluation process. The EMG will be responsible for oversight, quality assurance, and approval of evaluation deliverables. The EMG will comprise the National Programme Specialist, M&E Officer, and Regional Evaluation Specialist.

The EMG, as the key accountable body, will ultimately endorse the evaluation report and oversee the development of the Evaluation Management Response (MR) to address the recommendations included in the report. Specific functions of the EMG will include:

• 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: 

• Excellent facilitation and communication skills, including experience in online data collection and facilitating virtual meetings 
• Extensive evaluation experience with UN agencies and programmes. 
• Strong knowledge of issues concerning development frameworks, statistics, gender statistics, gender equality and women's empowerment. 
• Good understanding of the context of Sudan, and ideally experience with the relevant government partner ministries
• Strong reporting skills 
• Ability to manage and supervise evaluation teams and ensure timely submission of quality evaluation reports

• Master’s degree in gender women Studies, Sociology, International development, advance Degree in Statistics, Welfare Economics, Economics, Gender studies, Development Economics, or related fields in Social Science with formal research skills.
• At least seven (7) years of progressive experience in conducting evaluations as team leaders internationally and designing.
• Professional training in Monitoring and Evaluation and Result Based Management is considered an asset
• High proficiency in English and Arabic.
• Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods
• Proven knowledge of the role of UN Women and its programming, coordination and normative roles at the regional and country level. 
• Country or regional experience in Sudan will be considered a strong asset. 
• Any relevant Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment thematic expertise will be considered a strong asset

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