The Terms of Reference for this vacancy are available to download here.
CONTEXT AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Following the attempted coup in July 2016 and the implementation of emergency laws, pressure on civil society increased dramatically and the environment for the work of HRDs in Turkey deteriorated significantly. Through a wide-ranging use of State of Emergency laws, the Turkish government has infringed on the rights to freedom of expression, media, assembly, and association, and has restricted the liberty of those engaged in human rights work. In turn, the shrinking of civil space negatively impacted access to remedies for victims of human rights violations. HRDs have been facing substantial legal costs as a result of those baseless proceedings and monetary fines, putting an extra financial burden on the human rights organizations and HRDs. In order to respond to the challenges faced by human rights defenders in Turkey, the “Turkey Consortium” was established to deliver an efficient and comprehensive mechanism to support Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Turkey.
The Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders in Turkey Programme started in February 2019 with the financial support of the European Commission, for 36 months that has been extended, because of Covid-19, to 42 months. It is operated by a consortium of 5 international NGOs namely, Front Line Defenders (FLD), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)-Europe, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and International Gay and Lesbian Association-Europe (ILGA)- Europe with the support and under the coordination of the Turkey Consortium Secretariat established in Brussels hosted by the existing Secretariat of the ProtectDefenders.eu Consortium.
The Head of the ProtectDefenders.eu Secretariat also acts as Head of the Turkey Consortium Secretariat. FIDH, as the lead applicant, chairs the Board of the Turkey Consortium mechanism and oversees the coordination of the Action.
The overall objective is «to support human rights defenders in Turkey to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms», through the strengthening of the protection of human rights defenders at risk through rapid response measures, through the provision of institutional support grants, and the strengthening of networks at the domestic and international levels, as well as through the strengthening the capacity of Turkish human rights defenders to document human rights abuses, access justice and advocate for a more enabling environment for HRDs in Turkey. Seven components of activities and results aimed at reaching these objectives include individual grants support (T1), institutional grants support (T2), training and capacity building (T3), monitoring and advocacy (T4), supporting coordination (T5), outreach (T6) and visibility (T7). A particular focus on HRDs working in the most difficult situations and remote areas, including women HRDs, LGBTI HRDs, journalists and bloggers, HRDs defending the rights of vulnerable groups and torture victims, minorities, migrants, and lawyers advocating for and promoting fundamental freedoms
SCOPE AND FOCUS
The evaluation is carried out at the end of the Programme. It should focus on documenting the outcomes and the sustainability of the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders Action and whether the Turkey Consortium has delivered in accordance with the Project proposal and main objectives of the Project.
The evaluation should focus in particular on the direct support to human rights defenders under components T1, T2, T3, and T4, which account for around two-thirds of the project. The evaluation should concentrate as far as possible on the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders Project in its entirety. It is not the intention to evaluate the performance of the individual ProtectDefenders.eu Partners, although comparisons of practices can be used when relevant in order to draw lessons learned and contribute to improving overall performance.
The key areas that the evaluation should focus on (the questions below are not exhaustive):
Relevance and coherence:
• Did the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders in Turkey Project respond to the needs of the defenders?
• Do interventions implemented to reach the isolated and at-risk defenders, including women HRDs, HRDs working on LGBTI or minority rights, HRDs journalists or bloggers, anti-torture HRDs, and those fighting for freedom of expression and association?
• Is the Turkey Consortium’s strategy well-adapted to the context where defenders operate? And did it manage to adapt as the context evolves since 2019?
Effectiveness :
• How effective has the project been in realizing the outputs and achieving outcomes? To what extent has the project progressed and developed as planned at its onset?
• Are activities timely, relevant and sufficient for the targeted beneficiaries?
• What have been the most successful or unsuccessful interventions and why?
• What potential multiplying effects could be observed?
Impact:
• What have been the outcomes of the strengthening provided to the human rights defenders and human rights organizations at local level, taking into account the different Project components?
• Are there external opportunities and challenges that have impacted positively or negatively by the project?
• What has been the impact of the assistance provided on the security of the HRD/organizations supported?
• What has been the impact of the assistance provided on the ability of the HRD/organizations supported to continue/strengthen their work in promoting the Human Rights Agenda?
Efficiency:
• How efficient was the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders in Turkey Project’s set-up and strategy for achieving the programme’s objectives (consortium structure, number of Partners, necessary resources (human, material, financial)?
• How does the implemented partnership model provide added value to the programme’s objectives?
• Given the resources at its disposal, did the programme target and reach an appropriate proportion of the defenders at risk?
Coordination:
• How effective was the Turkey Consortium’s cooperation and coordination with other relevant stakeholders (EU institutions, Human Rights INGOs and NGOs, representatives of Protection mechanisms)?
• Did the EU Human Rights Defenders mechanism contribute to the strengthening of coordination mechanisms among human rights organisations? Does it offer increased networking opportunities for assisted human rights defenders and human rights organisations?
• How effective was the internal operational coordination and cooperation (Board) among Turkey Consortium’s Partners? What best practices can be identified and what lessons have been learned?
• How effective was the communication and coordination with the Donor?
Sustainability:
• What is the level of sustainability in the project interventions? How will the project ensure the sustainability of interventions after the end of the project?
• How did Turkey Consortium’s interventions work alongside complementary interventions such as the recent mechanism in place in Turkey for the protection of HRDS led by organizations based in Turkey with the collaboration of two members of the current Consortium.
METHODOLOGY
The consultant should use the following methodologies to conduct the assessment :
1. Desk review: The desk review should include all available internal documentation (proposal, Project strategies, interim and final reports from ProtectDefenders.eu to the Donor, as well as the reports commissioned by DEVCO.
2. Key Informant Interviews and field visits: Interviews should take place with the Donor, with ProtectDefenders.eu implementing Partners and Secretariat, with Project’s beneficiaries and with partner organisations, including human rights INGOs, EU delegations in the field, mandate-holders of international and regional protection mechanisms and representatives of the EU Temporary Relocation Platform. Interviews can be organised by Skype but should also take place on the ground, in particular with beneficiaries. At least three field visits should be organised to meet in person with individual human rights defenders and human rights local NGOs that benefited from the Project. For these visits, a geographical balance is to be observed, as well as a balance in the categories of human rights defenders met. The field visits are to be organised together with ProtectDefenders.eu Partners and Secretariat so that security considerations are duly addressed, both for the consultant and for the concerned beneficiaries.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the overall supervision of the Secretariat of ProtectDefenders the consultant is expected to:
• Prepare a methodological note with a workplan for the implementation of the assignment;
• Provide an update on the evaluation’s progress in the monthly meetings of Turkey Consortium’s board;
• Deliver the following deliverables during the evaluation assignment/process:
i. Comprehensive evaluation report (50-70 Pages excluding annexes) including:
1. Executive summary (including main findings and recommendations)
2. Introduction
3. Methodology
4. Evaluation of the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders Project including a presentation of the findings and their analysis
5. Lessons learned and good practices
6. Recommendations
7. Annexes
ii. Two presentations to be delivered summarizing methodology and findings:
1. Presentation of the draft report
2. Presentation of the final report
CONTACT POINT
The evaluation will be facilitated by Turkey Consortium Secretariat and carried out under the supervision of the Turkey Consortium’s Board. The Secretariat will provide all necessary material for the desk review, as well as contacts for key informants and will help organise field visits.
TENTATIVE TIMELINE
The timeline for the consultancy is tentative as follows:
• Start of the evaluation – 1 March 2022
• Submission of a methodological note with a work plan (including field visits) for the evaluation period – 15 March 2022
• Submission of a first full draft of the evaluation report and 1st presentation – 15 May (full draft), 1 June 2022 (presentation)
• Feedback on draft evaluation report and Board Response – By 15 June 2022
• Submission of the final evaluation report (including comments/feedback) and 2nd Presentation – 14 July 2022
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
Payments will be scheduled against deliverables:
• Signed Contract – 30% up-front.
• Draft Evaluation Report including first presentation – 40%.
• Final Evaluation Report – 6 hard copies -1 PDF soft copy – Second presentation – 30%.
All deliverables should be provided in English.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Advanced University degree in Human Rights, International Relations, Law, Political Science or related field;
• At least seven years of work or academic experience in a professional capacity in Human Rights, International Relations, Law, Political Science or related field;
• Extensive experience in conducting evaluations of human rights projects preferably involving multiple partners and the European Union as a donor, including designing and employing both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, which are participatory and sensitive to the needs of the target group;
• Deep understanding of non-governmental organisations, human rights organisations, call for proposals procedures, legal and practical aspects of funding frameworks and Project management;
• Deep understanding of the civil society and the functioning of the human rights organisations in Turkey
• Experience liaising with different stakeholders, including individuals, governmental and international entities and civil society;
• Advanced critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills required to draw conclusions from several sources of information and data;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Turkish.
• Ability to express clearly and concisely ideas in written materials and presentations;
• Proven skills in interpersonal communication and networking.
SUBMISSION OF OFFERS AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Applicants are requested to send their submissions to recruit@protectdefenders.eu, with the subject “Evaluation consultant” by 3 February 2022.
Applications must include:
• A cover letter
• A statement (10 pages maximum) detailing the understanding of the task, the proposed study methodology, a work plan and the proposed evaluation team (CVs annexed)
• A detailed financial proposal in Euros including consultancy fees and other eligible costs (transport and accommodation for field visits, printing, etc).
• 1 sample abstracts of previous relevant research/work.
The review of the submissions will take into account the following criteria:
• Understanding of the ToRs (10%)
• Suggested methodology (30%)
• Experience of the suggested team (30%)
• Quality of submitted samples (10%)
• Financial offer (20%)
CONFIDENTIALITY
All information presented, obtained, and produced concerning the Comprehensive Support to Human Rights Defenders Project, the Partners and beneficiaries during the Evaluation process/Consultancy is to be treated as confidential. The selected consultant will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement upon signature of the contract.
