Position Description

EnCompass LLC is seeking a local Country Context Specialist (CSS) to support the Mid-Term Evaluation of the YouthRISE Activity in Bangladesh.

Encompass is implementing the four-year?United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Upoma Activity, providing a range of analytical and advisory services in support of USAID’s design, performance monitoring, evaluation, and operational learning and adapting efforts. Under Upoma, EnCompass has been tasked to conduct a Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the USAID-financed YouthRISE activity in Bangladesh.

YouthRISE is a four-year consortium program funded by USAID and led by BBC Media Action consortium. This program is being implemented in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), Shushilan, and Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK). This mid-term evaluation will critically analyze YouthRISE’s efforts to build youth resilience and propose recommendations for the improvement and sustainability of the program.

The overarching goal of YouthRISE is to mitigate conflict and violence (including GBV), prevalent in communities affected by the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar district. The program’s core objective is to fortify the resilience of young individuals, cultivating their ability to resolve local conflicts through peaceful means and steering them away from engagement in violence. The geographic focus encompasses host communities impacted by the Rohingya crisis in Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazila, with a specific emphasis on youth aged 18 to 35, ensuring substantial participation from young women. Furthermore, the program prioritizes the inclusion of religious and ethnic minority youth in beneficiary selection.?

Goal and Objective of the MTE

To achieve the program goal and objectives, interventions under YouthRISE are grouped into the following Intermediate Results (IRs) for the life of the program:?

IR-1: Strengthened life/leadership skills, shifts in gender norms and improved livelihood skills and opportunities increase young people’s resilience to violence.?

IR-2: Increased confidence of host community youth to engage positively and non-violently in their community mitigates conflict.?

IR-3: Local justice systems are strengthened to reduce the use of violence and solve disputes, which fosters youth engagement and trust in local justice mechanisms.?

The specific objectives of the MTE are:

• To measure the effectiveness of the activities, if or not the current YouthRISE interventions are appropriate to achieve its goal.??
• How well did the activities of each of YouthRISE’s three components contribute, in a coordinated way, to build conflict resiliency among youth in the host community???
• To what extent has YouthRISE’s performance management system provided useful data to support management decisions?
• To what extent have YouthRISE management and stakeholders incorporated knowledge gained through YouthRISE’s MEL into project management????
• Assess the potential benefits of integrating Rohingya youth into existing initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of interventions aimed at fostering social cohesion.?
• Evaluate the feasibility of partnering with the private sector to amplify the impact of youth empowerment programs and initiatives promoting social cohesion.?
• What are some early signs of sustainability of YouthRISE activities beyond USAID support???

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential functions:

• Support the Team Leader in assessing YouthRISE’s impact on youth resilience.
• Provide expert analysis on the country context, informing both primary and secondary data collection.
• Collaborate with the evaluation team to develop context-appropriate tools and methodologies.

Deliverables and Timing:

• Contribute to the inception plan including context analysis, data collection tools, and preliminary list of key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs).
• Participate in the in-brief meeting with USAID’s DRG Activity Manager.
• Conduct KIIs, FGDs and stakeholder surveys as instructed by the Team Leader.
• Assist in data coding and analysis as instructed by the Team Leader.
• Assist in the out-brief presentation.
• Provide contextual inputs for the draft and final report.

Period of Performance and Level of Effort (LOE): The LOE for the CSS is approximately up to 45 days, from on or about June 1, 2024, to October 30, 2024.

Travel: Travel to Cox’s Bazar will be required as directed by the Team Leader.

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

• A master’s degree in social sciences, political science, international development, or a related field is required.

Experience and Skills

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in a role requiring a deep understanding of the socio-political context of Bangladesh. Less academic experience will be accepted if weighed against commensurate evaluation experience.
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with an evaluation team, providing expert analysis and insights.
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English and Bengali.