Endline Evaluation for Ecumenical Church Leaders Forum Terms of Reference

Job Description

Assignment: End of Project Evaluation for the Deepening the foundations of peace for Social Cohesion
and Peaceful Elections Project.
Evaluation Objective: To assess the effectiveness, impact, relevance, coherence, and
sustainability of the interventions aimed at promoting social cohesion, non-violent conflict resolution,
community healing, and trust-building in governance institutions, to enhance access to services and
support community development in the targeted districts of Zimbabwe.
To comprehensively assess the impact of the “Deepening the foundations of peace for Social Cohesion
and Peaceful Elections in Zimbabwe” project by evaluating its effectiveness in promoting peace and
reducing conflict, enhancing social cohesion among diverse communities, increasing community-duty
bearers' engagement and awareness of peaceful electoral processes and building local capacities for
sustainable peacebuilding
1. Background and Rationale
About ECLF: Ecumenical Church Leaders Forum (ECLF) started in 2008 as a grouping of concerned
Christian leaders from the major ecumenical bodies including the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC),
Zimbabwe Catholics Bishop’s Conference (ZCBC), Union of the Development of Apostolic Churches in
Zimbabwe and Africa (UDACIZA) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), who felt the need to
meaningfully intervene in contemporary social, economic and political issues affecting the people. Over the
years ECLF has chosen to focus its mandate on three main areas which are peacebuilding, healing and
reconciliation, good governance, and accountability, in line with the practical role of the church in the context
of an environment characterised by political and socio-economic conditions that have left many in the nation
hurt and traumatized. The Forum primary mission is to contribute towards a peaceful, just, and democratic
society by strengthening the capacity of the church, community, and its leadership at all levels with peace-
building skills.
Through its Conflict Prevention Management Resolution Transformation and Healing (CPMRTH)
framework, the forum has been able to design various initiatives that amongst other things address
gender injustices towards social transformation and human security. Furthermore, through the
CPMRTH and gender responsive peacebuilding, ECLF has established community-based peace
structures called Local Peace Committees (LPC) which are composed of community members; law
enforcement, church, elected and traditional leaders; and government extension workers. These LPCs
are established at district, ward and village levels that complement existing governance structures
and are mechanisms to push the peace and development agenda at a local level.
About the Project:
This project aims to foster social cohesion and non-violent conflict resolution, strengthen and expand
community peace structures, promote healing, and build trust and confidence in local governance
institutions to enhance access to services and support community development. The project
established Local Peace Committees, strengthened community peacebuilding capacities for peaceful
co-existence and non-violent conflict resolution. Community engagements such as community
dialogues, inter-party dialogues and community cohesion initiatives were supported towards
peaceful coexistence as we approached the 2023 elections. This was done in collaboration with
relevant stakeholders to foster peace, support and promote the national peace and reconciliation
agenda. Church engagements were key in promoting the understanding of the value and role of the
church as a peacebuilding arm of the church in promoting peace and reconciliation.
The overall goal of the project is: There is social cohesion and peaceful elections in Zimbabwe
through enhanced capacities of the peace architecture in areas of implementation.
The specific objectives for this action are:
1. By 2025 contribute to the capacitation of state and non-state peacebuilding infrastructure and
mechanisms at local, subnational and national levels and beyond through training for improved
knowledge and skills in CPMRTH and Gender Response Peace Building.
2. By 2025 contribute to national healing and cohesion through peace education and
transformative conflict resolution in communities, state and non-state institutional settings and
offer peace education and transformative conflict resolution services.
3. By end of 2023, pilot a Conflict Early Warning and Emergency Response System in two
selected districts where ECLF is already working with communities, use pilot results to
influence uptake and replication by other peace building mechanisms in the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Evaluation Purpose and Intended Use
The purpose of the evaluation is to document the project’s intended and unintended, positive and
negative outcomes and impacts of the project among men, women, youths and minority groups in the
targeted wards guided by the OECD/DAC criteria. The evaluation will document the lessons learnt,
best practices and weaknesses, which will be used together with the findings to design the next phase
of the project and scaling up of project interventions.
The specific objectives of the evaluation are to:
1. Measure the achievement of intended and unintended outcomes, including greater cohesion,
strengthened capacities, enhanced community resilience, increased stakeholder commitment,
improved conflict management skills, and active participation in peace-building initiatives,
while also assessing the effectiveness of project approaches and interventions in achieving these
outcomes.
2. Assess the capacities of local peace structures and churches to manage and respond to emerging
conflicts non-violently and the empowerment of community members, including women,
youth, and vulnerable groups, in participating in peacebuilding and conflict resolution
processes.
3. Measure changes in community members' perceptions of trust and confidence in local
governance institutions
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4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Assess the effectiveness of the Conflict Early Warning Systems in providing early detection
and response to conflicts by LPCs.
Evaluate the integration of gender justice and equality in project activities by assessing women's
and youth participation in decision-making processes and tracking the reduction of gender-
based violence.
Assess the effectiveness of partnerships and collaborations with local government authorities,
civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.
Measure the capacity of local peace committees and church leaders to continue promoting peace
and development initiatives independently.
Identify the best practices that can inform future projects and strengthen organizational learning.
2.1 Intended Users of the Evaluation
The evaluation report will be used by ECLF, partner line ministries, Local Peace Committees and the
project funder.
3. Specific Evaluation Questions
The evaluation will be guided by the following evaluation questions:
3.1 Relevance
 To what extent are the objectives of the project consistent with the needs of the community?
 How important is the intervention for the target group and subgroups (e.g. women), and to what
extent does it address their needs and interests?
 To what extent is the project relevant to the needs and priorities of the intended rightsholders in the
targeted districts?
3.2 Effectiveness
framework?
 To what extent did the project achieve its outcomes as defined in the project proposal and results
3.3 Efficiency
 Has the project approach been cost-effective and efficient in the implementation of the action.
3.4 Impact
 What has been the positive and negative impact of the project on the community and duty bearers’
level, positive and negative, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended?
3.5 Sustainability
 What is the likelihood of continuation of long-term project benefits after the end of the project?
 To what extent does the project action reflect on and consider factors which, by experience, have a
major influence on sustainability like e.g. economic, ecological, social, and cultural aspects?
3.6 Coherence
 To what extent is the project compatible with other interventions in the targeted wards, district,
province/country? This includes complementarity, harmonisation and coordination with others and
the extent to which the intervention is adding value while avoiding duplication of effort.
3.7 Additional Questions
3
Accountability
 How did the target group influenced decisions in the project operations over its life cycle? How has
the complaints and response mechanism (CRM) worked?
 How has child protection and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
(safeguarding) been integrated into the operations?
Gender integration
 How have gender justice and equality been integrated into the operations?
Climate integration
 How has climate impact and risk analysis with regard to climate been integrated into the operations?
Conflict sensitivity
 How is conflict sensitivity integrated1 into the operations?
1. Geographic Targeting, Beneficiaries and Questions
The evaluation will be carried out in the Bulawayo, Chivi, Gwanda, Mberengwa and Tsholotsho district
where the project activities have been implemented. The evaluation should also focus on the following
target groups/beneficiaries:
 Local Peace Committee members
 Church, Community, Political and Traditional leaders
 State officials such as government line ministries, security services and other relevant duty-
bearers
 District focal persons,
 Young people
 Women and girls
 Men and boys

Qualifications and Experience

Competencies:
Required Experience and Expertise
The consultant/s should possess the following expertise and skills:
 Master’s qualification in Development Studies, Peace, Conflict and Security Studies,
Community Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Management, or Political
Science.
 Proven experience as a Program Evaluator or similar role, preferably with a focus on
peacebuilding, gender justice, social cohesion, and community development projects. Extensive
experience in evaluations and social research, including designing and employing participatory
qualitative and quantitative data collection methods sensitive to the needs of targeted
beneficiaries.
 Proven evaluation skills such as sampling, participatory evaluation methodology, appreciative
enquiry methods, focus group interviews and outcome harvesting.
 Strong written and verbal communication skills to convey detailed concepts clearly
 Fluency in Ndebele, Shona, Sesotho, and English is a must.
 Ability to work in diverse communal environments, with a preference for candidates who have
experience in evaluating peacebuilding projects.
 Two samples of similar/closely related evaluations done (not less than three years) and referees.

How to Apply

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