Negotiated Partnerships Endline Evaluation - Habitat for Humanity New Zealand   

For a full Terms of Reference for this job please see here.  

Background 

Habitat for Humanity New Zealand (HFHNZ) seeks an experienced independent evaluator or evaluation team to lead the Endline Evaluation of the first phase of their Negotiated Partnership Programme (the ‘Programme’) (2019-2025).

The Programme, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and HFHNZ, aims to strengthen climate resilience, shelter security, and inclusive development across Pacific communities in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, with local implementing partners: Habitat for Humanity Fiji, ADRA Samoa, Talitha Project and Live & Learn Tonga.

Designed to align with the HFH International Theory of Change (2020), the Programme focuses on resilient housing in three areas:

1. Community: Delivering Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA), WASH, Financial Literacy and Build Back Safer (BBS) trainings, focusing on strengthening community knowledge and skills to identify and mitigate shelter related hazards.
2. Sector: Partnering with tertiary institutions to deliver carpentry and plumbing training to community participants, strengthening the capacity of the local sector.
3. Society: Focused research to identify the opportunities and barriers within the housing ecosystem and engaging with stakeholders to influence and advocate for inclusive housing policy.

A midline evaluation was completed at the end of 2024 with a focus on operational impact and MEAL. It assessed the current programme achievements to mid-2024, the extent to which programme level outcomes were being achieved, how project outputs are contributing to outcomes, and areas for improvement during the final part of the programme and potential later phases.

Scope

Given the recent Midline Evaluation, the Endline Evaluation will focus on measuring output delivery, the contribution of outputs to long-term outcomes and impact in specific areas, and provide a set of concise and implementable recommendations for the second phase of the Programme (2026-2031), namely:

1. The impact of community-based training and its contribution to community knowledge, skills, capacity and leadership
2. The impact of housing or shelter that is built/strengthened to mitigate risks and long-term community resilience outcomes
3. The impact of vocational training and its contribution to increasing technical expertise and local capacity to support resilient housing
4. The impact of sector collaboration, advocacy and influencing activities and their contribution to greater support, resources for, and prioritisation of, resilient housing.

The evaluation will cover all three implementing countries: Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, and consider GEDSI, climate resilience, localisation, and sustainability. The evaluation will be undertaken remotely by the lead evaluator with possible international travel (dependent on budget) to one country for in-person primary data collection. Expectations are that the evaluator will recruit local consultants to assist with or carry out primary data collection.

Documents available to review include:

• NP Phase 1 design document
• NP Phase 1 6-monthly and annual progress reports
• Activity updates and reports
• Monitoring reports
• NP Phase 1 Midline Evaluation.

Key Tasks and Deliverables

 The final deliverable will be a comprehensive Endline Evaluation Report assessing programme relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and cross-cutting issues (gender, inclusion, environment) across the HFHNZ Negotiated Partnerships Programme in Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji. The final written report should be no more than 40 pages (excluding relevant annexes), and include a summary sheet of overarching themes and recommendations for distribution to country partners.

The endline report will provide 5 to 6 actionable recommendations to improve delivery, impact and sustainability of outcomes in the next phase of the programme. Alongside these additional suggestions for improvement could be provided.

Key tasks and deliverables will include:

• Inception Report and Detailed Work Plan – outlining evaluation purpose, scope, methodology, detailed evaluation questions, data collection tools, stakeholder engagement plan, ethical considerations, and detailed timeline.
• Recruitment, Coordination, and Management of Local Consultants – The Evaluation Lead will be responsible for recruiting, managing, and coordinating local consultants in Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji to ensure consistent application of the evaluation methodology, quality data collection, and timely delivery of country-level inputs.
• Qualitative Fieldwork and Consultations Summary – capturing key insights from project participants, implementing partners, and community representatives, ensuring diverse representation (women, youth, PWDs, local leaders).
• Draft Evaluation Report and sensemaking workshop – presenting preliminary findings, analysis, and emerging recommendations, structured around OECD DAC criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, Sustainability).
• PowerPoint Presentation of Key Findings – highlighting lessons learned and recommendations for HFHNZ and partners.
• Final Evaluation Report – a polished, comprehensive report incorporating feedback, including an Executive Summary, findings, lessons learned, and annexes (methodology, stakeholder list, data summaries).

Application Process

Applicants should submit the following by 8am 30^th January 2025 to katja.neef@habitat.org.nz:

• CV outlining relevant experience
• Proposal outlining your proposed approach and workplan for delivering this ToR, and your consultancy fees (including approach, workplan, and daily rate)
• Two professional references
• Example of similar work