Consultant - AHP Tonga Consortium – Outcomes Monitoring

CARE Australia is looking for a consultant to conduct outcomes monitoring exercise in Tonga, for the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai Disaster and COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Activation, Tonga.

About the role

CARE is a humanitarian non-governmental organisation committed to working with poor women, men, boys, girls, communities, and institutions to have a significant impact on the underlying causes of poverty. CARE seeks to contribute to economic and social transformation, unleashing the power of the most vulnerable women and girls. All CARE staff and consultants must demonstrate a commitment to the prevention of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse and the protection of children in their work. We are committed to embedding gender equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our organisational practices and in the programs we deliver, and understanding our environmental and social impact.

This program is a collaborative effort, involving five AHP consortium partners and a broad cross-section of Tongan civil society and government stakeholders, to address the immediate humanitarian and early recovery needs of those affected by HTHH volcanic eruption and tsunami, while at the same time ensuring that the people of Tonga (with a specific focus on the most vulnerable) are well prepared for and more resilient to future disasters and climate change. The consortium is coordinated by CARE Australia.

The program addresses needs across the WASH, Protection (psychosocial support), Livelihoods and Disaster Preparedness sectors, with a strong focus on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), localisation and capacity strengthening for social protection, especially government.

The project commenced in 2022 and will close in November 2024. Three implementing partners finished activities at the end of December 2023; the remaining three implementing partners will conclude in 2024.

Purpose for the consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is to complete an outcomes monitoring exercise, primarily focused on gathering data around program outcomes for the three projects that concluded in 2023, but may also incorporate aspects of outcomes monitoring for the projects active in 2024.

Scope

The program implemented affected in ‘Eua, Ha’apai and Tongatapu. The outcomes monitoring exercise will visit a sample of communities in all three divisions. The sample will be selected by the Consortium’s M&E advisor and finalised in liaison with the successful applicant.

Expected Approach and Methods

The Consortium M&E advisor will prepare all data collection tools for the outcome monitoring exercise. The consultant will work with the advisor to finalise tools and provide advice on cultural considerations. The consultant will complete the translation of tools from English to Tongan.

The consultant will be connected with focal points in implementing organisations to facilitate introductions to community focal points in target communities and plan travel. The consultant will be responsible for booking their flights, ground transport, and accommodation; CARE will provide reimbursement.

The consultant will travel to the selected community locations in the three divisions to conduct key informant interviews and a small number of household surveys. If the consultant has a suitable mobile device or tablet, data collection may be electronic; alternatively, hard copy tools will need to be printed and prepared by the consultant.

The consultant will write up notes and enter data in English and provide them to the Consortium M&E advisor, who will be responsible for the analysis and report writing. The consultant will also participate in a debrief and interpretation session with the M&E advisor.

Key responsibilities:

Deliverables, estimated number of days and schedule

Activity / Deliverable / Timeline / Responsible / Estimated # days

Briefing with M&E advisor to finalise tools - N/A - Sept - M&E advisor - 0.5

Translation of tools to Tongan - Completed tools in Tongan - Sept - Consultant - 1

Travel preparations - Travel bookings - Sept - Consultant - 1

Field-based data collection - Primary data - Sept - Consultant - 9

Write up of notes/data and translation to English - Interview transcripts and survey data - Sept - Consultant - 1.5

Interpretation and debrief with M&E advisor - N/A - Sept - M&E advisor - 0.5

TOTAL estimated days - 13.5

Format of deliverables

• Written notes from key informant interviews (with a good level of detail and translated into English)
• Survey data entry either via electronic app or entered into Excel.

Lines of communication

The main focal point for the consultant will be with the Consortium M&E advisor. The contract manager will be the CARE Australia AHP Tonga consortium coordinator.

Communicating results

The outcomes monitoring report will be shared back to partners and participating stakeholders.

Ideally you will have:

• Experience conducting key informant interviews and household surveys
• Experience conducting data entry and writing up interview transcripts
• Ability to converse and write in Tongan and English
• Self-directed individual able to work unsupervised
• Knowledge of field work safety considerations and cultural protocols
• Knowledge of humanitarian and development programming approaches in the Pacific region
• Experience working in Pacific context and cultures (or demonstrated experience and skills from another region which can be adapted)
• Research, communications, humanitarian, or development program experience