Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant: VET Toolbox

About the project

The VET Toolbox is a new demand-driven support facility from the European Commission being implemented by five member state agencies including the British Council, which aims to support EU partner countries in their efforts to formulate and implement VET reforms and policies. It will provide high level expertise, develop tools and instruments and other learning and support actions, based on support requests introduced on themes such as VET policy and reform, labour market intelligence, private sector engagement in VET and inclusiveness. The VET Toolbox will also financially support local non state actor initiatives on inclusiveness, through a series of calls for proposals. 

The overall objective of the VET Toolbox is “to improve the effectiveness of VET reforms so that they are more demand-driven and responsive to labour market needs and provide increased access to (self-) employment, including for disadvantaged groups” whilst the specific objective is “to provide partner countries with know-how, tools and advice in order to improve the labour market responsiveness of VET reforms, strategies and action plans, in particular the ones supported by the EU (EC and EU Member States), thereby also enabling the orientation towards an inclusion of disadvantaged groups”. 

The project will work in four areas:

1. provide tools and advice for VET system and labour market analysis to assist local stakeholders to improve evidence-based VET programming
2. provide tools and advice necessary to put in place sustainable mechanisms of consultation and active participation of the private sector in VET
3. provide tools and advice to build the capacity of national and sub-national stakeholders to promote inclusive VET training for the formal and informal sector
4. piloting of methodologies and approaches to support the integration of disadvantaged groups into VET learning and into the labour market.

About the role

We are seeking a consultant or small team of consultants to develop the monitoring, evaluation and learning framework and baseline and to develop systems for effectively populating this framework. The framework and systems will be used by the implementing partners and the VET Toolbox Coordination Hub to ensure we are capturing and sharing lessons and identifying impact.

Phase 1: M&E framework review and baselining (approx. 30 days)

The consultant(s) will be required to review the existing material and organise a partnership-wide initial meeting to review the M&E framework and assess needs for the reviewed framework (w/c 29 January 2018). The output of the meeting will be a baselining and review work plan which will be the basis for Phase 1 (please see more information about the work plan in the attached TORs below).

Phase 2: Developing the M&E system (approx. 35 days)

This phase is indicative as it is necessarily contingent on the output and recommendations of Phase 1 and the remaining resources, but should include the development of systems and tools and potentially familiarisation and training on their use for delivery partners (please see some indicative requirements for Phase 2 in the attached TORs) 

Qualifications and experience required

Essential

• Proven experience of working with international organisations and/or government agencies on M&E, knowledge management or results based management
• Knowledge and understanding of EU programmes and requirements 
• Experience of working in the VET sector including knowledge and understanding of EU VET policies and priorities
• Experience in M&E of large, complex, long-term EU funded programmes 
• Significant professional background in M&E (minimum of eight years’ experience)
• Previous experience in conducting similar work for international donors 
• Strong analytical aptitude and effective interpersonal, communication and reporting skills.

Desirable

• Experience of developing M&E frameworks for multi-country interventions
• Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant subject.

If you are interested, please send your CV (and if applicable, the CVs of all other team members) tailored to the above requirements and a cover letter providing examples of previous relevant work, proposed methodology, fee and availability for the required time framework to Skills@britishcouncil.org by 05 January 2018 with the title ‘M&E Consultant: VET Toolbox’.

The initial M&E Framework and detailed TORs are available below to download. The evaluation criteria will include experience (40%), proposed methodology (30%) and price (30%).