External Evaluator Consultant

Position Title: External Evaluator Consultant

Duty Station: IOM Philippines Country Office (Cotabato City)

Classification: Consultant

Type of Appointment: Consultancy

Estimated Start Date: ASAP

Closing Date: 28 August 2026

In 2019, over half of the employed persons in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), 57.8 per cent, were working in the agricultural sector[1]. Despite having the fastest growth among the 16 regions in the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at 7.2 per cent in 2021, communities in BARMM remain one of the poorest, registering the lowest average annual family income of Php 184,000[2]. With support from the European Union, IOM as leading agency, together with FAO and ITC, implemented the Farmers-Fisherfolks’ Advancement and Integration to Resilient Value Chains in BARMM (FAIR-VALUE) project from 12 September 2023 to 11 September 2026 to improve the local agricultural/sea-aqua product production in quality, diversity, consolidation and its response to the needs of the market, with a primary focus on agri-fishery communities and smallholders in conflict-affected or conflict-prone areas in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa). FAIR VALUE delivered a series of interventions directly supporting more than 500 farmers across the BaSulTa through the 12 production clusters of coffee (4 clusters), rubber (6 clusters) and seaweeds (2 clusters) established through the project, and capacitated around 50 government stakeholders on quality production and food safety. Key outputs of the project include: 1) the mapping and analysis of local value chain to inform the decision-making of agri-fishery communities and government stakeholders; 2) capacity-building of farmers for quality, diversified, and market-oriented production; 3) establishment of pilot social enterprises with marketable production; and 4) improved and accessible processing and logistic facilities and equipment through public-private partnerships (PPPs). These outputs contribute to the improvement of local agricultural and sea-aqua product production in quality, diversity, and consolidation, in response to the needs of the market. By uplifting the socio-economic conditions of agri-fishery sector, in which majority of poor and remote Bangsamoro communities work, the project aimed to build their resilience to drivers of conflict and instability including poverty, inequality and lack of social cohesion, thereby contributing to a peaceful, cohesive, secure and inclusively developed Bangsamoro. The joint final evaluation will be conducted to examine the higher-level results of the project and facilitate learning, promoting accountability and enhancing decision-making for policymakers, programme managers, and other key stakeholders. IOM, FAO, and ITC will use the findings and recommendations from the FAIR-VALUE project evaluation to design, implement, and monitor projects of similar nature, as well as document lessons learned and best practices from the FAIR VALUE project. It will focus on four primary objectives: Generate evidence on the impact and results of the project, including documentation of lessons learned, effective strategies, and best practices; Determine the significant higher-level effects of the project interventions; Assess the program’s efficiency and effectiveness in fostering collaboration among Participating United Nations Organizations (PUNOs); and Identify recommendations, lessons learned, and good practices to inform programming and future resource mobilization in supporting similar projects within the same themes. The final external evaluation of the project is scheduled to occur one (1) month after the end of the project. The evaluation will cover the following: Full project period from 12 September 2023 to 11 September 2026; Full geographic scope of the project, including the Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi provinces; All groups of project participants, including members of the project team, select participants and resource persons in the training, consultation, and community activities, stakeholders from the local and regional governments, and project partners including service providers and consultants, with logistical considerations for programme participants; and Cross-cutting themes that will be assessed, including gender mainstreaming, environmental sensitivity and sustainability, cultural sensitivity, and accountability to affected populations (AAP). [1] Philippine Statistics Authority, 2020, Agricultural Indicators System [2] Philippine Statistics Authority, 2022, Highlights of the Preliminary Results of the 2021 Annual Family Income and Expenditure Survey, https://psa.gov.ph/content/highlights-preliminary-results-2021-annual-family-income-and-expenditure-survey Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing

Programme Support Unit, CS.1221: Farmers-Fisherfolks’ Advancement and Integration to Resilient Value Chains in BARMM (FAIR-VALUE).

Responsibilities Tasks to be performed under this contract The evaluator or the evaluation team will hold overall responsibility for the methodology, data collection and analysis, report writing, and presentation of evaluation findings. Additional team members may be included by the team lead upon discussion with and approval of the Evaluation Manager. The evaluator shall also be responsible for coordinating the schedule and modality of interviews and FGDs with interviewees. Below are the expected evaluation deliverables: - Inception Report - Includes a detailed description of the evaluation approach and methodology, work plan, evaluation matrix, interview and FGD guides, list of persons to be interviewed, and other data collection instruments to be used for the evaluation. - The Evaluation Management Group (EMG) and the Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) shall review and approve the inception report. - Evaluation Report (First Draft) - First draft report, supported by annexes including th