MEAL expert for Theory of Change workshop

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :- democratic, economic, and financial governance ;- peace, stability, and security ;- climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;- health and human development ;In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results.  The consultancy aims at refining the project intervention strategy and M&E indicators.Expected results - A detailed and updated project theory of change- A logical framework and revised indicators- A data collection planMain activitiesAs part of the assignment, the consultant will carry out the following activities in particular:- Documentation review>> Assess the needs and available resources of the project in terms of the MEL system, data collection, reporting within EF and among implementing partners.- Developing a detailed theory of change (see EF template in annex 3)>> Facilitate a 2-day workshop with the project team and partners to review in detail the project theory of change. The ToC workshop is planned on 10-11 July 2023.>>Revise the chain results of the logframe accordingly.- Revising M&E indicators>> Refine the M&E indicators based on the theory of change and the quality of available data, through discussions during the ToC workshop and further bilateral exchanges if necessary>> Provide detail on the definitions, data collection and disaggregation of indicators> > Define reference values (baseline) and target values for each indicator>> Update the logical framework to present to the donor as necessary> > Clearly set out the sources: access, methods, reliability, limitationsExpected deliverablesDeliverablesFormatTimeframe1.       Agenda and presentation material of the ToC workshop 7 July 20232.       Detailed theory of changeDiagram by component (annex 3) + explanatory note21 July 20233.       Revised logical framework revised 21 July 20234.       Data collection planEF template in annex 428 July 2023 All reports must be submitted in English.Coordination arrangementsThe M&E expert will work under the supervision of the newly recruited MEAL officer and the Project Coordinator for the entire duration of the assignment. He/she will also be in regular contact with the project team, based in Belgium, Germany, Slovakia and beneficiary countries, and the Expertise France head office in Paris.Working conditionsAs part of this assignment, the project will cover the following expenses: per diem, accommodation and transport during missions outside of the expert's place of residence, visa fees if necessary.The working language will be English.Location and length of assignmentThe assignment will mostly take place at the expert's place of residence. A mission is planned to Brussels for the ToC workshop on 10-11 July 2023. The assignment will take place from 29 June to 28 July 2023, for an estimated number of 10 working days. Expertise France is the French public international cooperation agency. It designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the balanced development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and the priorities of France's external action.The IYBA-SEED project is implemented by a consortium of leading European development agencies, including Enabel (Belgium), Expertise France (France), GIZ (Germany), SAIDC (Slovakia) and SNV (Netherlands). The consortium is led by Expertise France.IYBA-SEED is part of the third Building Block of the Team Europe Initiative "Investing in Young Businesses in Africa", which is made up of three Building Blocks: 1) Increase the financial and technical support for pre-seed stage entrepreneurs and micro and small enterprises, 2) Increase the finance for SMEs and entrepreneurs at seed and early stages, and 3) Supporting the ecosystem, with a special emphasis on women and young people.Project OverviewThe project "IYBA-SEED: Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Supporting Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development" is co-funded by the European Union (DG INTPA), the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Team France and SlovakAid, for a period of 4 years (2023-2026).IYBA-SEED takes an "Ecosystem Strengthening" approach: it targets the entrepreneurship ecosystem and its actors, in order to reach young businesses (i.e. SEED beneficiaries) which are defined as:- (Very-)early stage businesses and entrepreneurs (pre-seed and seed)- Exclusively led by young entrepreneurs (18-35yo) and/or women entrepreneurs (of all ages)The project aims to "contribute to creating decent jobs and resilient economies by strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems in a number of sub-Saharan countries so that they can increase access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries" in 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo).IYBA-SEED works on four key components / specific objectives- Capacity Development and Networks : strengthen and connect Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors (EEAs) and their networks (both nationally and internationally) to improve access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries- Business Environment : contribute to a business environment (policies and regulations) which is conducive to the creation and growth of SEED beneficiaries- Entrepreneurial Culture : promote an inclusive entrepreneurial culture that encourages existing and future young and women entrepreneurs to create and grow SEED beneficiaries- Knowledge : foster access for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors, SEED beneficiaries and other stakeholders to lessons learned and best practices for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem StrengtheningDuring the instruction phase, implementing agencies have developed a Theory of change and a logframe including M&E indicators (see Annex 1 and 2) for the IYBA-SEED project. However, these tools need to be revised following the diagnosis led in the beneficiary countries and inputs of the newly recruited project team during the project's inception phase. A MEAL plan as well as country action plans will be then developed by the project team based on the revised theory of change and logframe. Qualifications and experience:- Post-graduate in a field relevant to the assignment: in economics/social sciences/ international cooperation/project building/evaluation, business school or equivalent experience.- At least 7 years' experience in monitoring, information management, data collection and/or evaluation for international projects/donors/organizations, development projects, preferably in the field of humanitarian/social development /education or refugees, aid to displaced persons.- Previous experience on projects in private sector development of at least 3 years.- Experience in developing theory of change, logframes and data collection plans- Experience in facilitating theory of change workshops with multiple stakeholders will be considered favorablyProfessional skills:- Excellent understanding of results frameworks (including theory of change and logframes) and indicators as well as international M&E standards and applications, particularly on projects funded by the European Union.- Skills on workshop facilitation and designing synthetic and pedagogic visuals- Excellent writing, data collection skills- Excellent coordination and teamwork skills.- Excellent written and spoken command of English (good writing, synthesis and analytical skills…).- Good working knowledge of Togo, Senegal, Benin, Kenya and South Africa will be considered as an asset Desired start date of the service : 29 June 2023Type of contract : service provision contract  Documents to be supplied :- CV- Technical and financial offer including : o An implementation scheduleo Fees The estimated duration of the assignment is 10 working days.  Candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their application as soon as possible. Expertise France reserves the right to pre-select candidates before this date. If you do not receive a reply from us within 3 weeks, please consider that your application has been unsuccessful.The selection process will take place in two stages:- Firstly, a shortlist will be drawn up by Expertise France.- Secondly, the shortlisted candidates will be invited to a videoconference interview.