Job Description

Request for Offer (RFO) for 

Consultancy for JOA Mid-Term Evaluation

Ref. FRT-LHC-48864

• GOALAbout GOAL

GOAL is an international NGO that has been working in Sierra Leone since 1999. In collaboration with the government and local community as a partner, GOAL implements Health, Urban WASH, Food Security, Livelihoods and Climate change adaptation programmes.

The four programming areas that GOAL Global concentrates on are People Survive Crisis, People Have Resilient Health, People Have Food and Nutrition Security, and People Have Sustainable Livelihoods. Both contexts of protracted crises and long-term development involve these actions. 

People Survive Crisis, People Have Resilient Health, People Have Food and Nutrition Security and People Have Sustainable Livelihoods are the Global Four thematic focus, and GOAL SL is contributing to three of these. GOAL SL is implementing a blue economy program (contributing to GOAL Global Objective: People have food and nutrition security) with a focus on vulnerable small-scale fishing communities or groups in urban areas. The intervention uses a systems approach to strengthen the sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic development. 

In 2024, GOAL Sierra Leone acquired funding from the Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) for a four-year project in Communities of Western Area Rural and Kambia district respectively. The project based in Western Area Rural & Kambia Districts addresses the overall aim of limiting the impact of climate change on food security and biodiversity damage, while building community resilience to climate change and improving nutrition, food security and economic livelihoods. The project is designed to be community led and take a gender-sensitive and youth-centred approach, ensuring that gaps, needs, barriers, and opportunities are identified for women, youth, and vulnerable communities through their direct participation in the project’s activities. This approach builds on the existing capacities, knowledge, and resources, drawing on local and indigenous knowledge wherever possible.

Timelines

• Overview of Requirements

. The goal of the JOA programme is to build the resilience of communities to climate-related shocks & stresses by.

1. Conservation of the environment on which livelihoods are dependent through the protection and restoration of mangroves; and
2. Enhancing access to finance and financial inclusion

GOAL invites prospective bidders to submit offers that meet or exceed GOAL’s requirements as outlined in Appendix 2 Terms of Reference. 

2.1 Offers must include:  

1. An executive summary with the proposed methodology and work plan to address all areas of interest included in Appendix 2, The executive summary must be concise, precise, and less than 5 pages long.  
2. For companies, please provide: 

• Company profile and the period during which your firm has been active. Point out some of your key locations/country where you have successfully provided similar services.
• The geographical location in Sierra Leone where your firm has operational presence or has a counterpart you are directly doing business with, including all paperwork/agreements to that effect

OR

1. c)    For private contractors, please provide:

• A curriculum vitae and a sample of a similar study you have conducted.

3Conditions of Offer Submission

3.1 Offers must be completed in English.

3.2 Vendors must respond to all requirements set out in this RFO and complete their offer in the format requested.

3.3 In the event of a contract being awarded to a vendor that has knowingly withheld relevant information or otherwise misled GOAL in the evaluation process in any way, then that contract will be rendered null and void.

3.4 Any conflicts of interest involving a vendor must be fully disclosed to GOAL particularly where there is a conflict of interest in relation to any recommendations or proposals put forward by the vendor.

3.5. GOAL is under no obligation to accept the lowest or any other offer received in response to this       RFO and reserves its right to reject any or all the offers (part/full) including incomplete offers without assigning reason whatsoever.

3.6 Information supplied by vendors will be treated as contractually binding.  

3.7 GOAL’s standard payment terms are by bank transfer within 30 days after satisfactory implementation     and receipt of documents in order.

3.8 This document is not construed in any way as an offer to a contract 

3.9. The vendor shall seek written approval from GOAL before entering any sub-contracts for the purpose of fulfilling this contract. Full details of the proposed subcontracting company and the nature of envisioned engagement of sub-contractor/s into this contract shall be included in vendor’s offer.

3.10. GOAL reserves the right to refuse any subcontractor that is proposed by the vendor.

3.11. GOAL and all contracted suppliers, and their subcontractors, associates or partners must act in all its procurement and other activities in full compliance with donor requirements and the highest ethical standards. GOAL has zero tolerance for fraud, bribery or corruption in any form and will reject any offers if the organization determines that the vendor, any of its personnel, or its sub-contractors, has, directly or indirectly, engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive, coercive, or obstructive practices in competing for the contract in question.

3.12 Terrorism and Sanctions: GOAL does not engage in transactions with any terrorist group or individual or entity involved with or associated with terrorism or individuals or entities that have active exclusion orders and/or sanctions against them. GOAL shall therefore not knowingly purchase supplies or services from companies that are associated in any way with terrorism and/or are the subject of any relevant international exclusion orders and/or sanctions. If you submit an offer based on this request, it shall constitute a guarantee that neither your company nor any affiliate or a subsidiary controlled by your company are associated with any known terrorist group or is/are the subject of any relevant international exclusion order and/or sanctions. A contract clause confirming this may be included in an eventual purchase order based on this request.

4 Quality Control

3rd party companies may be contracted by GOAL to carry out random quality inspections of work carried out by the contracted party. The cost of the quality control inspections will be covered by GOAL.

5 Submission of Offers

This competition is being conducted under GOAL’s Request for Offer procedure. The Contracting Authority for this procurement is GOAL. Under this procurement process, we expect all offers received and analyzed to be the best and final offer.

Any queries about this RFO should be addressed in writing to GOAL via email on procurementfreetown@sl.goal.ie Please include the reference number < FRT-LHC-48864-JOA Mid-Term Evaluation > and words “clarification required” in the subject line.

Offers must be delivered in the following way: 

By email to RFO@sl.goal.ie and in the subject field state:

1. FRT-LHC-48864-JOA Mid-Term Evaluation
2. Name of your company with the title of the attachment
3. Number of emails that are sent e.g. 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3.

(Proof of sending does not equal proof of receipt. GOAL is not responsible for any technical faults that may prevent reception of your email.) 

All documents submitted must be in scan or PDF format. Any excel or word documents must be accompanied by a PDF or scan version of the document. 

Links to share drives will not be accepted unless it is necessary due to file size. All documents submitted via links to shared drive must not be modified after the closing date and time for the receipt of offers (timestamp must clearly indicate that they haven’t been modified). Documents submitted via links to a shared drive that have been modified after the closing date and time will not be accepted. 

OR 

1. Physical submissions delivered to:

Procurement team

6 The Maize, Off King Street Freetown between the hours 9:00am to 16:00pm from Monday to Thursday and 9:00am – 14:00pm on Friday as per the timelines given above. 

The offer envelope must be labelled with your company name and the reference “Request for Offer ref. FRT-LHC-48864-JOA Mid-Term Evaluation

Important: Offers transmitted in any other manner or offers received after the deadline date and time will not be considered. 

6 Evaluation Process

7 Submission checklist

Documents required to be submitted as response to this RFO are:

Appendix 1- Company Information

Note that wining vendor/s will be required to submit further information as part of supplier registration process before the finalisation of contract award.

I confirm that my offer has a validity of 30 days. If your offer does not have this validity, please state what the validity of your offer will be. 

I confirm that the proposal and the costs provided to accompany it are an accurate reflection of the costs that will be charged to GOAL according to the information provided in this request for offer; and that there are no other costs associated with using the service that my company offers. I also confirm that I have the authority to sign on behalf of the company that is submitting this offer. 

Appendix 2- Terms of reference

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Project

GOAL is an international NGO that has been working in Sierra Leone since 1999. In collaboration with the government and local community as a partner, GOAL implements Health, Urban WASH, Food Security, Livelihoods and Climate change adaptation programs.

The four programming areas that GOAL Global concentrates on are People Survive Crisis, People Have Resilient Health, People Have Food and Nutrition Security, and People Have Sustainable Livelihoods. Both contexts of protracted crises and long-term development involve these actions. 

People Survive Crisis, People Have Resilient Health, People Have Food and Nutrition Security and People Have Sustainable Livelihoods are the Global Four thematic focus, and GOAL SL is contributing to three of these. GOAL SL is implementing a blue economy program (contributing to GOAL Global Objective: People have food and nutrition security) with a focus on vulnerable small-scale fishing communities or groups in urban areas. The intervention uses a systems approach to strengthen the sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic development. 

In 2024, GOAL Sierra Leone acquired funding from the Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) for a four-year project in Communities of Western Area Rural and Kambia district respectively. The project based in Western Area Rural & Kambia Districts addresses the overall aim of limiting the impact of climate change on food security and biodiversity damage, while building community resilience to climate change and improving nutrition, food security and economic livelihoods. The project is designed to be community led and take a gender-sensitive and youth-centered approach, ensuring that gaps, needs, barriers, and opportunities are identified for women, youth, and vulnerable communities through their direct participation in the project’s activities. This approach builds on the existing capacities, knowledge, and resources, drawing on local and indigenous knowledge wherever possible.

The project is being implemented in partnership with The Energy Nexus Network (TENN), Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL), the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, District Councils, and Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishers Union in coastal communities within the Western Area Rural and Kambia Districts. The project delivery target is to increase food and nutrition security and income for coastal communities dependent on small-scale fisheries, access to finance, livelihood diversification and to increase the resilience of these communities and improve mangrove restoration and conservation practices among the many activities.

2. Definitions and Scope

2.1 Project Objectives

The goal of the JOA program is to build the resilience of communities to climate-related shocks & stresses by:

1. Conservation of the environment on which livelihoods are dependent through the protection and restoration of mangroves; and
2. Enhancing access to finance and financial inclusion.

As part of the strategy, the program looks to achieve the following outcome indicators under its specific objectives:

Objective 1: Increased Food & Nutrition Security for Actors across the value chain

Key Indicators:

1. Outcome 1: Improved functioning, productivity, and conservation practices of the small-scale fisheries sub-sector in selected communities.
2. Percentage of changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices of targeted population regarding the operation, productivity and conservation practices of small-scale fisheries. (disaggregated by sex, supporting functions, core functions & regulatory functions) who participate directly in the survey.

    Outcome 2: Increased food and nutrition security for communities dependent on the fisheries subsector

1. Percentage of target population with acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS)
2. Household Food Security (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale- HFIAS)
3. Livelihood Coping Strategy Index
4. Household Diet Diversity Score (HHDDC)
5. Household Early, Exclusive and Continued Breastfeeding Practice’s (Children aged 0 – 23 months)
6. Household – Minimum Acceptable Diet for Children (Children aged 0 – 23 months)
7. Household – Minimum Acceptable Diet for Children (Children aged 6 – 23 months)
8. Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (Children aged 0 – 23 months)
9. Exclusive Breastfeeding (Children aged 0 – 5 months)
10. Continued Breastfeeding (Children aged 12 – 23 months)
11. Meal Frequency and Diet Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (Women aged 15 – 49 years)

Household Decision Making Index for Women of Reproductive Age (Women aged 15 – 49 years)Objective 2: Improved management, conservation and restoration of Mangrove ecosystem

Key Indicators:

• Outcome 3: Number of hectares of mangroves actively protected/ conserved by community-level stakeholders through this project.
• Conservation Practices

Objective 3: Ensuring access to finance for actors within the fisheries value chain and other marginalised groups  

Key Indicators:

• Outcome 4.1: Percentage of target actors in the fisheries value chain who reported having increased income as a result of the provided assistance by this project.
• Outcome 4.2: Number of target women/marginalized groups in the value chain who reported having increased access to finance schemes.
• Outcome 5: Number of people from vulnerable groups (with special difficulties or economically vulnerable persons) who had increased access to micro-finance schemes or saving and credit cooperatives as a result of project interventions. 

Objective 4: Improve the economic resilience of coastal communities through sustainable economic diversification by providing alternative sustainable income and employment opportunities.

Key Indicators:

• Outcome 6: Number of people (disaggregated by age and sex) from the target communities engaged through sustainable livelihood alternative businesses and/or entrepreneurial activities as a result of project interventions.  
  • Households Income

See below list of programme operational district, communities and number of communities  

Key target groups: Coastal communities, actors along the fisheries value chain, women, fisherfolk, youth, disadvantaged or marginalised groups, members of fisher unions, women associations, youth associations, government, value-chain actors, financial inclusion institutions, research and skills’ training institutions/service, and other community actors who are either directly or indirectly dependent on the fisheries and mangroves and the related ecosystem services for their economic, social and environmental needs.

2.2 Evaluation Purpose

The main purpose of this independent/external mid-term evaluation is to assess the GOAL Sierra Leone JOA programme achievements and progress towards meeting the objectives and targets as well as progress to outcomes. This mid-term evaluation shall be carried out according to evaluation criteria developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) evaluation criteria: relevance, coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability. Moreover, the evaluation will thoroughly review how climate change and Gender, as cross cutting issues, have been considered by the project.

Additionally, the mid-term evaluation is looking forward to a learning‑oriented assessment that will inform course corrections and optimization for the remainder of the programme and it will:

1. Assess implementation of quality, fidelity to the design/theory of change, and internal/external coherence.
2. Examine early progress towards outcomes and identify enablers/bottlenecks across delivery systems, partnerships, and targeting.
3. Review the adequacy of MEAL systems, data quality, and use for adaptive management.
4. Analyze economy and efficiency (appropriateness of inputs, timelines, value‑for‑money dimensions) and identify opportunities to streamline delivery.
5. Assess the integration of cross‑cutting themes (gender, youth inclusion, climate/mangrove conservation, protection, and safeguarding).
6. Provide actionable, prioritized recommendations, with a management response matrix, to improve effectiveness and sustainability prospects in the remaining implementation period. 

2.3 Evaluation Scope

Geographic scope covers all operational communities in Western Area Rural and Kambia. Stakeholder scope includes beneficiaries and non‑beneficiaries, fisher associations, women/youth groups, savings/financial inclusion actors, conservation stakeholders, local government and private sector actors. 

The MTE should apply the OECD criteria thoughtfully to the mid-term context (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, with proportionate consideration of emerging impact signals). Key Questions include: Relevance: To what extent does the design remain appropriate to evolving community needs, climate and market context? 

Does the program align with national and international priority concerns?  Did this program effectively reach the most vulnerable households? Did the project address the priority needs of the affected population? 

Coherence: How coherent is the intervention with national frameworks, donor priorities and partner initiatives? Are partnerships functional and complementary? How well does the project fit with the organization’s own strategies, policies, and other interventions? To what extent did the project contribute to broader national, donor, or government programmes in the same sector?

Effectiveness (Progress to outcomes): What outputs are being delivered and how do they translate into credible early outcome changes (behaviors, practices, access)?  What implementation of bottlenecks and risks constrain results, and how can they be mitigated? 

Were monitoring mechanisms effective in providing timely data to inform programing decisions? To what extent did the project meet its targets and deliver output?

Impact: To what extent did this project achieve the intended outcome and impact? What was the performance against the stated indicators? Are there any ill effects or unplanned impacts because of this project? 

Efficiency: Are resources, delivery modalities and timelines appropriate and efficient? Where can processes be simplified or costs reduced without compromising quality? 

Sustainability: To what extent are local capacities, institutions and financing mechanisms being strengthened to sustain benefits (mangrove conservation, livelihoods, savings/credit)?

Coverage: Did the project activities adequately reach and address the target groups

Cross-cutting: How effectively are gender, youth and climate considerations integrated in design and delivery? How inclusive and accountable is the programme?

Please indicate the primary and secondary contacts of the consultant during the research/evaluation

2.4 Consultant’s Tasks for Programme Evaluation

1. Refine the evaluation objectives and primary research questions in consultation with GOAL’s technical and management teams.
2. Consultants can adjust evaluation questions to address priority areas of concern following the donor monitoring visit after the 15th of May 2026.
3. Develop specific evaluation questions regarding strategic programme areas and pilot activities undertaken during the programme including design of the pilot, training of mentors, onsite mentorship, joint supportive supervision, chiefdom level monthly meetings, involvement, and participation of key stakeholders [as appropriate] 
4. Devise and test methodology and evaluation tools to address the specific outcomes and individual research questions of the evaluation.
5. Conduct secondary data collection and research, where appropriate] including using GOAL’s existing project monitoring data, to identify gaps in data coverage and knowledge.
6. Collect [where appropriate] primary data to establish and quantify GOAL’s performance against selected programme indicators and criteria outlined above. 
7. Provide a draft report to programme management that will be incorporated into ongoing programme planning and evaluation, as well as recommendations for maximizing social impact
8. Facilitate a workshop to validate the findings of the evaluation with GOAL and partner staff, and other stakeholders.
9. Incorporate GOAL feedback into a draft report and prepare a final report. The final report should both describe the results of the evaluation and provide actionable recommendations for improving GOAL’s programme.

3. Evaluation type

The type of evaluation will be formative

4. Methodology

• The evaluation should use a mixed methodology where both qualitative and quantitative information will be collected, organized, analyzed, and interpreted. A representative sample size should be drawn using appropriate statistical methods for QUANTITATIVE research, The qualitative methods shall draw on a mix of tools like focus group discussions (FGD), key informant interviews (KII), and observations. Also, specific group FGD will be extremely important for triangulation of opinions that could provide robust insights.

1. Planning

Before commencing the evaluation, team will do the following:

• Review of key internal and external documents
• In partnership with the GOAL MEAL Coordinator, Country Blue Economy Coordinator and Country Director for Programmes, refine and finalize the specific evaluation questions to be explored from the scope described above. 
• Propose to the MEAL Coordinator and programme team the appropriate methodology to be developed for the context to evaluate the project and address the OECD evaluation criteria
• Prepare an outline of the data collection methods that are required and the relevant survey templates and participatory data collection guides to be used for data collection
• Develop a work plan consisting of key milestones required for data collection in order for logistics to be arranged by the MEAL Coordinator.
• Output of the Planning process – Inception report which outlines the detailed process, methodology and tools.

On commencement, the evaluation team will:

• Hold a short planning meeting with all members of the evaluation team including the MEAL Coordinator and relevant programme teams, to review and amend the questions as needed for the data collection tools.
• Liaise with the MEAL Advisor and MEAL Coordinator on the training and recruitment of the data collection staff and the use of mobile data collection for the proposed survey tools and qualitative guides, as primary data collection will be required for the study.
• Hold a brief workshop with GOAL Sierra Leone Senior Management Team to communicate evaluation methods, objectives, and outcomes. This will include a short description of the evaluation questions and methods proposed.  

Post-site visit

• Data analysis, report development, prepare summary of findings and dissemination

1.  Primary Data Collection

To the greatest extent possible, the evaluation should consider both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, examining any potential positive or negative spillover effects. And areas of primary data collection should include samples of programme target communities across Freetown Western Area Rural and Kambia districts.

While quantitative methods such as household surveys, observation checklists, and physical testing are desirable for the measurement of indicators, GOAL expects a balance of quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand the mechanisms that produce certain results or may hinder greater results.

1.  Data Analysis

GOAL expects quantitative data to be rigorously analyzed and representative of the project area within the reasonable limits and constraints of the context. Qualitative data should also be rigorously analyzed and should primarily focus on developing a deeper understanding about the relevance of the program, and providing recommendations for improving or strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the results of the programme

1. . Presentation and Documentation of Findings and Recommendations

This consultancy will take place towards the grant reporting period, starting 20th May 2026 to 30th June 2026 with the final approved report submitted. Data collection, analysis, and reporting done during the liquidation period between. The final approved report should be submitted no later than 14th July 2026.

The findings of the evaluation must be shared with GOAL in the following formats:

• Closing workshop with GOAL programme staff to present findings and get feedback

• Agreed lessons learned and best practices that can be incorporated into relevant sectors’ programing
• Agreed recommendations that will inform and improve GOAL’s future programmatic strategy, with agreed action points and deadlines.

• Draft Evaluation Report should be submitted to the MEAL Coordinator, Programmes Director, Country Director, Programme Quality Coordinator for feedback and comments two weeks after the field data collection is completed. 

• Final Evaluation Report – The report must be clear and concise, and the following sections must be included as a minimum: Executive Summary, Literature Review of JOA programme intervention in Sierra Leone, Methodology, Analysis of Findings, Discussion, Recommendations. Annexes will include TORs, a timeline of the response, a list of individuals interviewed, statistical outputs, templates of data collection tools used, a description of the methods employed, a summary of survey results (if appropriate) and any other relevant materials. The report will include appropriate disclaimers and branding, which will be supplied by GOAL, related to activities or studies produced with JOA funding.

Deliverable 1: Presentation of Key Findings

Deliverable 2: Final Evaluation Report

1. . Dissemination of Findings

Results and recommendations will be made available to JOA and externally to interested stakeholders at the discretion of GOAL’s local senior management. The final report and any primary data collected will be the property of GOAL.

If particular sections of the evaluation are deemed useful or informative for the greater humanitarian community as lessons learned or opportunities to improve programing, GOAL reserves the right to create a separate report with excerpts from the final evaluation report to share with the wider community. At the key findings stage, GOAL may request that the consultant produce such a report along with the final evaluation report. 

1. . Ethical Considerations

The evaluation team will make clear to all participating stakeholders that they are under no obligation to participate in the evaluation study. All participants will be assured that there will be no negative consequences if they choose not to participate. The evaluation team will obtain informed consent from the participants. The evaluation team will ensure prior permission is received for taking and use of visual still / moving images for specific purposes, i.e., ‘for the research report and presentations. The evaluation team will assure the participants’ anonymity and confidentiality and will ensure the visual data is protected and used for agreed purposes only. In particular, the evaluation team will employ robust data security measures to further ensure participants’ confidentiality and anonymity. The evaluation team is responsible for determining whether their proposed methodology would require Institutional Review Board (IRB) clearance and will be responsible for clearing the process and training if such approval is required.

1. . Assumptions and Requirements

• Evaluators will have access to all documentation and can take part in relevant meetings and field trips 
• GOAL will provide a focal point from GOAL’s field office for coordination on planning and conducting the assessment.
• Evaluators will have access to key staff in the responding GOAL offices at national and district level to obtain adequate information provided. 
• The evaluation team will have access to members of the affected population for conducting interviews. 
• Evaluators will take confidentiality and objectivity into consideration during the process. 
• Security concerns could impact the timing and scope of the evaluation. It is important for the evaluation team to remain flexible. They must be open to making changes to the schedule and itinerary, such as visiting alternate sites, conducting remote reviews and interviews, etc.

9. Consultant Profile

For the purposes of this evaluation, GOAL welcomes international and national Consultant to apply. The profile of the lead consultant is:

• Individuals or firms in academia, social research, or humanitarian evaluation with a background in humanitarian aid, research methods, development studies, or other related fields [omit as appropriate]
• Extensive experience of conducting evaluations along DAC OECD evaluation criteria, ideally leading an evaluation team and experience of designing evaluation methodology / tools, data analysis etc. 
• Experience using Value-for-Money tools and methodologies
• Experience of working in humanitarian contexts and good understanding of humanitarian response work – both in programmes and operations 
• In-depth knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Competent in using statistical packages for quantitative and qualitative analyses
• Excellent presentation and writing skills
• Capacity to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders 
• Excellent analytical and writing in English] preferred

10. Budget

The budget will cover consultant professional fees, travel and field logistics, data collection and report production. The consultant should provide a detailed cost breakdown in their proposals.

11. Proposal Details and Submission

The deadline for submission of the technical and financial proposal and accompanying documents is the 20th of April 2026 to procurementfreetown@sl.goal.ie and all application should include:

1. Technical proposal should include detailed tasks, recommended methodology summary and proposed schedule, your relevant experience, how you meet the profile required and details of time required (maximum 8 pages)
2. Up to three relevant examples of past assessments or research completed
3. CVs of key personnel involved in undertaking the evaluation 
4. Detailed, itemized cost proposal, including daily fee and any other associated costs (GOAL will provide only vehicle transport in-country)
5. Contact details of referees – including name, organization and current e-mail 

Applications lacking any of the above requirements will not be considered.