Somalia Urban Resilience Project II

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI)

Country:                     Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), Puntland Government of Somalia.

Name of the Project:             Somalia Urban Resilience Project Phase II (SURPII).

Assignment Title:      Individual Consultant Selection for M&E Specialist-SURPII-PIU Garowe Municipality

Project ID:                 P170922

Deadline    Date:        May 30th, 2024

Ref No.                       SO-GM-425350-CS-INDV

1. Project Background

Somalia Urban Resilience Project II (SURP II) is a municipal governance and infrastructure development project financed by the World Bank and its partners, aimed at improving access to urban infrastructure and strengthening municipal governance in Somalia. The Project also aims to strengthen inter-governmental relationships between the federal, state, region and municipal levels. It is intended that the SURP II will also strengthen the state-citizen relationship and the government’s legitimacy in the eyes of its people by providing visible and tangible benefits. The Project is thus as much about urban resilience as it is about peace building and institution building. SURP II builds on the preparation work carried out under World Bank funded Somalia Urban Investment Planning Project (SUIPP). With the SUIPP funding, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was contracted and prepared the feasibility studies, preliminary design, and detailed engineering designs for roads in Mogadishu, Kismayo, Garowe and Baidoa. While designs and bidding documents for roads in Kismayo and Baidoa are ready, Mogadishu and Garowe have engaged Consultants to review and update previous road designs. The Bank also supported all four municipalities set up and operationalize Project Implementation Units (PIUs), and build fiduciary, safeguards, project management, and monitoring and evaluation capacity of the PIU staff. The Federal Government of Somalia will soon set up a Project Steering Committee to oversee implementation of SURP II and a Project Coordination Unit to provide technical support and guidance to the municipalities as needed.

Garowe Municipality has undertaken programmes of upgrading targeted intra-city roads to provide a freer flow of urban traffic, facilitating easier and quicker transport between various parts of the city. This improvement in urban mobility is aimed at facilitating increased commercial activity, improving revenue generation and boosting incomes within the city.

The Somali Urban Investment Planning Project (SUIPP) supported the feasibility studies and preliminary design work for Garowe and Mogadishu. Specifically, SUIPP financed assessment and design of 19 secondary roads and two bridges. SUIPP prepared the ground for the Somalia Urban Resilience Project (SURP), worth US$ 9 million for municipal infrastructure delivery. The first phase of the SURP financed four roads covering total length of 4.930km in Garowe.

The second phase of SURP II is currently financing the detailed feasibility, designs and construction of five roads with an approximate total length of 7.76 km and one bridge of 140m in Garowe. The new bridge will be constructed at the north side of Togga-Garowe riverbed which cuts through the city. Togga-Garowe is a seasonal and temporary stream, which receives more water especially after occasional rains in the upstream areas and seasonal flash floods were, recorded which affected residents in eastern part of the city. In dry seasons, Togga-Garowe remains dry, although sub-surface wells can be established in riverbed where the water table is shallow. Commercial areas and government institutions are located along and near the banks of the Togga-Garowe where the Gambol road serves as the main access facility.

2.Objective of the Assignment

The M&E Specialist will be responsible for the coordination of the design, implementation, and reporting of the M&E and knowledge elements of SURP II for the Garowe Municipality. The Specialist will be responsible for the design, quality, development, and completion of all assessments, analytical reports, and evaluations required under the Project. The Specialist will provide support to ensure the Project is on track to achieve its objectives, as per the results framework set out in the Project Appraisal Document.

3. Scope of the Assignment 

Garowe Municipality is seeking to recruit an M&E Specialist as part of the Project Implementation Unit supporting SURP II. The M&E Specialist will be responsible for measuring project performance according to the project results framework targets and preparing quarterly project reports, targeting both project management as well as external stakeholders. The M&E Specialist will be responsible for all monitoring and evaluation aspects of SURP II. Specific responsibilities are outlined below:

4. Responsibilities

• Support the Operationalization of the M&E plan/database MIS and be responsible throughout the project lifecycle for ensuring the plan is tracked ted with timely and credible data to facilitate reporting, i.e., provide quality control and data verification function for all data entered into the M&E database, incorporate a feedback loop where required.
• Regularly review and as may be needed revise the M&E Operational plan l and user manual (including rights and data protection guidelines.
• As may be needed organize and deliver ongoing support and training to users on the M&E plan and MIS
• Ensure that project data is i) appropriately represented in internal (monthly, bi-annual, and annual reports) and external reporting (public communication about project results and impact, and ii) of use for independent evaluation.
• Provide oversight of the development, conduct, and analysis of evaluation, assessments, and survey data sets.
• Ensure standards, procedures, and a strong conceptual framework for evaluations and studies are in place.
• Provide the required support and assistance to external contractors working with the Project’s M&E section.
• Oversee monitoring and evaluation, analyses, and assessments throughout the life of the project (e.g., baseline, end line), including the data quality assessments, participatory data collection methods and protocols, and data quality verification techniques.
• For SURP II, provide technical inputs to the terms of references, support the recruitment of an impact evaluation firm (to undertake the mid-term, and end-line surveys), and provide quality control of the evaluation reports.
• Ensure quality control of M&E outputs (e.g. surveys etc.), including by contributing substantively to the design and field testing of the monitoring methodology, reviewing, supervising design and implementation of the survey, participatory data collection methods and protocols, data verification techniques, and other technical evaluation and analytical tasks conducted
• Review the ongoing data collection and reporting system for Garowe Municipality and provide technical inputs on M&E parameters to improve project planning, programming, and implementation.
• Work closely with the PCU, World Bank, Third Party Monitoring Agent (as relevant), and project/sub-project stakeholders to ensure that data collected for purposes of performance evaluation is credible and of high quality.
• Identify and document lessons learned for SURPII which can be shared with wider stakeholders in time of the SURPII mid-term review and for the SURPII ICR report.
• In collaboration with the Project Coordinator, contribute to setting up the Garowe Municipality Management Information System (MIS) for data entry.
• Support the PIU team to update the MIS routinely and systematically.
• Analyse monitoring data, document findings from monitoring and evaluation activities and submit monitoring reports to the PIU Coordinator.
• Lead the development of and oversee the review of the project-level Monitoring Evaluation (M&E) plan and any associated work plans for each component/activity (as reflected in the results framework);
• Be responsible for sourcing data and information for specific M&E needs directly from other implementing agencies and stakeholders particularly for indicators not requiring a survey.
• Support technical work such as reviewing M&E methods, carrying out training needs, designing M&E tools, and providing M&E technical assistance.
• Develop and maintain an M&E database for the project and contribute to the maintenance of an MIS database of SURPII.
• Maintain a detailed knowledge of all relevant issues impacting his/her field of Monitoring &Evaluation.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of the M&E system of capacity development operations to guide performance tracking activities of staff with M&E responsibilities in project beneficiary Regional Administrations and key stakeholders.
• Monitor project progress through field visits as may be required, offer feedback, and keep regular communication with related fields.
• Produce reports in English and /or Somali as required.

5. Selection Criteria:

Selection shall be based on the individual qualifications and experiences of the candidate and followed by an interview, the minimum qualification, experience, and skills should include:

1. Postgraduate Degree or above in project management, statistics, applied mathematics, social sciences, or a related field with a preferred focus on M&E.
2. A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in M&E-related function.
3. Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing M&E plans and programs as well as experiences in M&E-related functions for urban development/infrastructure-related projects
4. Experiences in developing data visualization tools/dashboards using Power BI, data collection tools Kobo Toolbox, ONA, ODK, and other IT skills (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

6. Period of Performance

The M&E  Specialist contract will be for approximately 12 months with a probation period of three months on a full-time basis, with a possibility of extension subject to performance and available financing.

Garowe Municipality now invites eligible Individual to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested Individual Consultants must submit their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and cover letter indicating that they are qualified to perform the services.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to section III, para 3.14,3.16 & 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers: Procurement in Investment Projects Financing Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services, July 2016, revised November 2017, August 2018, November 2020 and updated September 2023 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Interested consultants may obtain further information including detailed Terms of Reference at the following website www.puntlandpost.com and the email address Procurement.surp@gmail.com at the address below during office hours from 8.00 AM. – 3.00 PM. Saturday to Thursday except on public holidays.

Expressions of interest (EOI) and (CVs) must be delivered electronically to the above email address on Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 3.00 PM. local Time, and indicate “Expression of Interest for the position of PIU Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist -Garowe Municipality”

Attention; SURPII-Project Coordinator

Puntland Government of Somalia

Garowe, Puntland Somalia

Email Procurement.surp@gmail.com