Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) is commissioning the final evaluation of its Food Security and Resilience Building Project in Ethiopia. The project, funded by Bread for the World with partner co-financing, is implemented by a strong consortium: Cordaid, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Ethiopian Orthodox Church – Development and Interchurch Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC), Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus Development and Social Services Commission (EECMY-DASSC), and International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). Running from 2023 to 2026, the project responds to Ethiopia’s severe food security challenges caused by climate change, recurrent droughts, land degradation, and conflict. It is implemented in selected woredas across Amhara, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray regions. The overall goal is to enhance livelihoods and resilience to shocks and crises among farming, pastoralist, agro-pastoralist, and displaced populations. The project promotes: • Food security & livelihoods through climate-smart agriculture, irrigation, and income-generating activities. • Climate adaptation & WASH via natural resource management, drought-resistant crops, and expanded safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services. • Peaceful co-existence through community dialogues, traditional conflict resolution, and inclusive platforms for resource-sharing. 

The project directly benefits over 28,100 households (140,500 individuals), with deliberate attention to women, youth, persons with disabilities, and internally displaced persons. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT As the current project phase comes to an end in April 2026, this external end-of-phase performance evaluation will assess the project against the OECD-DAC criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, coherence, and sustainability. It will also document best practices; lessons learned and generate actionable recommendations to inform the design of the subsequent project phase. 

To ensure timely input into proposal development, the evaluation must be completed by mid-December 2025, so that its conclusions and recommendations can directly feed into the design of the new phase starting in 2026. The evaluation serves a dual purpose. First, it addresses the accountability requirements of HEKS/EPER and its donor Bread for the World by determining whether resources have been used efficiently and effectively. Second, it is a critical learning exercise designed to strengthen future programming, ensuring that the evidence generated shapes the new phase proposal with context-specific, regionally tailored recommendations. 

The evaluation will assess the entire project scope, covering outcomes, major activities, and outputs, including: • Food production and productivity: crop and livestock improvements, poultry, and vermicompost. 

• Climate adaptation and resilience-building: soil and water conservation, HDPE irrigation, agroforestry, household-level biogas, and post-harvest management. 

• Livelihood diversification and income generation: youth- and women-focused enterprises and cooperative support. 

• Natural resource management: land rehabilitation, community watershed management, and strengthening of local governance systems. 

• Peacebuilding and social cohesion: community dialogue platforms for conflict prevention, traditional and formal institutions (peace clubs and peace forums). 

• Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH): construction and rehabilitation of water points and latrines, promotion of safe hygiene practices. 

• Capacity building: training and institutional support for households, community structures, and local authorities. 

• Cross-cutting outcomes: gender equality, social inclusion, conflict sensitivity, and environmental sustainability. 

The evaluation will cover the full implementation period from November 2023 to September 2025, capturing progress, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. It will span four regions of Ethiopia, specifically:

 • Oromia Region – Borena Zone, East Borana Zone, and Guji Zone. • Amhara Region – South Wollo Zone, North Wollo Zone, and North Shoa Zone. • Somali Region – Dawa and Liban Zones. 

• Tigray Region – Raya Azebo, Raya Chercher, and Alamata. 

 Duration and deliverables 

The evaluation will run for two months from its commencement to ensure findings and recommendations directly inform the design of the next project phase. Consultant/Consulting Firm Tasks 

• Desk review of project documents. 

• Prepare an inception report including methodology, sampling, tools, and work plan.

 • Train and oversee enumerators; pre-test and finalize tools. • Collect qualitative and quantitative data (household surveys, FGDs, KIIs).

 • Transcribe and translate qualitative data. 

• Conduct data analysis and draft the evaluation report. 

• Present findings in a validation workshop. 

• Finalize the report incorporating feedback. 

Deliverables 1. Inception Report (Product 1) – including evaluation matrix, work plan, and tools. 

2. Draft Evaluation Report (Product 2a) – clear findings and recommendations. 

3. Final Evaluation Report (Product 3a) – max. 40 pages (+ annexes), incl. 2-page executive summary and clean raw data. 

4. PowerPoint Presentation (Product 3b) – in English and Amharic, summarizing major findings.

 5. Impact Story / Most Significant Change (Product 3c) – documenting best practices and lessons for learning and visibility.

Required Qualification, Skills, And Experience The assessment team for this work should have the following qualifications: 

 • Advanced university degree (Masters / PhD) in International Development, Social Sciences, Statistics, Demography, or any other related field with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience, particularly in food security, livelihoods, WASH, climate change adaptation, and social cohesion/peacebuilding. 

• Demonstrated experience in assessments and/or evaluations of food security and livelihoods interventions, including crop and livestock productivity, income-generating activities, and household-level resilience strategies. Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis, interpretation, and visualization • 

Prior experience with regions in Ethiopia and proven ability to work with diverse ethnic groups, local authorities, and customary institutions • Excellent understanding of food security and resilience frameworks, climate adaptation, livelihoods, WASH, peaceful co-existence, and gender. 

Especially in conflict and drought-prone and fragile settings. 

• Advanced analytical and report writing skills. 

• Proven and strong writing English language skills. 

• Thorough understanding of different data collection methods, including methods to assess the level of contribution of an intervention to the observed outcomes

 • Valid business license and tax registration certificate for consultants or consultancy firms operating in Ethiopia (or capacity to operate under local partner arrangements). 

• Valid trade registration, renewed business license, TIN certificate, VAT certificate and tax clearance for consultants or consultancy firms operating in Ethiopia are mandatory. 

How To Apply

To gain more information about the contract, please send an email to procurement.eth@heks-eper.org requesting the full ToR describing the scope of work and expected deliverables. The deadline for submissions of technical and financial proposals is on 13 October 2025.