Absa External Evaluator Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference :External Evaluation of the Absa Consumer Education Programme

Background and Context

Hand in Hand was appointed as the implementer of the Absa Consumer Education Programme in Gauteng and Mpumalanga for the period March 2023 to December 2023. The Consumer Education Programme consists of one-day training session on Financial Literacy. Hand in Hand is seeking the services of a competent service provider to conduct an external evaluation of the project.

These terms of reference stipulate the scope of work for a final evaluation of the Consumer Education Programme.

The target audience are persons belonging to corporates/entities who are clients of Absa provided to Hand in Hand by the following Absa divisions:

  • Everyday Banking
  • Agri-Business
  • Public Sector
  • Community Beneficiaries – mobilized directly by Hand in Hand

The delivery approach for the workshops is through face-to-face training. The training sessions have been conducted in companies, municipalities, schools, community centres and tertiary institutions.

Objectives of the Project

The main objective of the project is to deliver financial education to the companies who fall under the Absa portfolio and people within the communities. The overall project target for 2023 is 11 500 beneficiaries split as follows:

  • A minimum of 75% of the consumers have to be black
  • At least 25% of the target should come from rural areas and 75% from urban areas
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A rural area is defined as a non-metro area. This means in Gauteng, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane are defined as urban areas, while Sedibeng, and West Rand district municipalities are classified as rural. In Mpumalanga, all the district municipalities fall under the rural category.

The provincial target split is as follows:

  • Gauteng Province: 8 130
  • Mpumalanga Province: 3 370
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The project targeted to train a total of 11 500 beneficiaries in Financial Literacy.

Objectives of the Purpose of the External Evaluation

The objective of the external evaluation is to assess how well the project was implemented and give recommendations based on the lessons learned to inform future programming. The evaluation will cover the following areas:

  • Effectiveness: To what extend the project objectives have been achieved and what are the major factors influencing achievement or non-achievement;
  • Relevance: How useful was the project to the target groups and to addressing the problems and constrains related to the topic
  • Sustainability: Evaluating whether the project results are going to be in place after termination of the project and how well the project was implemented in its institutional surroundings?
  • Processes: How sufficient the process flows were working, and how could they work better in the future.
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Consultant(s) Qualifications:

  • Master's Degree in any social science, preferably including community development, social research and monitoring and evaluation.
  • Proven experience in carrying out evaluations, including 5 years working experience with the Non-Governmental Sector
  • Knowledge of evaluation of capacity building activities
  • Ability to produce reports well written analytical reports
  • Must be proficient in English, written and spoken
  • Ability to speak and understand the local languages
  • Must have quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills
  • Familiarity with South Africa conditions (political, economic, social, and cultural) will be an added advantage.
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Assignment Duration:

The evaluation field work is expected to be undertaken by the 1st of November to the 17th of November 2023. The final report should be submitted to Hand in Hand by the 1st of December 2023.

How to apply:

Interested candidates are invited to provide technical and financial proposals (no more than 7 pages).

  • The proposal should include:
    • A draft methodology of how the service provider will accomplish the assignment
    • A draft work plan with detailed activities, milestones, timeframes
    • A detailed budget for the entire consultancy broken down into unit and duration costs, and including projected ground travel, accommodation, subsistence costs and taxes if necessary
  • Your CV (highlighting past relevant experiences and not more than 2 pages)
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Proposals should be submitted electronically to info@handinhand-sa.org with "Absa CE Evaluation" in the subject line by the 26th of October 2023.

Selection will be based on best value for money and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.