ZOA is seeking to engage the services of an experienced consultant or consultancy company to conduct the external evaluation of the Syria Joint Response (SJR).

The SJR is a multi-sectoral humanitarian project implemented by international and Syrian organizations across multiple governorates in Syria. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide a holistic understanding of the project performance and achievements, to provide learnings and recommendations for future programming and to enhance accountability.

Terms of Reference - Evaluation Syria Joint

(visit our website to access the complete Terms of Reference: Tender: External evaluation Syria Joint Response 2024 - 2026 | ZOA)

1. Background & context of the evaluation

Short description of the SJR

The multitude of compounding crises in Syria contributed to increasing needs across sectors and added complexity and constraints to the humanitarian response. The deterioration of the economic situation, ongoing conflict, funding constraints , increasing fuel and electricity shortages and process, the collapse of infrastructure and basic services , and the 2023 earthquakes h ave had a significant impact on the needs in Syria and on the humanitarian response. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance across Syria significantly increased between 2021 and 2023 from 13.4 to 15.3 million with 6.8 million people being internally displaced. 11.2 million people are in severe need, 4 million are in extreme need, and 0.1 million are in catastrophic need. Against this backdrop, the Syria Joint Response 2024 – 2026 (SJR) was designed and implemented by four Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA) partners (Dorcas, Oxfam, Terre des Hommes and ZOA) in collaboration local partner organizations and several diaconal arms of churches in Syria . ZOA is the lead agency and responsible for the coordination of the SJR.

The design of the intervention is in line with and based upon the 2023 strategic priorities for the Syria Humanitarian Response plan:

a) Provide lifesaving and life -sustaining humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people with an emphasis on those in areas with high severity of needs.

b) Enhance the prevention and mitigation of protection risks and respond to protection needs through supporting the protective environment in Syria ;

c) Increase the resilience of affected communities by improving access to livelihood opportunities and basic services, especially among the most vulnerable households and communities.

The SJR 2024 – 2026 focuses on addressing immediate needs through relief interventions, alongside early recovery and livelihoods interventions, to set the stage for economic stability and self -sufficiency, which are critical components of long -term resilie nce. Regular a ctivities are implemented in three governorates: Hama, Aleppo and Rural Damascus; and five sectors: education, health, FSL, WASH and protection. During implementation, several crises happened which required SJR partners to respond and expand to additional governorates (Lattakia, Tartous , Sweida , Homs and Damascus) and additional sectors (MPCA and shelter).

Throughout implementation and in line with the DRA strategy for 2022 -2026, the SJR emphasizes localization, gender responsive programming and inclusion, nexus programming, adherence to the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and collaborative impact by 1) Sharing technical capacity and expertise; 2) Integrated programming and geographical complementarity / coverage; 3) Joint learning & evaluation; 4) innovation.

Short description of the DRA

The SJR 2024 -2026 is implemented by a consortium of Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA) partners. The DRA is a coalition of 14 Dutch aid organisations in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The structure of the DRA enables participating NGOs to respond to major international crises in a timely and effective manner, delivering greater impact than members operating independently. The rising number of humanitarian disasters around the world has placed an increased burden on internation al aid organizations, the DRA was established to meet these challenges. Improved cooperation and coordination between NGOs enable them to better respond to major international crises in a timely and effective manner. The SJR is part of the DRA Protracted Crisis (PCM) Mechanism.

2. Purpose of the Evaluation

An evaluation is defined by the DRA as : ‘The systematic and objective assessment of a planned, ongoing or completed intervention, its design, implementation and results. Evaluation refers to the process of determining the worth or significance of an intervention and should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling the incorporation of lessons learned into decision -making processes. The aim is to review the SJR using a pre -determined set of criteria.

Specifics of the Evaluation

The SJR runs from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2026, the Evaluation will take place in March / April 2026. As the lead agency of the SJR, ZOA is looking for an external consultant who can lead this process.

Evaluation purpose

The purpose of the evaluation of the SJR is to provide a holistic understanding of the project performance and achievements, to provide learnings and recommendations for future programming and to enhance accountability. The specific objectives of the evaluation include:

• To assess the performance of the project, paying particular attention to the outcomes and outputs of the project interventions against its key result indicators.
• To assess the relevance, effectiveness and the coherence of project strategies and activities.
• To assess how the project has implemented the main prioritized cross -cutting themes, such as gender sensitivity and inclusiveness, and localization / equitable partnerships.
• To assess complementarity of project interventions and the collaboration between DRA and local/national partners
• To document lessons learned (what worked well, what did not work well, what can be improved - practices that worked well within the consortium/ added value of the structure and working as a consortium) and provide evidence -based and action oriented recommendations (2 – 3 per evaluation criteria) for future collaboration in Joint Responses.

3. Scope

The scope of the evaluation is the implementation period of the SJR between January 2024 and December 2025 . The evaluation should cover and provide updates on achievements in all targeted sectors (WASH, FSL, Health, Protection, and Education ) across the intervention locations in targeted governorates (Aleppo, Hama and Rural Damascus governorates) and potentially in locations as part of the crises response. Additionally, crosscutting topics should be assessed. The target groups to be included in the evaluation are staff of the lead agency, SJR partners (INGO’s) in country and the Netherlands counterparts, representatives from local partners, project beneficiaries, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The target audience for sharing the evaluation findings include the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Dutch Relief Alliance partners, SJR partners (incl. local partners) the humanitarian community in Syria, local authorities and affected populations. The evaluation should be structured around the OECD -DAC evaluation criteria and the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS).

4. Research questions

The evaluation should be structured around the OECD -DAC evaluation criteria and the additional criteria as mentioned in the ToR. The evaluation questions are indicative. The consultant is expected to review and improve the evaluation questions in the initial stage of the evaluation exercise.

5. Evaluation design & Methodology

Methods and data collection

The consultant is expected to design the evaluation and determine the methodological approach . The methodology should be further detailed in the inception report and will be approved by the SJR lead , including the research tools. Further guidance is provided in the ToR. Tender: External evaluation Syria Joint Response 2024 - 2026 | ZOA

6. Roles and responsibilities

ZOA, as the SJR lead agency , is responsible for the overall evaluation process . The SJR lead in the Netherlands and SJR coordinator in Syria will be the main focal persons for this assignment. Also, the SJR members (INGO’s) and their local partners are involved. Their responsibilities are described in the ToR.

The evaluation consultant / consultancy team is responsible for:

• Organize an inception meeting with the SJR coordination team
• Design the evaluation methodology , including evaluation matrix, data collection tools for the program and relevant program indicators (including translation into Arabic) and sampling technique and size.
• Conduct desk reviews of secondary information and program documents
• Develop the inception report and submit to ZOA for feedback, including the data collection tools .
• Address feedback on the inception report and data collection tools.
• Recruit and t rain enumerators (ensure male and female enumerators) who will pre-test the data collection tools. If necessary, make final adjustments to data collection tools . For in -country data collection with beneficiaries, local authorities and local field staff enumerators should be speaking Arabic.
• Collect data from a representative sample of individuals from the target groups and key program relevant stakeholders using methodologies as outlined in the approved inception report. The consultancy team is responsible for the transportation and security of enumerators in Syria.
• Responsible for the translation of data collection tools from English to Arabic, and for the collected data from Arabic to English. Ensure to keep the original Arabic documentation of the data collected.
• Process and analyze the data (data entry, cleaning, verification and analysis);
• Report writing and submission of first draft of the report;
• Finalize the report incorporating feedback and submission of final report.
• Organize a session for relevant stakeholders to present findings of the evaluation and share learnings for discussion;
• Arrange necessary visa’s and in country travel approvals if required.

7. Deliverables

The ToR provides an overview of the expected deliverables. Tender: External evaluation Syria Joint Response 2024 - 2026 | ZOA

8. Budget

Interested consultants are required to provide a budget including travel costs, number of working days per specific activity, daily rate and any other costs. The budget range for this evaluation is between 15.000 and 25.000 EUR.

9. Timeframe

• Publication of the Terms of Reference - 7 January 2026
• Deadline submission expression of interest - 31 January 2026
• Interview with shortlisted consultants - Between 9 and 12 February 2026
• Signing of contract with selected consultant and kick -off meeting - By 19 February 2026
• Submission inception report - 5 March 2026
• Data collection - March 2026
• Submission draft report - Before the 15th of April 2026
• Presentation of results - Last week of April 2026
• Submission final report and final deliverables - 15 May 2026

10. Selection Process

Required expertise

The SJR is looking for a lead consultant or team that has a convincing track -record . The specific requirements for this assignment are hands on experience in evaluating a joint response program implemented by international and national partners (or another consortium -based humanitarian program with a variety of implementing agencies), and experience in evaluating multi -sectoral humanitarian response programs in complex environments . Additional required qualifications are detailed below.

• At least a master’s degree in economics, developmental studies, business administration and social science or related field for the lead consultant / a minimum of bachelor’s degree on the relevant academic areas with 7 years of progressive experience in research.
• Extensive experience in research work and in assessments/evaluations.
• Knowledge of mixed research methodologies and application of various tools including practical experience in assessments, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitar ian interventions. Proven experience of using participatory methods is required.
• Strong experience in humanitarian response, Child Safeguarding and knowledge of humanitarian standards (CHS, Sphere, Code of Conduct), and expertise on SJR sectors (FSL, protection, health, MPCA, WASH)
• Understanding of and experience in evaluating cross -cutting themes, including gender equality , inclusion and lo calization.
• Good understanding of the Syrian context and previous work experience in Syria are required.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills with skills in using statistical packages such as SPSS, STATA etc.
• Fluent in English. Understanding of Arabic of the lead consultant will be an added advantage. Staff responsible for data collection need to be fluent in Arabic.
• An experienced protection/safeguarding person should be included as part of the team.
• Cultural awareness and ability to operate in politically complex and sensitive environments are required.