Vacancy

Formative evaluation of KAICIID’s partnerships

Consultancy

 

An Introduction to KAICIID

The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) is a unique International Organization which brings together religious leaders, policymakers, and experts with the aim of finding common solutions to shared problems. Our vision is a world where there is respect, understanding, and cooperation among people, justice, peace and reconciliation, and an end to the abuse of religion to justify oppression, violence, and conflict.

KAICIID has a dual governance structure, consisting of the Council of Parties (Republic of Austria, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kingdom of Spain,) and the Holy See as founding observer; and a Board of Directors composed of representatives from major world religions (including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism). Over the past 12 years, KAICIID has robustly supported development of dialogue leaders and platforms across the world (Africa, Arab region, Asia, Europe and Latin America). Partnerships are one of the key approaches KAICIID takes to advance its mission and results across these regions and reach fragile and complex contexts for empowerment of dialogue champions. It is also a way to leverage its results by joining efforts with other reputable organizations, including United Nations agencies, international non-governmental and faith-based organizations.

Partnership building and management at KAICIID is a cross-division effort. The External Relations and Partnerships Section provides support to the Programme Division, namely to focal points assigned per partner, in establishing, maintaining and ensuring quality cooperation frameworks. This is done in close collaboration with the Legal Section. Monitoring and Evaluation plays an important role in ensuring monitoring and evaluation tools are in place to assess the quality of the partnership and the initiatives implemented with the partner. Partnerships play a strategic and integrative role in advancing the mission and impact of KAICIID at global, regional and local levels. Partnerships significantly facilitate implementation of the Centre’s programmes and reach of the Centre’s dialogue approaches across the regions of its operation, while contributing to achieving external relations and institutional objectives.

Currently, KAICIID has 17 active partnerships through longer term Memoranda of Understanding and exchange of letters and 14 new cooperation frameworks are in development. While KAICIID’s grants are considered a partnership modality, this aspect will not be extensively evaluated in this exercise, but some inputs on the modality and key results will be provided for consideration. The Centre has established cooperation frameworks with UN agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations, academia, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs) as well as with national governmental entities. Main areas of cooperation include intercultural and interreligious dialogue for peace and social cohesion, countering hate speech and violence and overcoming other community challenges in a nonviolent way, capacity building, dialogue convening and policy development are the main angles of intervention.

Policy framework related to partnerships, includes the Programmatic Partnerships Policy (setting out the procedures for the approval, establishment, and implementation of the Centre’s programmatic partnerships). The Policy includes a partnerships checklist that provides indication on important elements in partnership building (such as alignment with the Centre’s priorities, cost-sharing and others), while also working as an M&E tool.

Programmatic guidance is provided by the overall 2024-2027 Strategic Plan and Annual Work Plans, that indicate priority areas of work and what the Centre broadly aims to achieve, as the main strategic references approved at the governing bodies’ level. Additionally, specific programme units have developed their strategies that further elaborate on key stakeholders and partners for the programme. The External Relations and Partnerships Section has also developed an internal concept note and strategic framework to guide its work. Additionally, the Section has been developing internal tools with the aim of centralizing and systematizing information about partnerships.

The report of this evaluation will contribute to further develop the strategic framework of KAICIID on partnership building and management.

Purpose & Objectives:

The purpose of the formative evaluation of KAICIID’s partnerships is to optimize design, implementation, and functioning of partnerships in support of pursuit of KAICIID’s mission. While the evaluation will need to take some summative approaches to obtain best practices and lessons learnt, it will primarily be a forward-looking exercise aiming to provide inputs for best positioning and operationalization of partnerships to achieve the strategic and institutional objectives of the Centre, in order to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.

Specific objectives of the evaluation are to assess:

• Assess relevance/alignment of partnerships with specific strategic goals and thematic areas of KAICIID, including how priority and cross-cutting issues (human rights, empowerment of youth and women are integrated in partnerships, how agile are partnerships in adapting to contextual changes and responding to all partners’ needs);

• Assess engagement and contribution of partners, including KAICIID (drivers, incentives for partnerships, roles, commitment, human and financial resources allocation, identify risks, trust dynamics and other issues as relevant);

• Review available data on partnerships effectiveness in the period 2020-2025, collect inputs from selected partners and potential partners and reflect on strengths, shortcomings and future opportunities (from programmatic and resource mobilization perspective) and assess partnership monitoring, evaluation practices and potential for adaptive learning and innovation;

• Review internal efficiency on partnership building and management, its internal tools, roles of different divisions/ sections, governing bodies, coordination mechanisms and provide recommendations for optimization;

• Provide lessons learnt (best practices and challenges), articulate KAICIID’s theory of change for partnerships and actionable recommendations for optimization of partnerships management and effectiveness.

Methodology:

The evaluation design should be inspired by the theoretical frameworks and/or good practices in partnership building and management. KAICIID does not have the theory of change on partnership management, and it is expected that this evaluation will be able to contribute to it. Key evaluation criteria that will be observed are efficiency, relevance and alignment, engagement and contribution of partners and effectiveness of partnerships.

The evaluation will be conducted remotely (online). The methodology will employ mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative, combining review of internal documentation and additional documentary evidence and consultations with main stakeholders around prioritized evaluation criteria.

Data collection techniques to be used are:

• Desk review of secondary documentation sources - KAICIID’s Strategic Plan, Annual Work Plans, internal documentation, internal organization and job description, partnership-related policies, memoranda of understanding and agreements, budgets allocated for partnerships (by both KAICIID and partners), previous evaluations of partnerships, etc.

• On-line semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups with KAICIID staff (External Relations and Partnerships Section, Programme Division, Legal Section, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, etc.), selected partners and potential partners.

• On-line surveys (internal and with partners).

The evaluation consultant should make all necessary efforts to ensure data quality and reliability.

Overall, the evaluation will adhere to United Nations Evaluation Groups Standards (use of internationally agreed principles, goals and targets; utility; credibility; independence; impartiality; ethics; transparency; human rights and gender equality; professionalism) and KAICIID Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.

The evaluation will focus on the following questions (questions can be further adjusted by the evaluation consultant during the inception phase in dialogue with the evaluation managers):

Relevance:

• To what extent are KAICIID’s partnerships aligned with its mission, strategic priorities and how are the cross-cutting issues, including human rights, women and youth integrated?

• How agile are partnerships in adapting to contextual changes and responding to the needs?

• Do current partnerships contribute to KAICIID's theory of change and do they reflect an appropriate balance between regional reach, thematic focus and institutional priorities across its regional programmes and capacity building?

• What is KAICIID’s comparative advantage and added value in these partnerships? What value has the engagement with partners added for KAICIID?

Engagement and contribution:

• How does KAICIID identify and uses opportunities for partnerships at different levels (, national, regional and global)?

• What are the key drivers and incentives for partnership, what are the challenges and barriers (at KAICIID and among partners)?

• How do these translate into partnership agreements? What roles and responsibilities does KAICIID take in comparison to the partners?

• How do trust and long-term relationship-building feature in KAICIID’s approach to partnerships?

Effectiveness:

• What are the key results achieved through partnerships, for KAICIID, partners and target groups/beneficiaries on the ground? Are there concrete examples or indications of impact level changes and what needs to be done to strengthen effectiveness?

• What are the most effective partnership modalities and best practices?

• What prevents effectiveness in the field?

• Are there mechanisms in place to track progress and communicate outcomes of partnerships to KAICIID's governance and external stakeholders?

• What are the future opportunities (programmatic and resource mobilization perspectives) that the Centre should focus on?

Efficiency:

• How well are the resources being used, including financial resources and internal support? How does KAICIID’s internal dynamics affect how we engage with partners?

• How can partnership building and management be optimized (in terms of resources, number and quality of partnerships)?

• To what extent is the Centers’ organizational approach and respective policy framework supportive to partnership building and management efficiency? What are the strengths and challenges?

The evaluation will result in a synthesis evaluation report that will provide overview of key findings in line with the evaluation criteria, conclusions, lessons-learn and recommendations highlighting how to improve quality of the partnerships - and how this can be better supported internally/ at organizational level.

The evaluation process will be conducted through the following three phases:

1. Inception phase that includes gathering and analyzing relevant documentation; consultation with the KAICIID’s monitoring and evaluation, external relations and partnerships and programme teams; stakeholders mapping; conceptualizing the evaluation approach and data collection tools. The approach should take into account the need to develop 2 case studies.

2. Data collection and analysis that includes in-depth desk review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and surveys; processing of the data and synthesis of preliminary findings and lessons learnt. Preliminary findings and lessons learnt will be discussed with KAICIID for consultation and information-gap filling if necessary.

3. Preparation of the evaluation report that will include executive summary, brief background on the evaluation and methodology applied, strengthened/reconstructed theory of change for partnerships, overview of findings supported by evidence collected, lessons learnt and recommendations, list of sources consulted, survey results, tools used, and other relevant content should be annexed to the report. In addition to the report, 2 short thematic case studies should be delivered (up to 4 pages each) will be agreed in the inception phase.

Following the completion of the evaluation, KAICIID will:

• Prepare the management response related to the recommendations to KAICIID and its future support; and communicate it internally.

Management Agreement:

The evaluation will be managed by KAICIID’s Monitoring & Evaluation Officer. The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will ensure that the evaluation process is conducted as planned, will review the deliverables and ensure that professional standards and norms on evaluation are followed. Day-to-day support to the evaluation process, for example supply of the evaluation consultant with documentation and connection with the key informants will be provided by the External Relations and Partnerships Section. The consultant will report to the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, who will ensure feedback is collected from the respective KAICIID staff members.

An Evaluation Advisory Group will be set up, coordinated by M&E and comprising staff-members from the External Relations and Partnerships Section, Programme Division and other relevant sections/units of the Centre. The Advisory Group will provide substantive comments and feedback to evaluation deliverables, specifically including the inception report and proposed methodology and sample, preliminary findings and lessons learnt and to the final draft report. Every effort will be made by the Advisory Group to provide an amalgamated set of comments to the evaluator within an agreed period, addressing the content required and quality criteria as outlined in these Terms of Reference.

The evaluation consultant will develop the design of the evaluation, including conceptual and methodological approach, collect and analyze the data in line with the agreed approach, assure their quality and objectivity and produce the expected deliverables as described in the section below.

Deliverables and Timelines:

The overall effort is estimated to take 32 days in the period June – October 2025. The deliverables shall include an inception report, presentation of preliminary findings and lessons learnt and a draft and final evaluation report in accordance with the following requirements and timeline:

Deliverable	Tasks	Workday allocation	Tentative Deadline
Inception Report	Review materials, conduct inception meeting with selected KAICIID staff-members, stakeholder mapping and work plan, draft inception report (up to 12 pages, excluding annexes) outlining inter alia: the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed methodological approach, outline of structure of the evaluation report, sources of information and timeline. Evaluation matrix and data collection tools are to be annexed to the report.	5	End of August 2025
Collection and validation of preliminary findings and lessons learnt	Data collection and analysis from different sources against the agreed evaluation criteria; continued documentation review; key informants’ interviews, surveys and/or focus groups; synthesis of preliminary findings and lessons learnt; 1.5 hour online session with the evaluation management and Evaluation Advisory Group to present and discuss preliminary findings and lessons learnt;	19	15 October 2025
Final evaluation report (with annexes) and PPT	Compilation of the draft evaluation report (up to 40 pages, excluding annexes), including: the executive summary, brief background on the evaluation and methodology applied, overview of findings supported by evidence collected, lessons learnt and recommendations. Power point presentation on the key findings and lessons learned (up to 12 slides) Annexes (including list of sources consulted, survey results, tools used, and other relevant additional content)	8	15 November 2025
	Total	32

Our Ideal Candidate:

• Advanced degree in social sciences, development studies, law, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field;

• At least 7 years of proven experience in conducting and managing evaluations (preferably inclusive of evaluation of partnerships, networking, organizational efficiency);

• Demonstrated application of standard evaluation approaches, qualitative as well as quantitative methods of data collection, results-based frameworks, theory-based approaches to evaluation methodologies, knowledge of UN, OECD/DAC and other internationally agreed guidance and standards;

• Experience and understanding of the contexts and stakeholders where the KAICIID operates, knowledge of UN and bilateral development agencies priorities, global and/or regional nongovernmental and faith-based organizations;

• Excellent knowledge of results-based management, programme management, and in particular evaluation; 

• Excellent facilitation and communications skills; 

• Strong inter-personal skills and ability to interact with a wide range of stakeholders including international organizations, governments, civil society organizations;

• Strong analytical, synthesis and writing, reporting and presentation skills in English;

• Efficiency in fulfilling commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;

• Professional fluency written and spoken in English;

• Working knowledge of Arabic and/or French is desirable, but not mandatory.

Terms and Conditions:

The exact timeline for the assignment will be established based on the completion of the recruitment process.

Compensation:

The fee will be offered in accordance with KAICIID consultancy rates, depending on the experience and expertise of the selected candidate. Please kindly indicate your expected daily fee as indicated below.

Location:

Home based.

How to Apply and assessment criteria:

Interested candidates should submit:

1. CV and Cover Letter (Weight: 40%) - The CV will be assessed based on the applicant’s qualifications; relevant experience; and skills relevant to the evaluation. Please kindly include your daily fee in the Cover Letter. Financial offer (weight 20%).

2. Two samples of work (weight: 40%) - The samples of work will be assessed based on the methodological rigor, analytical ability, clarity of the content findings, conclusions and recommendations. Please merge the documents in one file and upload as additional document or include hyperlink to the relevant reports in your Cover Letter.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for the interview.

KAICIID is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply.

Individuals who are employed by KAICIID or any of its partners, were or are directly involved in the management or implementation of partnership project with KAICIID are not eligible to apply for the position. This is to prevent any conflict of interest and to maintain the integrity of the evaluation process.

Deadline: 09 July 2025 (23:59; Lisbon Time)