WE’RE HIRING | M&E Consultant

Purpose and Scope of Consultancy

SECTION27 seeks the expertise of an experienced independent Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Consultant to conduct an external endline evaluation of a four-year EU-funded project. The focus of the evaluation will be to assess the progress SECTION27 made towards achieving the project objectives, based on the five criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. The endline evaluation will also be used to identify lessons learnt and provide important guidance for SECTION27’s work going forward.  The endline evaluation will cover the entire grant period from 01 February 2022 to 31 January 2026.

Location of implementation

• Gauteng
• Eastern Cape
• Limpopo

The consultant is requested to propose a methodological approach but the evaluation should at minimum include desk research, semi-structured interviews. The evaluation is expected to be participatory and use a consultative approach. The consultant will work closely with the programme team and M&E team throughout the consultancy and will be provided with the relevant project documentation.

Project Overview

SECTION27 was approved to implement the four-year European Union-funded Enhancing accountability in health and education in South Africa project. The project began on 1 February 2022 and is being implemented in partnership with the Centre for Child Law (CCL), University of Pretoria.

The project’s expected impact is that, by 2026, there will be an improvement in government accountability in advancing the constitutional rights to access basic education and healthcare services for vulnerable people in South Africa. This impact requires that public budgets fully fund basic education and health services, and as such, a critical component of the approach to this project includes challenging current austerity measures that have seen a reduction in funding for socio-economic rights and related services, and advocating for a budget-making process that enables appropriate public and parliamentary engagement. Through this project, SECTION27 and CCL aim to strengthen their monitoring mechanisms to hold the government accountable, including developing innovative, structured monitoring tools and strengthening the level of engagement of communities and civil society.

SECTION27 and CCL use the law, advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation to achieve impact, and to strengthen the capacity of coalitions and partners in these processes. Evidence-based research on community needs and priorities in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo builds on existing advocacy and litigation targets around school safety and infrastructure, access to emergency medical services, undocumented learners, universal health coverage, SRHR (including HIV and access to contraceptives and safe abortion) and budget reform. While the project focuses on these provinces to highlight specific rights violations and determine policy/legal requirements, including litigation and subsequent monitoring of judgments, the project is expected to have a national impact by catalysing systemic changes within the public education and health system, and ultimately creating long-term benefits for all.

Expected results of the project

At the impact level, we expect to see:

1. A measurable change in community members in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo feeling that their rights are respected;
2. An increase in absolute and relative levels of funding for basic education and health care services; and
3. Increased responsiveness of the budget to gender inequality.

Expected Outcomes include:

• Outcome 1: Increased civil society capacity to take action to achieve health and education rights (public education and outreach). While awareness and public discourse around the Constitution have expanded, there remains insufficient understanding of socio-economic rights and the duties they create, and insufficient access to the information needed for civil society to demand accountability.
• Outcome 2: South Africa’s policies, laws and budget, and the processes to develop them, equitably and effectively advance the rights to basic education and healthcare (policy and budget advocacy). Laws and policies, and policy processes, must reflect the needs and priorities of the populations they impact.
• Outcome 3: Effective mechanisms are in place to monitor and hold the government accountable for the implementation of relevant policies and laws (policy monitoring). Just having appropriate laws and policies in place is not enough – they must be effectively resourced and implemented, with clear oversight mechanisms.

Estimated Duration of Consultancy

The consultancy period is expected to begin from 1 August 2025 to 28 February 2026. The number of days required within that period is to be proposed by the consultant.

Organisation Background

SECTION27 is a well-established and widely respected public interest law centre that seeks to achieve substantive equality and social justice in South Africa. Guided by the principles and values in the Constitution, SECTION27 uses the law through advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation to advance socio-economic rights, in particular the right to access healthcare services and the right to basic education as guaranteed in section 27 and section 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa respectively.

SECTION27 is based in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Although our work aims to have a national impact, we have interventions with a strategic focus in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.

Expected Deliverables

• Inception report, including agreed evaluation methodology and matrix, an outline of the final evaluation report, workplan/timeline, data collection tools and schedule
• Draft evaluation report for validation with relevant stakeholders
• Final evaluation report, including a presentation and a summary of key findings

Education and Experience

• Master’s degree in social science, evaluation or related field
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience conducting programme evaluations
• Expertise in policy and advocacy across all levels, from grassroots programming to national policy influence.
• Experience in public interest litigation is an asset
• Experience in applying a human rights-based approach to evaluations is desirable
• In-depth knowledge of the social justice sector and public interest litigation is advantageous
• Experience in conducting EU-funded evaluations
• Proficiency in one or more of isiXhosa, Sepedi, Xitsonga

The application must include the following:

• A brief technical proposal, including an outline of methodology, proposed activities, tentative timelines with key milestones
• Financial proposal outlining daily rate and proposed number of days.
• Any travel-related costs associated with the evaluation will be undertaken by SECTION27
• CV/ profile of the consultant/evaluation team
• References from previous similar work

Please submit your applications by email to kaseke-palmer@section27.org.za with the subject line EU Endline Consultancy. For technical questions related to the Terms of Reference, please email staples@section27.org.za

Applications must be submitted by close of business on 30 June 2025.