Consultant – Baseline Survey at Restless Development Uganda

Vacancy title:
Consultant – Baseline Survey

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Nonprofit, and NGO, Category: Management]

Jobs at:
Restless Development Uganda

Deadline of this Job:
Wednesday, July 23 2025

Duty Station:
Karamoja | Karamoja | Uganda

Summary
Date Posted: Thursday, June 19 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:
Consultant – Baseline Survey at Restless Development Uganda

Call for Individual Consultant: Baseline Evaluation – “Promoting Youth Inclusion in Governance and Decision-Making Project”.

Project Summary

Project Title: Promoting Youth Inclusion in Governance and Decision making.
Project Duration: 3 years (1st April 2025 to 31st December 2027)
Type of Study: Baseline Study
Project Location: Karamoja Region (Kotido, Nabilatuk, Napak, Abim, Nakapiripirit, Moroto)
Donor: Royal Danish Embassy
Duration of assignment: Approximately 42 working days
Expected start/ end of assignment: 1st July 2025 to 1st September 2025

1. Introduction

Restless Development Uganda is an agency for youth-led development that supports Young People to demand and deliver a just and sustainable world for all. The agency strives to ensure that Young People have a voice, education and livelihood, sexual rights, and are at the forefront of promoting climate justice. Restless Development has been working with Young People since 1985 and its work is led by thousands of Young People every year. The agency listens to Young People, involves Young People in leading its work, and together helps Young People make lasting change in their communities and countries. Find out more here: www.restlessdevelopment.org

Restless Development Uganda is seeking a highly qualified individual consultant to conduct a Baseline Evaluation for our newly launched 3-year project titled: Promoting Youth Inclusion in Governance and Decision-Making. The baseline survey is a key preparatory activity conducted at the inception of the project to establish the initial status of indicators outlined in the Results Framework. It serves as a critical benchmark for measuring progress and assessing impact throughout the project lifecycle.

Specifically, the survey will assess current levels of youth inclusion in governance and decision-making, identify existing barriers, and evaluate the capacities of relevant stakeholders in the Karamoja region. The findings will inform evidence-based planning, guide implementation strategies, and support adaptive programming through refinement of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework ensuring the project remains relevant, effective, and accountable. This Terms of Reference (ToR) outlines the objectives, scope, methodology, deliverables, and consultant responsibilities for conducting the baseline survey.

2. Project background information and context

Restless Development in partnership with Media Challenge Initiative (MCI) and Karamoja Youth Effort to Save the Environment (KAYESE) is implementing a 3-year project “Promoting Youth Inclusion in Governance and Decision-Making" funded by the Royal Danish Embassy (RDE). The project aims to improve youth inclusion in governance and decision-making processes in Karamoja and at the national level by 2027.

The project is deemed to operate in Karamoja region, one of Uganda’s most marginalized regions. Uganda’s youth (aged 30 and below) constitute 73.2% of the population, yet 89.8% report no participation in national decision-making, 77.1% at the district level, and 45.6% at the community level. In Karamoja, youth face additional barriers, including cultural norms prioritizing elders, socio-economic marginalization, climate change impacts, and insecurity from cattle raiding.

The project will thus enhance youth-responsive governance and service delivery by strengthening both youth civic competence and local government responsiveness. To achieve this, youth will be trained as peer mentors, accountability advocates, climate resilience champions, content creators, and journalists empowering them to lead civic education, advocacy, and media engagement efforts. Leadership camps, youth-led civic education sessions, social audits, and climate change awareness meetings will be organized alongside larger platforms such as the Karamoja Youth Summit, intergenerational dialogues, and community barazas.

It will also support the co-creation of IEC materials, the development of policy briefs and civic media content, and the establishment of youth-led engagement platforms. Local governments will benefit from capacity building in meaningful youth engagement, including training for youth councillors. Mechanisms such as joint monitoring visits, reflection meetings, and structured dialogues with decision-makers will be put in place to gather youth feedback and monitor service delivery helping ensure inclusive planning and greater accountability.

The project Theory of change suggests that:
IF youths are equipped with knowledge on governance and decision-making processes and skills to engage including, advocacy, and engagement spaces are available, AND duty bearers such as government officials and community leaders are capacitated to engage, plan and implement youth-inclusive policies and programs, THEN governance structures will become more responsive, inclusive, and accountable to youth, LEADING TO improved youth-inclusive governance where decisions and social services have youth input and thus, address the needs of the youth.

It focuses on two outcomes:

• Strengthened youth civic competence for effective engagement in governance and decision-making.
• Enhanced responsiveness of formal and informal governance structures to youth needs.

3. The overall objective of the study

3.1. The overall objective of the baseline study is to establish a comprehensive benchmark for key project indicators and conduct a contextual analysis to understand the operating environment, identify existing gaps and opportunities, and provide evidence to support effective implementation, adaptive management, and results-based tracking of project outcomes.

3.2. Specific Objectives of the baseline:

• To assess the current status of key quantitative and qualitative indicators relevant to the project’s expected outcomes.
• To analyze the social, economic, institutional, and political context in which the project will be implemented, including enablers and barriers.
• To identify existing gaps, needs, and opportunities among target groups and stakeholders.
• To generate baseline data that will support performance monitoring, evaluation, and learning throughout the project lifecycle.
• To provide actionable recommendations to inform adaptive planning, resource allocation, and strategic engagement with stakeholders.

4. Scope of the assignment

The baseline study will encompass the following key components:

Geographical Scope: The study will cover the Karamoja sub-region, focusing on all districts, including Kotido, Napak, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, and Abim. Additionally, national-level stakeholders will be engaged, such as policymakers and entities like the National Youth Council.

Thematic Scope:
The study will explore themes such as:

• Youth Civic Competence
• Governance Participation
• Institutional Responsiveness
• Barriers to Youth Inclusion

Target Groups:

• Youth (aged 15–30)
• Local Government Officials and Community Leaders
• Consortium Partners and Other Stakeholders

Timeframe:
42 working days from 1st July 2025

5. Key Deliverables (outputs):

1. Baseline Inception Report
2. Draft Baseline Report
3. Final Baseline Report
4. Abridged Version of Final Report
5. Dissemination of Findings (Presentation & Workshop)

6. Methodology

The consultant will design and propose a robust methodology that includes:

• Quantitative and qualitative tools
• Sampling and analysis strategies
• Alignment with Results Framework and Theory of Change
• Ethical considerations and mitigation for field challenges

7. Qualifications

Education:

• PhD or MSc in Public Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Social Work, etc.
• M&E qualifications are an added advantage

Experience:

• 5+ years in MEL, governance, youth engagement
• Strong understanding of Karamoja context
• Proven skills in quantitative and qualitative research
• Prior experience with baseline surveys and evaluations

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in Outcome Harvesting and statistical analysis
• Excellent reporting, presentation, and stakeholder engagement

Other Requirements:

• Local language knowledge an asset
• Adherence to safeguarding and ethical standards

8. Management

The consultant will report to the Programme Manager and coordinate with the MEL Manager and MEL Coordinator. Restless Development will provide logistical support and oversee data quality and dissemination.

9. Criteria for Evaluation of Proposal

Combined scoring method:

• Technical proposal: 70%
• Financial proposal: 30%

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: bachelor degree

Job application procedure
Interested in applying for this job? Click here to submit your application now.

Send:

• Expression of Interest (cover letter)
• Technical and Financial Proposals
• CVs with references
• Evidence of past work (e.g. reports, contracts)

Subject: Youth Inclusion in Governance Baseline Evaluation

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