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Tenders are invited for External Evaluation Consultancy Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme Closing Date: 22 May 2026 Type: Consultancy EXTERNAL EVALUATION | TERMS OF REFERENCE Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme Comprehensive Gaza and West Bank Programme Review (October 2023 present) Issued by Humanitarian Action Team, SOS Childrens Villages International Reference PAL-2026-EVAL Date of issue 22 April 2026 Status Open call for applications Geographic focus State of Palestine Gaza and West Bank Evaluation period covered October 2023 present (ongoing programme) Assignment duration June 2026 Sep 2026 Application deadline 22 May 2026 1. Background and Context SOS Childrens Villages Palestine (SOS CV Palestine), a member of the SOS Childrens Villages International (SOS CVI) Federation, has delivered child-focused programming in Palestine since 1968. Its multi-location presence combines alternative care, family strengthening, and community empowerment. Following the escalation of the conflict in October 2023, SOS CV Palestine launched a large-scale Emergency Response Programme which has since become one of the largest humanitarian responses within the SOS CVI Federation. Between October 2023 and December 2025, programme expenditure exceeded EUR 7 million, with the overall budget approaching EUR 8 million through the end of 2026. By the end of 2025, the programme had reached over 72,000 participants and is projected to reach close to 100,000 participants by the end of 2026. The response has encompassed a broad portfolio of interventions across Gaza including: multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA); temporary shelter support for internally displaced persons (IDPs); distribution of food parcels, supplementary food packages, and dignity kits; Education in Emergencies (EiE) and remedial classes; Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) through individual, group, and family counselling; recreational and psychosocial activities for children and caregivers care and protection services for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) in dedicated shelters; health awareness-raising activities; and broader resilience-strengthening initiatives for vulnerable households. These humanitarian interventions are complementary to the core mandate of SOS CV Palestine, which centres on alternative care for children who have lost, or are at risk of losing, parental care, alongside family strengthening and community empowerment. SOS CV Palestine operates a dedicated Emergency Response Unit of approximately 50 staff, complemented by personnel deployed through community-based organisations (CBOs). The Unit supports humanitarian operations in Gaza with overall coordination provided by the National Office. A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework is in place, supported by an M&E Advisor and an M&E Officer based in Gaza. The programme is funded through a mix of SOS CVI Member Associations and institutional donors. Contributing Member Associations include SOS Childrens Villages Austria, Sweden, Norway, Tunisia, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Poland, together with Childrens Villages Worldwide (CVW). Institutional donors include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, the Dutch Relief Alliance, UNICEF, and the Akelius Foundation, among others. Programme operations are structured around the following sectors: Child Protection in Emergencies. Basic Needs delivered through Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA); Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS); Accommodation and Shelter Support. Education in Emergencies (EiE); Alternative Care and family empowerment for unaccompanied and separated children. Due to the deteriorating security environment, no field visits to Gaza have been conducted by national or international teams during the implementation period, and visits to the West Bank have been limited. Coordination has been sustained through remote monitoring, regular narrative and financial reporting (monthly or quarterly, depending on the project), and routine review meetings. These constraints, combined with the scale, duration, and continued expansion of the response, make a comprehensive external evaluation both timely and necessary. SOS Childrens Villages International is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation operating in over 130 countries and territories, working to protect and care for children without parental care or at risk of losing it. 2. Purpose, Scope and Intended Use of the Evaluation Overall Focus of the Evaluation The overarching focus of this evaluation is to conduct a comprehensive, independent, and evidence-based review of the entire SOSCV Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme in Gaza and the West Bank covering all past and ongoing emergency projects and related operations implemented since October 2023 with the primary forward-looking objective of identifying and recommending the best strategic and operational options for scaling up of the humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank (emergency relief, recovery and stabilisation) The evaluation is therefore expected to deliver two interdependent outputs: (i) a retrospective programme review capturing the full portfolio delivered since October 2023, identifying what worked, what did not, and why considering subsequent adjustments and the approved plans; and (ii) a forward-looking options analysis setting out concrete, prioritised, and risk-informed pathways for the expansion of the Gaza and West Bank humanitarian response. 2.1 Purpose The purpose of the evaluation is to: Provide an objective, evidence-based assessment of the performance, impact, and processes of the Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme since October 2023, covering programmatic, operational, financial, and governance dimensions; Generate structured learning on the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of the response, with particular attention to the constraints of operating without sustained in-person field access; Identify, assess, and prioritise strategic and operational options for accelerated scaling up of the Gaza and West Bank response in a principled, sustainable, and risk-informed manner. 2.2 Intended Use The findings and recommendations of the evaluation are intended to inform: Decision-making by SOS CV Palestine, contributing partners (PSAs), and SOS CVI at International Office (IO) level regarding programmatic adjustments, resource allocation, and governance of the Gaza response. The design of the next-generation humanitarian architecture that fits the evolving fragile context, including partnership and implementation modalities for scale-up in Gaza; Dialogue with institutional donors, the broader SOS CVI Federation, and external coordination platforms on the positioning and capacity of SOS CVI in Palestine; Updating of existing Humanitarian Appeals and related overall Gaza response plans facilitated by the Humanitarian Action Team (HAT) and IDS to be reflected on 2027 plans and onwards. 2.3 Scope of the Evaluation Temporal scope The evaluation shall cover the period from October 2023 to the date of data collection. It shall also include a forward-looking analysis covering the remainder of 2026 and the period immediately beyond, sufficient to inform scale-up decisions. Geographic scope The evaluation shall cover all areas of programme implementation in Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Gaza Strip is the primary geographic focus, with the West Bank included in scope to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme, in line with the overall objective of informing accelerated scale-up. Programmatic scope The evaluation shall cover all emergency projects implemented under the Palestine Humanitarian Response Programme since October 2023, across all donor streams and all sectors listed in Section 1, together with the enabling operations that support them including procurement, finance, M&E, human resources, safety and security, partnerships, coordination, and governance. 3. Evaluation Criteria and Key Lines of Enquiry The evaluation will be guided by internationally recognised criteria, in particular the OECD-DAC criteria for evaluating humanitarian action (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, coverage, and connectedness), complemented by reference to ALNAP guidance (Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action), the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), and relevant IASC quality standards (Inter-Agency Standing Committee). The methodology shall integrate remote key informant interviews, desk review, and field visits, with clear triangulation across sources. The evaluator shall develop a full evaluation matrix in the Inception Report. The following areas are considered priority lines of enquiry. 3.1 Programmatic Performance and Quality The extent to which Child Protection interventions are delivered in line with the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action; Whether safeguarding, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), and feedback and complaints mechanisms are functional and aligned with sector standards; The clarity, transparency, and consistency of participant selection and targeting, including the effectiveness of communication with affected populations; The coherence of the M&E system across projects, the harmonisation of tools, the quality of data generated, and the extent to which findings inform decision-making; The likelihood of achieving stated objectives and outcomes; The adequacy of capacity, roles, responsibilities, and resources to deliver quality programming across sectors including operational and programmatic cost efficiency. The quality of remote and in-perso Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4211605/external-evaluation-consultancy-palestine-humanitarian-response-programme
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