**ABOUT SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL**

Solidarités International (SI) is a French humanitarian NGO, independent of any political, economic, ethnic or religious affiliation. For over 40 years, SI has been providing humanitarian assistance to populations affected by armed conflict and natural disasters by addressing their vital needs in water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH), food security and livelihoods, and shelter, while strengthening communities’ resilience. SI is particularly committed to the fight against water-borne diseases, through its expertise in access to safe drinking water, sanitation infrastructure and hygiene promotion. SI operates in more than 27 countries, supporting close to 5 million people, with a workforce of approximately 3,200 staff, including national and international staff and headquarters-based personnel.

In Syria, SI implements integrated, multi-sectoral responses combining emergency and early-recovery approaches to improve access to safe and sustainable basic services. The organization delivers WASH services including water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, hygiene promotion and rehabilitation of water and sewage infrastructure, alongside household- and collective-level shelter rehabilitation using contractor-based, cash-based or in-kind modalities, depending on context and feasibility.

SI’s interventions respond to ongoing population movements and the progressive transition from camp-based living toward more durable housing solutions, particularly in Northwest and Central Syria, while also addressing acute needs in Northeast Syria (NES). A flexible, vulnerability-based approach is applied, prioritizing women-headed households, persons with disabilities and other groups at heightened risk.

Across all locations, SI integrates protection considerations, environmental mitigation measures and sustainability principles into program design and implementation, including the use of solar pumping solutions, sanitation network rehabilitation, environmentally responsible shelter repairs, hygiene promotion, and operation and maintenance capacity building. Environmental risk mitigation is informed by NEAT+, while monitoring and community engagement contribute to improved public health outcomes and strengthened community resilience.

The project is implemented through a consortium led by SI, in partnership with INTERSOS (Protection lead) and local partners IYD and EPA supporting WASH implementation and technical activities.

INTERSOS is an independent, non-profit humanitarian organization founded in Italy in 1992. It responds to complex crises caused by armed conflict, natural disasters, and situations of prolonged vulnerability. INTERSOS works to guarantee protection and access to essential services for people affected by humanitarian crises, contributing to the safeguarding of fundamental rights and the strengthening of individual and community resilience.

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, INTERSOS has been active in the Middle East, providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan.

In Syria, INTERSOS has been operating since 2019 across five governorates, including Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Idlib, and Rural Damascus, and strengthening its humanitarian intervention in the governorates of Hama, Idlib, and Rural Damascus. Moreover, INTERSOS sectors of intervention in Syria are Protection, Health, Livelihood, and Education.

**ABOUT THE MISSION**

At the moment of implementation of the project Syria continued to face a deepening humanitarian crisis following more than fourteen years of conflict, further aggravated by escalations in late 2024. By the end of November 2024, over 800,000 people were newly displaced, many of whom are long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs who have experienced multiple displacement cycles. Repeated displacement, combined with widespread infrastructure destruction, economic collapse, and limited access to basic services, has significantly eroded household coping capacities and increased reliance on harmful coping mechanisms. According to the multi-sectoral assessments supporting this project, rising costs, fuel shortages, lack of income opportunities, and constrained access to electricity, water, and essential services are key drivers of vulnerability across affected communities.

Protection risks remain pervasive across all targeted locations. Children face heightened exposure to child labour, neglect, abuse, and exploitation, while lack or loss of civil documentation continues to limit access to services, including education, and exacerbates risks of school dropout and GBV. Gender-based violence—particularly intimate partner violence, early and forced marriage, and sexual abuse—remains a critical concern, alongside significant unmet needs for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). UXO contamination affects all target areas, with particularly high risks reported in several sub-districts, further constraining safe movement and access to services.

In Northwest Syria, political developments and ongoing insecurity since December 2024 have triggered new population movements and intensified socio-economic stress. Assessments in Aleppo, Idleb, and Hama highlight increasing difficulties in meeting basic needs, driven by fuel shortages, volatile food and NFI prices, and limited cash availability. Water supply systems remain damaged or underfunded, forcing many households to rely on costly water trucking. Sanitation and solid waste management systems are largely dysfunctional, contributing to environmental degradation and public health risks. Shelter needs are substantial, particularly in former frontline areas, where housing damage and lack of available accommodation force displaced households to remain in tents or unsafe structures.

In Northeast Syria, renewed hostilities and the MOC offensive led to the displacement of approximately 45,000 people into emergency collective centres (ECCs) by mid-December. As of April 2025, ECCs remain overcrowded, with limited movement intentions and continued reliance on life-saving assistance. WaSH and shelter conditions in ECCs and informal settlements are critically inadequate, with widespread lack of sanitation facilities, solid waste management, and basic shelter components. Damage to major water and energy infrastructure—including pumping stations and dams—has disrupted access to water and electricity for hundreds of thousands of people. Environmental risks linked to water scarcity, degraded infrastructure, and poor waste management further compound vulnerabilities, underscoring the urgent need for integrated WaSH, shelter, and protection interventions.

**PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTATION - ABOUT THE MARKET**

## Purpose of the evaluation

The purpose of the final external evaluation is to assess the intervention implemented by Solidarités International and its partners in Northeast, Northwest and Central Syria against the OECD DAC evaluation criteria. Specifically, the evaluation will examine the relevance of the intervention in relation to identified needs, the effectiveness and efficiency of its implementation, its impact on conflict- and displacement-affected populations, and the sustainability of achieved results. The evaluation will assess the extent to which the intervention has responded to contextual dynamics, achieved its intended outcomes, and contributed to improved conditions for affected communities.

In Aleppo, Idleb and Hama governorates, the evaluation will place particular emphasis on the effectiveness, coherence and partnership functioning, assessing coordination mechanisms between SI and its partners. Particular attention will be given to the functionality and efficiency of beneficiary referral pathways between SI and INTERSOS. The evaluation will also contribute to strengthened accountability to the donor and support organisational learning by generating evidence-based lessons to inform future programming and partnership models.

## scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation will cover the full duration of the Action and all geographical areas of intervention, including Northwest Syria, Northeast Syria, and Central Syria, and will assess activities implemented across the WASH, Shelter, and Protection sectors. The scope will be finalized during project implementation, taking into account the activities actually implemented, evolving contextual dynamics, and identified learning and capitalization priorities.

The evaluation will be conducted after the completion of the project, with the final evaluation report submitted no later than three months after the end of the Action, in line with donor requirements.

**TIMETABLE FOR THE CONSULTATION**

**Task and/or deliverable**

**Timeline (approximate, to be confirmed)**

**Final Selection of the Consultant/ Consulting agency**

Beginning of April 2026

**Start of the consultancy**

Mid - April 2026

**Kick of meeting with Si team**

April 2026

**Inception report (including detailed data collection methodology and plan, data collection tools)**

April 2026

**Tool development and Validation**

April 2026

**Start of data collection**

April 2026

**Data cleaning and preliminary analysis**

April 2026

**Preliminary findings presentation**

May 2026

**Draft report writing**

May 2026

**SI feedback on draft report**

May 2026

**Final Report Submisison +PPP with most essential findings**

End of May 2026

**TERMS OF REFERENCE**

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**REQUIRED PROFILE**

In general, the evaluation consultant or consulting firm is expected to demonstrate the following qualifications:

- Proven experience in external evaluations and/or learning assessments of humanitarian interventions, preferably in Northwest, Northeast, and/or Central Syria, or comparable complex and protracted crisis contexts;
- Demonstrated experience evaluating WASH and Shelter interventions, including infrastructure rehabilitation, water supply systems, sanitation services, shelter repairs, and collective centre upgrades, as well as Protection programming, such as protection monitoring, case management, GBV response, child protection, and MHPSS referral mechanisms;
- Familiarity with assessing multi-sectoral and complementary interventions, including analysis of coordination, referral pathways, protection mainstreaming, and cross-sector coherence in humanitarian responses;
- Ability to assess effectiveness, relevance, impact, and sustainability, including technical quality, operational performance, and adaptability of interventions in resource-constrained and volatile environments;
- Strong expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods data collection and analysis, including triangulation of data from multiple sources (program data, beneficiary feedback, partner inputs, and field observations), with sound understanding of data protection and ethical standards;
- Experience conducting evaluations under remote or partially remote management arrangements, including coordination with field teams, partners, and local actors across different geographic locations and organizational structures;
- Excellent command of English, with strong analytical writing and synthesis skills suitable for donor-facing evaluation reports;
- Working knowledge of Arabic is a strong asset;
- Demonstrated capacity to coordinate or supervise evaluation activities across multiple governorates in Syria, either through direct access or through structured remote support, partner facilitation, and locally based data collection mechanisms.