Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO strives to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
To this end, FAO implements a wide portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives across multiple sectors, including fisheries, forestry, animal production and health, land and water, plant production and protection, inclusive rural development, food and nutrition, food systems and safety, social protection, information management systems / data systems for monitoring and decision making, and others. FAO has a growing portfolio of work in the development and humanitarian (emergency and resilience interventions) sectors. FAO conducts its work through a skilled technical workforce and internal and external partnerships.
FAO evaluates the strategic alignment, implementation, efficacy, and efficiency of its portfolio of work through its independent Office of Evaluation (OED), which is led by a director who reports to the FAO Governing Bodies and to the Director-General. OED evaluates FAO strategies, initiatives, programmes, and projects at the global, regional, and national levels. OED seeks to generate credible and useful evidence and insights to inform decisions, support oversight, and help FAO achieve its mission. In so doing, OED provides results accountability to both member nations and the Director-General. OED also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development and humanitarian effectiveness by the UN system.
OED is launching a series of different evaluations in East Africa, more specifically:
–    In Uganda:
o    Evaluation of FAO’s work in Uganda from 2018 to 2024,
o    Final evaluation of two key FAO projects: “Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) and Scaling up Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in Uganda” (GCP/UGA/054/EC); and “Climate Resilient Livelihood Opportunities for Women Economic Empowerment (CRWEE) Project in Karamoja and West Nile Regions of Uganda” (GCP/UGA/055/SWE).
–    In South Sudan:
o    final evaluation of project “Improving resilient livelihoods through food and nutrition security of vulnerable communities, especially women-headed households in Wau and Torit Counties of South Sudan” (OSRO/SSD/110/SWE); and
o    final evaluation project titled “Fisher Community Resilience Enhancement Project” (OSRO/SSD/906/NET).

OED is seeking qualified expert consultants, with demonstrated evaluation experience and a background in sectors related to FAO’s areas of work in Uganda, South Sudan, and the overall East African region to join the evaluation team.
In particular, OED is looking for consultants with expertise in evaluation and at least one of the following areas:
•    Agrifood systems (including agribusiness and agrifood value chain development) and policy support;
•    Animal health (including transboundary animal disease management);
•    Social inclusion (youth, gender, refugees, IDPs, vulnerable groups, etc.);
•    Natural resources management including climate change mitigation and adaptation ;
•    Private sector engagement;
•    Digitalization and innovation in agriculture (knowledge of the Farmer Field School approach is required);
•    Fisheries:
•    Emergency, resilience and early warning.

Candidates should have not been involved in the design, implementation or backstopping of FAO’s projects in Uganda and South Sudan.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision and close guidance of the Evaluation Managers responsible for the specific evaluation and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Technical Focus

Uganda

FAO’s collaboration with Uganda is guided by the priorities set out in the Country Programming Framework (CPF), a document jointly developed by FAO and the Government. The current CPF identifies three priority areas for cooperation, namely:
•    Priority 1: Food security, nutrition and health outcomes improved
•    Priority 2: Climate resilience and sustainable natural resource management
•    Priority 3: Inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic growth
The results of this exercise will contribute to the formulation of FAO’s next Country Programming Framework in Uganda.

South Sudan

The “Fisher Community Resilience Enhancement Project” (OSRO/SSD/906/NET) is a four year long project that aims to increase the resilience of fisherfolk in South Sudan and the availability of fish to South Sudan’s population, both in volume and quality. It is funded by the Netherlands and was linked to the 2019 Humanitarian Appeal. Project OSRO/SSD/110/SWE, as the title suggests is supporting the improvement of livelihoods of vulnerable communities in Torit and Wau Counties. It is a 3 year long project, funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and linked to the 2021 Humanitarian Appeal. The two are key buildings blocks of FAO’s Resilience Strategy in South Sudan.
The purpose of these evaluations is formative, to assess FAO’s work and provide feedback to help improve programming, making future efforts more impactful and relevant to the needs of the country. The objectives are to assess the Organization’s strategic positioning and its contributions to identified priorities in the country.
The evaluation will be conducted between May and December 2024, with field visits tentatively scheduled for August and September 2024 in Uganda and in the case of South Sudan, field visits are tentatively planned for October 2024.

Tasks and responsibilities (for each evaluation):

•    Review documents concerning FAO’s activities relating to their areas of expertise.
•    Contribute to the development of the evaluation methodology and tools, such as evaluation matrix, checklists and data collection tools.
•    Participate actively in the collection of primary data through face-to-face or virtual interviews with FAO concerned officers and stakeholders including government, other UN agencies, resource partners, civil society and the private sector, as appropriate.
•    Collect and analyse secondary data through research and reviews of documents on FAO’s work and studies conducted by other entities in sectors and areas of work that are relevant to FAO’s mandate
•    Participate in institutional visits and field missions to selected project sites to meet with stakeholders at the different level (central and decentralised).
•    Consolidate and analyse information collected.
•    Contribute to all evaluation products and deliverables, including drafting sections of the evaluation report according to specifications provided by OED, as appropriate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluations, agriculture economics, environmental sciences, fisheries, natural resource management, crop science, biological control, animal disease control and/or veterinary medicine.
•    A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience (in evaluation or respective field of specialization.
•    Working knowledge (Proficiency level) of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian or Arabic). For PSA.SBS working, excellent knowledge of English is sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Excellent writing skills and able to communicate with different audiences
•    Previous experience in conducting/taking part in (independent) strategic-level evaluations.
•    Strong stakeholder engagement and interviewing skills.
•    Demonstrated experience of working in East Africa and/or of conducting evaluations in the country.
•    Excellent knowledge of the country contexts (Uganda or South Sudan respectively) would be desirable.