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.

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching a Midterm evaluation of the $40 million Nepal Green Climate Fund (GCF) project. This will assess progress over the first four years of this seven-year project and inform the priorities and direction of the final phase (up to 2027).

OED is seeking qualified specialists, with demonstrated evaluation experience in Nepal and a background in sectors related to FAO’s areas of work in this project to join the Midterm Evaluation team. Applications are sought for the following roles:
•    Senior Evaluation consultant (lead consultant)
•    Evaluators bringing experience of watershed management, environment & forestry management in Nepal (team members)
The project was designed to promote widespread adoption of climate-resilient land use practices, confront the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation, better maintain the forest ecosystem in the Churia hills, and build resilience to climate-induced hazards. In addition, the project is intended to build the capacities of governments, communities, and other stakeholders to better understand and respond to climate risks and scale up much needed support after project closure.

Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation:

The main purpose of the Nepal BRCRN Midterm Evaluation is to capture progress on the first 4 years of the project and inform course corrections for the reaming project period. The main objectives of the evaluation are to:
•    Evaluate progress to date across the key areas of intervention within the BRCRN project.
•    Identify key areas for course correction to improve the BRCRN delivery of results.
•    Identify good practices and learning opportunities arising from this intervention.
•    Post-project sustainability considerations have been embedded at all three levels to ensure beneficiaries continue managing natural resources in a climate resilient and sustainable manner, to enable key actors to scale up support (and thus benefit) additional beneficiaries and continue driving the process of transformation.

The evaluation will be conducted between June 2024 and February 2025. In country capital city consultations and field visits to selected provinces will be carried out during the September-October period.

Candidates should have not been involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of this project in Nepal.

Reporting Lines

The evaluators will work with close guidance of the evaluation manager, and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Job Summary:

The Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal (BRCRN) project was conceived as a direct contribution to Nepal´s nationally determined contribution (NDC). Its interventions are at three levels to catalyze change in the way land, forests and other natural resources are managed and set in motion a sectoral transformation from a climate-vulnerable to a climate-resilient, lower-emissions and sustainable development pathway for the Churia region:
•    Support integrated river system-level planning among sub-national government, community-based organizations (CBOs) and other partners, and strengthen their capacities to monitor natural resources and climate change impacts to inform future planning and investment decisions;
•    Support CBOs to directly adopt and invest in climate-resilient sustainable natural resource management approaches; and
•    Strengthen extension services and awareness to support sustained and widespread adoption of project promoted practices.

Responsibilities

•    Contribute to the evaluation in their areas of expertise.
•    For the senior specialists: Lead on finalizing the evaluation process and data collection processes, management and documentation.
•    Developing and pre-testing methods including surveys, and other evaluation data collection tools.
•    Briefing and task setting for the technical survey teams.
•    Co-authoring key deliverables: inception report, draft and final reports, presentations
•    For other specialists: Analysis of current and (as far as possible) projected government policies and priorities on key watershed and forestry-related areas.
•    Leading on tool development for watershed primary data collection.
•    Lead on community level data collection and consultations. Lead on desk review of secondary data relating to riverine and watershed management or natural resources/forestry.
•    Be responsible for conducting the evaluation and contributing to the development of the methodology in consultation with
and under the supervision of OED.
•    Participate in information sessions, surveys, field visits and will support OED in writing the final evaluation report.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluation, governance, Natural Resources Management, Watersheds, Forestry, environmental studies, social sciences
•    A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above
•    For PSA.SBS only working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Ideally previous experience of GCF project reviews or evaluations
•    Expertise in the following areas: Natural Resource Management, Forestry and Watersheds, Climate Change and Adaptation at community level – forestry groups, farmers, Sustainable agricultural production and rural revitalization, Gender and social inclusion, Governance and policy frameworks related to these sectors.
•    Previous experience in conducting/taking part in (independent) evaluations of major projects.
•    Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation skills and interviewing skills
•    Demonstrated relevant experience of working in Nepal and/or of conducting evaluations in the country or in similar contexts.
•    Demonstrated experience in evaluation: experience in designing and conducting surveys, evaluation interviews and focus group discussions. Knowledge of participatory evaluation techniques is strongly desired.
•    Excellent report writing skills.
•    Knowledge of the context in Nepal

REQUIRED EDUCATION Bachelor’s Degree
WORK HOURS: 8 Hours a Day
EXPERIENCE IN MONTHS: 60