Result of Service

The consultant will submit two concise evaluation reports.

Work Location

Home-Based

Expected duration

6 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

ORGANIZATION SETTING The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. This consultancy is located at Headquarters in the Evaluation Office which reports directly to the Executive Director. The consultant reports to the Evaluation Manager and the Director of the Evaluation Office. THE EVALUATION In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme and Project Management Manual , a terminal evaluation is undertaken at operational completion of the project to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The Evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote operational improvement, learning and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UNEP, Executing Partners and other project stakeholders. Therefore, these evaluations will identify lessons of operational relevance for future project formulation and implementation, especially where a second phase of the project is being considered. Recommendations relevant to the whole house may also be identified during the evaluation process. THE PROJECTS 1) UNEP project “Support Program for Watershed Management through Strengthening Sustainable Value Chains in the Department of the South, Haiti” (UNEP PIMS ID 02013) The South department of Haiti houses highly vulnerable ecosystems and biodiversity both on land and in the sea. However, there is currently little capacity within the government, and local communities, to manage these vulnerable sites and maintain their ecosystem services. Therefore, the project objective was “to improve ecosystems management through sustainable agroforestry and livelihoods, improved land and watershed management in the cultivation of key value chains, and through strengthened environmental governance, in Southern Haiti.” 2) UNEP/GEF project Generating Enhanced Political Will for Natural Resource Management and Conservation (GEF 9678) “Generating Enhanced Political Will for Natural Resource Management and Conservation” was a five-year project implemented with GEF funding in Colombia, Mexico and Peru from Dec. 2016 till Sept. 2021. The project’s high-level objective was ‘to create and strengthen conservation caucuses of members in the national congresses of Colombia, Mexico, and Peru to build political will for enhanced management of natural resources for development and conservation’ (PIR, 2021). THE EVALUATION TEAM For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of an Evaluation Consultant who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Project/Task Manager, Fund Management Officer and the Sub-programme Coordinators or the substantive projects. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES UNEP PIMS ID 02013 (VALUE CHAINS) Data collection and analysis phase, including: • conduct desk review of available secondary data and conduct interviews with the project team, partners and stakeholders, to the extent possible; • ensure independence of the evaluation and confidentiality of interviews; and • regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered. Reporting phase, including: • draft the Final Performance Assessment report, ensuring that, to the extent feasible, it is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation Office guidelines both in substance and style; • liaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the report, ensuring that all review comments have been sufficiently taken into account; and • prepare a Response to Comments annex for the report, listing any comments partially/not accepted by the Consultant and indicating the reason for this. GEF 9678 – “POLLITICAL WILL” Reporting phase, including: • draft the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that the evaluation report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation Manager guidelines both in substance and style; • liaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that comments are taken into account until approved by the Evaluation Manager • prepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted by the Evaluation Consultant and indicating the reason for the rejection; and • (where agreed with the Evaluation Manager) prepare an Evaluation Brief (2-page summary of the evaluand and the key evaluation findings and lessons) Managing relations, including: • maintain a positive relationship with evaluation stakeholders, ensuring that the evaluation process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence; • communicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention. The Evaluation Consultant shall have had no prior involvement in the formulation or implementation of the project and will be independent from the participating institutions. The consultant will sign the Evaluation Consultant Code of Conduct Agreement Form. The Evaluation Consultant will be selected and recruited by the UNEP Evaluation Office through an individual consultancy contract. Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with the consultant separately.

Qualifications/special skills

A first level university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required and an advanced degree in the same areas is desirable. A minimum of 9 years of technical / evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach; A good/broad understanding of ecosystems management. Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is an added advantage

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement and proficiency in /knowledge of French is desirable.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.