Result of Service

The consultant will conclude his/her responsibilities when the Final Review Report is successfully delivered and accepted by the UNEP Project Manager.

Work Location

Remote – Home based

Expected duration

2 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment (UN Environment) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment”. 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. UN Environment’s Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), seeks to capture, and establish new approaches for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands – linking science to practice and policy making. The four peat-rich tropical countries of Indonesia, Peru, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the pilot countries of the Global Peatlands Initiative. Due to the enormous amounts of carbon, they hold and the catastrophic consequences their drainage and degradation has generated in the past, a commitment by over 40 partners and tropical peatland countries to work together to halt the further destruction of peatlands is gaining international attention. Partners are sharing their knowledge and experience to promote healthy peatlands through their restoration and conservation as one of the fastest ways to tackle the climate crisis. In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme Manual, this assignment is intended for the Terminal Review (TR) of the “Global Peatlands Initiative: Assessing, Measuring and Preserving Peat Carbon” project. This position will focus on assessing the project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. This assignment is in the Biodiversity and Land Branch of the Ecosystems Division in the Nairobi duty station and reports to the Coordinator of the Global Peatlands Initiative. The Review Consultant will be responsible, in close consultation with the UNEP Project Manager, for overall quality of the review and timely delivery of its outputs. The Review Consultant will ensure that all review criteria and questions are adequately covered. The UNEP Project Manager will provide additional guidance, resources, tools, and templates on the structure and contents of the main review report. Under the direct supervision of the Coordinator of the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), the consultant will lead the Terminal Review of the GPI Project, with the following specific duties: 1. Provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements • Review project findings, based on sound evidence and analysis (verifying information from different sources), and clearly document them in a Review Report. • Identify what contributed to the achievement of the project’s results, going beyond the assessment of “what” the project performance was and make a serious effort to provide a deeper understanding of “why” the performance was as it was. • Work closely with the GPI team to identify key strategic questions of interest to UNEP and the GPI team where the project is believed to have made a substantive contribution. • Liaise with the UNEP Project Manager on any procedural and methodological matters related to the Review, and plan meetings with stakeholders, organize online surveys, obtain documentary evidence and any other logistical matters related to the assignment. 2. Promote operational improvement, learning and knowledge sharing • Promote improvement through results and lessons learned among GPI key partners: UNEP, FAO, Greifswald Mire Centre (represented by partners DUENE e.V. and Michael Succow Foundation), UNEP-WCMC, CIFOR, David Suzuki Foundation, among others. • Identify lessons of operational relevance for future project formulation and implementation, especially for future phases of the project. • Reflect on learning by UNEP staff and key project stakeholders, considering how reflection and learning can be promoted, both through the review process and in the communication of review findings and key lessons. • Clear and concise writing is required on all review deliverables. • Organize some or all of the following to communicate the key review findings and lessons: webinars, conference calls with relevant stakeholders, preparation of review briefs, interactive presentations, etc. 3. Lead and coordinate the preparation of reports: • Preliminary Findings Note: typically in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, the sharing of preliminary findings is intended to support the participation of the project team, act as a means to ensure all information sources have been accessed and provide an opportunity to verify emerging findings. • Draft and Final Review Report: containing an Executive Summary that can act as a stand-alone document; detailed analysis of the review findings organised by review criteria and supported with evidence; lessons learned and recommendations for the next phase of the project and an annotated ratings table. • A review brief (a 2-page overview of the evaluand and review findings) for wider dissemination through the UNEP website.

Qualifications/special skills

A Masters degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. A minimum of 5 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 the triple planetary crisis Climate Change, biodiversity loss and pollution is desired

Languages

English, French, and Spanish are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement. However, because the 4 pilot countries of the Global Peatlands Initiative (Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Peru and Republic of Congo) include French and Spanish speaking countries, knowledge of French and Spanish is highly desirable. Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is an added advantage.

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.