Evaluation Consultant for Terminal Evaluation of Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Promoting a sustainable agriculture and food sector at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

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 Manual , the 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 and the main project partners.
• Therefore, the Evaluation 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 PROJECT  

• The project objective of the European Union Partnership Instrument (EUPI) grant “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Promoting a sustainable agriculture and food sector” (TEEB AgriFood) was to enhance biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provisioning for agricultural landscapes for the seven countries in scope (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand).
• The grant aimed to protect biodiversity and contribute to a more sustainable agriculture and food sector with a view to moving towards a level playing field by avoiding unfair competition through low environmental standards.  

THE EVALUATION TEAM  

• For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Consultant will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Project Manager, Fund Management Officer and the Subprogramme Coordinator of the Nature for Action Subprogramme (formerly known as Healthy and Productive Ecosystems).  

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES  

• In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for the overall management of the Evaluation and timely provision of its outputs, data collection and analysis and report-writing.
• More specifically:  Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:
• preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff; 
• Draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project; 
• Prepare the evaluation framework;
• Develop the desk review and interview protocols;  
• Draft the survey protocols (if relevant); 
• Develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission;
• Plan the evaluation schedule;
• Prepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager  Data collection and analysis phase of the Evaluation, including:  
• Conduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders;  
• (where appropriate and agreed) conduct an evaluation mission(s) to selected countries, visit the project locations, interview project partners and stakeholders, including a good representation of local communities.
• Ensure independence of the Evaluation and confidentiality of evaluation interviews.
• Regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and;
• Keep the Project Manager informed of the evaluation progress.  

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 12 years of technical/evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach required;  
• A good/broad understanding of biodiversity and sustainable resource management is required;  
• A good/broad understanding of food systems and sustainable agriculture is desirable.  
• 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.

Deadline : Jul 3, 2024