Evaluation Specialist 1 for Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF project ”Piloting Innovative Investments for Sustainable Landscapes” (GEF ID 9719) and UNEP Land Use Finance Project (PIMS 2009)

Result of Service

The Evaluation Team will submit a concise evaluation report.

Work Location

Home-Based

Expected duration

9 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 PROJECTS GEF 9719 Forests are a vital natural resource, covering approximately 31% of global land surface and storing at least 289 gigatonnes of carbon.13 More than 1.5 billion people depend directly on forest for their livelihoods, but about 7.6 million ha of tropical forest are lost every year. The project objective was “proving the &Green Fund’s ‘Production- Protection- Inclusion’ approach to commodity investments” by de-risking commercial financing of deforestation-free land use. The project aimed to transform finance and business models in mainstream markets, such that they could sustain land use practices in which the increased production of agro-commodities would contribute to the protection of forests and the inclusion of smallholders and forest communities in the economy for a long period of time, which the project defined as Produce, Protect, and Include (PPI) by building a de-risking finance facility, develop a pipeline for investments and test it by investing in selected landscapes. PIMS 2009 Forests and agriculture hold more than 30% of the climate change solution in terms of providing the most cost-effective forms of mitigation potential. However, they currently receive around 3% of public climate finance. The Project aimed to play a constructive and proactive role in better aligning the demands and actions of public and private stakeholders. Best practice examples (“blueprints” of novel land use finance models) would be communicated to the finance and agricultural value chain with the aim of greater uptake and ultimately mainstreaming across relevant sectors. This UNEP Project was designed to have several initiatives, including the set up of complimentary finance facilities, that each would address a major barrier to scaling up public and private finance for sustainable commodity production. THE EVALUATION In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme and Project Management 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 relevant partners of the UNEP/GEF project ”Piloting Innovative Investments for Sustainable Landscapes” and the UNEP “Land Use Finance” Project. 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 EVALUATION TEAM The Evaluation Team will consist of a Principal Evaluator and two Evaluation Specialists who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in liaison with the Director of the Evaluation Office, in consultation with the Project Task Manager and Focal Point for the Evaluations, and Fund Management Officers in Ecosystems Division, and the Sub-programme Coordinator of Nature Action (formerly Healthy and productive ecosystems). SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EVALUATION SPECIALIST 1 Specific Responsibilities for the Evaluation Specialists: The Evaluation Specialist 1, a data specialist, will make substantive and high-quality contributions to the evaluation process and outputs. The evaluation team consultants will ensure together that all evaluation criteria and questions are adequately covered. Responsibilities of the Evaluation Team during the main phases of the evaluation pertain to: Inception phase of the Evaluation, including: a. preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff; b. draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project; c. prepare the evaluation framework; d. develop the desk review and interview protocols; e. draft the survey protocols (if relevant); f. develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission; g. plan the evaluation schedule; h. prepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager Data collection and analysis phase of the Evaluation, including: i. conduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders; j. (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. k. regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and; l. keep the Project Manager informed of the evaluation progress. Reporting phase, including: m. 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; n. 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 o. 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 p. (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: q. 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; r. communicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention. The work will be home-based with possible field visits. The Evaluation Specialist 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 Specialist 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 five years of technical/monitoring/evaluation experience is required and a broad understanding of sustainable environmental management is required. Degree in or professional experience in statistics is desired. 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 French, Spanish and/or Portuguese 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.