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 target countries. 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 Over the past five decades, the global population has doubled, and the global output has grown fourfold, accompanied by the unprecedented extraction of natural resources. This economic growth has been characterized by rapid industrialization and urbanization and underpinned by large-scale infrastructure development. The development itself has been driven by linear economic models that follow a ‘take, make, dispose’ pathway, with severe implications for the environment and human health: poor air and water quality and increased exposure to toxic chemicals have triggered public health crises in some parts of the world; ecosystem degradation and climate change could provoke severe food insecurity; and changing and extreme weather might be followed by economic decline and human displacement. The underlying causes of this current situation are multi-fold, but include information, knowledge and capacity gaps facing policymakers in many countries. Such gaps limit the uptake of inclusive green economy approaches. Policy makers often lack information on green economy pathways and are often unaware of the existing tools and approaches that can support inclusive green economy transitions. At the same time, when they are aware, they do not have the institutional and technical capacity to put in place specific policies and integrated strategies to manage this transition. Furthermore, in many cases they lack the practical tools to assess the cross-sectoral impacts of inclusive green economy policy options and to monitor and evaluate the implementation and impact of such policies that have been adopted at the country level. To address the above challenge, the Supporting Inclusive Green Economy Approaches to Sustainable Development project (PIMS 2095) was designed and implemented to engage with policymakers, particularly in developing countries, to equip them with the necessary knowledge, tools and institutional capacities to implement inclusive green economy approaches. The project sought to pilot-test tools, methodologies and advisory services that could then be taken up by established partnerships or platforms, such as the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) or the Global Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP), in key areas that are crucial for a green economy transformation, namely: sustainable infrastructure investment, and economic, trade, fiscal and social policies. 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 Sub-programme Coordinator for Finance and Economic Transformations. 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: 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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). 4. 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 a consultancy contract. Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with the consultant separately.
Qualifications/special skills
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. A first level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in the same areas in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. A minimum of ten (10) 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 inclusive green growth is desirable. Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.
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.
