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 PROJECT Public and private sectors lack the finance, evidence, political support, the know-how and the technical capacity to implement ecosystem restoration initiatives at the scale required. With nearly two thirds of the population due to live in cities by 2050, the disconnect between urban and natural environments is set to grow further. Significant work is being done on natural ecosystem restoration (natural regeneration), including in protected areas, but the restoration movements need to be broadened into urban areas as well. In terms of finance, because Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is a new concept, it does not appear in labour statistics, or in information about finance flow. An under development conceptual framework intends to facilitate how the concept of decent work can be applied to NbS. Around the world, there have been a few ‘first mover’ cities and regions that have led the charge on ecosystem restoration, integrating nature and NbS into city planning and urban development. There is, however, a need to build on the momentum developed by these ‘first movers’. Considering that cities are at the frontlines of basic service delivery and are investing billions on infrastructure investments, there is an opportunity to engage more with cities across the world and build momentum for great application of restoration to meet citizen needs according to the 2021 UNEP report Smart, Sustainable and Resilient cities: the Power of Nature-based Solutions. To catalyse nature-based transformation in finance, jobs and cities, the project would to be directed towards, and work with, several district, but often overlapping stakeholder groups: employment policies, finance flows and urban planning. The project objective was to track investments and jobs and work in NbS, as well as to encourage business innovation and job creation in NbS; and, to increase engagement of city stakeholders in restoring urban and peri-urban ecosystems. It intended to leverage synergies to achieve the SDGs as well as other global biodiversity, environmental and climate goals. 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 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 EVALUATION TEAM For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of a Principal Evaluator who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Task Manager, Fund Management Officer and the Subprogramme Coordinator. Specific responsibilities for the Principal Evaluator: In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Principal Evaluator 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 to selected project sites, 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/Task 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 attention and intervention. The Principal Evaluator 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 Principal Evaluator 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 preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is required. A good understanding of of Nature-based Solutions for climate and biodiversity is required. Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.
