Result of Service

The Evaluation Team will submit a concise evaluation report. Actual duration of the assignment is 43 days spread over a period of 6 months to be delivered as follows: Inception Report (30%) Draft report (40%) Final Evaluation Report (30%)

Work Location

Home based with field visits

Expected duration

6 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 PROJECT The project Large-scale Ecosystem-based Adaptation in The Gambia: developing a climate-resilient, natural resource-based economy was designed to respond to the high vulnerability of The Gambias ecosystems and rural livelihoods to climate variability and long-term climate change. As a Least Developed Country, The Gambias economy depends heavily on climate-sensitive sectors, particularly rainfed agriculture, forestry and other natural resource-based activities. Over time, environmental degradation, unsustainable land-use practices and limited institutional capacity has reduced ecosystem productivity and resilience, increasing the vulnerability of communities to climatic shocks. Climate change had intensified these pressures. Reduced and more erratic rainfall, increasing temperatures, shorter growing seasons and recurrent droughts has negatively affected agricultural yields, livestock productivity and the availability of forest products. In this context, the project was justified as a large-scale intervention to restore degraded ecosystems, strengthen ecosystem services and enhance adaptive capacity at community and institutional levels. The overall objective of the project was to build the climate resilience of rural Gambian communities and facilitate the development of a sustainable natural resource-based (green) economy by implementing large-scale Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) within and adjacent to agricultural areas, community-managed forest reserves and wildlife conservation areas. 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 and Evaluation Specialist 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 Evaluation Specialist: The Evaluation Specialist will make substantive and high-quality contributions to the evaluation process and outputs. The Evaluation Specialist will assist the Principal Evaluator, and both consultants will ensure together that all evaluation criteria and questions are adequately covered, especially in the following scope of work: 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/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 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 seven (7) years of experience of technical / monitoring/ evaluation experience including experience with climate change adaptation projects is required. A good/broad understanding of ecosystem-based adaptation is desirable. Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable. Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in English is required. 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.