UNDP Jobs

Introduction:
 
In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full and medium-sized country projects implemented by UNDP with GEF financing must undergo a terminal evaluation upon completion of implementation. This terms of reference(TOR) sets out the expectations for a Terminal Evaluation (TE) of the SLM Capacity Building for Angola Project (PIMS Number 3379).

The essentials of the project to be evaluated are as follows:

GEF Project ID: 00003379 at endorsement (Million US$) at completion (Million US$)
UNDP Project ID: 00052416 GEF financing: 0,750 0,675
Country: Angola IA/EA own: 0,400 0,751
Region: Southern Africa Government: 0,750 0,350
Focal Area: Land Degradation Other: 0,0 0,0
Operational Program: OP 15 Total co-financing: 1,150 1,101
Executing Agency: UNDP Total Project Cost: 1,900 1,776
Other Partners involved: Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture ProDoc Signature (date project began): November 2007
(Operational) Closing Date: Proposed: October 2010 Actual: December 2012

Scope:
 
Angola is the fourth largest country in Africa, covering an area of approximately 1,246,700 km2. The country contains about 47 hydrological basins, including the Zaire, Zambezi and Okavango, all currently experiencing problems related to inappropriate land management practices. Although the country is rich in both renewable and non-renewable natural resources (petroleum, diamonds, iron-ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium, zinc, lead, wolfram, manganese and tin), nearly three decades of civil war inflicted profound impact on all aspects of social and economic life of its people. Indeed, the country is undergoing a relative economic boom since the end of the war. However, according to the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) 68% of the population still live below the poverty level, 28% of them in extreme poverty. The effects of war, including displacement, disruption of market activities and macroeconomic instability eroded the poor and working classes’ ability to invest in their future, particularly investment in sustainable land management. Land degradation is a major threat to national economy and the global environment.

There are three direct causes of land degradation: unsustainable agriculture, deforestation/unsustainable use of forests, and overgrazing of rangelands. This has contributed to overexploitation of the soil, leading to erosion, soil exhaustion and desertification. Key threats to SLM are declining fertility and productivity of agricultural lands, forest clearing for unsustainable agriculture, overgrazing and forest pasture destruction or degradation by fire, and climate change. The key barriers to addressing the root causes in order to remove the threats lie in the inadequate capacity of the government system to provide knowledge based, affordable techniques and incentives for SLM. Land managers therefore have limited knowledge on SLM techniques, have few incentives for adopting improved practices and have almost no extension services to support their efforts. Consequently, there is poor linkage between SLM and rural development initiatives, resulting in insufficient livelihood alternatives to subsistence cropping and to use of forests for timber and fuelwood and to meet energy requirements. The government authorities responsible for planning have limited capacity for cross-sectoral planning.

This project proposes four outcomes linked to the LDC – SIDS Portfolio Sustainable Land Management Programme. The first outcome is the analysis and preparation of an acceptable set of intervention techniques, which are turned into field training modules, for new extension agents, with-in participatory demonstration training programmes. This is coupled with applied research and promotion of farmer innovation in SLM. The second outcome addresses the institutional need for Government to monitor Land Degradation and device best practices from the set of SLM initiatives in country. The third and fourth outcomes address the broader picture of the National Action Plan (NAP) via co-finance; and starting the Country Framework for TerrAfrica. These will be built into a database to allow government to coordinate the SLM efforts and to integrate best practice into the developing CSIF and NAP process within the UNCCD and TerrAfrica frameworks.

Additional details and the evaluation criteria established are available at the following link:

http://www.ao.undp.org/Employment.htm

• Individual and institutional capacities for SLM will be enhanced and demonstrated within on-ground pilot sites. A large part of this project is directed towards capacity building and knowledge management, targeting SLM institutions and personnel as well as land managers in Huambo province;
• Systemic capacity building and mainstreaming of SLM principles: this project also addresses policy development and mainstreaming of SLM at central and at decentralised Government levels in the project area and builds oversight capacity;
• Support to the production of the National Action Plan (NAP). The NAP is likely to be approved before project start up. The project will support development and implementation of a NAP communications strategy to raise awareness and obtain political support for its implementation at all levels;
• Support to the production of the MTIP (Medium Term Investment Plan of NAP), which complements the CSIF or Country Strategic Investment Framework of TerrAfrica. 

• Assess overall performance against the project objectives as set out in the Project Document and other related documents;
• Assess project relevance to national priorities, as well as UNDP and GEF strategic objectives;
• Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the project;
• Critically analyze the implementation and management arrangements of the project;
• Assess the sustainability of the project interventions and consider project impacts;
• Document lessons and best practices concerning project design, implementation and management which may be of relevance to other projects in the country and elsewhere in the world;
• The evaluation must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with government counterparts, in particular the GEF country focal points, steering committee, project team, and key stakeholders;

• Further elaboration on the intended approach & method, consistent with this TOR.
• Planned timing for carrying out the evaluation mission.
• Any requests to include additional participatory techniques, such as surveys and focus groups, orother approaches for the gathering and analysis of data that are otherwise not specified in the TOR, and which may entail additional time or cost.
• Requests for additional project background information not included with this TOR.

• Monitoring and Evaluation rating
•  IA& EA Execution rating
  M&E design at entry
  Quality of UNDP Implementation
  M&E Plan Implementation
  Quality of Execution - Executing Agency
  Overall quality of M&E
  Overall quality of Implementation / Execution 
• Assessment of Outcomes rating
• Sustainability rating
  Relevance
  Financial resources:
  Effectiveness
  Socio-political:
  Efficiency
  Institutional framework and governance:
  Overall Project Outcome Rating
  Environmental :
  Overall likelihood of sustainability
  Mainstreaming 

• Preparation, 4 days completed by 21/Sept 
• Evaluation Mission, 8 days completed by 29/Sept 
• Draft Evaluation Report, 10 days completed by 09/Oct 
• Final Report, 03 days completed by 12/Oct 

• Inception Note; Evaluator clarifications on timing and method due no later than 2 weeks before the evaluation mission. Evaluator submits to UNDP CO 
• Presentation of Initial Findings due at the end of the evaluation mission, submitted to project management, UNDP CO 
• Draft Final Report Full report, (per annexed template) with annexes due within 3 weeks of the evaluation mission, sent to CO, reviewed by RTA, PCU, GEF FPs 
• Final Report revised report within 1 week of receiving UNDP comments on draft and to be sent to CO
  
  

• Competence in Adaptive Management, as applied to natural resource management projects
• Demonstrable analytical skills
• Experience with multilateral or bilateral supported land management projects
• Excellent both English and Portuguese communication skills (oral, written and presentation)
  

• Specialist in Environment (International, Team Leader)
• Recognized and demonstrated expertise in SLM (National)
• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in Environment thematic area
• Recent experience with Result-Based Management evaluation methodologies
• Experience applying participatory monitoring approaches
• Recent knowledge of the UNDP/GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Policy
• Recent knowledge of UNDP’s results-based evaluation policies and procedures