Background
The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) conducts country evaluations called, “Assessments of Development Results (ADRs)” to capture and demonstrate evaluative evidence of UNDP’s contributions to development results at the country level, as well as the effectiveness of UNDP’s strategy in facilitating and leveraging national effort for achieving development results. ADRs are independent evaluations carried out within the overall provisions contained in the UNDP Evaluation Policy. Based on the principle of national ownership, IEO seeks to conduct ADRs in collaboration with the national Government.This is the first ADR conducted in the United Republic of Tanzania, which is conducted in close collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, UNDP Tanzania Country Office and Regional Bureau of Africa (RBA). The ADR assesses UNDP programme results in the last two cycles, 2007-2010/2011 and 2011-2015 (recently extended by one year to 2016), with a view to contributing to the preparation of UNDP’s new programme starting from 2017, which is guided by the forthcoming United National Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) starting in the same year. The evaluation has two main components: (1) the analysis of the UNDP’s contribution to development results through its thematic/programmatic areas; and (2) the strategic positioning of UNDP. For each component, the ADR will present its findings and assessment, as defined in the ADR Method Manual.
The IEO will establish an evaluation team to undertake the ADR. Two staff members from IEO - Evaluation Manager (EM) and Associate Evaluation Manager (AEM) – will lead the conduct of evaluation and ensure the quality of analyses and the final evaluation report. Technical expertise of external team specialists will be sought, who have substantive knowledge and expertise in thematic areas covered in the country programme and have insights into country context. Each team specialist will be responsible for preparing respective written inputs (“cluster” paper(s) with in-depth analyses of corresponding outcomes), in accordance with the format and instruction given by EM/AEM, which will be used for the synthesis of results and in the preparation of the final ADR report. Team Specialists will be recruited in the following “clusters”: (1) Capacity Building (Economic Policies, Planning, and Budgeting; Aid Management); (2) Private Sector Development and Public Private Partnership; (3) Democratic Governance; (4) Crisis Prevention and Recovery (Disaster Risk Reduction/ Management, Conflict Prevention); and (5) Environment and Energy (Environment and Natural Resource Management, Energy and Climate Change).
The ADR should be completed by the end of 2014 and the final ADR report should be made available to the 2015 June session of the UNDP Executive Board.
Duties and Responsibilities
Team specialist for the outcomes related to Democratic Governance (6 outcomes) will work closely with the IEO staff (EM and AEM) during the evaluation, particularly during data collection and analysis and the preparation of written analyses on outcomes. His/her key tasks include:- Review reference material provided by IEO (e.g., country programme related documents, past evaluation reports, project documents, and ROARs) and assess the designated outcome areas by preparing a draft outcome analysis paper for each outcome (prior to field work);
- Conduct field-based data collection activities (e.g. interviews and site visits) in accordance with the evaluation design and methodology as guided by EM/AEM. Thoroughly assess all items and questions covered in the outcome analysis paper by filling in the ‘gaps’ during the field work. Prepare a cluster paper, based on the assessment of all outcomes;
- As a member of the evaluation team, actively participate in the team’s discussions and joint analysis sessions. Participate in the debriefing session at the Tanzania Country Office (CO) of preliminary results;
- Be responsible for his/ her own work schedule (e.g., conduct of necessary field visits and interviews) in consultation with IEO/CO staff; and
- Provide any additional data, information, clarification to the analyses, as requested by EM/AEM.
Interested candidates are expected to familiarize themselves with the full terms of reference for this consultancy available at the following link:
Team Specialist: Democratic Governance.
Competencies
- Demonstrated technical knowledge of Governance;
- Substantive experience in conducting evaluations in a development context;
- Familiarity with United Republic of Tanzania (national expertise will be sought to the extent possible);
- Demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking and ability to provide policy advice;
- Strong report writing and communication skills; and
- Ability to work in a multicultural and multidisciplinary team environment.
Required Skills and Experience
Education- Master’s degree or higher in Public Policy, Government, Political Science, Social Science, International Relations or any other areas relevant to the post.
- A minimum of 7 years of work experience in the field; and
- Substantive technical expertise, knowledge and work experience in the areas of Governance, as well as general human development issues, in the country/ region under review.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
Qualified candidates are invited to apply by submitting a cover letter (with a short description of relevant experience), including a proposed financial rate per day, and CV (combined in one document for uploading).