UNDP Jobs - 49511- International Consultant for Conducting a Course o

International Consultant for Conducting a Course on Effective Monitoring and Evaluation for UNDP Pakistan

Location :

Islamabad, PAKISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

13-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

17-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 month

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 month

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP Pakistan is a key development partner supporting the Government of Pakistan in promoting transformational change by improving the lives of the people of Pakistan through the broad thematic areas of democratic governance, environment and climate change, crisis prevention and recovery, development policy, poverty reduction and the empowerment of women as specified in the UNDP Common Country Action Plan 2013-2017. There are four programme units in UNDP Pakistan for these thematic areas: Crisis Prevention and Recovery; Environment and Climate Change; Democratic Governance and a Development Policy Unit each headed by an Assistant Country Director and supported by staff such as Programme Officers, Programme Associates/Assistants. Various projects are being designed and rolled out under each of the four Units with a dedicated Project team comprising of Project Manager and Project Monitoring & Evaluation Officer. The specific Unit and the respective Project team work with the corresponding government ministries and through UNDP designated counterpart, the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

The Strategic Plan 2014-2017 allows the UNDP Country Office Pakistan to monitor achievements, learn lessons, and hold the Programme Units and Projects accountable for the funds entrusted to them. However, achieving development results is often much more difficult than imagined. In order to demonstrate achievements on development results on the basis of theories of change, UNDP needs to focus on improving the capacities of its Programme Officers and Project M&E Officers in tools and techniques for results based monitoring and evaluation. This is because good intentions, large programmes and projects, and lots of financial resources are not enough to ensure that development results will be achieved. The quality of monitoring of those plans, programmes and projects, and how efficiently and effectively resources are used, are also critical factors for success. For UNDP Pakistan to improve the chances of success, attention needs to be placed on how programmes and project staff can improve on their capacities to monitor the implementation of various projects with maximum focus on efficiency, transparency and accountability.

For more Detailed Information please click on the following link: http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/operations/procurement0/ic-2014-122---international-consultant--development-of-monitorin.html

Duties and Responsibilities

Training Course Objectives

Planning, monitoring and evaluation come together as Result-Based Management (RBM) has been adopted by many multilateral development organizations, bilateral development agencies and public administrations throughout the world. RBM is also considered as bedrock of UNDP approach to analyze if results achieved are in accordance with the theories of change specified in the Strategic Plan 2014-2017. UNDP adopts RBM principles, approaches, and tools in the endeavor to always trying to answer the “so what difference does our intervention make?” question. Effective operationalization of RBM-approach to monitoring and evaluation can help UNDP extract relevant information from past and ongoing activities that can be used as the basis for programmatic fine-tuning, reorientation and future planning in-line with the theory of change. Without effective planning, monitoring and evaluation, it would be impossible to judge if UNDP work is going in the right direction, whether progress and success can be claimed, and how future efforts might be improved.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Course is for professionals who need to plan and implement M&E in their projects and programmes. The course will address M&E for the entire results chain, including the all-important project outcomes and outputs.

This course will help the audience benefit from the latest M&E thinking and practice, including results-based management. It will facilitate them to produce maximum value for UNDP and their respective organization (EAD and other Government implementing partners e.g. Planning & Development Department, Climate Change Division etc.). Delivered by expert development practitioners with extensive field experience both in academic applied research as well as in the field of M&E, this course will be a leading M&E course for UNDP Pakistan and Government counterpart professionals.

Through a mix of practical activities, theory and examples of effective practice the audience will improve their understanding and skill on how to:

Develop a link between theory of change and project design;
Develop understanding of how to develop an effective Logical Framework;
Plan and monitor programme/project using the Logical Framework;
Design SMART indicators and targets;
Establish a baseline to assess project’s impact;
Develop efficient data collection tools (qualitative and quantitative) with a clear linkage with project’s underpinning theory of change
Design and manage impact studies and evaluations;
Effectively use project monitoring and evaluation findings to stimulate learning, improvement and stakeholder buy-in;
In order to design and deliver this course, proposals are invited from national and international consultants with a blend of applied research experience of a high academic standards along with an extensive experience of designing and conducting M&E training in the development sector.

Audience and Knowledge Contributions of Training Course

Delivered by expert development practitioners with extensive field experience, this will be a leading M&E course for a group of 18-20 staff including UNDP Programme Officers, M&E Officers and officials from government counterparts involved in monitoring and evaluation practices.

Particularly, the course will have multiple and diverse audiences:

UNDP Programme Officers

Programme officers in Country Office Pakistan support their respective Units in a variety of specialized tasks and perform the full range of programme support including project conceptualization, development, monitoring, management and evaluation. As specified in the UNDP Monitoring Policy, these officers particularly monitor progress and participate in major project review meetings (monitoring visits, steering committee meetings, etc.) and to ensure that these activities are carried out as specified project’s annual work plan. This is required for all types of project irrespective of sources of fund or the nature of the projects i.e. National Implementation Modality or Direct Implementation Modality.

Project M&E Officers

The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer works in close collaboration with project team and Programme Officer. The Project M&E Officers are responsible for designing and implementing the M&E activities of the Project; assist the Project Manager in preparing Quarterly/Annual reports on project progress and monitor the project activities on a regular basis, and are responsible for the collection & analysis of different data in relation to the project activities.. This course will facilitate these personnel to effectively carry out their job roles and responsibilities while making sure that the research oriented evidence-based M&E practices are followed.

EAD & Implementing Partner’s Staff

Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and implementing partners such as Planning and Development (P&D) Departments in Balochistan and Khyber & Pakhtoonkhawa provinces along with Climate Change Division etc. play an effective role in the coordination and implementation of the UNDP Programme.

Also, under the National Implementation Modality (NIM), the role of EAD in project oversight has increased in volume and complexity. EAD’s role in the design, coordination and implementation of UNDP Country Programme warrants strong coordination, analytical and operational capacities for M&E. This course will help EAD & staff from Implementing Partners, who are involved in the planning, monitoring and evaluation processes of UNDP programmatic interventions in Pakistan, to coordinate with UNDP and focus on results more effectively and efficiently.

Proposed Training Methodology

The consultant shall be hired for a 4 week course spanning over a period of Six months (October, 2014 – March, 2015) in order to deliver Five components of the proposed course covering the principles and practice of M&E for results. Along with the Consultant, the course will be conducted in collaboration with personnel from UNDP Regional Office and UNDP Pakistan M&E Specialist.

In the first one and a half week of the course, the consultant shall carry out an extensive yet quick analysis of course need assessment by engaging with UNDP Programme Officers, UNDP M&E Specialist and Project M&E Officers. Based on the need assessment and following the guidelines specified in the UNDP Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results along with his/her own vast experience of applied academic research and M&E training, the consultant shall develop the M&Ê course curriculum. This will be followed by a one week of intensive training where the trainer shall utilize multiple methodologies to engage the training participants. Followed by the training, in the next 6-7 weeks, there will be a unique opportunity for the training participants to apply the newly gained understanding and skills to a specific case-study relating to any of the project in their specific thematic areas. During this time, the trainer shall provide remote guidance by utilizing means of communication such as E-mails, Skype, etc.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Demonstrated professional leadership and ability to facilitate a team of professionals in the implementation of major development efforts;
Capacity to think creatively in dealing with policy and operational issues while maintaining a strong client and results orientation;
Strong written and oral communication skills, demonstrated ability of making effective presentations to diverse audiences.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master degree or preferably a Doctorate in Social Sciences.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of applied research and relevant M&E training experience - preferably but not exclusively in developing countries - with a comprehensive and in-depth expertise in development, implementation and assessment of M&E frameworks/tools;
Strong knowledge of principles and processes of M&E along with an extensive experience of utilizing academic based research methodologies while conducting monitoring, impact evaluations/assessments;
Experience of designing and facilitating M&E training programs in different contexts, particularly in UNDP and other UN Agencies.

Languages:

Excellent English writing skills are essential.