UNDP Jobs - 50043- Evaluation Team Leader (1 position) and Evaluation

Evaluation Team Leader (1 position) and Evaluation Specialist (1 position)

Location :

Home based with possibilities of travel to Asia-Pacific countries, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh.

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

07-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months with maximum 30 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months with maximum 30 working days

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

Demonstrating the relevance of knowledge management as a critical business line by integrating knowledge sharing principles and mechanisms in programming work remains a key priority for the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP). Particular emphasis has been placed on using communities of practice (COPs) and knowledge networks as an effective planning and implementation approach. As a result, a number of them have been established and further strengthened at the regional and national level, however, with varying shapes, forms, and results.

UNDP has embarked on the implementation of its new Strategic Plan (2014-2017), which emphasizes that UNDP should be a “…more knowledge-driven, innovative and open institution” and should continue to “...draw on knowledge and expertise gained in all development settings, thus, able to grasp and respond flexibly to common concerns and important differences between countries and regions.” Aligned with the Strategic Plan, RBAP has started to implement its Regional Programme. Building on notable successes in elements of knowledge management, RBAP is redoubling its efforts in this area from both the perspectives of connection and codification and has identified as a priority area the overhaul of its COPs by first conducting a holistic and nuanced evaluation to obtain knowledge on what has worked and consider ways forward to strengthen UNDP’s role as a knowledge broker and facilitator of exchanges.

Duties and Responsibilities

Evaluation Propose

In line with the new Strategic Plan and Asia-Pacific Regional Programme, RBAP is commissioning an evaluation of the Communities of Practices (CoPs) and knowledge networks that have been utilized since the previous programme cycle (2008-2013). The evaluation is aimed at identifying performance parameters, the elements that have contributed to their success where applicable, and recommendations on the way forward for those that do not meet the criteria. Findings from the evaluation will inform RBAP on the modalities and design of the existing and new COPs and knowledge networks to ensure their effective contribution to the planned development results of the current programme cycle.

Evaluation Scope and Objectives

The objective of the assignment is to undertake an independent evaluation of UNDP’s regional and national CoPs and knowledge networks in the Asia Pacific region that have been established and facilitated by UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (APRC), some of which under the Solution Exchange umbrella[1]. Over the years, a number of COPs and knowledge networks have been established but not all have been active until today. This evaluation will particularly examine at least 10 CoPs/knowledge networks across different substantive areas and with different set ups and modalities. These would include regional and national COPs and knowledge networks, and also those that are internal to UNDP and those that are also open to external development practitioners within the region, and sometimes beyond.

For the purpose of this evaluation, the term: “Community of Practice” and “Knowledge Network" will be used interchangeably and will be defined, following Etienne Wenger’s definition, as “groups of people that get together with the purpose of sharing ideas, finding solutions and innovate, joining their efforts geared towards the continuous development of an area of specialized knowledge” where “they collaborate and learn from each other, face to face or virtually, held together by a common goal and a desire to share experiences, knowledge and better practices on a subject or discipline”.

Most of the CoPs and knowledge networks to be evaluated were set up as part of the implementation of projects, either under the Asia-Pacific Regional Programme, or under projects of respective UNDP country offices. However, since CoPs are part of UNDP’s efforts to promote and apply knowledge management, their objectives and purposes usually go beyond serving as a mean to deliver specific development results but also to serve as a knowledge management tool with broader objectives and purposes including capacity development of practitioners, sharing of lessons and practices, creation of new knowledge, exchanging of dialogues. The scope of the evaluation, therefore, needs to consider both the contribution the CoPs have made to specific development results and beyond.

The evaluation seeks to answer the following questions following OECD DAC’s evaluation criteria:

Relevance: Are the development issues and challenges addressed by the CoPs/knowledge networks relevant to the country or regional development priorities?
Efficiency: What COP models/structures are the most efficient, when taking into consideration the results each delivers, and time and cost of facilitating the CoPs?
Effectiveness: What are the main contributions from the COPs to key development results in the region? Are there any specific examples/case studies that can be highlighted? Is there evidence that CoPs have improved the cost-effectiveness of development interventions? What are key factors, in terms of the design, implementation, technologies, and other issues that make certain COPs more effective and vibrant than the others? What common level of performance indicators needs to be adopted across CoPs in the region and specifically for Solution Exchange CoPs in order to effectively monitor their performance? What adjustments are needed to the standards and systems already established based on the success of the pilot COP in India? What added values these CoPs bring to development practitioners?
Sustainability: What key factors contribute to possible sustainability of COPs beyond UNDP support?

Evaluation Methodology:

The evaluation team is expected to apply the following approaches for data collection and analysis:

Desk review of relevant documents;
Discussions with the relevant UNDP programme and project staff at APRC and country offices;
Interviews COP members, government agencies especially those that have requested from inputs from COPs in the past, and other relevant development stakeholders;
Field visits to selected countries;
Consultation meetings and/or focus group meetings as necessary;
Conduct other quantitative data collection, as appropriate.

Since the numbers of COPs and COP members are beyond what this evaluation could cover in the entirety, sound sampling methodologies are to be used to select 10 COPs to be evaluated.

Management Arrangements:

Working under the supervision of the head of the Management Support Unit and the Knowledge and Innovation Team Leader and Programme Specialist, the evaluation team will be responsible for conducting the evaluation, meeting with the concerned management teams, members and other community stakeholders and finalising the report with recommendations specific to each of the CoPs at the regional and collectively for the Solution Exchange initiative at the National level.

An initial six-week exercise is foreseen, including travel to Bangkok for initial orientation with APRC focal points of this evaluation, and to meet with APRC Teams on the regional CoPs as well as travel to current and former Solution Exchange operations and management team. Skype and travel consultations with key UN hosting agencies, key Community members and other stakeholders. Consultations with RBAP and the supervisory team on findings and recommendations before drafting and finalizing report. Possible re-convening of team to present the report to UNDP Senior Management and deliberate on next steps.

Duration of the Work

Three months during October 2014 - January 2015 with maximum of 30 working days.

Duty Station

Home-based with posibility of travel to Asia-Pacific countries.

Final Products

The evaluation team is expected to produce the following deliverables:

Evaluation Inception Report detailing the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and why, showing how each evaluation question will be answered (which methodologies will be used), a proposed schedule of tasks;
A presentation of the inception report will be made to and discussed with UNDP;
Draft Evaluation Report to be shared with UNDP and relevant stakeholders for feedback and quality assurance;
Evaluation debriefing meeting with UNDP and key stakeholders where main findings will be presented;
Final Evaluation Report;
Evaluation Brief (a concise summary of the evaluation findings in plain language that can be widely circulated).

The final report is expected to cover findings with recommendations, lessons learned, and rating on performance.

The report will include the following contents:

Executive summary;
Introduction;
Description of the evaluation methodology;
Key findings including best practices and lessons learned;
Conclusion and recommendations especially on adjustments to the UN Solution Exchange model – standards & operations
for UNDP interventions in future regional programme;
Annexes: ToR, field visits, people interviewed, documents reviewed, etc.

Evaluation Ethics

Evaluations in the UN will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in both Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System by the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and by the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. These documents will be attached to the contract. Evaluators are required to read the Norms and Standards and the guidelines and ensure a strict adherence to it, including establishing protocols to safeguard confidentiality of information obtained during the evaluation.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills;
Strong communication skills;
Ability to lead a team;
Openness to change and ability to receive and integrate feedback;
Ability to meet tight deadlines;
Excellent report writing and editing skills in English;
Excellent speaking and presentation skills;
Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education - Evaluation Team Leader:

Master’s degree in relevant fields such as Development Studies, International Relations, ICT for development.

Experience - Evaluation Team Leader:

At least 10-15 years of hands-on experience in Knowledge Management, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Networking Development Cooperation, Operational Change Management issues;
15 years of experience in analytical work and providing advice to development partners and/or governments on knowledge management strategies, change management, development cooperation;
Demonstrated experience of conducting evaluations in the field of knowledge sharing and collaborative learning /research;
Experience in facilitating networking and knowledge sharing within diverse groups of stakeholders (face-to-face or virtual forums) in related areas;
Demonstrated experience in publication and/or production of outreach, knowledge or communications material of high quality in terms of clarity, conciseness, presentation, insight and readability;
Experience in Asia and Pacific is an asset;
Experience in working with senior government officials;
Excellent writing skills.

Language:

Good command of English both written and spoken.

Education- Evaluation Specialist:

Master’s degree in relevant fields such as Development Studies, International Relations, ICT for development.

Experience - Evaluation Specialist:

At least 5-10 years of hands-on experience in Knowledge Management, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Networking Development Cooperation, Operational Change Management issues;
Experience in analytical work and providing advice to development partners and/or governments on knowledge management strategies, change management, development cooperation;
Demonstrated experience of conducting evaluations in the field of knowledge sharing and collaborative learning /research is an asset;
Experience in Asia and Pacific is an asset;
Experience in working with senior government officials.

Language:

Good command of English both written and spoken.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Daily Fee basis. The Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive daily fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the Consultant in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal.

Payments shall be done on a monthly basis based on actual days worked, upon verification of achievement of monthly outputs, as specified in the workplan, and approval by the Consultant’s supervisor of a Time Sheet indicating the days worked in the period. The final monthly payment will be made when all deliverables outlined in workplan are fully completed with acceptance of quality by UNDP.

If applicable, travel or daily allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Consultant wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight; 70% (total 500 points):

Experience related to services: 250 points;
Expertise & Availability: 250 points.

Financial Criteria weight; 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 350 technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annex - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to: rcb.procurement.th@undp.org.

Note

Being a national of a country in the region is preferred.