UNDP Jobs - 53380- International Consultant

International Consultant - Terminal Evaluation Sustainable Management of POPs in Mauritius project

Location :

Port Louis, MAURITIUS

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

12-Feb-2015

Application Deadline :

08-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

15 days spread over a period of 1 month

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 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

Mauritius signed the Stockholm Convention on May 23, 2001 and ratified same on July 13, 2004. Article 7 of the Stockholm Convention requires the State Parties develop a National Implementation Plan (NIP). A NIP on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) has been developed with the assistance of the Global Environment Facility and UNDP by the Ministry of Environment in 2005.

To assist Mauritius in the implementation of the NIP, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has funded a Medium-Size Project entitled ‘Sustainable Management of POPs in Mauritius’ to the tune of USD 0.9 M, that was aimed to address the first two priorities identified namely:

Disposal of obsolete POPs chemicals and decontamination of POPs-infested areas;
Development and Demonstration of Alternative Strategies for Malaria Vector Management.

The project was executed by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the Ministry of Health & Quality of Life (MoH), over a period of 4 years. The project document was signed by Government of Mauritius and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in June 2008. The implementation of the project started in mid- Jan 2009 with the recruitment of the Project Manager. Further details are provided in the detailed Terminal Evaluation Terms of Reference, Annex 1 and other documents to be downloaded from the UNDP Mauritius Country Office website.

Important Note:

Interested offeror is strongly advised to view the general terms and conditions of IC and templates to be included when submitting offer from the CO website at http://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/operations/procurement/;
Interested offerors above the age of 62: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the candidate be chosen;
Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only ONE uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents - Technical and Financial submission - into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The International Consultant will be the team leader and will be responsible for the quality of the report and timely submission. The National Consultant will provide supportive roles in terms of professional inputs, knowledge of local policies, local navigation, translation / language support, etc.

The review team is expected to prepare an Evaluation Report based on the outline listed in Annex II (detailed Terminal Evaluation Terms of Reference)while specifically including the following aspects:

Adequacy of the overall project concept, design, implementation methodology, institutional structure, timelines, budgetary allocation or any other aspect of the project design that the evaluation team may want to comment upon;
Extent of progress achieved against the overall Project Objective disaggregated by each of the individual Outcomes, Outputs and Activities (including sub-activities); as against the Impact Indicators identified and listed in the project document. Extent of the incremental value added with project implementation;
Performance in terms of in-time achievement of individual project activities as well as overall project in terms of adherence to planned timelines;
Relevance and adequacy of mid-course changes in implementation strategy with PSC approval, if any and the consequent variations in achievements, if any;
Evaluate the impact of the project activities on the various government institutions;
Extent of effectiveness of awareness generation activities by way of quality of promotional packages / awareness material, number of Awareness Programmes, Trainings undertaken and level of awareness created. Quality of documentation, if any, produced under the project like, brochure, etc. should also be considered;
Pattern, in which funds have been leveraged, budgeted, spent and accounted for in the project;
Complete the GEF Tracking Tool.

The team should also focus its assessments on project impacts as listed:

Perceptions on the “Situation at the end of the Project” as it seems to the review team at the terminal review stage
Nature and scale of the policy impact made by the project, if any, on relevant line departments of the Government or other policy making bodies;
Extent of effectiveness of capacity building initiatives undertaken under the aegis of the project;
Appropriateness and effectiveness of the institutional arrangement deployed in the project with alternative scenarios, if any;
Details of co-funding, if any, leveraged by the project and its impact on the project achievements (a “Financial Planning Co-financing” format is enclosed in Annex II for reporting);
The effectiveness of monitoring and overseeing systems such as Project Steering Committee and suggestion on improvements if any.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Inception Report - No later than 2 weeks before the evaluation mission;
Presentation Initial Findings - End of evaluation mission;
Draft Final Report Full report, (per annexed template) with annexes - Within 3 weeks of the evaluation mission;
Final Report* Revised report - Within 1 week of receiving UNDP comments on draft.

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant will report directly to the National Project Director, Ministry of Environment and Environment Programme Manager, UNDP. In addition, the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office will also provide critical inputs.

All reports are to be written in English. The Consultant will provide an electronic version of all the required deliverables;
The Consultant is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with government counterparts, in particular the GEF operational focal point, UNDP Country Office, project team, UNDP Independent Evaluation Office, UNDP GEF Technical Adviser based in the region and key stakeholders.

Duration of the Work

The total duration of the evaluation will be 15 days over a period of 1 month according to the following plan:

Activity Timing

Preparation and desk work - 15 February 2015;
Evaluation Mission - 16-20 February 2015;
Draft Evaluation Report & draft GEF Tracking Tool - 25 February 2015;
Final Report & final GEF Tracking Tool - 5 March 2015.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Creative and innovative;
Sound analytic capacities;
Ability to address complex concepts and to gather written materials in a clear, concise and meaningful manner with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail;
Highly organized, able to effectively develop and manage projects, ensuring that deadlines are met.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent writing, analytical and research skills;
Showing strong attention to details;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Ability to work in a multicultural and international environment;
Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University Degree (Masters or equivalent) in an environmental-related field such as environmental science or public health or related field.

Work Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in public health or waste management;
Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations, succinctly distils critical issues, and draw forward-looking conclusions and recommendations;
Highly knowledgeable of GEF and UNDP-GEF monitoring and evaluation policies procedures an advantage;
Familiarity with Mauritius or any Small Island Development States (SIDS);
Excellent in human relations, coordination, planning and team work;
Be fully IT-literate.

Language:

Excellent spoken, written English and French required.