Historique

Building Capacity for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in the Solomon Islands is a Medium Sized Project (MSP) funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project, implemented directly by UNDP, commenced on 22 April 2008. The project completion was originally planned for December 2011 but was extended to 30 June 2012.
 
The human, institutional, technological and systemic capacity for SLM in the Solomon Islands was very low. The country was emerging from a decade of internal conflict that has brought many of its communities to the realms of absolute poverty. Reduced capabilities and capacities for subsistence and cash agriculture pursuits had severely affected food security. The poor state of affairs had lead to rampant forest clearning, the emergence of large-scale agriculture based developments for economic development and changes to farming practices – to the detriment of land, water and coastal resources.
 
The project’s goal is to build capacity to implement SLM into each level of decision-making: from remote farming communities, to provincial government administrations to the national level agencies responsible for rural land management and economic development. The aim is to provide a systems approach to maintain and improve ecosystem stability, integrity, functions and services – bearing in mind the need for sustainable livelihoods in very harsh and remote villages.
 
The expected outcomes are (1) an increased knowledge and awareness of the state of land degradation and the importance of sustainable land management for food security and sustainable livelihoods; (2) Systemic capacity building and mainstreaming of SLM into policies, including the elaboration of the NAP enhanced; (3) Enhanced technical, individual and institutional capacities for SLM; and (4) Enhanced technical support at the local, provincial and national levels.  

Devoirs et responsabilités

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) policy at the project level in UNDP/GEF has four objectives: (1) to monitor and evaluate results and impacts; (2) to provide a basis for decision making on necessary amendments and improvements; (3) to promote accountability for resource use; and (4) to document, provide feedback on, and disseminate lessons learned. A mix of tools is used to ensure effective project M&E. These might be applied continuously throughout the lifetime of the project – e.g. periodic monitoring of indicators, or as specific time-bound exercises such as mid-term reviews, audit reports and independent evaluations.
 
In accordance with UNDP/GEF M&E policies and procedures, all regular and medium-sized projects supported by the GEF should undergo a terminal evaluation upon completion of implementation. The terminal evaluation must provide a comprehensive and systematic account of the performance of a completed project by assessing its project design, process of implementation, achievements vis-à-vis project objectives endorsed by the GEF including any agreed changes in the objectives during project implementation and any other results.
 
Terminal evaluations have four complementary purposes:
  • To promote accountability and transparency, and to assess and disclose levels of project accomplishments;
  • To synthesize lessons that may help improve the selection, design and implementation of future GEF activities;
  • To provide feedback on issues that are recurrent across the portfolio and need attention, and on improvements regarding previously identified issues; and,
  • To contribute to the GEF Evaluation Office databases for aggregation, analysis and reporting on effectiveness of GEF operations in achieving global environmental benefits and on the quality of monitoring and evaluation across the GEF system.
The overall objective of this terminal evaluation is to review progress towards the project’s objectives and outcomes, assess the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of how the project has moved towards its objectives and outcomes, identify strengths and weaknesses in project design and implementation, and provide recommendations on design modifications that could have increased the likelihood of success, and on specific actions that might be taken into consideration in designing future projects of a related nature.
 
The assessment will be based on the GEF Terminal Evaluation Guidelines and will include an assessment of:
  1. Project results;
  2. Assessment of Sustainability of Project Outcomes;
  3. Catalytic Role;
  4. Monitoring and Evaluation Systems;
  5. Processes that Affected Attainment of Project Results.

The report will also present the evaluation team’s Lessons and Recommendations. Ratings for different aspects of project will need to be presented by the evaluation team with appropriate data, analysis and explanations as outlined below. All these sections MUST be presented in the final report. The report must also contain an annex with co-finance details and appropriate tracking tools.

The terminal evaluation mission will produce the following deliverables:
  1. A detailed Terminal Evaluation Report in concise English, including lessons learned and recommendations, using on the specified UNDP/GEF format (no more than 50 pages, excluding Executive Summary and Annexes) with sections and assessment ratings outlined earlier in the TOR;
  2. Record of key outputs from the evaluation process, including workshop outputs, and minutes of meetings with stakeholders;
  3. Summary presentation of Terminal Evaluation Report findings to be presented at the Project Terminal Workshop.
The final report together with the annexes shall be written in English and shall be presented in electronic form in MS Word format as well as a hard copy.
 
The final report should include the sections specified in Annex 1 of this TOR and not exceed 50 pages, in addition to the annexes.

Compétences

  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
  • Creating synergies through self-control;
  • Managing conflict;
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
  • Informed and transparent decision making.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

  • Minimum of a master’s degree or equivalent in natural resource management, environment, development or related field demonstrably relevant to the position.

Experience: 

  • Substantive experience in reviewing and evaluating similar technical assistance projects, preferably those involving UNDP/GEF or other United Nations agencies, development agencies and major donors;
  • International/regional consultant with academic and/or professional background in natural resource management or related fields with experience in land management, with in-depth understanding of land issues as well as community-based natural resource management. A minimum of 10 years of working experience is required;
  • Experience in leading multi-disciplinary and multi-national teams to deliver quality products in high stress and short deadline situations;
  • Familiar with SLM approaches in pacific and/or developing countries either through management and/or implementation or through consultancies in evaluation of land related projects. Understanding of local actions contributing to global benefits is crucial;
  • Highly knowledgeable of participatory monitoring and evaluation processes.

Language Requirements:

  • Excellent English writing and communication skills.