Empleos en el PNUD - 56467- International ODA Monitoring and Evaluation Consul

International ODA Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant to Conduct Training on M&E for Development Cooperation Providers in Europe and CIS 7-9 October 2015, Bucharest, Romania.

Localidad :

Bucharest, Rumania

Tipo de contrato :

Individual Contract

Fecha de comienzo del contrato :

01-Oct-2015

Fecha límite de postulación :

28-May-15 (Medianoche Nueva York, Estados Unidos)

Nivel de puesto :

International Consultant

Duración del contrato inicial :

1 month

Idiomas requeridos :

Inglés

Duración esperada del puesto :

1 month

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Antecedentes

The UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and CIS is looking for a monitoring and evaluation expert with experience in development cooperation to conduct a training course on M&E for development assistance providers in Europe and CIS - mostly for the staff of Ministries of Foreign Affairs, development agencies, and line ministries from Europe and CIS (a limited participation is expected from NGOs/ private sector). The consultant will coordinate and manage the agenda and will work closely with the resource persons (to be determined) who will assist by sharing their experience and best practices.

Many of the countries in the region have only recently emerged as donors and providers of development assistance (for example after joining the EU in 2003 and 2007). Some of the target countries, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, have also recently joined the OECD/DAC. In order to meet high standards of aid delivery, UNDP (along with other international partners) has been providing capacity building support to these countries in their new role as providers of ODA. During the last year´s technical workshop jointly organized by WBI, UNDP and European Commission in partnership with the Corvinus University of Budapest (June 13-14, 2012, Budapest), a throughout assessment of existing capacity building practices and needs of European emerging donors was carried out. The assessment revealed a strong demand to further support building the capacities of new donors in the region, by conducting practically oriented trainings on selected topics.

Monitoring and evaluation is one of the areas where officers of development agencies and institutions responsible for aid delivery face challenges, particularly due to constraints in human and financial resources.

Project countries

The UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and CIS designed a capacity building program comprising of 6 on-demand trainings for emerging development cooperation providers in Europe and CIS to be implemented in the period 2014-2015. The participants will primarily include staff of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, line ministries, and development cooperation agencies. The need for such activities has been expressed by two development cooperation providers from among the EU Member States (Czech Republic and Romania), but the activities will be open to representatives from other countries as well, including but not limited to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovak Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, and representatives of Western donors.

General training description

The envisaged capacity building activities will comprise 6 thematic modules identified and specified in consultation with participating institutions and based on a review of needs and existing practices in management and programming of official development assistance in the participating countries as well as from first training feedback. Each activity will consist of a technical training conducted by the consultant and/or another external consultant (a resource person) and a knowledge exchange/peer-learning component with development agencies, ministries and non-state entities as observers, particularly from among the more experienced development cooperation providers. Each activity should be intensive and practical in nature and be carried out in 2 to 3 days with approx. 30 participants.

The list of thematic modules to be addressed by the set of capacity building activities in 2014-2015 is as follows:

Introduction to Project Cycle Management, Prague, January 2014 (See Annex II – Mini-Summary report on feedback on Training 1 – Project Cycle Management);
Strategic Programming for ODA, Bratislava, April 2014;
Communicating Development Results, Bucharest, 12-13 June 2014;
Identification and Formulation of Development Projects & Sustainable Procurement, Prague, 14-16 January 2015;
Monitoring and Evaluation, Bucharest, 7-9 October 2015;
Knowledge Management / Mechanisms for Knowledge Sharing, Istanbul, December 2015.

The fifth planned course on Monitoring and Evaluation will provide participants with the necessary knowledge and relevant tools to better integrate monitoring and evaluation in development projects and programmes.

The training will touch upon the following aspects:

Results-based monitoring and evaluation systems – developing an M&E strategy, planning for M&E and implementing M&E throughout the project management cycle;
Methods, techniques and practical tools in development monitoring and evaluation;
Managing external evaluations conducted by external consultants (versus conducting an in-house evaluation);
Integrating cross-cutting issues in M&E;
Best practices, international guidelines and innovation in development M&E.

At the end of the training, participants should be able to:

Understand the importance of building a results-based M&E system, including an M&E strategy, planning for M&E and implementing M&E throughout the project management cycle;
Clearly identify the relevant stakeholders that need to be engaged in monitoring and evaluation and learn how to collaborate with them throughout the process;
Formulate indicators and design methods to monitor outputs, outcomes, partnership strategy, implementation strategy and soft assistance;
Have a clear picture over the existing types of evaluations and how to choose the most adequate one in a given situation;
Have a clear understanding of how to develop evaluation questions;
Learn how to manage an external evaluation (as a different type of evaluation effort, with its own particularities compared to in-house evalautions);
Have a clear picture of the tools, mechanisms and techniques available in development monitoring and evaluations;
Know how to enhance the use of knowledge gained from monitoring and evaluation;
Have a clear understanding of evaluation ethics, politics, standards and guiding principles.

Throughout the three-day training, participants will be provided with examples of good practices, and other necessary training instruments. The training will specifically address applicable monitoring methods, especially those usable for field monitoring, and different types of evaluation (especially outcome and impact) for good governance projects (or other soft assistance interventions). The course will be interactive, with a minimal theoretical component. The bulk of the course time will be dedicated to practical group activities. The training will also create the opportunity for participants to share information and best practices on their own M&E systems, through dynamic group activities.

The following selected capacity building activities have been conducted in the past targeting the countries of the region: CIDA/ODACE Programme (2001-2008); ADA´s Regional Partnership Programme (2005-2007); USAID Emerging Donors Initiative (2006-2009); SIDA Partnership Programme (2009-ongoing); World Bank’s Russia as a Donor Programme (2007-2013) and WBI’s ODA Curriculum Development Initiative (2011-ongoing)

Deberes y responsabilidades

The consultant will work for 5 days between late September and mid-October and will have the following tasks, under the direct supervision of the Romanian ODA Project Manager:

Conduct a needs assessment of the participant institutions (the representatives of the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs and/or Development Agencies) The needs assessment will be based on desk review of the M&E systems already in use in the participating countries (as applicable). The activity will be home-based. Interviews and consultations with the project team will be performed via Skype or e-mail;
Develop the detailed training programme for the module Monitoring and Evaluation in Development, in coordination with the resource persons that will participate in the training. This will include the structure of the technical training and suggested content of knowledge exchange/peer-to-peer learning component, facilitation method; suggested training materials (please note that printed handouts are required). The activity will be home-based. Consultations with the project team will be performed via Skype or e-mail;
Conduct the capacity building activity on Monitoring and Evaluation in Development as trainer, utilizing latest methodologies to ensure achievement of expected outcomes and outputs;
Gather participants’ feedback and produce a mini-summary report on this activity in order to ensure training effectiveness (including recommendations for following activities/modules).

Expected outputs/deliverables:

Needs assessment report, including a brief overview of the needs and expected results of the prospective participants;
Training agenda for the Monitoring and Evaluation in Development module;
The successful implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation in Development training;
Mini-summary report on capacity building activity no. 5 (up to 3 pages), including an analysis of the evaluation forms filled by participants (evaluation forms should be ideally created online by the consultant, to be filled-in by participants after the training) and Contractor´s recommendations.

Management Arrangement:

The Consultant will report to the UNDP Romanian ODA Project Manager and will work in close coordination with the Istanbul Regional Hub project team.

Competencias

Functional Competencies:

Excellent knowledge of monitoring and evaluation in development;
Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation and training skills in English;
Strong organizational awareness, client orientation and government advisory skills;
Strong drafting and reporting skills in English (familiarity with MS Office is required).

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

Advanced (MA) university degree (or equivalent) in the area of social sciences, communications and public relations, international relations, international development, education, public administration or relevant field.

Experience:

At least 5 years of experience in project management, with a particular focus on M&E;
At least 3 years of experience in development cooperation;
Direct experience in the design, leading and facilitation of trainings, workshops and capacity building activities in the field of international development related to monitoring and evaluation (Proven track record of at least 3 similar assignments);
Demonstrated experience in designing/setting-up M&E systems is a must;
Practical experience in conducting evaluations is a plus;
Previous experience in working with international organizations, working with UN agencies will be an asset.

Languages:

Proficiency (verbal and written) in English.

Important

Application procedure

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website, to the following: UN House/Casa ONU, Blvd. Primaverii 48 A, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania OR via email to procurement.ro@undp.org, no later than May 28th 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (Bucharest local time, GMT+3).

For full documentation please consult the atachments to this announcement or access: http://www.undp.ro/operations/tender-announcements/#n3554

The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
Financial offer (as per the Offeror’s letter confirming interest and availability (Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal) - attached to this announcement);
P11 form/CV including past experience in similar assignments and at least 3 references.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. Group all your documents into one single file to upload because the system allows only one attachment.