UNDP Jobs - 25432- Final Evaluation Consultant

Final Evaluation Consultant

Location :

Windhoek, NAMIBIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

22-Sep-2011

Application Deadline :

14-Sep-11 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 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

The Government of Namibia has identified land degradation as a serious problem which demands remedial intervention, and has recognized that integrated ecosystem management strategies are needed to effectively address the underlying causes. Existing efforts on-the-ground are obstructed by a series of barriers, which undermine their efficacy. Although the government has been, and remains, fully committed to combating land degradation, insufficient capacity at systemic, institutional and individual levels, and inadequate knowledge and technology dissemination constrain the effectiveness of interventions.

The Country Pilot Partnership (CPP) Programme for Integrated Sustainable Land Management (ISLM) is a programme of seven ministries:

Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET);
Ministry of Agriculture;
Water and Forestry (MAWF);
Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR);
Ministry of Regional and Local Government and Housing and Rural Development (MRLGHRD);
Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME);
Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The National Planning Commission (NPC), the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and its Implementing Agencies, the European Union, GTZ and the NGO community are aimed at overcoming barriers to combating Land degradation and its effects. Adapting to Climate Change through the Improvement of Traditional Crops and Livestock Farming (CCA) is a sub-project that aims at enhancing the adaptive capacities of farmers, pastoralists and natural resource managers to climate change in agricultural and pastoral systems in north-central Namibia. It is a project under Namibia’s Country Pilot Partnership for Integrated Sustainable Land Management (CPP-ISLM), contributing to Objective 2 of the overall CPP-ISLM; identifying and disseminating cost-effective, innovative and appropriate SLM techniques which integrate environmental and economic benefits.

Duties and Responsibilities

The evaluation will include ratings on the following two aspects:

Sustainability
Outcome/Achievement of objective and outcome targets.

The Evaluators should provide ratings for these two aspects by considering three criteria:

Implementation Approach
Stakeholder Participation/Public Involvement
Adaptive management (i.e. how Monitoring and Evaluation processes have led to adjustments to project implementation to address implementation issues).

Project Conceptualization/Design:

Whether the problem the project is addressing is clearly identified and the approach soundly conceived.
Relevance of project design within the framework of GEF strategic objective to support the incremental cost of global environmental benefits.
Whether the target beneficiaries and end-users of the results of the project are clearly identified.
Whether the objectives and outcomes of the project were stated explicitly and precisely in verifiable terms with observable success indicators.
Appropriateness of the project’s concept and design to the current economic, institutional and environmental situation in the target region – Omusati.
Whether the relationship between objectives, outcomes and outputs of the project are logically articulated.
Contribution of the project’s concept to the overall development objective as declared in the Project Document
Whether the project started with a well-prepared work-plan and reasons, if any, for deviations.
The likely impact of project interventions and sustainability of project outcomes.

Project Relevance:

Whether the project is relevant to the development priorities of the country and the region.
Given the objective of the project whether appropriate institutions have been assisted.

Project Implementation:

The evaluation team will examine the quality and timeliness in regard to:

The delivery of inputs (quality & quantity) specified in the project document, adherence to work plans and budgets, institutional arrangements, interest of beneficiaries, the scheduling and actual implementation.
The fulfillment of the success criteria as outlined in the project document.
The responsiveness of the project management to significant changes in the working environment (both facilitated and impeded project implementation).
The role and effectiveness of UNDP, MAWF, and other stakeholders who were involved in the project.
Lessons from other relevant projects if incorporated in the project implementation.
The adequacy of management arrangements.
The delivery of Government counterpart inputs in terms of personnel, premises and farming equipment.
The project’s collaboration with industry associations, private sector and civil society, NGOs, CBOs.
Institutional set-up through the Project Steering Committee and the degree to which it has encouraged full involvement of the intended beneficiaries in the region.

Project Performance:

Whether the project resources (financial, physical and manpower) were adequate for delivery of the project objective and outcome targets.
Whether the Project resources were used effectively to produce planned results.
Whether the project was cost-effective compared to similar interventions elsewhere.
Whether the technologies selected (any innovations adopted, if any) were suitable for the beneficiaries.
The role of UNDP Country Office and its impact (positive and negative) on the functioning of the project.

Results/Success of the programme applied to each Specific Outcomes and Outputs:

Delivery of the objective and outcomes targets should form the main basis for this evaluation. In addition, the following information is needed:

What are the major achievements of the project vis-à-vis its objectives, outcomes and outputs. Please explain in detail in terms of impact, links to application of policies, sustainability of results and contribution to capacity development.
Quantify as far as possible the benefits to communities from the project in terms of reduced vulnerability to climate variability and change, taking into account the climate baseline that operated during the lifetime of the project.
To what extent does the project deliver global environmental benefits?
What major issues and problems affected the implementation of the project, and what was the adequacy of the management response?
Level of institutional networking achieved and capacity development of key partners from inception to implementation.
Environmental impacts (positive and negative) and remedial actions taken, if relevant.
Social impacts, including impact on the lives of women at each project sites.
The extent to which learning about adaptation has been promoted by the project.
Any underlying factors, beyond control, that influenced the outcome(s) of the project.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards.
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge of the UNDP M & E approach, and M&E methodologies.
Hands-on experience of one or more of UNDP's capacity development strategies: institutional reform; leadership capacities; etc.
Recent country and/or regional experience in working with relevant stakeholders on capacity development.
Demonstrated ability to engage well in cross-sector and matrixes teams.

Leadership and Self-Management:

Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Good team player, self starter, has ability to work under minimum supervision and maintain good relationships.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal - Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work.Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable).
Financial proposal
Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references

Financial Proposal:

Lump sum contracts - The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel:

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters Degree in Environmental sciences or other related field. Additional years of relevant work experience preferably in combination with a relevant Bachelor's Degree, may substitute for the requirement for a master's degree.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years proven experience in disaster risk reduction and/or climate change adaptation.
Experienced within the UN and preferably UNDP M&E framework and Result Based Management system, GEF projects, PIR and evaluations.
Knowledge of administrative/financial/procurement UNDP procedures.
Experience in conducting evaluations.
Proven ability to write technical reports.
Possess excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to network and foster teamwork.
Strong foundation in climate change adaptation programming.
Computer literacy.
Experience working in the region is desirable.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English.