Global Call for GPN ROSTER – SUBPROFILE ON EVALUATION


Location : Multiple
Application Deadline :31-Jan-23 (Midnight New York, USA)
Type of Contract :Individual Contract
Post Level :International Consultant
Languages Required :

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

All evaluations in UNDP should follow the principles outlined in the 2016 UNDP Evaluation Policy (revised in 2019)[1], in line with the 2016 UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation[2]; and relevant donor or fund specific requirements (GEF, GCF, etc.), as relevant.   UNDP has a dual evaluation system with independent country programme evaluations and UNDP-wide thematic evaluations conducted by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office, and decentralized evaluations such as project, outcome, thematic, portfolio and UNSDCFs, commissioned by UNDP programme and policy units at country, regional and headquarters levels. All decentralized evaluations within UNDP are carried out by independent external consultants. More information regarding UNDP’s evaluation structure, processes and procedures can be found in the UNDP evaluation guidelines[3].

In 2021, to facilitate the timely completion of decentralized evaluations for programmes and projects, UNDP had developed a profile of evaluation experts under the UNDP’s GPN/Experts Roster for Rapid Response (GPN/Exp Res Roster). The GPN/Exp Res Roster is a recruitment and deployment mechanism which maintains technically vetted consultants across 35 profiles and 214 sub-profiles to support the work of UNDP Country Offices/units and other UNDP partner agencies.  The evaluation roster profile is comprised of vetted capable and qualified individuals/evaluators who can be called upon as Individual Contractors (ICs) to carry out independent evaluations. This roster profile and other existing related evaluation profiles enable COs and other UNDP bureaus to engage a qualified and diverse mix of evaluators within minimum procurement timeframe. The roster deploys evaluators to UNDP country offices within two to three weeks of receiving a request.   The roster will be reviewed and refreshed annually. 

BPPS is issuing a global call for the expansion of evaluation roster expertise as part of the implementation of the “Roadmap on strengthening decentralized evaluations”. The main objective is to strengthen the pool of evaluators for coverage across the six signature solutions and three enablers under UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2022-2025; and to improve geographic and language coverage.

UNDP is seeking evaluators with technical knowledge of and experience evaluating UNDP’s work in any of the following six signature solutions (TECHNICAL AREA(S) and/or enablers:

Signature solutions

  1. Poverty and inequality: Tackling inequality of opportunities by investing in the enhanced capabilities people need to move above the poverty line and keep moving forwards.
  2. Governance: Helping countries address emerging complexities by “future-proofing” governance systems through anticipatory approaches and better management of risk
  3. Resilience: Supporting countries and communities in building resilience to diverse shocks and crises, including conflict, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation. disasters and epidemics.
  4. Environment: Putting nature and the environment at the heart of national economies and planning; helping governments protect, manage and value their natural assets.  This includes biodiversity and ecosystems; chemicals and waste; water and ocean governance; land degradation; among other focal areas.
  5. Energy: Increasing energy access for those furthest behind and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.
  6. Gender equality: Confronting the structural obstacles to gender equality and strengthening women’s economic empowerment and leadership.
  7. Other cross cutting development issues

 

Enablers are capacities and approaches to scale-up development impact for country partners and within UNDP’s own systems (TECHNICAL AREA(S):

  1. Strategic innovation: Empowering governments and communities to enhance the performance of entire systems, making them adaptive and resilient
  2. Digitalization: Supporting countries to build inclusive, ethical, and sustainable digital societies
  3. Development financing: Partnering with governments and the private sector to align public and private capital flows with the SDGs and mobilise finance at scale

In addition, UNDP is seeking evaluators with experience working in one or more of the regions: a) Latin America & Caribbean; b) Africa; c) Arab States; d) Eastern Europe & CIS; e) Asia & Pacific; f) Global

Candidates must be fluent in English. Proficiency in other languages (Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and others) will be beneficial.

 

[1] Access at:  http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/policy/2019/DP_2019_29_E.pdf  

[2] Access at: http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/1914  

[3] Access at: http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/index.shtml

Duties and Responsibilities

Selection of candidates will be done by Regional Bureau/Hub, Bureau for Policy, and Programme Support (BPPS) and Crisis Bureau (CB) M&E specialists in close collaboration with relevant programme or policy units. Responsibility for management, contracting and payment of evaluators will be held by the programme or policy units at the Country Office, Regional or Headquarters level who commission individual evaluation assignments.

 

The ICs selected for the roster will be considered for carrying out mid-term or terminal evaluations of selected projects and programmes. In cases where there is a national consultant (NC) as part of the team, the IC will act as a team leader. Specific reporting and working relationships will be specified at the time of contracting. Detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) with relevant annexes and additional guidance will be provided for each assignment.

 

For each assignment, expected tasks and deliverables may include but not be limited to:

 

  • Inception report
  • Presentation of initial findings at the end of data collection mission
  • Draft report and briefing for the evaluation manager, programme/project managers and stakeholders on the progress and key findings and recommendations
  • Final evaluation report, taking into consideration comments and questions on the evaluation report.
  • Completed audit trail with evaluators’ response to all comments.
  • Documented good practices, and lessons from the evaluation
  • Conducting validation workshop with key stakeholders

The exact timing, due dates and guidance for each deliverable will be outlined in each assignment-specific TOR.

 

Working arrangements

  • Candidates successfully selected through a technical criteria review will be included in the UNDP GPN/ExpRes Roster for a period of up to three (3) years with opportunity for renewal.
  • Consultants will be home-based with possible mission travel, depending on the assignment.
  • UNDP does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of entry into the Roster as this will depend on forthcoming needs and performance appraisals.
  • Entry into the Roster is non-exclusive (i.e., it does not prohibit UNDP from sourcing expertise from other rosters, entities, or individuals).
  • The final nature and scope of each assignment will vary and will focus on aspects of this Terms of Reference (TOR). Such details will be included in a separate TOR for each specific assignment.
  • If an expert has been involved in design of a project or has a vested interest in the result, s/he will not be considered to carry out the evaluation as this poses a conflict of interest as per UNDP guidelines.
  • The financial proposal will specify only the all-inclusive daily fee and payments will be made to the consultant based on number of days worked payable against assigned deliverables.  Such fee would be the ceiling amount.
  • The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e., laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, software, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection.
  • Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable.
  • Payments will be made as specified in the actual contract upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner and as per specified due dates.

Travel

  • International travel might be required. Specific mission travel will depend on the specific assignment and must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor.
  • The BSAFE Online Security Awareness Training Course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel.
  • Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/ inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
  • Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives, set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
  • Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP.
  • The consultants will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
  • All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP travel rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents.

 

Competencies

Integrity:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism.
  • Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

 

Technical:

  • Demonstrated skills in writing reports and evaluations, experience with UN being an asset.
  • Advanced editing skills.
  • Computer literacy for Microsoft Office Package or equivalent.
  • Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.

 

Communication:

  • Speaks and writes clearly and effectively.
  • Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately.
  • Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication.
  • Tailors’ language, tone, style, and format to match the audience.
  • Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

 

Professionalism:

  • Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter.
  • Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results.
  • Motivated by professional rather than personal concerns.
  • Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges.
  • Capable of working in a high-pressure environment, managing many tasks simultaneously.
  • Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
  • Exercises the highest level of responsibility and able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

 

Teamwork:

  • Works well in a team to advance the priorities of the assignment and UNDP.
  • Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks.
  • Focuses on results for the client.
  • Welcomes constructive feedback.

 

Client Orientation and Communication:

  • Good interpersonal and networking skills, ability to establish and maintain effective working relations, supports, and encourages open communication in the team, and facilitates teamwork.
  • Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with a wide range of stakeholders, in a manner which is always courteous and professional, employing an appropriate level of formality and diplomacy.
  • Ability to follow instructions accurately and to work under minimum supervision.


Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree in a relevant field in development studies, international development, natural or applied sciences, environmental management, other relevant political or social sciences area, or closely related field (Max. 10 points).

 

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of professional work experience in conducting and managing evaluations (Max. 20 points).
  • Experience working with one or more of the following thematic areas: cross-cutting development issues, poverty, governance, resilience, environment, energy or gender, strategic innovation, digitalization, and development financing (Max. 20 points).
  • Experience in the usage of various evaluation methodologies (Max. 10 points).
  • Demonstrated experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis (Max. 5 points).
  • Experience working in one or more of the following regions: Latin America & Caribbean; Africa; Arab States; Eastern Europe & CIS; Asia & Pacific; Global (Max. 10 points).
  • Quality of past evaluations based on two samples (Max 10 points).  
  • Experience with the United Nations system will be considered an asset (Max. 5 points).

 

Language:

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English language. Good command of other UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is an advantage. (Max. 10 points);

Evaluation method and inclusion in roster:

  • Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated.
  • The technical criteria (education, experience, language [max. 100 points] and interview [max.30 points]) will be based on a maximum 130 points in total.
  • Candidates scoring 70 points or higher from the review of the education, experience and languages will be considered for the interview.
  • Candidates obtaining 20 points or higher in the interview and who have accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be included in the roster.

 

Documentation to be submitted:

  • Candidates must clearly indicate in a cover/motivation letter the following:
    • TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE with conducting evaluations
    • TECHNICAL AREA(S) the candidate has experience in: (a) poverty; (b) governance; (c) resilience; (d) environment; (e) energy; (f) gender (g) strategic innovation (h) digitization (i) development financing (j) cross-cutting development issues.
    • REGION(S) the candidate has experience working in any of the region: a) Latin America & Caribbean; b) Africa; c) Arab States; d) Eastern Europe & CIS; e) Asia & Pacific; f) Global
  • Applicants must submit a P11 or CV including Education/Qualification, Professional Certification, Employment Records /Experience and contact details of referees.
  • Applicants must submit or provide links to two writing samples of past evaluations.
  • Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex I Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Roster Link to Individual contract Offerors letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability

 

Kindly note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

 

UNDP Personal History form (P11):

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

 

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:

Link to General conditions of contract for the ICs

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm

Mandatory questions [to be filled out by candidates in the UNDP Jobs site]

  • I have read, understood, and hereby accept UNDP’s General Conditions of Contract for the Services of the Individual Contractors
  • Do you have a master’s degree in a relevant field in development studies, international development, other relevant political or social sciences area, or closely related field?
  • Please indicate if you have at least 5 years of professional work experience in managing and conducting evaluations?
  • Please indicate if you have experience working for the United Nations?

Kindly note that due to the large number of applications received, we are only able to inform the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

Kindly note that due to the large number of applications received, we are only able to inform the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. 

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