UNDP Jobs - 89657- International Consultant Terminal Evaluation of th

International Consultant Terminal Evaluation of the GEF- UNDP project

Location :

Home based with mission to Kazakhstan

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

17-Feb-2020

Application Deadline :

31-Jan-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 months (25 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Important notice to the Applicants!

Only those applications would be considered that have been submitted to the following e-mail address: procurement.kz@undp.org with the indication of Ref.2020-004 in the subject line. The application deadline is 3 PM (Nur-Sultan time) January 31, 2020. For detailed information on the position, required documents to be sent and evaluation procedure please refer to the Terms of Reference.

Project name: Supporting sustainable land management in steppe and semi-arid zones through integrated territorial planning and agro-environmental incentives

This 5 year project is designed to transform land use practices in critical, productive, steppe, arid and semi-arid landscapes of Kazakhstan, which constitute the vast majority of its territory, thus ensuring ecological integrity, food security and sustainable livelihoods. Building upon the past experience of GEF funded projects’ efforts, the project will create a more conducive policy and legal framework for establishment of agro-environmental incentives for sustainable and better integrated pasture and land use planning and management, and build national and local capacity for practical implementation of such planning in the field. Existing best practices and approaches will be replicated at a wider scale within selected representative oblasts namely – Akmola, Kostanai, North and East Kazakhstan Oblasts (i.e., the northern steppe zone: forest steppe, meadow steppe and dry steppe ecosystems), and Almaty and Kzyl Orda Oblasts (i.e., the southern arid zone: desert and steppe semi-desert ecosystems) of the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

To assess the achievement of project objective, the affecting factors, the broader project impact and the contribution to the general goal/strategy, and the project partnership strategy.

The Evaluation will review and assess changes in development conditions, by addressing the following questions, with a focus on the perception of change among stakeholders:

Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions. Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document.
Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results. Were lessons from other relevant projects properly incorporated into the project design?
Review how the project addresses country priorities. Review country ownership. Was the project concept in line with the national sector development priorities and plans of the country (or of participating countries in the case of multi-country projects)?
Review decision-making processes: were perspectives of those who would be affected by project decisions, those who could affect the outcomes, and those who could contribute information or other resources to the process, considered during project design processes?
Review the extent to which relevant gender issues were raised in the project design. See Annex 9 of Guidance for Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for further guidelines.
If there are major areas of concern, recommend areas for improvement.

The Evaluation Report will present recommendations and lessons of broader applicability for follow-up and future support of UNDP and/or the Government, highlighting the best and worst practices in addressing issues relating to the evaluation scope.

Competencies

Excellent analytical skills and ability to write in a concise and comprehensible manner;
Ability to work with tight deadlines and prepare accurate and clear reports for policy makers, at a short notice;
Ability to interact with high government officials; also, be able to work closely with technical experts on a day-to-day basis, as well as to provide hands-on technical assistance and knowledge transfer.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree in natural resources management, economics, environmental studies or other closely related field;

Experience:

7 years of working experience in Environmental Economics, Agriculture, Sustainable Land Management, Organic Farming, financial incentives; experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis;
At least 5 years of experience in working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations;
Competence in adaptive management, as applied to land desertification protection;
Recent knowledge of the GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Policy;
Recent knowledge of UNDP’s results-based management policies and procedures;
Recognized expertise in the Agricultural extension and sustainable land management and stakeholder involvement fields;
Familiarity with agricultural sector, extension, legislation, policies and management structures in CIS would be an asset.

Language requirements:

Fluent in English both written and spoken;
Fluency in Russian will be considered an asset.

Application procedure

The following documents only in PDF should be attached to the application (proposal) and sent by e-mail to the following address: procurement.kz@undp.org indicating Ref. 2020-004 in the e-mail subject no later than 15.00 (Nur-Sultan time) January 31, 2020:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP; Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs; template attached;
Detailed personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and other supporting information confirming that the Candidate meets the qualification requirements;
Copies of higher education diplomas and other relevant documents.

Due to the technical features of e-mail, the size of the file should not exceed 9 Mb per message. There could be maximum of 3 e-mail transmissions.

ONLY fully submitted applications would be considered!!!

The type of Contract to be signed and the applicable UNDP Contract General Terms and Conditions, as specified in TOR, can be accessed at http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/procurement/business/how-we-buy.html