The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is undertaking Independent Country Programme Evaluations (ICPE) in:

South Caucus and Western CIS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia

Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The ICPEs will inform the elaboration of the new country programmes with evaluative evidence of UNDPs contribution to the countries national development priorities. The ICPEs will examine UNDP’s work at the country level during the ongoing programme cycle 2016-2020. Results of the ICPEs are expected to provide a set of forward-looking recommendations as input to the formulation process for the next country programme development.

IEO is seeking senior evaluation consultants (international/regional/national) to put together a team of evaluation experts to undertake these ICPEs. The consultants should have substantial work experience and knowledge of the region, preferably in the countries under review. In addition to the country experience, the consultants should demonstrate evaluation expertise in one or more UNDP work areas in the countries, which include:

• Governance and Inclusive Sustainable Development (including rule of law, justice, public administration, service delivery, poverty reduction, economic transformation and related areas)
• Environment and Natural Resources Management (including climate change adaptation, resilience and disaster risk reduction, environmental governance and related areas)

Consultants should indicate in their Expression of Interest their thematic expertise as well as preferred countries based on their country experience. Based on the proposals/CVs, IEO will put together two sub-regional teams of consultants (each with one designated Team Leader)- one for Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the other for South Caucus and Western CIS countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia).

The duration of the consultancy will vary depending on the specific tasks and the size of the UNDP country programme and range between 30-35 days per country programme (including field missions), spread between January-October 2019. The country data collection missions are scheduled from 29 April to 31 May 2019.

Specific evaluation Terms of Reference will be shared with consultants selected for the interviews. For more information on IEO, visit http://web.undp.org/evaluation.

Under the overall guidance of the IEO Lead Evaluators, the recruited consultants- working as a team- will contribute to the research, data collection and analysis of the country programme by providing their technical expertise and knowledge in the assigned thematic area(s) including cross-cutting areas like gender, human rights, partnerships and capacity building, and contribute in the analysis of findings, conclusions and recommendations leading to the preparation of the final ICPE report for each of the assigned country.

Specifically, the consultants will:

• Conduct preliminary desk review research based on reference material provided by the IEO;
• Participate in the finalization and analysis of pre-mission surveys for the country offices and the regional programme;
• Prepare pre-mission draft country analysis paper (based on secondary review of literature, pre-mission surveys and preliminary stakeholder discussions) on emerging findings, data gaps, and prepare field data collection and validation mission plans;
• Participate in data collection activities, both prior to and during the in-country mission. These include interviews and meetings with relevant stakeholders (virtual, Skype/telephone, and in person);
• Contribute in the analysis of findings, conclusions and recommendations leading to the preparation of the final ICPE report for each of the assigned country, as well as revisions based on the comments received from stakeholders; and
• Contribute and participate in the presentation of evaluation results to key national stakeholders via videoconference, as required.

The Team Leaders for the two sub-regional teams will have the additional responsibility for preparing the sub-regional synthesis reports for their respective sub-regions (based on the ICPEs) and will contribute in the preparation of a Regional Synthesis report.

Functional competencies

• Strong analytical skills, including ability to quickly assess a diverse range of information with a discerning sense for quality of data; and
• Good mastery of information technology required for organized presentation of information.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Adhere to the principle of confidentiality and ethical code of conducts during the evaluation;
• Ability to work under pressure, multi-tasking skills;
• Available to travel and conduct required analysis within the agreed timelines; and
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English and preferably in local languages.

Corporate Competencies

• Knowledge of UNDP work in the country and sub-region; and
• Ability to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams, acting with professionalism, diplomacy, tact and courtesy.

Education

• A post-graduate degree or higher in interested thematic area(s) indicated above, Social Sciences, Public Policy, International Relations, or other relevant fields.

Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years of work experience in one or more of the thematic areas under review and relevant fields (e.g. governance, capacity development, inclusive growth, poverty reduction, disaster risk management, climate change, aid coordination, policy and strategic advisory services in developing countries);
• Extensive experience in conducting evaluations in development settings, and mastry of qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques, methods and analysis;  
• Experience of gender-responsive programming and/or evaluations; and
• Experience in evaluating programme evaluations for UNDP or other development cooperation agencies in the countries or region will be an asset.

Languages

• Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of languages spoken in the listed countries will be an advantage. 

Application Instructions

Applicants are invited to upload as one combined document the following documents to the UNDP Jobs site:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of at least three (3) professional references;
• A brief cover letter (250-400 words) specifying (a) the thematic area(s) of expertise; (b) country (ies) of interest for the assignment; and (c) details of any potential conflict of interest in having worked in a programmatic capacity for UNDP over the last 5 years; and
• A completed Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Form that indicates your daily rate for this consultancy;

Candidates not sending any of the requested information will be disqualified. Please note that the system can only accept one uploaded document therefore all documents must be combined into a single document for upload.