THE PROJECT

The project’s objective was to strengthen restoration and sustainable management of pastoral rangelands to provide ecosystem services and protection of biodiversity in Egypt and Jordan and catalyze scale up regionally and globally. Specifically, the project supported capacity building for rangeland stakeholders in the two participating countries (Jordan and Egypt) and beyond, using the catalytic outreach of IUCN ROWA and its partners in West Asia, North Africa, and other parts of the world.

THE EVALUATION TEAM

For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of an Evaluation Consultant who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager in consultation with the UNEP Task Manager, Fund Management Officer, and the Sub-programme Coordinators of the Ecosystem Management Sub-programmes.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for the overall management of the Evaluation and timely provision of its outputs, data collection and analysis and report-writing. More specifically:

Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:

• preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff;
• draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project;
• prepare the evaluation framework;
• develop the desk review and interview protocols;
• draft the survey protocols (if relevant);
• develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission;
• plan the evaluation schedule;
• prepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager

Data collection and analysis phase of the Evaluation, including:

• conduct further desk review and virtual in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders;
• regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and;
• keep the Project Manager informed of the evaluation progress.

Reporting phase, including:

• draft the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that the evaluation report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation Manager guidelines both in substance and style;
• liaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that comments are taken into account until approved by the Evaluation Manager
• prepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted by the Evaluation Consultant and indicating the reason for the rejection; and

(where agreed with the Evaluation Manager) prepare an Evaluation Brief (2-page summary of the evaluand and the key evaluation findings and lessons)

Managing relations, including:

• maintain a positive relationship with evaluation stakeholders, ensuring that the evaluation process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence;
• communicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention.
• The Evaluation Consultant shall have had no prior involvement in the formulation or implementation of the project and will be independent from the participating institutions. The consultant will sign the Evaluation Consultant Code of Conduct Agreement Form.
• The Evaluation Consultant will be selected and recruited by the UNEP Evaluation Office through an individual consultancy contract.
• Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with the consultant separately.

Requirements

Qualifications/special skills

• A university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required and an advanced degree in the same areas is desirable.
• A minimum of 7 years of technical / evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach.
• A good/broad understanding of sustainable land management is required and a focus on rangelands and drylands would be an advantage.
• Country experience of Jordan and Egypt is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement and working knowledge of Arabic is desirable.