The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the world’s environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the environment.

Specific duties and responsibilities: 

• All the activities related to the MTR are to be carried out as per UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme Manual. The Mid-Term Review will use a participatory approach whereby key stakeholders are kept informed and consulted throughout the review process. Both quantitative and qualitative review methods will be used as appropriate to determine project achievements against the expected outputs, outcomes and impacts. It is highly recommended that the Review Consultant maintains close communication with the project team and promotes information exchange throughout the review implementation phase in order to increase their (and other stakeholder) ownership of the review findings.
• The Review Consultant should provide a geo-referenced map that demarcates the area covered by the project and provide geo-reference photographs of key intervention sites (e.g. sites of habitat rehabilitation and protection, pollution treatment infrastructure, etc.)

The findings of the Review will be based on the following:
A desk review of:

• Relevant background documentation, inter alia:
• Project Document and Appendices
• Project design documents (including minutes of the project design review meeting at approval); Annual Work Plans and Budgets or equivalent, revisions to the project (Project Document Supplement), the logical framework and its budget;
• Project reports such as six-monthly progress and financial reports, progress reports from collaborating partners, meeting minutes, relevant correspondence and including the Project Implementation Reviews and Tracking Tool etc.;
• Evaluations/Reviews of similar projects.

Interviews (individual or in group) with:

• UNEP Task Manager (TM) and team members;
• Representatives of Executing Agencies and national governments;
• UNEP Fund Management Officer (FMO);
• Representatives from civil society and specialist groups (such as women’s, farmers and trade associations etc).
• Field visits: A minimum of two country visits, one to a South Mediterranean and one to an Eastern Mediterranean country, to be proposed by the Reviewer in their Inception Report; plus visits to the Executing Agency in Athens and MedWaves in Barcelona.
• Other data collection tools: to be determined by the Review Consultant at the inception phase

Requirements

Qualifications/special skills

• A university degree in environmental sciences/engineering, marine or ecosystem science, international development or other relevant area is required. An advanced degree in the same areas is desirable.
• A minimum of 7 years of technical / evaluation experience in projects and programmatic approaches is required.
• Experience evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is desirable.
• Good/broad understanding of POPs, mercury and hazardous waste is desirable.
• Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in English and knowledge of French languages is required.