Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO strives to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. ย
To this end, FAO implements a wide portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives across multiple sectors, including fisheries, forestry, animal production and health, land and water, plant production and protection, inclusive rural development, food and nutrition, food systems and safety, social protection, information management systems / data systems for monitoring and decision making, and others. FAO has a growing portfolio of work in the development and humanitarian (emergency and resilience interventions) sectors. FAO conducts its work through a skilled technical workforce and internal and external partnerships. ย
FAO evaluates the strategic alignment, implementation, efficacy, and efficiency of its portfolio of work through its independent Office of Evaluation (OED), which is led by a Director who reports to the FAO Governing Bodies and to the Director-General. OED evaluates FAO strategies, initiatives, programmes, and projects at the global, regional, and national levels. OED seeks to generate credible and useful evidence and insights to inform decisions, support oversight, and help FAO achieve its mission. In so doing, OED provides results accountability to both member nations and the Director-General. OED also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development and humanitarian effectiveness by the UN system.
The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching a Country Programme Review (CPR) of the Viet Nam programme. This will assess progress over the Country Programme Framework (CPF) period 2022 - 2026 and inform the priorities and direction of the next CPF.
OED is seeking qualified specialists, with demonstrated evaluation experience in Viet Nam and a background in sectors related to FAOโs areas of work in this project to join the CPR team. Applications are sought for the following roles:
โข ย ย ย ย Senior Evaluation Specialistย
โข ย ย ย ย Evaluators bringing experience of One Heath / infectious animal disease control; climate resilient agriculture; and in inclusive policy and programming in Viet Nam.
In this CPF period the FAO Viet Nam programme has delivered on around $60 million in 75 projects. The main programme areas have been in agri-food systems, One Health/animal health, climate resilient agriculture, natural resource management and disaster resilience.
Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation:
The main purpose of the Viet Nam CPR is to capture progress on the CPF period, capture learning from this and form conclusions and recommendations for the next CPF phase. The main objectives of the evaluation are to:
โข ย ย ย ย Evaluate progress to date across the key areas of the FAO Viet Nam programme.
โข ย ย ย ย Identify good practices and learning opportunities arising from the programme.ย
โข ย ย ย ย Identify key areas for further development and prioritisation in the coming years.
The evaluation will be conducted between August 2025 and February 2026. In-country capital city consultations and field visits to selected provinces will be carried out during the September-October 2025 period.
Candidates should not have been involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of FAOโs work in Viet Nam.
Reporting Lines
The evaluators will work with close guidance of the Evaluation Lead (Evaluation Officer Asia Pacific), and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).
Technical Focus
The Viet Nam CPF was designed to contribute to key areas of development within the country and outcomes focused on:
โข ย ย ย ย Improved control and prevention of health risks in Vietnam through One Health approaches targeting zoonoses, pesticides, AMR, food safety, and pandemic preparedness
โข ย ย ย ย Enhanced capacity for disaster and climate resilience while strengthening sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation, especially for vulnerable populations
โข ย ย ย ย Ensuring equitable benefits from sustainable economic transformation by creating safer, more affordable food systems through innovation, collaboration, and policy improvements
โข ย ย ย ย Fostering inclusive society through improved governance and rights protection, mainstreamed across all other outcomes without separate projects or budget.
Tasks and responsibilities
โข ย ย ย ย Contribute to the evaluation in their areas of expertise under the guidance and supervision of the Evaluation Lead.ย
For the senior specialist: contributing to finalizing the evaluation process and data collection processes, management and documentation.
โข ย ย ย ย Support developing and pre-testing methods including surveys, and stakeholder consultations.
โข ย ย ย ย Briefing and task setting for the technical survey teams. ย
โข ย ย ย ย Contributing to authoring of key deliverables: inception report, draft and final reports, presentations
For other specialists: Analysis of current and (as far as possible) projected government policies and priorities on key animal infectious disease control, climate resilient agriculture and inclusion.
โข ย ย ย ย Contributing to tool development for primary data collection.
โข ย ย ย ย Contributing to community level data collection and consultations.ย
โข ย ย ย ย Contributing on desk review of secondary data relating to the programme areas.
โข ย ย ย ย Contributing to the development of the methodology in consultation with and under the supervision of OED.ย
โข ย ย ย ย Participate in information sessions, debriefs, field visits and support to the writing of the final evaluation report.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
โข ย ย ย ย University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluation, governance, climate resilient agriculture, Natural Resources Management, infectious animal disease control, equity and inclusion.
โข ย ย ย ย For the senior specialist: more than 5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above. For the other specialists 3-5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above
โข ย ย ย ย For PSA.SBS only working knowledge of English.
FAO Core Competencies
โข ย ย ย ย Results Focus
โข ย ย ย ย Teamwork
โข ย ย ย ย Communication
โข ย ย ย ย Building Effective Relationships
โข ย ย ย ย Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
โข ย ย ย ย Ideally previous experience of Country Programme evaluations or reviews
โข ย ย ย ย Expertise in the above technical areas.ย
โข ย ย ย ย Previous experience in conducting/taking part in independent evaluations of major interventions.
โข ย ย ย ย Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation skills and interviewing skillsย
โข ย ย ย ย Demonstrated relevant experience of working in Viet Nam and/or of conducting evaluations in the country or in similar contexts.
โข ย ย ย ย Demonstrated experience in evaluation: experience in designing and conducting surveys, evaluation interviews and focus group discussions. Knowledge of participatory evaluation techniques is strongly desired.
โข ย ย ย ย Excellent report writing skills.
โข ย ย ย ย Knowledge of the context in Viet Nam