Junior Evaluation Consultant for Mid-Term Evaluation of the UNEP-convened CCAC project

Result of ServiceThe ultimate result of the service is the comprehensive midterm evaluation of the UNEP-convened CCAC project. Work LocationRemote Expected duration2.5 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, and representatives of the private sector, the environmental community, and other members of civil society. The CCAC is the only international initiative working on integrated climate and clean air solutions to reduce the rate of near-term warming. It focuses on fast action to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) including methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone. More information about the CCAC is here: www.ccacoalition.org. As of October 2023, the same team is providing secretariat services to the Global Methane Pledge. More information about the Global Methane Pledge is here: www.globalmethanepledge.org The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the Secretariat at the Industry & Economy Division in Paris. In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme Manual, the Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) is undertaken approximately half-way through project implementation to analyze whether the project is on-track, what problems or challenges the project is encountering, and what corrective actions are required. A key aim of the Mid-Term Evaluation is to encourage reflection and learning by UNEP staff, its Board, the implementing partners and key project stakeholders. The Evaluation Consultant should therefore, consider how reflection and learning can be promoted, both through the evaluation process and in the communication of evaluation findings and key lessons. Activities and deliverables The objective of the mid-term evaluation is the assessment of the impact and effectiveness of the implementation of the CCAC’s Strategy 2030 to date and to provide forward-looking recommendations. It will provide a stock-taking of the CCAC’s activities over the period spanning between the start of the new CCAC project document and 2030 strategy up to today. It will look at achieved outputs, outcomes, and impacts, and will highlight potential areas for further performance and development and concrete recommendations for the work streams under the coalition until 2030. The midterm review will be based on the OECD DAC evaluation criteria (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability) and apply a Contribution Analysis method to examine and test the CCAC’s Theory of Change (ToC): http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm . https://erc.undp.org/methods-center/methods/evaluation-methods/contribution-analysis https://www.bond.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/impact_evaluation_guide_0515-2.pdf (Page 31) The mid-term evaluation will focus on the following key evaluation questions (KEQ): 1. Relevance and Coherence: (a) Analyse relevant changes and emerging priorities in the political, financial, economic, social, environmental and scientific landscape since the start of CCAC project document/2030 strategy (e.g. changes in key sector issues and challenges, political will, existing and ongoing efforts and relevant strategies and processes to engage with i.e. SDG, NDCs, Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP), etc); (b) Analyse to what extent the interventions of the CCAC respond to global, country, and partner/institution needs, policies, and priorities. (c) Take stock of the CCAC’s unique contribution, compared to other support mechanisms, in increasing its state partners’ implementation capacity for SLCP mitigation policies. (d) Analyse how the CCAC’s strategy and work complement other existing initiatives at these different levels (global, national, subnational). (e) Assess the coherence and complementarity between the activities of the CCAC SAP and other multilateral research initiatives, especially the UN IPCC. 2. Effectiveness: (f) Take stock of the coalition’s achievement at outcomes and where possible impact level under its Strategy 2030 and the resources deployed to reach these including its theory of change, organisational structure, instruments, governance and financial resources; (g) Evaluate the role has the CCAC played in bringing SLCPs on the global agenda since the launch of Strategy 2030 (h) Take stock of the coalition’s overall progress in contributing to the SLCP abatement targets in Annex 1 of the Strategy 2030. (i) Evaluate how effective the CCAC has been in promoting SLCP assessments to decision-makers (j) Assess and compare the effectiveness of the different instruments the CCAC deploys as detailed in Annex 2 of the Strategy 2030. This includes providing an overview of the strengths and weaknesses as well as sustainability and the different instruments and a conclusion which instrument have proven decisive in achieving the goals under the Strategy 2030. 3. Efficiency: - Assess the management structure and organisational arrangements (including governance, setup, and operational processes): · To what extent is the current governance structure effective in supporting the objectives of the coalition? - Evaluate the use of human and financial resources: · Are human and financial resources being allocated and utilized in an economical and cost-effective manner? · Are there mechanisms in place to ensure efficiency and accountability in resource use? - Examine the scope of CCAC supported workstreams (i.e. hubs, activities, projects, assessments) in relation to secretariat capacity: · Does the number and scale of workstreams supported under the CCAC align with the operational capacity of its secretariat? · Is there evidence of strategic prioritization to manage workload and resource constraints effectively? - Review the CCAC’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems: · To what extent does the CCAC have effective and continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place to assess its operations and overall effectiveness? · How systematically are M&E findings used to inform decision-making, improve performance, and ensure accountability? 4. Sustainability: - Assess the sustainability of CCAC workstreams and support mechanisms: · To what extent are the outcomes and impacts of CCAC workstreams likely to be sustained beyond the life of the interventions and beyond 2030? · How sustainable is the CCAC Country engagement, particularly regarding the expression of interest process and the recruitment of national consultants placed within ministries? · What is the catalytic impact of Flagship programs, and what measures are in place to ensure their continuity and ownership at national and institutional levels? 5. Recommendations: (k) Based on the above, make recommendations on strategic direction and possible adjustments to the CCAC and means to support achievement of its goals by 2030 and beyond (priorities and focus of the work, long term political vision supported, level and type of expected impacts, strategic approach for catalysing results, resource mobilisation strategy, governance, strategic partnerships, etc.). Recommendations must be actionable, prioritised (high/medium/low) and include the responsible actor for implementation. The development of recommendations should also consider questions such as: - What are key sector issues and challenges the coalition should address looking ahead? - What is the current political will to work on these issues/challenges? - What are the areas of strongest impacts in relation to required resources that the coalition should focus on? - What are existing and ongoing efforts on these issues and challenges that the coalition should liaise with/build on? - What are potential approaches to address these issues and challenges? - What is the scientific, economic, social and environmental case for working on these issues? - What are the key relevant strategies and processes (i.e. SDGs, NDCs, AQMP, pathway approach etc) that the coalition should further engage with and how? - What impacts should the coalition aim at in quantitative and qualitative terms on SLCP emissions, energy efficiency, near term climate, health, agriculture and ecosystems? - What is the CCAC’s niche/added value to advance on these issues and to achieve impacts? - What synergies and coordination with other relevant initiatives should be promoted? - How should the CCAC best prioritize its interventions and initiatives in relation to the secretariat’s and the different organizational bodies capacities? - How could the coalition’s work be replicated, scaled-up, and/or sustained? Qualifications/special skills- An advanced university degree is required in the field of climate change, environment, natural resources management, development, or international relations. - Another degree combined with extensive professional experience in climate change/air quality may be accepted. - An additional degree of advanced studies in project and program evaluation is an advantage - A minimum of 5 years of technical/evaluation experience in the monitoring and evaluation of global or regional international cooperation programmes is required. - A good understanding of short-lived climate pollutants, climate change and air pollution issues is essential - Experience with climate and/or air quality policies; SLCPs and emission measurements is an advantage. - Experience in evaluations applying OECD-DAC criteria in strategy or programme evaluations is an advantage. - Experience with results-based monitoring and evaluation methodologies including SMART (specific, measurable. achievable, relevant and time-bound) criteria as well as in applying a contribution analysis to examine and test the Theory of Change (ToC) of the CCAC is an advantage. - Thorough knowledge of the UN system is an advantage. LanguagesFluency in English (written and spoken) is essential. Knowledge of French and/or Spanish would be an asset. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.