Project Midterm Evaluation Expert – South Africa Pillar 1 Project

Result of ServiceMid-Term Review Report of the Project; “Catalyzing Financing and Capacity for the Biodiversity Economy around Protected Areas” The results are expected to guide the execution of the project in its remaining term. Work LocationHomebased Expected duration4 Months Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global 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 global environment\". Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP’s Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. This consultancy post is in UNEP / Ecosystems Division / GEF Biodiversity unit and reports to the respective GEF Task Manager. UNEP is implementing a GEF project titled \"Capacity support for accession to and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization in South Sudan” executed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry/Department of Biodiversity. UNEP would like to recruit a consultant to conduct a Mid-Term Review of this project. 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 findings of the review will be based on the following: a) A desk review of: Relevant background documentation, inter alia, Minutes from Project Review Committee meetings (UNEP PRC, Scientific Technical Advisory Panel (STAP)); Documents from inception meetings (including agendas, participants lists, PowerPoint presentations, minutes etc.); Steering Committee meeting documents, including agendas, meeting minutes and any summary reports (as well as any other management memos, minutes or correspondence relevant to the effective delivery of the project); Project deliverables, such as: technical project reports; country assessment/sector studies; training agendas and participant lists; project communications materials; links to relevant knowledge sharing platforms. -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 etc.; -Evaluations/Reviews of similar projects. b) Interviews (individual or group) with: UNEP Task Manager (TM); Project management team; UNEP Fund Management Officer (FMO); All project partners, Peace Parks Foundation (PPF), WildTrust, iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, Wilderness Foundation, SA Wildlife College, DEFF, SANBI, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Peace Parks Foundation (PPF), WWF-SA, Conservation SA, Limpopo Dept of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), University of Johannesburg ACDB. Review Tasks and Procedures The consultant will be responsible, in close consultation with the Task Manager, for overall coordination of the review and timely delivery of its outputs, described below. The consultant will ensure that all evaluation criteria and questions are adequately covered. Specifically, the consultant will be required to complete the following tasks: Inception Report: will contain confirmation of the results framework and theory of change of the project, project stakeholder analysis, review framework and a tentative review schedule. Preliminary Findings Note: the sharing of preliminary findings is intended to support the participation of the project team, act as a means to ensure all information sources have been accessed and provide an opportunity to verify emerging findings. Draft and Final Review Reports: will contain an executive summary that can act as a stand-alone document; detailed analysis of the review findings organised by review criteria and supported with evidence; lessons learned and recommendations and an annotated ratings table. Review of the draft MTR report. The review team will submit a draft report to the Task Manager and revise the draft in response to their comments and suggestions. Once a draft of adequate quality has been peer-reviewed and accepted, the Task Manager will share the cleared draft report with key project stakeholders for their review and comments. Stakeholders may provide feedback on any errors or fact and may highlight the significance of such errors in any conclusions as well as providing feedback on the proposed recommendations and lessons. Any comments or responses to draft reports will be sent to the Task Manager for consolidation. The Task Manager will provide all comments to the review team for consideration in preparing the final report, along with guidance on areas of contradiction or issues requiring an institutional response. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Task Manager, based in Nairobi, Kenya) and the overall guidance of the Head, GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation Unit based in Nairobi. Qualifications/special skillsAn Advanced degree in Natural sciences, Natural resources Management, Environmental Sciences, monitoring and evaluation, International Development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. • A minimum of 7 years of technical/evaluation experience, including project planning, management, monitoring and evaluation is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is required. • Experience in evaluation of GEF projects is highly desirable. • Excellent writing skills, team leadership experience and, where possible, knowledge of the UN system, specifically of the work of UNEP and GEF programming is an asset. Experience in managing partnerships, knowledge management and communication is desirable for all evaluation consultants. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. 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.