Evaluation Team Leader & Evaluation Specialist

Background and context The global umbrella programme “Gender-responsive Climate Change Initiatives and Decision-making” comprises three projects each implemented by a different partner organization: the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO); These projects have been running since 2008 and have supported a paradigm shift on gender and climate change. Through a coordinated partnership approach, they have ensured that gender equality principles are integrated into the outcome documents and processes of UNFCCC negotiations, as well as the operations of major climate funds. They have provided technical expertise and recommendations to over 100 governments; trained more than 500 national gender and climate change experts from over 100 countries; and integrated gender concerns into national climate change policies and programmes across several countries.   The umbrella programme is made possible through contributions from the governments of Finland and Denmark to the UNDP Gender Thematic Trust Fund; UNDP is the fund manager for the global umbrella programme. The first phase of funding covered the years 2008 – 2010. The second phase of funding supported the implementation of activities from 2010-2012. Funding entered its third phase in April 2012 and will continue through June 2014. Based on the timeliness of the issue of gender and climate change and the great demand for activities by governments and other stakeholders, implementing partners envision expanding ongoing activities and extending the current project implementation period beyond 2014. Evaluation outcomes are expected to influence future programming.   The umbrella programme is one of the main programming vehicles for the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA), which was formed in November 2007 by IUCN, UNDP, UNEP, and WEDO with the objective to ensure that climate change policies, decision-making, and initiatives at the global, regional and national levels are gender responsive. As of November 2012, the Alliance comprises 69 UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations. Its core strategy includes a focus on advocacy and capacity development at all levels. GGCA member organizations and activities are coordinated through the GGCA Secretariat (facilitation of which is a complementary initiative under the joint programme.)   On behalf of all implementing partners, UNDP is now looking to retain the services of an Evaluation Team Leader and an Evaluation Specialist to undertake a medium-term evaluation of the global umbrella programme. The evaluation will focus on both the programme’s second phase of activities spanning from 2010 – 2012, and the third phase to the extent possible, and encompass an assessment of selected activities by all implementing partners on the global, regional, and national level, as well as the work of the GGCA Secretariat.    Phase 2 of the umbrella programme built on successes achieved in the first phase and aimed at 1) integrating a gender perspective into policy and decision-making in order to ensure that the UN mandates on gender equality are fully implemented; and 2) building capacities at all levels to design and implement gender-responsive climate change policies, strategies, and programmes. The current, ongoing, third phase of activities, from 2012 to 2014, moves to action and targets the promotion of women‘s leadership from local to global levels and the successful implementation of national and regional gender and climate change activities in various countries around the world; it aims at 1) integrating a gender perspective into the post 2012 UNFCCC agreement and relevant programme decisions as well as other international, regional and national policy and decision-making related to climate change; and 2) promoting the leadership of women at global, regional and national levels through the Women Delegates Fund.   Further information on objectives, outcomes, and results of Phase 2 and 3 of the umbrella programme as well as details on activities, indicators, and risks will be made available to the evaluation team leader and evaluation specialist together with additional material (such as project documents, quarterly and annual reports etc.) upon recruitment.    Purpose The purpose of the evaluation is to assess whether and to what extent the planned objectives, outcomes and results of the umbrella programme have been or are being achieved as a result of the partners’ work. Further, the evaluation is envisaged to go beyond this and address questions related to relevance, sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness of programme activities. Specifically, the evaluation will assist implementing partners in gaining a better understanding of the following aspects of their interventions: The extent to which the planned and related objectives, outcomes and results of the programme have been or are being achieved; The efficiency and effectiveness of the programme in achieving its objectives, outcomes and results; and The identification of project activities that have had the most tangible results and benefits from the beneficiaries’ perspective (i.e. women at all levels of decision making). Further, the work of the GGCA Secretariat will be assessed.   The findings and lessons learnt from the evaluation will feed into the planning process of the next programme cycle (2014 - 2015) and will provide overall guidance for future project strategies and approaches.   Scope and objectives The objective and scope of the evaluation is to assess the extent to which the planned outcomes have been or are being achieved as a result of the GGCA’s work through the umbrella programme; identify existing practices and lessons that effectively contribute to achieving planned outcomes; analyze challenges in delivering targeted results; and recommend any overall strategy and approaches that can further focus and improve the effectiveness of the programme.   The evaluation is envisioned to generate data and substantive information to provide implementing partners with a basis for strategic planning, including the identification of gaps and entry points for future action and recommendations for a fourth phase of activities spanning from 2014-2015. Further, the findings are expected to support distilling lessons for learning and knowledge sharing with a wide audience of gender and climate change practitioners.   Timeframe: The first phase of programme implementation between 2008 and 2010 was geared primarily toward knowledge generation, capacity building, outreach and policy advocacy on the once hidden issue on gender and climate change. As such, work during this time laid the groundwork and created entry points for the second phase of activities which focused on ensuring that gender equality and women’s rights issues are integrated in global, regional and national climate change initiatives. The evaluation will cover this recently concluded second phase of programme implementation, spanning from 2010-2012, as well as the third phase to the extent possible, including activities from the GGCA Secretariat during this period. It will focus on global, regional, and national level activities on gender and climate change, including key areas such as capacity building, awareness raising and advocacy, strategy development, and support in implementing policies and initiatives on the ground. Geographic coverage: The three projects under the global umbrella programme cover countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Arab League of States. The planned outputs intend to contribute to planned outcomes at a global, regional and country level. During the inception period, the consultants will identify a sample of countries to be reviewed and visited which will be agreed upon in the approval of the inception report. The sample will be representative of the geographical coverage and focus of intervention. Target groups and stakeholders: Target groups and stakeholders of the three projects vary, depending on the planned results of each output. They include, but are not limited to, local and national governments, national and regional institutions and mechanisms, civil society organizations, and practitioners. During the inception period, the consultants will identify a sample of target groups/stakeholders to be reviewed based on the project objective to integrate a gender approach to all climate change related decision-making at all levels. The sample should include representatives from the different target group/stakeholders of the three projects throughout the second phase of programme implementation, spanning from 2010-2012, as well as the third phase to the extent possible; should reflect the geographical coverage of the global umbrella programme; and will be agreed upon in the approval of the inception report. The evaluation will also look at interventions on gender and climate change undertaken by other key actors and assess the extent to which implementing partners of the global umbrella programme have built partnerships with other actors in the field of gender and climate change, utilized synergies, and have built on each other’s respective strengths to achieve maximum outcomes.    Methodology The consultants are expected to develop a detailed, adequate and participatory methodology to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the global umbrella programme during the inception period. The methodology should speak to the purpose and objectives of the evaluation and will need to be approved by all implementing partners (IUCN, UNDP WEDO.) As the evaluator(s) will be contracted by UNDP on behalf of the partners, the methodology is required to be in line with UNDP’s ‘Programme and Operations Policy and Procedures’ and UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’.   Evaluation questions and focus areas Overall questions that will guide the evaluation include, but are not limited to the following: Were stated programme objectives, outcomes and results achieved? What were challenges in achieving the objectives, and how could they be addressed in the future? What factors have contributed to achieving, or have undermined, programme objectives? How did collaboration and synergies between partners and different project activities affect achieving programme objectives? How can programme objectives be optimized? What are gaps and entry points for future activities to achieve gender-sensitive policies and programmes on the global, regional, and national level? What are good practices and key lessons from the programme? These questions are envisioned to be specified further by the consultants during the inception period. Specific areas of focus during the evaluation include, but are not limited to the following: Comparison of the differences in the log-frames of phase 2 and 3 of the umbrella programme, and formulation of recommendations in view of a fourth phase with a focus on the effectiveness and monitoring component; Effectiveness of the national-level work implemented under the umbrella programme, especially from the point of view of integrating a gender approach in national-level decision-making, its implementation and long-term sustainability, and identification of the most effective modalities in this respect; Effectiveness of the Women Delegates Fund support and formulation of training; Provision of recommendations in relation to the general structure of the umbrella programme.   Evaluation ethics The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’.

Duties and Responsibilities

Evaluation team composition and competency requirements The evaluation team will consist of two members: 1 Evaluation Team Leader, and 1 Evaluation Specialist.   Evaluation Team Leader The Evaluation Team Leader (1 position) will be responsible for the overall coordination of the evaluation team and for the overall quality and timely submission of the evaluation report to implementing partners. Specifically, the evaluation team leader will perform the following tasks: Lead and manage the evaluation missions; Design the detailed evaluation scope and methodology (including the methods for data collection and analysis); Suggest and find agreement with the Evaluation Specialist on the division of tasks and responsibilities within the evaluation team; Conduct an analysis of the outcome, outputs and partnership strategy (as per scope of the evaluation described above); Present evaluation findings; Draft related parts of the evaluation report; and Finalize the final evaluation report. Evaluation Specialist The Evaluation Specialist will support the Evaluation Team Leader during the evaluation process. Specifically, the Evaluation Specialist will perform the following tasks: Review relevant documents; Participate in the design of the evaluation methodology; Liaise with UNDP staff and partner organizations to organize missions; Liaise with implementing partners to organize meetings with relevant stakeholders; Conduct analysis of the outcomes, outputs and partnership strategy; Draft related parts of the evaluation report; and Support Evaluation Team Leader in finalizing documents through importing suggestions received on the draft evaluation report with a view to overall quality and timely submission of the deliverable. Deliverables The consultants are expected to provide the following deliverables: Evaluation inception report the inception report is expected at the beginning of the evaluation and will include an overview of the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and why; outline the detailed evaluation method, including proposed sources of data and data collection procedures and list of sample countries and target groups/stakeholders; include specified evaluation questions; outline specified activities and time-frame; and assigned responsibilities of each team member. The inception report should also include an evaluation matrix which summarizes evaluation criteria, key evaluation questions, specific sub-questions, data sources, data collection methods and tools, indicators/success standards, and methods for data analysis. The inception report will be shared with all implementing partners for comments and approval. Draft evaluation report The draft evaluation report will be reviewed by implementing partners to ensure that the evaluation meets the required quality criteria (as specified in UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policy and Procedures), and purpose and objectives are fulfilled. After approval, the consultants will prepare the final evaluation report. Evaluation debriefing  Meeting with the implementing partners IUCN, UNDP/UNEP, and WEDO key stakeholders where main findings will be presented. Partners and stakeholders who participated/contributed to the evaluation will have an opportunity to provide comments on the report. Final evaluation report The final report should include an executive summary; introduction; description of the programme and its development context; findings and conclusions; good practices and lessons learned; overall rating of programme implementation and recommendations; examples and case studies; and an evaluation Annex.

Competencies

Evaluation team composition and competency requirements The evaluation team will consist of two members: 1 Evaluation Team Leader, and 1 Evaluation Specialist.   Evaluation Team Leader The Evaluation Team Leader (1 position) will be responsible for the overall coordination of the evaluation team and for the overall quality and timely submission of the evaluation report to implementing partners. Specifically, the evaluation team leader will perform the following tasks: Lead and manage the evaluation missions; Design the detailed evaluation scope and methodology (including the methods for data collection and analysis); Suggest and find agreement with the Evaluation Specialist on the division of tasks and responsibilities within the evaluation team; Conduct an analysis of the outcome, outputs and partnership strategy (as per scope of the evaluation described above); Present evaluation findings; Draft related parts of the evaluation report; and Finalize the final evaluation report. Evaluation Specialist The Evaluation Specialist will support the Evaluation Team Leader during the evaluation process. Specifically, the Evaluation Specialist will perform the following tasks: Review relevant documents; Participate in the design of the evaluation methodology; Liaise with UNDP staff and partner organizations to organize missions; Liaise with implementing partners to organize meetings with relevant stakeholders; Conduct analysis of the outcomes, outputs and partnership strategy; Draft related parts of the evaluation report; and Support Evaluation Team Leader in finalizing documents through importing suggestions received on the draft evaluation report with a view to overall quality and timely submission of the deliverable. Deliverables   The consultants are expected to provide the following deliverables: Evaluation inception report The inception report is expected at the beginning of the evaluation and will include an overview of the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and why; outline the detailed evaluation method, including proposed sources of data and data collection procedures and list of sample countries and target groups/stakeholders; include specified evaluation questions; outline specified activities and time-frame; and assigned responsibilities of each team member. The inception report should also include an evaluation matrix which summarizes evaluation criteria, key evaluation questions, specific sub-questions, data sources, data collection methods and tools, indicators/success standards, and methods for data analysis. The inception report will be shared with all implementing partners for comments and approval. Draft evaluation report The draft evaluation report will be reviewed by implementing partners to ensure that the evaluation meets the required quality criteria (as specified in UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policy and Procedures), and purpose and objectives are fulfilled. After approval, the consultants will prepare the final evaluation report. Evaluation debriefing  Meeting with the implementing partners IUCN, UNDP/UNEP, and WEDO key stakeholders where main findings will be presented. Partners and stakeholders who participated/contributed to the evaluation will have an opportunity to provide comments on the report. Final evaluation report  The final report should include an executive summary; introduction; description of the programme and its development context; findings and conclusions; good practices and lessons learned; overall rating of programme implementation and recommendations; examples and case studies; and an evaluation Annex.

Required Skills and Experience

Evaluation Team Leader  Education: Advanced University Degree in Statistics, Social Science, Sustainable Development, Human Rights or related fields. Experience: At least10 years of experience in programme evaluations and proven accomplishments in undertaking evaluations for international organizations; At least 7 years of solid experience in the area of environment and sustainable development and gender equality; Further experience in working with international organizations is an asset. Language: Fluency in spoken and written English; Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset Evaluation Specialist   Education: Advanced University Degree in Statistics, Social Science, Sustainable Development, Human Rights or related fields. Experience: At least five years of experience in programme evaluations and proven accomplishments in undertaking evaluations for international organizations; At least 4 years of solid experience in the area of environment and sustainable development and gender equality. Further experience in working with international organizations is an asset.  Language: Fluency in spoken and written English; Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.   Documents to be included when submitting the application   Interested individual evaluation consultants/companies/agencies must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: Statement explaining for which position they are applying, how they would approach the assignment, and why they are the most suitable for the work; Personal History form (UNDP PH11)/CVs including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references; Financial proposal: the financial proposal will specify the all-inclusive daily fee in US dollars (excluding mission costs). Payments will be made to the successful candidate upon achieving deliverables as specified above within the provided period of up to 40 and 30 days, respectively. The consultants are expected to undertake several missions related to the evaluation of the global umbrella programme. UNDP will arrange these missions and apply UNDP standard rates of accommodation for tickets and other travel expenses. Estimated are approximately four trips including to New York, and countries in the Africa, Asia, and Latin America regions (exact locations and dates to be confirmed).   EVALUATION Method: Cumulative analysis When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant/company/agency whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight: 70% Financial Criteria weight: 30% Only candidates/companies obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part will be considered for the financial evaluation. Technical evaluation criteria for Evaluation Team Leader Criteria 1 - Advanced university degree in Statistics, Social Science, Sustainable Development, Human Rights or related fields. Maximum obtainable points – 10     Criteria 2 - Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the preparation and presentation of evaluation findings and reports. Maximum obtainable points – 10     Criteria 3 – Experience in leading teams and plan and manage processes. Maximum obtainable points – 10   Criteria 4 - Experience conducting evaluations of gender and environment projects and programmes that include a range of multilateral, bilateral, and civil society partners. Maximum obtainable points – 20            Criteria 5 - Knowledge, technical expertise, and analytical skills on issues related to gender, environment and climate change, with extensive research and documentation of research results and case studies. Maximum obtainable points – 20   Technical evaluation criteria for Evaluation Specialist Criteria 1 - Advanced university degree in Statistics, Social Science, Sustainable Development, Human Rights or related fields. Maximum obtainable points – 10    Criteria 2 - Strong verbal and written communication skills, including contributions to the preparation and presentation of evaluation findings and reports. Maximum obtainable points – 10    Criteria 3 – Strong organization skills, including organization of missions and preparation of stakeholder consultations. Maximum obtainable points – 10       Criteria 4 - Experience conducting evaluations of gender and environment projects and programmes that include a range of multilateral, bilateral, and civil society partners. Maximum obtainable points – 20            Criteria 5 - Knowledge, technical expertise, and analytical skills on issues related to gender, environment and climate change, with extensive research and documentation of research results and case studies. Maximum obtainable points – 20    Financial evaluation criteria for both Evaluation Team Leader and Evaluation Specialist The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: p = y (μ/z), where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal μ = price of the lowest priced proposal z = price of the proposal being evaluated   Other Considerations UNDP may request examples of previous evaluation work conducted from applicants as part of the evaluation process. In addition, applicants are requested to fill and sign a PH 11 Form and submit it together with Curriculum Vitae on the online application portal. To note, a completed PH 11 Form will be required at the time a consultant/company signs an Individual Contract (IC) or his/her employer, if employed, signs a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) for work associated under this contract.   UN Personal History form (UN PH11) can be downloaded from here  http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc FC: 24400

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