Midterm Review Consultant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

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 annual program report, quarterly progress and financial reports, progress reports from collaborating partners, meeting minutes, relevant correspondence etc.;
• Budget revisions
• Evaluations/Reviews of similar projects.
• Project Review meeting summary

Interviews (individual or in group) with:

• UNEP ISLANDS Lead, UNEP Project Manager  and team members;
• Representatives of Implementing Agencies (FAO, UNDP and IDB) and respective executive agencies
• ISLANDS child projects project managers, communication officers; 
• UNEP Fund Management Officer (FMO);
• GEF Secretariat;
• GGKP team members
• Executing agencies for the regional child projects.
• Convention Secretariats
• GEF independent evaluation office
• Sample of government representatives from the child projects.
• Field visits: at least one visit to Geneva to meet with the GGKP team to present the findings of the mid-term review.
• Other data collection tools: to be determined by the Review Consultant at the inception phase.

The Review Consultant will prepare:

• Inception Report: (see Annex 3 of these TOR for guidance on structure and content) containing 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: typically, in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, 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: (see Annex 4 for guidance on structure and content) containing 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 Review Report.

• The Review Consultant will submit a draft report to the UNEP Project 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 Project Manager will share the cleared draft report with key project stakeholders for their review and comments. Stakeholders may provide feedback on any errors of 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 Project Manager for consolidation. The Project Manager will provide all comments to the Review Consultant for consideration in preparing the final report, along with guidance on areas of contradiction or issues requiring an institutional response. 
• At the end of the review process and based on the findings in the Review Report, the UNEP Project Manager will prepare a Recommendations Implementation Plan in the format of a table, to be completed and updated at regular intervals, and circulate Lessons Learned.

Qualifications/special skills

• A first-level university degree in environmental sciences, international development, chemicals and waste, knowledge management, communication, Small Island Developing States, or another relevant political or social sciences area is required. The years of experience are reduced by two for candidates who possess an advanced degree in the related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of technical / evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating evaluating large, regional, or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach.
• A good/broad understanding of Development in a Small Island Developing States context is desired.
• Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is an added advantage.

Languages

• For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement. Knowledge of any other UN language is an added advantage.

Deadline : Feb 15, 2024