Openings at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. 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. This consultancy is located at Headquarters in the Evaluation Office which reports directly to the Executive Director. The consultant reports to the Evaluation Officer managing the project and the Director of the Evaluation Office (EO).

The Project

The Terminal Evaluation is undertaken at operational completion of the project to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The Evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote operational improvement, learning and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UNEP and Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal; Department of Agriculture (DoA); Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development (LIBIRD) Nepal; and Bioversity International, Italy. Therefore, the Evaluation will identify lessons of operational relevance for future project formulation and implementation, especially where a second phase of the project is being considered. Recommendations relevant to the whole house may also be identified during the evaluation process.

In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for the overall management of the Evaluation and timely provision of its outputs, data collection and analysis and report-writing. More specifically:
Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:

• preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff;
• draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project;
• prepare the evaluation framework;
• develop the desk review and interview protocols;
• draft the survey protocols (if relevant);
• develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission;
• plan the evaluation schedule;
• prepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager

Data collection and analysis phase of the Evaluation, including:

• conduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders;
• (where appropriate and agreed) conduct an evaluation mission(s) to selected countries, visit the project locations, interview project partners and stakeholders, including a good representation of local communities. Ensure independence of the Evaluation and confidentiality of evaluation interviews.
• regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and;
• keep the Project/Task Manager informed of the evaluation progress.

Reporting phase, including:

• draft the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that the evaluation report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation Manager guidelines both in substance and style;
• liaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that comments are taken into account until approved by the Evaluation Manager
• prepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted by the Evaluation Consultant and indicating the reason for the rejection; and
• (where agreed with the Evaluation Manager) prepare an Evaluation Brief (2-page summary of the evaluand and the key evaluation findings and lessons)

Managing relations, including:

• maintain a positive relationship with evaluation stakeholders, ensuring that the evaluation process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence;
• communicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic Qualifications:

• A university degree (Bachelor's) in environmental sciences, agriculture, international development, or other relevant sciences area is required, and an advanced degree (Master's) in the same areas is desirable.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience is required. Experience in evaluation is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach; and a good/broad understanding of agrobiodiversity, food security, and climate change adaptation. Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is an added advantage.

Language:

• For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement; knowledge of Nepali would be highly advantageous.

DEADLINE: 22TH APRIL 2022

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Responsibilities

Political and Policy Analysis, Relations and Support:

Identify, assess, analyze and monitor environmental and relevant political, economic and social development trends in the region to generate knowledge, information and early warning for policy and decision making and incorporate them into UNEP's policy and programme development, and effectively contribute to strengthening the UNEP strategic regional presence in Africa.
Provide leadership for the effective provision by the Secretariat of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), ensuring that its decisions contribute to the environmental priorities for the region and the delivery of the sustainable development goals.
Formulate short-term, mid-term and long-term strategic and practical recommendations for UNEP's global regional and sub-regional environmental policy development for the implementation of programmes and projects in the region.
Represent UNEP and the Executive Director in the region at the international and regional forums and inter-agency meetings, and coordinate UNEP's relations with stakeholders in the region. Initiate, coordinate, organize and advise on UNEP meetings, high-level visits, missions and events in the region, sub-region and
countries and follow-up on activities.
Provide substantive policy support to regional, sub-regional trans-boundary political processes in the region.

Programme Coordination, Management and Implementation:

Identify environmental sustainability challenges, opportunities, priorities and needs for the development and implementation of UNEP's Medium-Term Strategy (MTS), Programme of Work (PoW), and projects at regional, sub-regional and national level.
Lead the integrated delivery of UNEP's PoW and associate programmes, frameworks and projects through matching UNEP's services with regional, sub-regional and national needs and priorities. Draw on technical support from UNEP Divisions, facilitate capacity building and technology support, to ensure the delivery of programme and projects in the region.
Coordinate UNEP's cooperation with government and inter-government institutions, partners and other stakeholders, regional and sub-regional centers and networks for the implementation of UNEP's PoW commitment under Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEAs) and regionalization of international environmental agreement goals and process in the region.
Coordinate UNEP's engagement in UN regional coordination structures: the Regional UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) Teams and the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCMs) to ensure that UNEP is fully aligned with the objectives of the UN Reform in the region.
Coordinate UNEP's engagement with the UN system, the regional UN Development Coordination Office (UNDCO), the UN Resident Coordinators and the UN Country Teams (UNCTs).

Operations:

• Oversee the management and administrative services of UNEP's strategic presence in the region. Liaise with UN Regional and Country Offices to ensure enhanced cost effectiveness of UNEP's implementation at regional and country level.

Partnership:

• Build, coordinate and advise on strategic and programmatic partnership in the region with government authorities, UN organizations, partners, and other stakeholders. Support UNEP's activities and strengthen capacity at the regional, sub-regional and national levels.
• Facilitate and support inter-regional cooperation and partnership in the context of promoting South-South, and triangular cooperation.
• Oversee the coordination and support the involvement of major groups and stakeholders in the region, sub-regions and countries in environment and sustainable development decision making, their access to and sharing of environmental information.

Communication and Outreach:

• Oversee the implementation of UNEP'S external and internal communication strategies in the region and contribution of regional inputs to global level efforts.
• Develop and implement UNEP's regional communication strategy, outreach campaigns and activities to raise UNEP's profile.
• Lead UNEP’s advocacy in the region, and support advocacy of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and their objectives in coordination with the global and regional secretariats of the MEAs.

Resource Mobilization:

• Lead and Coordinate UNEP'S fundraising from bilateral and multilateral donors at regional and country level for up-scaling UNEP intervention in the region. b) Provide information and advice for UNEP's corporate resource mobilization and resource allocation efforts and develop and maintain regional resource mobilization strategies.
• Perform other related duties as requested by senior management of the Organization.

Competencies

POFESSIONALISM: Knowledge in inter-governmental and inter-agency negotiations and networking functions. Ability to analyze environmental, political and economic and social developments and provide technical and substantive support in the field of environmental sustainability and policy development. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.

COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow. Empowers others to translate vision into results. Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives. Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support. Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions. Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo. Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member. Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills. Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines. Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff. Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative. Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff. Appraises performance fairly.

JUDGEMENT/DECISION MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly. Gathers relevant information before making a decision. Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them. Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization. Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information. Checks assumptions against facts. Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in environmental management, international relations, economics, political science or law or related field is required. A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible working experience in environmental management, sustainable development, policy development or science or economic is required.
• At least five years of international experience in a multi-cultural setting is required.
• At least three years of experience in a supervisory capacity is required.
• Experience in international governance processes is required.
• Experience in resource mobilization and partnerships building, including at the highest level of Government is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Working knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.

DEADLINE: 19TH APRIL 2022