ORGANIZATION SETTING

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 Manager and the Director of the Evaluation Office.

THE PROJECT

Cities are the main contributors to climate change, accounting for around 70% of global carbon emissions, and can give the world the best chance of reversing its course towards a more sustainable path. The majority of global wealth is concentrated in cities and yet those cities have the least financial resources to address these challenges. Meanwhile, many of the 1 billion urban poor who live in informal settlements lack access to reliable core services – water, electricity, transport, and affordable housing.

However, dozens of cities across the globe are actively innovating to forge a new urban reality focused on equality and prosperity. Yet, mechanisms to scale these innovations to scale effectively at the pace demanded by rapid urbanization are lacking.

Cities are still making choices for short-term gain, without taking the time to think beyond business-as usual, consulting different population groups and assessing the impact of new technologies for urban development on these groups. In addition, while a wide range of interventions are addressing various parts of cities challenges, cities themselves find limited opportunities to share successes, lessons learned, and scale innovative approaches on integrated planning.

The GEF-funded project, “Sustainable Cities Impact Program Global Platform (SCIP-GP; GEF 10452)” acts as the Coordinating Child Project of the GEF-funded programme, Sustainable Cities Impact Programme (SCIP; GEF 10391). The SCIP-GP project was intended to influence a number of targeted cities through capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy in order to enable cities to improve sustainability through i) policies, regulations and plans, ii) behaviours and utilization of better technologies and iii) investments.

THE EVALUATION

In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme and Project Management Manual, 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 the main project partners. 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.

THE EVALUATION TEAM

For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of an Evaluation Consultant who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Task Manager, Fund Management Officer and the Subprogramme Coordinator.

Specific responsibilities for the Evaluation Consultant:

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. More specifically:

1. 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.

2. 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 Georgia, 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.

3. 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).

4. 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 attention and intervention.

The Evaluation Consultant shall have had no prior involvement in the formulation or implementation of the project and will be independent from the participating institutions. The consultant will sign the Evaluation Consultant Code of Conduct Agreement Form.

The Evaluation Consultant will be selected and recruited by the UNEP Evaluation Office through a consultancy contract. Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with the consultant separately.

Qualifications or requirements:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. A first level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in the same areas in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience of technical / evaluation experience preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is required.
• A good/broad understanding of integrated/sustainable urban development is desirable.
• Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.

• 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 Georgia, 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 attention and intervention.

• Theory of Change approach
• Evaluation
• Project management
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Report writing
• Stakeholder management
• Communication

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required.
• A first level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in the same areas in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience of technical / evaluation experience preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is required.
• A good/broad understanding of integrated/sustainable urban development is desirable.
• Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.