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 the 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

In September 2004, the European Commission (EC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) committed to strengthening and expanding their partnership to better achieve shared environmental policy objectives. In December 2011, UNEP entered into two Strategic Cooperation Agreements (SCAs) with the Commission’s departments for Environment (DG ENV) and Development and Cooperation (then EuropeAid, now DG INTPA). These pacts were intended to streamline and simplify operations while improving the programmatic consistency of the collaboration between the EC, UNEP, and various multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). UNEP established its first Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) as a Delegation Agreement with DG ENV in December 2014. The 2018-2020 PCA (hereinafter referred to as PCA II) was developed based on the continued alignment of EU policies with UNEP’s 2018-2021 MTS regarding environmental safeguarding and sustainable development. Like the previous version, this agreement prioritizes the reinforcement of international environmental governance, which is a core component of the the EU’s thematic program on Global Public Goods and Challenges (GPGC) "Environment and Climate" strategic pillar.

The general objective (GO) of PCA II was “to promote environmental sustainability while contributing to a balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, thereby enhancing the delivery of the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development” (PCA II Description of Action, 2019). PCA II had three Specific Objectives (SOs) contributing to the GO:

• Specific Objective 1: International agreements, partnerships and alliances on environmental governance and issues are strengthened and promoted through targeted supports in areas linked to, inter alia, halting biodiversity loss, transitioning to greener and more circular economies, protecting human health from pollution, sound management of chemicals and waste, and ensuring the transparent and sustainable management of natural resources.
• Specific Objective 2: Capacities of countries to develop evidence-based policies and decisions, ownership and implementation of the environmental dimension of the SDGs and the MEAs is strengthened through the provision of advisory services, information and knowledge products, tools, methodologies and guidelines.
• Specific Objective 3: UNEP and the MEA Secretariats implement and manage their projects under this cooperation agreement in strict compliance with rules and procedures.

THE EVALUATION TEAM

For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of a a Principal Evaluator and Evaluation Specialist 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 Principal Evaluator:

In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Principal Evaluator 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:

1. Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:
   • preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff;
   • draft the reconstructed Theory of Changes of PCA II;
   • 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 selected countries, visit the project locations, interview project partners and stakeholders, including a good representation of local communities. Ensure the independence of the Evaluation and the confidentiality of evaluation interviews;
   • prepare case studies of selected projects/grants;
   • review and summarise findings from completed evaluations/reviews;
   • regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered;
   • keep the Project/Task Manager informed of the evaluation progress and engage the key stakeholders in discussions on emerging findings throughout the evaluation process;
   • present preliminary findings to key stakeholders.
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;
   • prepare a summary of the key evaluation findings and lessons;
   • present evaluation findings to key stakeholders.
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.

• Inception phase of the Evaluation, including: preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff; draft the reconstructed Theory of Changes of PCA II; 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 the independence of the Evaluation and the confidentiality of evaluation interviews; prepare case studies of selected projects/grants; review and summarise findings from completed evaluations/reviews; regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered; keep the Project/Task Manager informed of the evaluation progress and engage the key stakeholders in discussions on emerging findings throughout the evaluation process; present preliminary findings to key stakeholders.
• 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; prepare a summary of the key evaluation findings and lessons; present evaluation findings to key stakeholders.
• 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.

• Evaluating large, regional or global programmes
• Evaluating multilateral framework programmes/projects
• Using a Theory of Change approach
• Evaluating EU funded projects and programmes (desirable)
• Programme and project design and management (desirable)
• Partnerships development (desirable)
• Knowledge management (desirable)
• Knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP including the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) (desirable)

• 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 ten (10) years of technical and/or evaluation experience preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes, multilateral framework programmes/projects and using a Theory of Change approach is required.
• Fluency in English is required.