Lead Midterm Review Consultant – GEF FARM Programme

Result of Service

The objectives of the work are to support the UNEP/Industry and Economy Division/Chemicals and Health branch/ GEF C&GC Unit by conducting Midterm Review for the project “FARM: Global Coordination, Knowledge Management and Common Finance Tools” (GEF ID 10903) and assess the programmatic level outcomes of the FARM Programme (GEF ID 10872).

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

12 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Setting: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The overall objective of the UNEP's Industry and Economy Division is to encourage decision-makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities. The GEF Chemicals and Green Chemistry Unit of the Chemicals and Health Branch is responsible for the development and management of all GEF projects implemented by UNEP in the Chemicals and Waste focal area. UNEP is the implementing agency (IA) for GEF projects and is tasked to carry out Midterm Reviews (MTR) of eligible projects as per the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme Manual. To carry out such reviews of projects, UNEP requires the services of specialized consultants to measure progress made towards the achievement of outcomes and to provide necessary recommendations. To this end, the full-sized project entitled “FARM: Global Coordination, Knowledge Management and Common Finance Tools” (GEF ID 10903) requires an MTR. The FARM Global Child Project of the FARM Programme is led and implemented by UNEP. The Global Child Project is responsible for global coordination, knowledge management, and common finance and learning tools that support and link all FARM country child projects in Ecuador, India, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Philippines, Vietnam, and Uruguay. This MTR will analyze whether the project is on track, the problems or challenges it is encountering, and the corrective actions required. The MTR will assess the project's performance to date (relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency) and determine the likelihood that the project will achieve its intended outcomes and sustain them. In addition, the whole FARM Programme is at midterm, with independent MTRs being conducted for all FARM child projects. UNEP’s Lead MTR Consultant will also produce a separate Programme-level report summarizing all the child project MTRs and assessing the progress of the FARM Programme as a whole. Reporting lines: The consultant shall report directly to the UNEP GEF C&GC Task Manager on a day-to-day basis. Final deliverables shall also be approved by the GEF C&GC Portfolio Manager. Specific duties and responsibilities: The Midterm Review will be conducted in a coordinated manner with the other child projects under the FARM Programme (GEF IDs 10901, 10902, 10904, 10910, and 10915). The consultant will serve as the Lead Review Consultant, conducting the Midterm Reviews for the FARM Global Child Project (GEF ID 10903) as well as the FARM Programme, in coordination with review consultants from other FARM child projects, and taking responsibility for overall review management, compilation, technical oversight, and the finalization of evaluation reports for GEF ID 10903 and the Programmatic MTR Report. The consultant will focus on tracking progress toward FARM Global Child Project-level outcomes/outputs and Global Environmental Benefits, and generating management information that feeds into programme-level synthesis. The consultant will also review programmatic level outcomes by assessing the overall FARM programme design and Theory of Change as per the original Programme Framework Document; assess governance and coordination mechanisms across the whole programme; analyse programme level progress, coherence across agencies and countries, and alignment with GEF, UNEP, and Global Framework on Chemicals commitments; synthesize crosscutting findings from child project MTRs; identify systemic risks, bottlenecks and opportunities for scaleup; and formulate strategic recommendations for the remainder of the programme. All activities related to the MTR are to be carried out in accordance with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Programme Manual as well as the GEF guidance on program-level evaluation. The MTR 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 assess project achievements against the expected outputs, outcomes, and impacts. It is highly recommended that the MTR Consultant maintain close communication with the project team and facilitate information exchange throughout the review implementation phase to increase their (and other stakeholders') ownership of the review findings. The Lead MTR Consultant should provide a geo-referenced map that demarcates the area covered by the project and geo-referenced 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:  1. A desk review of following relevant project documentation and determine key data to collect from stakeholders and prepare key instruments (questionnaires, logic models) to collect these data through interviews and/or surveys: a. Project Document and Appendices b. Project design documents (including minutes of the project design review meeting at approval); Annual Work Plans and Budgets or equivalent, revisions to the project, the logical framework and its budget, the programme framework document. c. Project reports such as quarterly progress and financial reports, progress reports from collaborating partners, meeting minutes, relevant correspondence and including the Project Implementation Reviews and Tracking Tool, etc. d. Evaluations/Reviews of similar projects. \ e. Draft MTR reports of the other FARM Child Projects (GEF ID 10910, GEF ID 10901, GEF ID 10904, GEF ID 10902, GEF ID 10915).  2. Conduct online interviews (individual or in group) with:  a. UNEP FARM Programme Lead, FARM Global Child Project UNEP Project Manager and team members. b. Executing Agency (GGKP) Project Manager and team members. c. Representatives of Implementing Agencies of the child projects (UNDP, UNIDO, ADB) d. Project managers of Executing Agencies of the child projects e. UNEP Fund Management Officer (FMO) f. MTR reviewers and Implementing Agencies of other FARM Programme child projects g. GEF Secretariat h. GEF independent evaluation office 3. Draft and finalize the Project MTR Report and Programmatic MTR Report as per UNEP evaluation office requirements, following the due procedure of stakeholder consultation. 4. Revise the draft Project MTR report and Programmatic MTR Report based on comments from the UNEP Task Manager and any relevant stakeholders and edit the language and form of the final version. 5. Submit the final Project MTR report and Programmatic MTR Report and brief presentation to the Task Manager. 6. Liaise with the UNEP GEF C&GC Unit teams in Nairobi and Geneva to provide regular updates on progress on each of the above work streams. The consultant will also arrange the interpretation/translation services, as needed during the process of conducting MTR.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (master's or equivalent) in environmental sciences, international development, chemical and waste, or other relevant political or social science areas is required. A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. A minimum of 15 years of technical/evaluation experience in projects and programmatic approaches is required. Experience evaluating UNEP and/or GEF projects is desirable. Good/broad understanding of agricultural chemicals and agricultural plastics management issues as they relate to policy development, institutional frameworks, and value chains, gained through evaluation or advisory work on environmental, climate, or sustainability programmes. Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of other UN languages, including Spanish, is an asset.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.