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 a Midterm Review for the project "FARM: Strengthening investment for adoption of alternatives and sustainable management of agrochemicals and agricultural plastics in Africa and Latin America through pilots in Kenya and Uruguay” (10902).

Work Location

Remote/Home-based

Expected duration

6 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 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 project reviews, UNEP requires the services of specialized consultants to measure progress towards achieving outcomes and to provide necessary recommendations. To this end, the full-sized child project entitled "FARM: Strengthening investment for adoption of alternatives and sustainable management of agrochemicals and agricultural plastics in Africa and Latin America through pilots in Kenya and Uruguay” (shortly, FARM Kenya and Uruguay; GEF ID 10902) requires an MTR. The FARM Kenya and Uruguay project is one of the child projects under the FARM Programme, which aims to reduce the use and prevalence of harmful agrochemicals by supporting farmers to access finance, innovative practices, and markets required to incentivize sustainable practices. 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 and sustain its intended outcomes. 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 10903, 10901, 10904, 10910, and 10915). The consultant will conduct the MTR for this child project (GEF ID 10902) in coordination with the Lead Review Consultant for the FARM Programme and will be responsible for managing the review, providing technical oversight, and finalizing the evaluation report for GEF ID 10902. The consultant will focus on tracking progress toward FARM Kenya and Uruguay child project-level outcomes/outputs and Global Environmental Benefits, and on generating management information that feeds into program-level synthesis. The consultant will provide information that can be directly used in the FARM Programme MTR, including addressing the following questions: • How engagement with the Global FARM Programme, via interactions and support from the Global Child Project (including technical guidance, coordination, knowledge sharing, and financial frameworks) has supported or limited country-level implementation • Identify practical challenges, including reporting burdens, clarity or timing of guidance, coordination issues, constraints to effectiveness or scalability, and alignment between national project management and reporting processes with the expectations of the Programmatic reporting and management. • Concise country-level inputs and recommendations that directly inform the FARM Programme, highlighting issues requiring programme-wide corrective actions, lessons with potential for replication or expansion across countries. 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 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 2. Conduct online interviews (individual or in group) with: a. UNEP FARM Programme Lead, FARM Kenya and Uruguay child project UNEP Task Manager and team members b. Executing Agency (FAO) Project Manager and team members; c. UNEP Fund Management Officer (FMO) d. The Lead MTR Consultant for the FARM Programme: the FARM Kenya Uruguay child project consultant will have regular check-ins with the Lead MTR Consultant for the FARM Programme and is expected to share interim deliverables of the MTR report findings, including, as a minimum, inception reports, preliminary findings, draft analyses, and any other documentation requested by the Lead MTR Consultant e. GEF Secretariat f. GEF independent evaluation office 3. Draft and finalize the Project MTR Report in accordance with UNEP evaluation office requirements, following the prescribed procedure for stakeholder consultation. 4. Revise the draft Project 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 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

A bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences/engineering, social sciences, international development or other relevant area is required. An advanced degree in the same areas is desirable. A minimum of 5 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 and Spanish is required.

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.