Vacancies

CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Issued on: 26 April 2019

TERMS OF REFERENCEFOR THE MID-TERM EVALUATIONOF THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE SUPPORT PROGRAMME

BACKGROUND
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements. UN-Habitat’s goals are well-planned, well-governed, and efficient cities and other human settlements, with adequate housing, infrastructure, and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy and sanitation. UN-Habitat work is guided by a medium-term strategy approach for successive six-year periods. The current strategic plan covers 2014 to 2019.

UN-Habitat has offices at regional and country levels. It is implementing various projects in Afghanistan through its country office in Kabul and the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAOP) located in Fukuoka, Japan. Since 1992, UN-Habitat has been working in Afghanistan in partnership with communities and the government.

Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation

The purpose of the mid-term evaluation is “to review project progress towards objectives and results, and take corrective action where required” (Project document). The evaluation will determines what is working, not working and why?  It will assess the project’s progress towards achieving the project’s objectives at expected accomplishments and output levels. The evaluation will contribute to accountability and learning. It will be used by the EU (donor), Government of Afghanistan, UN-Habitat and staff involved in planning and implementation of the programme to understand how the programme is working, and how it produces the results, and to make adjustments where necessary.  It will evaluation will identify lessons and propose practical recommendations for follow-up during the remaining period of the project. The evaluation will cover the programme implementation period from September 2015 to March 2019.

Specific objectives of the mid-term evaluation are to:

1. Assess the implementation progress made towards achieving the expected results;
2. Assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact outlook of the programme in supporting target municipalities and Nahmias in improving land management, urban planning and municipal finance;
3. Analyse how cross -cutting issues, gender equality, human rights, youth and climate change principles have been integrated in the programme implementation.
4. Identify lessons learned especially in technical capacity building, institutional coordination, monitoring and evaluation, risk analysis and planning, anti-corruption measures and reporting, and including any adjustments that might be necessary;
5. Recommend strategic, programmatic and management consideration for implementing the remaining part of the project with particular emphasis on (a) the mode for provision and utilization of external funding support and for future funding; and (b) municipal approach for implementation of activities.

Evaluation Approach and Methods

The evaluation shall be independent and carried out in line with the evaluation norms and standards of the United Nations system. A variety of methods will be applied to collect information during the evaluation. These include review of documents relevant to the project, interviews, key informant interviews, consultations with partners and stakeholders, focus group discussions, and surveys if necessary. The evaluation will be conducted over the period of one and half months but spread of over three months from June to August 2019.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The evaluation Unit will be managed by Evaluation Unit, UN-Habitat.  The Country Office in Afghanistan and the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) will provide logistic support and documentation required.

The evaluation will be conducted by one international evaluation consultant. The evaluator will be responsible for meeting professional and ethical standards in planning and conducting the evaluation and producing the expected deliverables.  The consultant has overall responsibility for producing three main evaluation deliverables. These are:  

• Inception Report with Evaluation Work plan;
• Evaluation Report Draft;
• Final Evaluation Report.

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject areas. Good research, analytical and problem-solving skills. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
Communication: Excellent and effective written and oral skills. Ability to convince people through    constructive argumentation and to present information in a concise and accurate manner. Negotiating skills and ability to enable good communication and understanding between different interest groups, organizations etc.
Planning and Organizing: Proven ability to plan, coordinate and monitor own work. Ability to work under pressure and use time efficiently. Identifies priority activities and assignments, and adjust priorities as required.
Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by valuing ideas and expertise of others and is willing to learn from others.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education
At least a master’s degree in international development, public administration, development economics, municipal governance, project management or related fields.
Work Experience
Proven evaluation experience; 8-10 years of professional working experience in results-based management specifically in monitoring and evaluation of development and/or governance projects.

Language
Fluent in English (Excellent communication, interviewing and report writing skills) required.

REMUNERATION

Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fee will be paid as per agreement.

TERMS OF REFERENCEFOR THE MID-TERM EVALUATIONOF THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE SUPPORT PROGRAMME

TERMS OF REFERENCEFOR THE MID-TERM EVALUATIONOF THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE SUPPORT PROGRAMME