By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy

Evaluation Specialists

Rome

  • Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Location: Rome
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Monitoring and Evaluation
    • OED
  • Closing Date: Closed

 ______________________________________________________________________________________

 

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality.

Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations

depending on the evolving needs of the Organization 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 
 
Organizational Setting
 
The Office of Evaluation[1] (OED) anchors the evaluation function in FAO. It provides results accountability to Member countries and the Director-General, giving more in-depth understanding and objective basis for decision-making and oversight. Evaluation also contributes to corporate learning, feeding lessons into a robust feedback loop.
 
OED carries out and manages project evaluations to comply with FAO’s and donors’ policies. The overall purpose of these evaluations is to support FAO’s accountability to member countries, development partners and beneficiaries, and to contribute to learning at the country, regional and corporate levels.
 
In the period 2018-2020, OED will carry out about 20-30 project evaluations. OED is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified individuals to join evaluations as team leaders or team members and/or provide management support to project evaluations.
 
Project evaluations at FAO largely consist of individual final and mid-term project evaluations. These are conducted in all the regions of the world and have a varied geographic (national, regional, global) and thematic scope. Some project evaluations are also conducted as geographic or thematic clusters, whenever it is a more cost-effective approach. A few examples of forthcoming project evaluations are listed below\:
 
  • Evaluation of an inter-regional pesticides management project in the Sahel Region
  • Final evaluation of food security and irrigation projects in Zimbabwe
  • Ex-post evaluation of resilience and dairy projects in Afghanistan
  • Final evaluation of a regional pesticide risk reduction project in Southeast Asia
  • Final evaluation of a sustainable rice systems development project in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Final evaluation of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics
  • Final evaluation of a farmers’ livelihood project in Myanmar
  • Cluster evaluation of economic development, environmental and production projects in Colombia
  • Mid-term and final evaluation of environmental projects funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), including in Anglophone, Francophone, Spanish and Lusophone countries
 
Technical focus
 
The FAO Office of Evaluation is seeking evaluation specialists with knowledge and expertise in the following fields\:
  
  • Agriculture (agronomists, rice experts)
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Forestry
  • Livestock
  • Climate change
  • Biodiversity and natural resource management
  • Plant protection (pesticide management, locust control)
  • Land and soil management
  • Water and irrigation
  • Rural Development
  • Agricultural statistics
  • Value chain development
 
Tasks and responsibilities
 
The evaluation specialists will be recruited as team leader or members, and will work under the supervision of the relevant project evaluation manager. They may also be recruited as evaluation managers to support the administration of the project evaluation. As part of their assignment, they may travel to FAO HQ and/or a selection of countries, depending on the project scope and the evaluation purpose. Below are specific roles for team leaders, members and managers.
 
Evaluation Team Leaders
 
  • Contribute to the Evaluation methodology and revision of the project Theory of Change and lead the finalization of the evaluation tools, such as evaluation matrix, evaluation questions, checklists, surveys, questionnaires and other data collection tools.
  • Lead and coordinate the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data by the evaluation teams.
  • Lead, coordinate and prepare all deliverables planned in the evaluation Terms of Reference. These includes the final evaluation report to be prepared according to specifications provided in the ToRs, and the integration of comments and suggestions received by the relevant stakeholders.
  • Present findings of the evaluation to key stakeholders during all planned debriefing sessions as required.
  • Coordinate the participation and contribution of team members in all deliverables as required.
 
Evaluation Team members
 
  • Follow the methodological approach described in the evaluation Terms of Reference\: contribute to finalizing evaluation tools including questionnaires, check-lists and interview protocols as appropriate and agreed with the team leader;
  • Provide specialised expertise in assessing outputs, deliverables and activities carried out under his/her specific area
  • Participate actively in the collection of primary data through, inter alia, interviews and meetings, face to face or virtual, with FAO concerned officers in HQ, and during the country visits, with key stakeholders including government members, FAO staff, external partners, project teams and beneficiaries as appropriate;
  • Participate actively in the collection of relevant secondary data, in addition to the initial desk reviews carried out by OED,  as required and identified in the evaluation matrix;
  • Contribute to the consolidation of all evidence collected during the evaluation process in a structured format following the key evaluation questions and criteria;
  • Deliver articulate and written inputs on the specific areas of assessment, as per the evaluation Terms of References, in all deliverables and support the Evaluation Team Leader in finalizing the report and integrating the comments as may be required.
 
Evaluation Managers
 
Backstop project evaluations; managing the evaluation process according to the TOR and the time-schedule, from the scoping phase of the evaluation to the quality assurance of the Management Response, including\:
 
  • Draft and finalise the evaluation TOR;
  • Develop the evaluation methodology and approach;
  • Identify and select team members;
  • Oversee the recruitment process;
  • Brief the team and organize its work;
  • Provide quality assurance to the draft and final evaluation report;
  • Follow-up on Management Response and other necessary steps in backstopping the project evaluations;
  • Organize and lead workshops and restitution seminars with evaluation stakeholders.
 
NOTE\: CANDIDATES WHO HAVE ALREADY APPLIED TO THE PREVIOUS CALL FOR EVALUATION SPECIALISTS DO NOT NEED TO RE-APPLY
 
 
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
 
 
Minimum Requirements
 
Academic qualifications (apply to all)
  • For consultants\: Advanced university degree in relevant disciplines (sustainable agricultural development, agricultural economics, animal health and production; environmental science, development studies, social sciences, natural resources management, land and water management; climate change adaptation and/or mitigation, or other relevant disciplines);
  • For PSAs\: Bachelor’s degree in the disciplines listed above
Experience
  • Evaluation Team Leader - At least 10 years of relevant experience in leading evaluations of development cooperation interventions
  • Evaluation Team Member - At least 5 years of relevant experience at international level in their fields of expertise; with a strong focus or experience in evaluating development cooperation programmes in relevant areas;
  • Evaluation Manager - At least 5 years of relevant experience in the planning and coordination of project evaluations in various countries, and supervision of evaluation teams with diverse nationalities and expertise
Languages
  • For consultants\: Working knowledge of either English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two, or of Arabic, Chinese, or Russian
  • For PSAs\: Working knowledge of one language (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian)
FAO Core Competencies
 
  • Results Focus
  • Teamwork
  • Communication
  • Building Effective Relationships
  • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
 
Technical/Functional Skills
  • Solid experience in designing and carrying out individual or cluster evaluations of development interventions including in agriculture, natural resources, climate change, resilience, gender mainstreaming, policies
Selection Criteria
  • Excellent analytical, communication and leadership skills
  • Experience working with international development organizations, such as UN agencies and international financial institutions on rural poverty reduction
  • Proven experience in the evaluation of development interventions
  • Demonstrable ability to work well with/manage teams and solve conflicts
 _______________________________________________________________________________________

 Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO,

Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency 

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
  • FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing).
  • Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognised in the IAU/UNESCO list.
  • Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
  • Candidates with acceptable language certificate/s should upload them when submitting their application. For details, visit http\://www.fao.org/3/I8446EN/i8446en.pdf
  • For other issues, visit the FAO employment website\: http\://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
  • For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page.
 
HOW TO APPLY
 
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.
 
Vacancies will be removed from the recruitment portal at 23\:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
 
If you need help, or have queries, please contact\: iRecruitment@fao.org
 

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: