National Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

Organizational Setting

The project “Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal” (BRCRN) was approved by the 24^th meeting of the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in November 2019, and is Nepal’s first full-size GCF project. FAO, as the nominated Accredited Entity (AE) for the project, is responsible to the GCF for implementation of the project and is also co-Executing Entity (EE) with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) of the Government of Nepal (GoN). The BRCRN project will be implemented in 26 critical river systems in the southeast region of Nepal, covering parts of Provinces 1, 2 and 3, linking the Churia hills and upper Terai, and aims to promote widespread adoption of climate-resilient land use practices, confront the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation, better maintain the forest ecosystem in the Churia hills, and build resilience to climate-induced hazards.

In its capacity as co-EE, FAO will provide intensive technical support during the first two years of the project to develop the detailed plans for project investment over years 3-7, to develop capacity among relevant national, provincial and local institutions for project implementation, to ensure quality control of the technical services provided through project implementing partners, and to provide technical advice to the project management team. A national expert is sought to design and provide the technical advisory services required. The consultant will be part of the global FAO REDD and National Forest Monitoring (NFM) cluster, which supports developing countries to implement robust and transparent national forest monitoring systems for the monitoring and reporting of REDD activities, and will draw on the pool of global expertise and experience available in this team.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall operational supervision of the FAO Representative in Nepal, under the direct supervision of TA team manager in close consultation with Assistant FAOR (Programme) and the international expert on Climate Change and Land Use and the direct technical supervision of the regional REDD /NFM focal point in FAO RAP, in coordination with the BRCRN National Project Director under MoFE, and in coordination with the wider REDD NFM cluster team in HQ and in the Asia Pacific region.

Technical Focus

• Develop M&E guideline for the project using FAO’s standard framework (in PY-1):
• Support to the elaboration, verification and update of the baseline information and development of monitoring activities for 26 river systems, PPMUs and PMU of the BRCRN project:
• Plan participatory Monitoring and Evaluation to encourage the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation processes in the project area and beyond:
• Support FAO and PMU/PPMU to report on project outcomes and outputs in line with GCF monitoring and evaluation requirements:

Tasks and responsibilities

The National Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Develop M&E guideline for the project using FAO’s standard framework (in PY-1):

• Backstop the delivery of provincial level trainings on the incorporation of robust project impact monitoring systems for municipal authorities;
• Support the design of technical materials, manuals and establishment of technical partnerships with relevant national institutions (i.e. universities and colleges, provincial centres and institutions), provincial institutions (e.g. Provincial Centres for Good Governance), municipal institutions.
• Provide training and mentoring, as required, to personnel of national and provincial government agencies;

Task 2: Support to the elaboration, verification and update of the baseline information and development of monitoring activities for 26 river systems, PPMUs and PMU of the BRCRN project:

• In consultation with CC-LU expert, GIS expert and Forestry Expert support PPMU and FAO-TA develop baseline for provincial government staff regarding:
• current and projected climate change impacts in the project area;
• the current state of natural resources and critical ecosystems in the project area; and
• the use of key GIS tools that facilitate monitoring and mapping of Natural resources and ecosystems in PY-1
• Provide technical support to the implementation and validation of planning for the monitoring in the context of CERPs performed by service provider, MoFE, provincial and project personnel.
• Support the design of training and capacity building programmes for BRCRN project stakeholders necessary to support the monitoring in the project area.

Task 3: Plan participatory Monitoring and Evaluation to encourage the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation processes in the project area and beyond:

• Simplify the output indicators to enable extension workers and CBO user groups to perform self-assessment surveys and aggregate the data
• Support the design of training and capacity building programmes for BRCRN project stakeholders in adaptive planning and management of monitoring processes.
• Support the needs assessment for up-front measures needed to strengthen monitoring and evaluation according to the monitoring plan and design measures for participatory monitoring with CBOs.
• Advice on long-term human resource planning and capacity for the project.
• Support the assessment of budget constraints and opportunities for service delivery in selected municipalities regarding monitoring and evaluation.

Task 4: Support FAO and PMU/PPMU to report on project outcomes and outputs in line with GCF monitoring and evaluation requirements:

• Support FAO BH in annual progress report preparation;
• Support PMU and PPMU in annual and bi-annual progress reporting;
• Support the design of training and capacity building programmes for BRCRN project stakeholders in GCF reporting;
• Support the needs assessment for up-front measures needed to strengthen reporting according to the monitoring plan.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• National of Nepal
• Advanced University (Master) degree in Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science or a closely related field;
• At least 10 years of work experience on rural development and land use planning projects in Nepal
• Experience on designing and delivering technical training monitoring and evaluation to project stakeholders;
• Working knowledge of English and Nepali
• Candidate should have knowledge of computer skills in English and Nepali (MS Office package: word, excel and power point)

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience of inter-sectoral strategy development, rural development planning;
• Experience on designing and delivering technical training monitoring and evaluation to project stakeholders;
• Proven track record of advising and collaborating with government institutions and other stakeholders such as NGOs;
• Proficiency in both spoken and written English;
• Strong inter-personal skills and excellent oral communication skills.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced university degree;
• Relevant Work experience;
• Language skills;
• Extent of relevant technical experience in the related areas
• Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team
• Good working knowledge of English (Written and Spoken)
• Experience with similar internationally funded development projects will be an added advantage