Principal Evaluator for the Evaluation of the UNEP Sub-Programme on Climate Action (2014-2023)

Result of Service The Evaluation Team will submit a concise evaluation report. Work Location Home-Based with possible field visits Expected duration 12 Months Duties and Responsibilities ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING.The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. This consultancy is located at Headquarters in the Evaluation Office which reports directly to the Executive Director. The consultant reports to the Director of the Evaluation Office and the Evaluation Officer managing the evaluation. THE UNEP SUB-PROGRAMME ON CLIMATE ACTION (-).Within the United Nations approach to climate change, UNEP Sub-Programme on Climate Action catalyzes efforts by the United Nations and other partners – including the private sector – to build the resilience of countries to climate change through ecosystem-based and other supporting adaptation approaches; promote the transfer and use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies; support the development and implementation of national low-emission strategies; and support the planning and implementation of initiatives to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation to enable countries to move to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. The focus of the period under review included:- - to strengthen the ability of countries to move towards climate-resilient and low emission pathways for sustainable development and human well-being. - - aimed for countries to be more resilient to the adverse impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions significantly reduced, including emissions from deforestation and forest degradation while aligning UNEP work to Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and explicit emphasis on United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolutions as well as stronger integration of gender at sub-programme level.- - UNEP set out to tackle three planetary crises through three thematic sub-programmes, on climate action, nature action, and chemicals and pollution action. Climate action is a continuation from previous Medium Term Strategy with focus on support to decision-makers on decarbonization, dematerialization and resilience pathways, countries and stakeholder capacity building to delivery of adaptation and mitigation goals, and state and non-state actors to adopt the enhanced transparency framework arrangements under the Paris Agreement. THE EVALUATION.The Evaluation is expected to help UNEP identify key lessons on strategic positioning, portfolio planning, management arrangements and programme implementation that will provide a useful basis for improved sub-programme design, coordination and delivery against standard evaluation criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact).THE EVALUATION TEAM. The core Evaluation Team will consist of two external Evaluation Consultants (Team Leader and Evaluation Specialist) supported by two Evaluation Office staff members, (one of whom will be the Evaluation Manager). The Evaluation Team will be responsible for the development, research, drafting and finalization of the Evaluation, in close consultation with the Evaluation Manager.Specific Responsibilities for Team Leader:The Team Leader will be responsible, in close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, for overall management of the evaluation and timely delivery of its outputs, described above in Section E. Evaluation Deliverables. Roles will include:•Inception phase of the evaluation, including:opreliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff; odraft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the SP-CA; oprepare the evaluation framework;odevelop the desk review and interview protocols; odraft the survey protocols (if relevant); odevelop and present criteria for selection of Climate Action initiatives for in-depth study;oplan the evaluation schedule;oprepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager•Data collection and analysis phase of the evaluation, including: oconduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders; oregularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and;okeep the Evaluation Manager informed of the evaluation progress and engage the Sub-Programme Coordinator of Climate Action in discussions on emerging findings throughout the evaluation process. •Reporting phase, including:odraft the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that the evaluation report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation Manager guidelines both in substance and style;oliaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that comments are taken into account until approved by the Evaluation Manager; oprepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted by the Evaluation Consultant(s) and indicating the reason for the rejection. •Managing relations, including:omaintain a positive relationship with evaluation stakeholders, ensuring that the evaluation process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence;ocommunicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention.The evaluation consultant shall have had no prior involvement in the formulation or implementation of the Sub-Programme during the period being reviewed from to and will be independent from the participating institutions. The consultant will sign the Evaluation Consultant Code of Conduct Agreement Form. The evaluation consultant will be selected and recruited by the UNEP Evaluation Office through an individual Special Service Agreement (SSA) consultancy contract.Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with consultant separately. Qualifications/special skills A first level university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. An advanced degree in the same areas is desirable.A minimum of 10 years of technical / evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach;Experience from international development cooperation, including developing countries. Working knowledge of development oriented organizations, Intergovernmental processes and United Nations coordination bodies are an added advantage;Broad understanding of science related to climate change and advanced knowledge on: climate change mitigation and adaptation and technology support; Multilateral Climate Agreements, regional and national policy processes, desirable. Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement.