Evaluation Specialist

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching an evaluation of FAO’s country programme in Namibia covering the period 2019 to 2024. OED is seeking qualified regional and national consultants to join the evaluation team.

Candidates should have demonstrated evaluation experience and a background in sectors related to FAO’s areas of work in Namibia (including agriculture, fisheries, land, water and environment).

Since establishing a fully-fledged Representation in 1991, FAO has worked closely with the Government of the Republic of Namibia to support the country’s development aspirations within FAO’s areas of work. FAO’s collaboration with Namibia is guided by the priorities set out in the Country Programming Framework (CPF), a document jointly developed by FAO and the Government of Namibia.

The current CPF, covering the period 2019-2024, identifies as main priority areas for cooperation the following:
1. Strengthened policy, legal, strategic and institutional frameworks for agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food security and nutrition.
2. Improved agricultural production, productivity, food safety and strengthened nutrition sensitive value chains.
3. Strengthened capacity for natural resource management and land governance.
4. Strengthened capacity for disaster risk reduction, resilience building and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation:
The purpose of the evaluation is formative, to assess FAO’s work and provide feedback to help improve programming, making future efforts more impactful and relevant to the needs of the country. The objectives are to assess the Organization’s strategic positioning and its contributions to identified FAO priorities in the country.

The results of this exercise will contribute to the formulation of FAO’s next Country Programming Framework in Namibia.

The evaluation will be conducted between July and December 2024, with data collection and field visits tentatively scheduled for end of September 2024.

Reporting Lines

The Evaluation Specialist will work under the direct supervision and close guidance of the Evaluation Manager and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Technical Focus

OED is looking for consultants with expertise in evaluation and at least one of the following technical areas:

• Agricultural policy support and institutional strengthening
• Livestock production and animal health (including transboundary animal disease management)
• Natural resource management (including integrated landscape management)
• Plant production and health (including transboundary plant pest management)

Candidates should have not been involved in the design, implementation or backstopping of FAO’s projects in Namibia.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Review documents concerning FAO’s activities in Namibia relating to their areas of expertise.
• Contribute to the development of the evaluation methodology and tools, such as evaluation matrix, checklists and data collection tools.
• Participate actively in the collection of primary and secondary data through face-to-face or virtual interviews with FAO concerned officers and stakeholders including government, civil society and the private sector, as appropriate.
• Participate in field missions to selected project sites to meet with local partners and beneficiaries.
• Consolidate and analyse information collected.
• Contribute to all evaluation products and deliverables, including drafting sections of the evaluation report according to specifications provided by OED.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluations, agriculture economics, environmental sciences, natural resource management, crop science, biological control, animal disease control and/or veterinary medicine.
• A minimum of seven years of relevant experience in evaluation or respective field of specialization.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO official language (French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian or Arabic). For PSA.SBS working knowledge of English is sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Previous experience in conducting/taking part in (independent) strategic-level evaluations.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and interviewing skills.
• Demonstrated experience of working in Namibia and/or of conducting evaluations in the country.
• Excellent knowledge of the Namibian context.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT