Evaluation Specialist

Job Description

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 2601871

Job Posting

02/Sep/2026

Closure Date

09/Oct/2026, 9:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : OED - Office of Evaluation

Job Type

Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Primary Location

Home-Based

Post Number : N/A

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

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) anchors the evaluation function in the Organization. Evaluation in FAO provides results accountability to both member countries and the Director-General, giving more in-depth understanding and objective basis for their decision-making and oversight. Evaluation also contributes to corporate learning, feeding lessons into a robust feedback loop. Evaluation provides a sound basis for improvements in the Organization's programmes in terms of their relevance to countries, definition of objectives, their design and implementation. The Office also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development effectiveness by the United Nations (UN) system.

OED is seeking expressions of interest from senior evaluators and subject-matter specialists to support the evaluation of the GEF-7 Common Oceans Programme “Sustainable utilization and conservation of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction” and of its child projects.

The Common Oceans Programme is a GEF-7 global programme promoting the sustainable use of living marine resources and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Its five child projects cover sustainable fisheries management, marine biodiversity conservation, ocean governance and cross-sectoral cooperation, ecosystem stewardship, and programme-level coordination, monitoring and knowledge management.

The evaluation will assess both the GEF Programme as a whole and the contribution of its child projects to programme-level results, including programme coherence, integration, Theory of Change, monitoring and evaluation arrangements, and the added value of the programmatic approach. The evaluation specialists will also directly evaluate the child projects implemented by FAO.

Candidates must not have been directly involved in the design, implementation or operational management of the Common Oceans Programme and its child projects.

Reporting Lines

The evaluation specialists will work under the direct supervision of the assigned OED Evaluation Manager and Responsible Officer and under the overall responsibility of the OED Director.

Technical Focus

OED expects to identify approximately three to four consultants for different roles within the evaluation team. Depending on their qualifications and experience, selected consultants may be considered for a senior evaluator or subject-matter specialist role. The multidisciplinary evaluation team will combe extensive evaluation expertise with complementary technical knowledge across the main key focus areas covered by the Programme.

• International and regional ocean governance and cross-sectoral cooperation
• Sustainable fisheries management
• Integrated ecosystem and precautionary approaches to fisheries management and marine biodiversity conservation
• Prevention and monitoring of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing
• Marine governance and ecosystem-based management
• Capacity building, knowledge management, partnerships and private-sector engagement related to sustainable marine resource management

Tasks and Responsibilities

Depending on the assigned role and area of expertise, the selected candidates will carry out spe