Evaluation Specialists

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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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO strives to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. FAO contributes to the achievement of the Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
 
To this end, FAO implements a wide portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives across multiple sectors, including fisheries, forestry, animal production and health, land and water, plant production and protection, inclusive rural development, food and nutrition, food systems and safety, social protection, information management systems / data systems for monitoring and decision making, and others. FAO has a growing portfolio of work in the development and humanitarian (emergency and resilience interventions) sectors. FAO conducts its work through a skilled technical workforce and internal and external partnerships.
 
FAO evaluates the strategic alignment, implementation, efficacy, and efficiency of its portfolio of work through its independent Office of Evaluation (OED), which is led by a Director who reports to the FAO Governing Bodies and to the Director-General. OED evaluates FAO strategies, initiatives, programmes, and projects at the global, regional, and national levels. OED seeks to generate credible and useful evidence and insights to inform decisions, support oversight, and help FAO achieve its mission. In so doing, OED provides results accountability to both member nations and the Director-General. OED also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development and humanitarian effectiveness by the UN system. 

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching an evaluation of the China Country Programme. This will assess progress over the most recent Country Programme Framework period (-), and inform future strategy for FAO in China. 

OED is seeking qualified specialists, with demonstrated evaluation experience in China and a background in sectors related to FAO’s areas of work in this project to join the Evaluation team. Applications are sought for the following roles:
• Senior Evaluation consultant (lead consultant)
• Evaluators bringing experience of government & institutions; environment & natural resource management; equity and gender in China 

Purpose and objectives of the evaluation
The main purpose of the China Country Programme Evaluation is to contribute to capture progress on the last five years and inform future strategy and investments of FAO’s efforts in the country. The main objectives of the evaluation are to:
- Evaluate FAO’s strategic positioning to assess to what extent FAO's programme meets China’s priorities and needs;
- Assess FAO's contributions in the CPF priority areas, both within China and with China’s contributions externally
- Identify good practices, and opportunities to improve the next CPF, collaborations and results delivery

The evaluation will be conducted between July and February . In country capital city consultations and field visits to selected provinces will be carried out during the September-October period.

Candidates should have not been involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of FAO’s work in China.

China developed its 14th Five-Year Development Period (-), and FAO, together with multiple stakeholders in the country, developed the Country Programming Framework (CPF) for this period, which is positioned to provide strategic support for China to promote all-round rural revitalization in the post-pandemic era, ensuring food security and promoting high-quality agricultural development. It was envisaged to step up cooperation with China in global food and agricultural governance and promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative in the agriculture sector, sharing China’s progress and experience in poverty reduction, agricultural development and Agenda for Sustainable Development implementation with the international community.
FAO in China aimed to step up its cooperation in the period based on such three building blocks:

1. Supporting people and prosperity and better production and better nutrition through rural revitalization;
2. Protecting planet and better environment through a sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,
3. Enhancing partnership and better life through international and regional agriculture cooperation. For instance, the FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) Trust Fund has donated US$ million supporting agri-food development in multiple countries.

Reporting Lines

The evaluators will work under the close guidance of the Evaluation Manager, and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Technical Focus 

The evaluator team will design the evaluation process and methods, and conduct the evaluation of the FAO China country programme, with the following tasks and responsibilities. 

Tasks and responsibilities of the evaluation team

• Contribute to the evaluation in their areas of expertise.
For the senior specialist
• Lead on finalizing the evaluation process and data collection processes, management and documentation.
• Developing and pre-testing methods including surveys, and other evaluation data collection tools.
• Briefing and task setting for the technical survey teams. 
• Co-authoring key deliverables: inception report, draft and final reports, presentations
For other specialists
• Analysis of current and (as far as possible) projected government policies and priorities on Natural Resource Management, Climate Change & Environment, gender and social inclusion, governance & institutions.
• Leading on tool development for primary data collection.
• Lead on community any level data collection and consultations. 
• Lead on desk review of secondary data relating to the above sectors. 
• Be responsible for conducting the evaluation and contributing to the development of the methodology in consultation with and under the supervision of OED. 
• Participate in information sessions, surveys, field visits and will support OED in writing the final evaluation report.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluation, governance, economics, international relations, Natural Resources Management, environmental studies, social sciences
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above
• For PSA.SBS only working knowledge of English is required

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
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation skills and interviewing skills 
• Demonstrated relevant experience of working in China and/or of conducting evaluations in the country or in similar contexts
• Demonstrated experience in evaluation. In particular, experience in conducting evaluation interviews and focus group discussions. Knowledge of participatory evaluation techniques is strongly desired
• Excellent report writing skills
• Knowledge of the context in China

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 any 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 recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at For more information, visit the FAO employment website Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

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