Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is conducting a country-level project evaluation in Sao Tome and Principe. The project, which is framed into the Reforestation Initiative (TRI) led by FAO, IUCN and UNEP, has the objective to promote the restoration and sustainable management of the forest ecosystems of São Tomé and Príncipe, to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation, and to stop and reverse forest and soil degradation.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall responsibility of the Director, OED, and the close technical and methodological guidance of the Evaluation Manager and Evaluation Supervisor, the evaluation specialists will contribute to the evaluation for their respective areas of specialization. They report to the Evaluation Manager. 2 recruitments are foreseen for this exercise.

Technical Focus 

The incumbents will carry out the project evaluation of “TRI-Landscape Restoration for Ecosystem Functionality and Climate Change Mitigation in the Republic of São Tomé e Príncipe (FSP) — GCP /STP/002/GFF”. The Development Objective of the project is to improve livelihoods and economic diversification of rural communities in São Tomé and Príncipe through the introduction of best practices and the creation of a conductive environment for Forest Landscape Restoration and the sustainable management of natural resources.

The Project Objective is to promote the restoration and sustainable management of the forest ecosystems of São Tomé and Príncipe to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and stop and reverse forest and soil degradation.

To achieve this goal, the project is structured into four interlinked technical components: Policy Development and Integration (Component 1); Implementation of Restoration Programs and Complementary Activities (Component 2); Institutions, Finance and Upscaling (Component 3), and Knowledge, Partnerships, Monitoring and Assessments, and linkages with TRI (Component 4). The evaluation teams will have proven expertise in evaluating all four technical aspects of the project; each consultant will have expertise in at least 2 of these.

Tasks and responsibilities

The FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) will guide this evaluation. The evaluation team is responsible for the following:
•    Work in close collaboration with the OED Evaluation Manager responsible for this evaluation.
•    Conduct the evaluation and applying the methodology elaborated in the evaluation Terms of Reference (TOR) together with the project team and GEF liaison officers.
•    Responsible for all deliverables detailed in the TOR.
•    Participate in briefing and debriefing meetings, discussions, field visits with the evaluation team and contributing to the evaluation with written inputs.
•    Ensure appropriate paperwork for travel to or within Sao Tome and Principe (beneficiary country) as part of this assignment.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in forestry, economics, policy development, geography, agronomy, or another linked subject.
•    Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in evaluating projects in an international organizational setting and preferably financed by the GEF.
•    Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Portuguese (Portuguese is a requirement for this assignment, even though the report is expected in English).
•    Work experience in Sao Tome and Principe desired; preference will be given to residents of Sao Tome and Principe
•    Extent and relevance of experience in project evaluation, particularly of GEF funded project evaluations in the Forestry sector
•    Extent and relevance of experience in at least two of the following:
o    evaluating policy and development initiatives (such as Carbon financing schemes),
o    evaluating forest landscape restoration (FLR) initiatives and complementary sustainable land management (SLM) initiatives,
o    building capacity and evaluating it as it pertains to FLR and to knowledge management in the FLR field,
o    assessing and familiarity with public-private partnerships (PPP) for nationally implemented bankable projects in the forestry sector
•    Familiarity with the others highly desirable

Selection Criteria

•    Fluency in Portuguese (non-fluent lusophones will not be considered)
•    To the extent relevant profiles are available, female candidates are encouraged.