CONSULTANCT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Issued on: 10th December 2020

BACKGROUND

Evaluation is an integral component of programming and project cycle management at UN-Habitat. This consultant vacancy is for two evaluators for the evaluation of the Programme Support to the Development of the national urban policy and the New Urban Agenda in Bolivia, hereafter referred to as the National Urban Policy Program in Bolivia.

The programme is to provide institutional support and technical assistance to the Bolivian Government entity in charge of housing and urban development, to prepare a National Urban Policy within the framework of the New Urban Agenda and include a national action plan. It would also provide advice and coordination with international entities (UN country team, Bolivia Development Partners Group (GRUS), etc.), to design New Urban Agenda activities in Bolivia.

The objective of the Sida-funded programme is to advise and support the Government of Bolivia in the formulation and launch of a Cities Policy within the urban development framework that contributes to the sustainable development of human settlements in Bolivia. The programme is intended to incorporate the methodologies and expertise developed by UN-Habitat and the UN System and aims to contribute to the purpose and achievements of the Government of Bolivia’s development agenda and the fight against poverty.

The programme has three strategic expected results:

• The Government of Bolivia has a national urban policy that supports the development of cities, aligned with the Bicentennial Agenda and the New Urban Agenda criteria and is based on four pillars; financial management; system of planning and urban design; appropriate legal framework and institutional governance; and capacity building and training for the implementation of the urban policy.
• The Government of Bolivia has the mechanisms, tools and the operational capacity for the implementation of the national urban policy together with an instrument for its monitoring and evaluation.
• The Government of Bolivia has strengthened its capacity to develop urban mechanisms, tools and actions for the formulation and implementation of social components of the national urban policy, linking the multidimensional approach to poverty reduction and human rights.

The programme was designed in response to the Government of Bolivia’s request for support in formulating  a national urban policy to help establish better conditions for reducing multidimensional poverty in Bolivian cities by using an integrated approach in developing an urban agenda with the participation of different sectors (e.g. local government, civil society, private sector, academia), international cooperation actors and UN agencies.

The programme is implemented by the UN-Habitat Country Office in Bolivia in coordination with the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) and branches at Headquarters from December 2017 for a period 30 months and then extended to June 2021. It is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Justification / Mandate of the Evaluation
This evaluation is mandated by the donor, Sida, as per the Agreement of Cooperation signed with UN-Habitat. UN-Habitat Evaluation Policy requires an evaluation at the end of programmes over USD 1 million. Conducted towards the end of the programme, this evaluation will focus on the achievements, lessons learned from the implementation of the programme, and the methods in which the results were achieved.

The evaluation serves both accountability and learning objectives. It is intended to:

• provide evidence on whether the programme has achieved the expected accomplishments (outcomes) and objectives;
• enhance learning, identify innovations, constraints, and challenges;
• make recommendations for the way forward on the implementation of the NUP.

Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation
The evaluation will be both summative and formative, focusing on achievement of outcomes and the functioning of processes, to understand how they worked  and produced outputs and results, evaluate the programme’s achievements, and identify recommendations for improving the design and way forward on the implementation of the NUP.

Key objectives of evaluation are:

• To assess the achievement of the expected outcome and performance of the project identifying strategic interventions in 19 cities. This will entail analysis of delivery of outputs, achievement of the outcome and viable ‘pro-poor’ projects identified in the 19 participating cities and this will entail an assessment of the stakeholder engagement process through charrettes and workshops.
• To assess the extent to which the strategic phase has created ‘value-for-money’ supporting alleviation of poverty and if the participatory approach and tools used during the implementation have worked well or not in guiding national planning partners and private sector to identify viable project/ activities at city level.
• To make recommendations based on the findings of the evaluation, on what needs to be done to effectively plan, implement, promote, monitor and replicate project activities, including new proposals for future collaboration. 

Approach of the Evaluation
The evaluation shall be independent and carried out in line with the evaluation norms and standards of the United Nations system. A variety of methods will be applied to collect information during the evaluation. The evaluation team will decide on the concrete approach and methodology in consideration of the COVID-19 situation. It is anticipated that the evaluation will apply a results-based approach (Theory of Change). Methods to be included are review of documents relevant to the project, interviews, key informant interviews, consultations with partners and stakeholders, focus group discussions, and surveys).

The evaluation will be conducted over the period of three months with eight weeks paid for two consultants, from January to April 2021.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The evaluation will be conducted by an independent evaluation team consisting of an international consultant supported by a national consultant. The evaluators are responsible for meeting professional and ethical standards in planning and conducting the evaluation and producing the expected deliverables.  The consultants have overall responsibility for producing the deliverables according to the quality standards of UN-Habitat for evaluation reports.

Among the deliverables expected, there will be:

• Inception Report with Evaluation Work plan;
• Evaluation Report Draft;
• Final Evaluation Report.

Full details of the evaluation are provided in the attached Terms of Reference.

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject areas. Good research, analytical and problem-solving skills. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
Communication:  Excellent and effective written and oral skills. Ability to convince people through constructive argumentation and to present information in a concise and accurate manner. Negotiating skills and ability to enable good communication and understanding between different interest groups, organizations, etc.
Planning and Organizing: Proven ability to plan, coordinate and monitor own work and that of others. Ability to work under pressure and use time efficiently. Identifies priority activities and assignments, and adjust priorities as required.
Teamwork:          Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by valuing ideas and expertise of others and is willing to learn from others.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education
Advanced academic degree in international development, public administration, development economics, political science, statistics, information technology, project management or related fields.
Work Experience

• Professional practical experience in results-based management and evaluation working with projects/ programmes.
• At least 7 years of evaluation experience with ability to present credible findings derived from evidence and putting conclusions and recommendations supported findings.
•  International track record of project evaluation work for different organizations, including in developing countries.
• Knowledge and understanding of the SDGs, NUA, UN-Habitat mandate and its operations.
• Knowledge of urban planning, governance and capacity building.
• Knowledge of the Bolivian or Latin-American context.

Language
Fluency in English and Spanish (understanding, reading and writing) required.

REMUNERATION
Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultants. The fee will be paid as per agreement.