Positions: Final Project Evaluation

Organization: EcoContact

Post type: Service contact individual/company

Estimated implementation period of assignment: February 20, 2020 – March 30, 2020

Working languages: English, Russian

Organizational Context 

The project is aimed at reducing the risks from obsolete and currently used pesticides for the communities from the both banks of river Nistru.

To achieve that the project is addressing three main aspects: 

• raising awareness of key stakeholders (environmental authorities, educational institutions, civil society organizations, local authorities) and level of their knowledge in the area of obsolete and currently used pesticides;
• raising technical capacities in risks identification;
• and improvement of legal framework on pesticides management.

The project will bring in the existing experience in remediation of contaminated territories, support tailoring to local needs the international methodologies of risks identification and their piloting; support the improvement of legal framework in the area. Activities with different target groups from both banks of the river Nistru will help to identify joined interests in the area of chemical safety, facilitate exchange of experience on the technical level and formulate the proposals for joined working groups on confidence building in the area of environment to reduce environment and health risks caused by dangerous substances.

The objective and tasks of the assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to perform the final project evaluation. The objective of the evaluation is to assess the relevance, performance, management arrangements and success of the project. The evaluator should assess the project results, the lessons learned, achievement of goals, effectiveness and efficiency, the impact and sustainability of results. The Consultant should also address the integration of the gender dimension into the project activities, confidence building aspects, as well as come with concrete recommendations for the follow up activities. The Consultant will perform documentary analysis as well as interviews/meetings with project beneficiaries and partners. All deliverables for the implementation of the current assignment should be presented in English language.

Purposes of the final evaluation are:

• To assess overall performance against the project objective and outcomes as set out in the project proposal.
• To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the project.
• To analyze the implementation and management arrangements of the project.
• To assess the sustainability of the project’s interventions.
• To list and document lessons concerning project design, implementation and management.
• To assess project relevance to national priorities and the confidence building aspects.
• To analyze the integration of gender dimension into the project activities.
• To provide recommendations follow up activities.

The consultant will

1. Elaborate and present an assignment work plan and methodological approach.
2. Perform a comprehensive documentary analysis (application documents, project reports, other relevant information)
3. Conduct interviews/meetings with the project partners, beneficiaries according to the work plan provided
4. Elaborate and present the evaluation report and the recommendations for the follow up activities.

The evaluation should assess:

Project concept and design: The evaluator will assess the project concept and design. He/she should review the problem addressed by the project and the project strategy, encompassing an assessment of the appropriateness of the objectives, planned outputs, activities and inputs as compared to cost-effective alternatives. The executing modality and managerial arrangements should also be judged. The evaluator will assess the achievement of indicators and review the work plan, planned duration and budget of the project. The budget should be analyzed only from perspective of budget allocations and execution with the rationale of activities realised. Expenditure verification will be done by an audit company.

Implementation: The evaluation will assess the implementation of the project in terms of quality and timeliness of inputs and efficiency and effectiveness of activities carried out. Also, the effectiveness of management as well as the quality and timeliness of monitoring and backstopping by all parties to the project should be evaluated. In particular, the evaluation is to assess the Project team’s use of adaptive management in project implementation.

Project outputs, outcomes and impact: The evaluation will assess the outputs, outcomes and impact achieved by the project as well as the likely sustainability of project results. This should encompass an assessment of the achievement of the immediate objectives and the contribution to attaining the overall objective of the project. The evaluation should also assess the extent to which the implementation of the project has been inclusive of relevant stakeholders and to which it has been able to create collaboration between different partners. The evaluation will also examine if the project has had significant unexpected effects, whether of beneficial or detrimental character.

Deliverables and timeline for the implementation of the assignment

Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in environmental science, sociology, or other relevant field; or equivalent working experience in the sector
• Not less than 10 years of experience in environmental science, waste management, POPs and pesticide management is obligatory for this assignment

• Experience in project management, project evaluation; humanitarian affairs and/or development
• Experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies
• Proven experience on preparation of written reports in an accurate and concise manner, and public presentation skills

• Experience of work in Moldova, or other countries from the region
• Excellent knowledge of English is obligatory for this assignment
• Good knowledge of Russian is required for this assignment
• Experience in evaluation of the projects in the area of obsolete pesticides will be an advantage

Payments:

Payment will be done on the successful implementation of all deliverables.

How to apply:

The applicant should indicate to what Lot he/she is applying. It is possible to apply from one to four Lots. Applicants must submit the following documents:

1. CV of the evaluator including past experience in similar projects.
2. Financial Proposal.
3. Brief statement for the methodology for the implementation of assignment (not more than 2 pages).

Documents can pe provided in one of following languages English or Russian.

Please send the documents with the indication of the Lot in the subject line before February 10, 2020 to the email address of procurari@ecocontact.md. 

For detailed information, please contact Catalina Arghir, Project Manager, 022 996162