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One International and one National Consultant to conduct Final Evaluation of the “Support to Agriculture and Rural Development” SARD Programme in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia district

Vacancy Number: Pr18/01755

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	01 Sep 2018, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	17 Sep 2018
Reference to the project:	Support to Agriculture and Rural Development Programme
Expected Duration of Assignment:	up to 30 working days for each consultant
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Mr. Anatolie Terzi.

Background

The “Support to Agriculture and Rural Development” SARD Programme is a three-year initiative funded by the European Union, implemented by the UNDP. The main objective of the project is to foster confidence building in the Republic of Moldova by targeting regions and territorial administrative units with special status. People from ATU Gagauzia, Taraclia district and neighboring communities will benefit from improved development opportunities in their localities, grasping the benefits of the National Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy.

SARD contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of the agro-food sector in the target regions, promotion of local entrepreneurship, creation of jobs and raising income; as well as increasing capacities of local communities to identify development ideas, develop and fundraise resources as well as implement development projects. The project is connecting region’s authorities and structures to the national ones, facilitating dialogue and inclusion in development of national strategies, as well as connecting neighboring villages through inter municipal cooperation and implementation of the LEADER/CLLD approach.

The programme has the following components:

Component 1: Enhanced Dialogue and Community Empowerment;

Component 2: Local entrepreneurship and SMEs development;

Component 3: Small-Scale Infrastructure Refurbishment and Promotion of Inter-Municipal Cooperation.

Scope of work

As the project ends December 2018, the purpose of this evaluation is to learn from the experience of the Support to Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Programme with a forward-looking approach. The Evaluation is expected to clarify underlying factors affecting the situation, highlight unintended consequences (positive and negative) and better design future EU and UN-supported projects and interventions. The UNDP Country Office plans to make use of the exercise as a learning opportunity not only for the offices but also for key partners and stakeholders, as inclusively and as practically possible.

The purpose of the Evaluation is twofold:

• Review the progress made by the Support to Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Programme in fulfilling its agreed outcome and outputs through the planned activities. Assess how successful confidence building approach was applied and the efficiency and effectiveness with which resources have been used to generate results and achieve project objectives with special emphasis on impact and sustainability.
• Develop recommendations for future relevant project interventions beyond 2018, which UNDP Moldova can offer as support to agriculture and rural development both in regions with special status and in Republic of Moldova.

EVALUATION SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

The overall objectives of the evaluation are the following:

1. Provide an objective assessment of the progress towards the achievement of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document and the impact produced so far under the area of intervention.
2. Generate lessons from experiences in the project respective interventions to inform current and future programming at the country level,
3. Provide clear and forward-looking recommendations to suggest effective and realistic strategies by UNDP and partners.

UNDP will make use of the exercise as a learning opportunity for its country office and key partners and stakeholders, as inclusively and practically possible. The findings and recommendations generated by the evaluation should inform the implementation and targeting of activities of future relevant project initiatives.

The scope of the evaluation should incorporate the following categories of analysis: 

• Relevance: the degree to which the purpose of the Support to Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Programme remains valid and pertinent.
• Efficiency: the productivity of the implementation process - how good and how cost efficient the process of transforming inputs into outputs and outcomes was.
• Effectiveness: a measure of the extent to which the Support to Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Programme has contributed to achieve its results through an effective use of their resources.
• Capacity development: as a key to development effectiveness, the achievement of the SDGs and sustainable local development.
• Sustainability – to what extent are the SARD Programme results sustainable, i.e. rights-holders are empowered to claim their rights, taking into consideration the existing capacity, structures and political context in the country.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

The International and National Consultants must possess the following qualifications:

International Consultant:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Management, Development Studies, International Affairs and/or other relevant fields;
• At least 8 years of work experience in South Eastern European countries in the areas relevant to the assignment (agriculture and rural development, regional and local development, participatory planning for sustainable development, including participatory monitoring and evaluation);
• Experience in conducting evaluation of projects in the socio-economic field - at least 5 projects;
• Experience with development approaches in context of Eastern Partnership or EU Neighborhood countries;
• Experience within the country, including Gagauzia and Taraclia district will be a strong advantage;
• Previous work experience in related areas with UNDP or other development organization, preferably in the region
• Excellent spoken and writing skills in English. Knowledge of Romanian or Russian is an advantage.

National Consultant:

• University degree in Management, Development Studies and/or other relevant fields;
• At least 5 years of professional experience/technical knowledge in providing management or consultancy services in local development, participatory planning for sustainable development, including participatory monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience in conducting evaluation of projects in the socio-economic field – at least 3 projects;
• Work experience in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia district, including in the development field
• Experience in managing, monitoring and evaluating projects for UN or other international development agencies in the region will be an asset;
• Fluent in English and Russian both written and spoken. Knowledge of Romanian is an advantage

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Documents to be included

1. P11 form including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references;

2. Financial offer: All-inclusive remuneration rate per consultancy day and total lump sum amount for the assignment;
3. Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability
4. Proposal: (i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work; (ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount for the assignment and the remuneration rate per day. The remuneration rate per day should be all-inclusive and shall cover fee, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, etc. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fees, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, and number of anticipated working days).  

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. 

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.