Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

vacancy announcement N^o: VA-NC-FAO-2023

Issued on:

3/23/2023

Deadline For Application:

4/03/2023 before 10am.

Job Title:    National consultant on MDR

Type of requisition:

PSA-NAT

Duty Station:

Mongolia

Organizational Unit:

FAO Mongolia- “Promoting Dryland Sustainable Landscapes and Biodiversity Conservation in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia”

Duration:

40 days

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

Qualified applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Organizational Setting:

FAO Mongolia works with the vision "to be a leading, credible and responsive partner in ensuring food and nutrition security of the population". The office has been coordinating projects and programmes in research, capacity building, natural resources management, technology transfer, food and agriculture policy, livestock production systems management, emergency, and post-crisis management, forestry information, statistics, food security and nutrition, emergency response operations, crop production system management, and food quality and safety.

The project “Promoting Dryland Sustainable Landscapes and Biodiversity Conservation in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia” is part of a global program led by FAO, the GEF-7 Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (SFM/Drylands IP). The project seeks to reverse and prevent dryland ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss through an inclusive, integrated landscape and value chain approach securing multiple environment benefits and sustainable, resilient livelihoods in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia.

The project is led by FAO in partnership with WWF in Mongolia and is executed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) in collaboration with other partners in three aimags and nine soums in the eastern region: i) Khentii aimag: Bayan-Adarga, Norovlin, Bayan-Ovoo soums; ii) Dornod aimag: Khulunbuir, Bulgan, Matad soums; iii) Sukhbaatar aimag: Munkhkhaan, Sukhbaatar, Tumentsogt soums. The project is also catalysing aimag and soum level work with interventions at the national level.

Technical Focus:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Mongolia (Budget holder) and MTR Team Leader, the National consultant/Team Member will contribute to the MTR for his/her area of specialization and be responsible for supporting the MTR Team Leader. His/Her mandate is derived from and must fully comply with the overall terms of reference for the MTR. He/She will provide inputs as agreed with the Team Leader and MTR Manager (RM).

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Review the relevant background documentation made available by FAO: the project document, the project’s logframe, progress and final reports, workshop and technical reports, Terms of reference for MTR and Guide for conducting MTR among other things;
• In accordance with the methodological approach described in the terms of reference, contribute to the preparation of data-collection tools, including questionnaires, check-lists and interview protocols, as appropriate; insofar as possible, participate in the finalization of the MTR team’s work programme;
• Participate actively in the collection of primary data, as required by and identified in the MTR matrix, under the leadership of the Team Leader during the country visits, among other things, through interviews and meetings (face-to-face or virtual) with key stakeholders, such as government entities, project partners (the full list is provided by FAO), the FAO Representative, external partners, project beneficiaries, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, academia and research institutions;
• Provide specialised expertise in the project review process;
• Contribute to the consolidation of all evidence collected during the MTR process in a structured format following the key MTR questions and criteria;
• Ensure that all primary and secondary data collected are recorded during the MTR process and organized in a structured format following the key MTR questions, based on which all findings will be triangulated;
• Participate in the analysis and discussion of evidence collected during the MTR within the MTR team to identify key findings that respond to MTR issues and questions, and formulate preliminary conclusions and recommendations in his/her specific field of expertise, as discussed and agreed with the Team Leader and the RM;
• Deliver inputs (including written, as required by the MTR Team Leader) on the specific areas of assessment, per the overall terms of reference, to all deliverables, including: the inception report, debriefing sessions following field missions, the draft MTR report according to the specifications provided in the terms of reference, and participate in addressing and integrating any feedback on the draft report from stakeholder reviewers (e.g. the budget holder, FAO GEF CU, government counterparts, local-community stakeholders), as appropriate, and support the MTR Team Leader in finalizing the report, as required.
• Any other duties required for the MTR.

In terms of reporting, or if information, advice or guidance is required from FAO by the consultant, he/she should address requests to both the BH/RM and the FAO GEF CU focal point and the MTR Team Leader.

Minimum requirement:

• Advanced degree in business administration, international relations, social science, economics, statistics, agriculture, environment, and/or any relevant fields, 
• At least seven years of professional experience, preferably in the field of development and/or monitoring & evaluation,
• Fluency in written and spoken English,
• Nationality of Mongolia

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills,
• Strong knowledge and experience in project management support,
• Strong effective report writing skills,
• Strong ability to draft high-quality reports supported with graphic and statistical summaries,
• Demonstrated experience in developing Monitoring and Evaluation Framework or System for development projects,
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities and to work with minimum supervision to meet changing deadlines,
• Teamwork and strong soft skills including interpersonal, ethical, listening, and communication skills, proactive, problem-solving, self-organizing, planning, setting priorities, and efficient use of time
• Experience in the government or UN system is an asset,

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All, and Integrity and Transparency.