Team Member - Trade Expert (Mid-term Evaluation of ATPC Phase IV)

Consultant Programme & Policy Finance & Economy

Contract

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Result of Service

The evaluation will assess as objectively and systematically as possible, the performance of the Project vis-à-vis its overall objective as defined in the project document in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact orientation, and sustainability. Further, the evaluation will assess the extent to which gender, human rights, disability inclusion and other cross-cutting issues were incorporated or mainstreamed into the project. Specifically, the evaluation will: i) Give an independent and objective assessment of progress to date of the Project across the three outcomes, assessing performance as per the targets and indicators of achievement at outcome and output level, strategies and implementation modalities chosen, partnership arrangements, constraints and opportunities. ii) Provide strategic and operational recommendations as well as highlight lessons and emerging good practices to improve performance and delivery of programme results. iii) Assess the sustainability strategy of the Project, its progress, potential for achievement and areas that need strengthening of focus.

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Setting The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is launching a Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the Implementing the AfCFTA to Boost Intra-African Trade," ATPC:Phase IV of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC IV). ECA seeks qualified consultants to join the team that will conduct this evaluation. Selected team members shall have demonstrated evaluation experience in various development contexts, and exposure to a broad set of practices that relate to Trade Policy. Technical Focus of the Project The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) was established in June 2003 as a specialised unit within ECA. It has evolved to become a leading Africa-based centre of excellence and continental hub that provides and coordinates technical support for the development of trade policies in Africa. The main objective of the Centre is to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of African governments and regional economic communities (RECs) to formulate and implement sound trade policies and participate more effectively in trade negotiations at all levels. In carrying out this mandate, the Centre works closely with relevant African Union (AU) organs, including the department of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry, and Mining (ETTIM) of the AU Commission, and the AfCFTA Secretariat, and facilitates the engagement of key stakeholders such as the private sector, civil society, academic and research institutions, the media, and others in trade policy making and implementation through TOR: 24-Economic Commission for Africa-234497-Consultant Page 2 of 5 information dissemination and advisory services. The first phase of the project (ATPC I) was implemented from 2003 to 2007; the second phase (ATPC II) was implemented from 2008-2014; and the third phase (ATPC III) was implemented from 2015 to 2020. The current phase, ATPC IV, was launched in March 2021, with a budget of CAN$15,200,000 for a duration of 60 months funded by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The Project strategy is based on a three-pronged approach with the objective of contributing to boosting intra-African trade through: 1.) enhancing AfCFTA agreement implementation; 2.) reducing trade-related gender discrimination and gender-based barriers to trade; and 3.) increasing participation of private sector operators and CSOs, including women entrepreneurs. Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure accountability and learning. From an accountability perspective, the mid-term evaluation will examine the performance of the Project against targets and indicators of achievement at strategy, outcome, and output level, to establish if the project is on track to achieving its objectives. From a learning perspective, the evaluation will aim to understand what worked, what did not work, and why, and provide credible and reliable evidence to clients of the evaluation to improve project design and delivery. From an accountability perspective, the evaluation will assess overall progress towards intended outcomes, and, where possible, seek indications of possible effects on beneficiaries as well as indicative analysis of ECA added value. The evaluation will aim to provide credible and reliable evidence to ECA, member States and other stakeholders to contribute towards improving developmental outcomes. The overall objective of the evaluation is to assess as objectively and systematically as possible the performance of the Project vis-à-vis its overall objective as defined in the project document in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact orientation, and sustainability. Further, the evaluation will assess the extent to which gender, human rights, disability inclusion and other cross-cutting issues were incorporated or mainstreamed into the project. Specifically, the evaluation will: I. Give an independent and objective assessment of progress to date of the Project across the three outcomes, assessing performance as per the targets and indicators of achievement at outcome and output level, strategies and implementation modalities chosen, partnership arrangements, constraints, and opportunities. II. Provide strategic and operational recommendations as well as highlight lessons and emerging good practices to improve performance and delivery of programme results. III. Assess the sustainability strategy of the Project, its progress, potential for achievement and areas that need strengthening of focus. Composition and profile of the evaluation team Two Evaluators are anticipated to undertake this evaluation; one Team Leader supported by one team member with subject matter expertise. The Evaluation Team should demonstrate behavioural independence, impartiality, credibility, honesty, integrity, and accountability in conducting the evaluation to avoid bias in the findings. The Evaluation Team must also address in the design and conduct of the evaluation procedures to safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers. ECA seeks qualified consultants to join the evaluation team, with demonstrated evaluation experience in various development contexts, exposure to a broad set of practices in the following areas of work: • Monitoring and Evaluation • International Trade • Trade Economics • Trade facilitation • Rights-based and gender sensitive trade policy Ideally and for reasons related to independence, candidates should not have been recently involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of work related to this project. Evaluator Responsibilities The Evaluation Team should demonstrate behavioural independence, impartiality, credibility, honesty, integrity, and accountability in conducting the evaluation to avoid bias in the findings. The Evaluation Team must also address in the design and conduct of the evaluation, procedures to safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers. The Evaluation Team will be responsible for: i) Designing, planning and implementing the evaluation in accordance with the ToR. ii) Consulting and liaising as required, with project stakeholders, key informants, and partners to ensure satisfactory delivery of all deliverables. iii) Analysing key findings, conclusions, and recommendations, identify lessons learned and best practices leading to the preparation of the final report. iv) Drafting the evaluation report, using an approach agreed with the Evaluation Manager, and delivered in accordance with ECA's specifications and timeline. v) Preparing and delivering a presentation on the draft evaluation report. vi) Making themselves available, if required, to take part in briefings and discussions, online or, if judged necessary, at ECA or other venue, on dates to be agreed, in line with the work outlined in these ToRs and to be agreed in the inception phase. The Team Member will undertake the work as outlined in this ToR in close coordination with the Team Leader, including and not limited to the following specific responsibilities: i) Assist the Team Leader in refining the evaluation methodology as necessary. ii) Provide subject matter expertise to elaborate the evaluation matrix in a manner that will allow the evaluation to answer the evaluation questions and meet the evaluation objectives. iii) Lead the data collection in the respective specialist area and provide technical back-stopping support to the Team Leader in conducting the data analysis. iv) Prepare and submit to the Team Leader, a synthesis report on the evidence collected through each data collection method by evaluation criteria and related question. v) Contribute to the evaluation by providing subject matter expertise and knowledge on assigned area of work, including outcome level analysis of key findings, conclusions, recommendations, identification of lessons learned and good practices, cross-cutting issues e.g., human rights, gender, disability inclusion, partnerships etc to ensure technically sound findings, conclusions and recommendations leading to the preparation of the main evaluation report, and delivered in accordance with ECA quality standards, specifications, and timeline. vi) Assist the Team Leader to prepare the presentation on the draft evaluation report. vii) Contribute to the finalization of the evaluation report, including all annexes. The evaluation will have the following deliverables: Deliverable 1: Inception report with methodology - This constitutes the operational plan of the evaluation and should be aligned with the ToR. It should demonstrate the Evaluator's understanding of what is being evaluated and why, showing how each evaluation question will be answered by way of proposed methods, proposed sources of data, and data collection procedures . The inception report should also include an evaluation matrix clearly demonstrating how each question will be answered, a proposed schedule of tasks, activities, and deliverables, an outline of the evaluation report and a detailed list of documents reviewed, preliminary interviews conducted and data collection instruments. The evaluation methodology should include a description of an analytical approach to assessing the project across its full scope and geographical coverage. Deliverable 2: Post-data Collection De-brief Meeting - At the end of the data collection phase, the Evaluator will de-brief the ERG and the Project Management Team on the preliminary findings from the data collection. The feedback from the de-brief meeting will be used to provide additional insights into the findings to be incorporated in the evaluation report. Deliverable 3: Draft Evaluation Report and Presentation of report - The Lead Evaluator will prepare the draft evaluation report with inputs from the Evaluation Team Member, to be submitted to the Evaluation Manager in a format prescribed by ECA . A presentation outlining the purpose and methodology of the evaluation, the main findings across all criteria, lessons learnt, good practices and recommendations, giving due attention to the similarities, dispersions and learning across countries, should be prepared, and presented to key stakeholders. Feedback from the presentation should inform the subsequent finalisation of the draft report. Deliverable 4: Final Evaluation Report and Evaluation summary - The final evaluation report will be submitted to the Evaluation Manager as per the proposed structure, carefully edited and formatted. The report should also, as appropriate, include specific and detailed timebound recommendations based on the analysis of information obtained. All recommendations should be addressed specifically to the relevant stakeholder responsible for implementing them. The report should also include a specific section on lessons learned and good practices. The quality of the evaluation report will be determined based on quality standards defined by ECA1. A standalone summary of the evaluation of no more than five pages, in the template provided by ECA should be submitted alongside the evaluation report. Reporting Lines The Evaluation Consultants will work under the direct supervision of the Evaluation Manager, and under the overall guidance of the Chief of Evaluation.

Qualifications/special skills

Qualifications/special skills -Advanced University Degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in International Trade, Trade Economics, International Relations, International Business Management, Economics or Development studies is required. -At least 7 years of professional work experience in international trade, trade and development, trade facilitation or trade negotiations is required. -A first level university degree with a relevant combination of 3 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. -Experience evaluating international development interventions is required. -Demonstrated understanding of links between trade and development, and impacts of FTAs on local economies, including impact and transmission mechanisms and institutional reforms is a distinct advantage. -Sound knowledge of Theory-based evaluations of development interventions is an asset. -Experience working in the Africa region and knowledge of the AfCFTA is desirable

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written language of English is required for this task. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Total lump sum fees for the evaluation will be payable against deliverables, through Electronic Financial Transfer (EFT) upon satisfactory acceptance of the deliverables by ECA, according to the following schedule: i. 20% on approval of deliverable 1, inception report. ii. 40% on completion of deliverable 2, post-data collection de-brief meeting and deliverable 3, draft evaluation report and presentation. iii. 40 % on approval of deliverable 4, final evaluation report and evaluation summary. ECA reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of the payment if performance of the Evaluator is unsatisfactory. For any travel during the evaluation assignment, the Evaluator will receive the United Nations Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate applicable for the city/country of visit. Rates are pre-set by UN Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM). Cost of air tickets will be covered by ECA based on the UN travel rules and regulations through most economical direct route in economy class. To consult the full Terms of Reference for this evaluation, please email: [email protected]

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Added 2 days ago - Updated 12 hours ago - Source: careers.un.org