Result of Service

To produce Mid Term Review report of the two Projects: Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Land Management and sustainable Tourist Development in North Macedonia GEF ID 10676 and Achieving Biodiversity Conservation through Effective Management and Enhanced Resilience to Climate Change in the Existing Protected Area of North Albania Mountainous Region GEF ID 10839.The results are expected to guide the execution of the project in its remaining term.

Work Location

Home Based

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment." Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP's Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. UNEP's GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation Unit, under the Biodiversity and Land Branch, serves as the implementing agency for projects within the Biodiversity and Land Degradation Focal Areas funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Unit currently manages a portfolio of over 200 projects across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and West Asia and Asia and the Pacific regions. The Unit would like to recruit a consultant to lead the MTRs for below projects 1) Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Land Management and sustainable Tourist Development in North Macedonia GEF ID 10676. This project intends to support national and local stakeholders in the Shar Mountains of North Macedonia to develop and apply an integrated landscape management (ILM) approach and thereby demonstrate in a pilot landscape the achievement of land degradation neutrality and biodiversity objectives in synergy with more secure and sustainable local livelihoods i.e. demonstrate the benefits of achieving synergies between biodiversity, Sustainable Land Management/ Sustainable Forest Management (SLM/SFM) and rural development efforts, preserving the land resource base by ensuring no net loss of healthy and productive land, and learn the lessons crucial for scaling up such approaches nationally. In doing so, the project will support a paradigm shift from the baseline scenario by demonstrating the greater impact such integrated and synergistic approaches can achieve compared to the current more sectorial approaches used and how in practice the application of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept requires such an integrated approach. The introduction and practical application of ecosystem service valuation and natural capital accounting will further the economic rationale for such approaches. The project will build on and strengthen, the existing thematic initiatives within the national land degradation and biodiversity focal areas, in particular the existing baseline efforts in the almost completed GEF5 BD and ongoing GEF6 SLM projects (UNEP), and the Development of Environmental Monitoring and Information System project (EU project – just recently finalized), but adding to the extent and sustainability of impacts through their better integration and synergistic at a landscape scale. The project’s theory of change is based on the premise that the most effective path to achieving real uptake and adoption of these new approaches to issues of natural resources management and rural development is bottom-up rather than top-down i.e. that meaningful adoption and upscaling of the ILM and other innovative approaches will be best achieved through learning what works at a pilot landscape level and then leveraging this experience to bring about national-level change and uptake. The theory of change of the Project can be found in the next section. 2) Achieving Biodiversity Conservation through Effective Management and Enhanced Resilience to Climate Change in the Existing Protected Area of North Albania Mountainous Region GEF ID 10839. The objective of the project is to strengthen the management effectiveness and sustainability of the Albanian Alps protected areas system and increase resilience to climate change. his objective aims to achieve biodiversity conservation in the North Albanian Alps Mountainous Region. The project is composed of three components: Component 1 – Establishing an enabling environment for effective management of the Albanian Alps National Park: With the support of Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project assists the Ministry of Tourism and Environment of Albania (MoTE), particularly National Agency for Protected Areas (NAPA), in creating necessary conditions for effective management of the Albanian Alps National Park (AANP). It includes assessing likely climate change scenarios in the landscape and their implications for biodiversity, land use, and livelihoods, while also identifying opportunities for mitigation and resilience building. The project updates and validates the existing draft management plan for the AANP, incorporating changes, stakeholder consultations, and identified climate change responses. This involves conducting baseline information gap analysis, habitat mapping, and assessment based on EU methodologies, threat analysis, and socio-economic assessment of local communities. A significant focus is placed on sustainable financing for the AANP. The project undertakes comprehensive ecosystem services valuation of the landscape. It assesses potential options and opportunities for sustainable financing. The draft Albanian Alps NP Financing plan is updated and adjusted to incorporate these opportunities and mechanisms. The project also supports the practical setting up and implementation of at least three demonstrations for generating sustainable income for the NP, based on those identified as viable and included in the financing plan. Furthermore, Component 1 addresses systemic, institutional, and individual level capacity needs and gaps for effectively implementing the management plan. It carries out a detailed "fit for purpose" assessment of NP management and governance institutions and their legal/operational frameworks. Reforms and adjustments of these institutions and frameworks are carried out, and key equipment is provided to enable effective implementation. A comprehensive capacity development program for NP management staff and other relevant stakeholders is developed and delivered, based on assessed skill and experience gaps. Component 2 – Strengthening the practical experience and “know-how” of the Albanian Alps NP stakeholders to address threats Lessons learned from past GEF projects show that the transition from planning and initial capacity building to practical management requires adaptation and adjustment to respond to real-world challenges and on-the-ground issues. This phase often proves extremely challenging, particularly for stakeholders with limited experience. Despite the creation of a positive enabling environment in Component 1, adaptive management and pragmatic flexibility remain essential to ensure that the evolving management system is robust and sustainable. In this context, NP institutions and stakeholders need a substantial combination of “in-process” advice and guidance while simultaneously initiating practical action. Component 2 of the project focuses on supporting the transition from the planning and preparation carried out in Component 1 to the on-the-ground implementation of NP management, thereby practically addressing the priority threats facing the Albanian Alps National Park territory. Component 2 is composed of one Outcome as described below (see the Project Result Framework table). Component 3 – Support to national level adoption and up scaling of sustainable PAs management best practices: The third component aims to ensure lessons learned and experiences gained during the project’s lifetime are captured in a meaningful and accessible way so that they can institutionalized and replicated in other Albanian PAs. Component 3 is composed of one Outcome as described below (see the Project Result Framework table). This consultancy post is located in UNEP / Ecosystems Division / GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation unit. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Task Manager Ersin Esen (based in Geneva, Switzerland) and the overall guidance of the Portfolio Manager Johan Robinson of the GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation Unit based in Nairobi. Specifically, the consultant will be required to complete the following tasks: Inception phase:

Preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff.
Prepare the review framework in line with UNEP's evaluation guidelines.
Identify stakeholders. Develop the interview/questions matrix.
Plan the review schedule.
Prepare the Inception Report. Data collection and analysis phase of the review, including:
Conduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders.
Regularly report back to the Task Manager on progress and inform them of any possible problems or issues encountered. Reporting phase, including:
Draft the Review Report, ensuring that the review report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Task Manager guidelines both in substance and style.
Liaise with the Task Manager on comments received and finalize the Review Report, ensuring that comments are considered until approved by the Task Manager.
Prepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted indicating the reason for the rejection; and Managing relations, including:
Maintain a positive relationship with stakeholders, ensuring that the review process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence.
Communicate in a timely manner with the Task Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention.
The consultancy will be home-based with possible field visits.

Qualifications/special skills

An Advanced university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required. A University degree in the same areas is acceptable with two additional years of relevant experience.

A minimum of 7 years of technical / evaluation experience is required, preferably including evaluating large, regional or global programmes and using a Theory of Change approach is required.
A good/broad understanding of biodiversity conservation, sustainable land and forest management, mountain protection action is desired. -Hands-on experience in managing national and international natural resources projects, in particular concerning biodiversity, land management, natural resources management, protected area management, including financing and environmental information, management, capacity building etc. is required. -Working experience in an international environment is required .i.e UNEP and GEF -Experience in the project target area in North Macedonia and Albania is an Asset.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English is required and working knowledge of another UN Language is desirable. I.e Spanish

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.

Mid Term Review Expert - North Macedonia GEF ID 10676 & Albania Alps GEF ID 10839