Evaluation Specialists (Country Programme Review Viet Nam)

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Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO strives to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.  

To this end, FAO implements a wide portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives across multiple sectors, including fisheries, forestry, animal production and health, land and water, plant production and protection, inclusive rural development, food and nutrition, food systems and safety, social protection, information management systems / data systems for monitoring and decision making, and others. FAO has a growing portfolio of work in the development and humanitarian (emergency and resilience interventions) sectors. FAO conducts its work through a skilled technical workforce and internal and external partnerships.  

FAO evaluates the strategic alignment, implementation, efficacy, and efficiency of its portfolio of work through its independent Office of Evaluation (OED), which is led by a Director who reports to the FAO Governing Bodies and to the Director-General. OED evaluates FAO strategies, initiatives, programmes, and projects at the global, regional, and national levels. OED seeks to generate credible and useful evidence and insights to inform decisions, support oversight, and help FAO achieve its mission. In so doing, OED provides results accountability to both member nations and the Director-General. OED also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development and humanitarian effectiveness by the UN system.

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching a Country Programme Review (CPR) of the Viet Nam programme. This will assess progress over the Country Programme Framework (CPF) period 2022 - 2026 and inform the priorities and direction of the next CPF.

OED is seeking qualified specialists, with demonstrated evaluation experience in Viet Nam and a background in sectors related to FAO’s areas of work in this project to join the CPR team. Applications are sought for the following roles:
•    Senior Evaluation Specialist 
•    Evaluators bringing experience of One Heath / infectious animal disease control; climate resilient agriculture; and in inclusive policy and programming in Viet Nam.

In this CPF period the FAO Viet Nam programme has delivered on around $60 million in 75 projects. The main programme areas have been in agri-food systems, One Health/animal health, climate resilient agriculture, natural resource management and disaster resilience.

Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation:

The main purpose of the Viet Nam CPR is to capture progress on the CPF period, capture learning from this and form conclusions and recommendations for the next CPF phase. The main objectives of the evaluation are to:
•    Evaluate progress to date across the key areas of the FAO Viet Nam programme.
•    Identify good practices and learning opportunities arising from the programme. 
•    Identify key areas for further development and prioritisation in the coming years.

The evaluation will be conducted between August 2025 and February 2026. In-country capital city consultations and field visits to selected provinces will be carried out during the September-October 2025 period.

Candidates should not have been involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of FAO’s work in Viet Nam.

Reporting Lines

The evaluators will work with close guidance of the Evaluation Lead (Evaluation Officer Asia Pacific), and under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Technical Focus

The Viet Nam CPF was designed to contribute to key areas of development within the country and outcomes focused on:
•    Improved control and prevention of health risks in Vietnam through One Health approaches targeting zoonoses, pesticides, AMR, food safety, and pandemic preparedness
•    Enhanced capacity for disaster and climate resilience while strengthening sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation, especially for vulnerable populations
•    Ensuring equitable benefits from sustainable economic transformation by creating safer, more affordable food systems through innovation, collaboration, and policy improvements
•    Fostering inclusive society through improved governance and rights protection, mainstreamed across all other outcomes without separate projects or budget.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Contribute to the evaluation in their areas of expertise under the guidance and supervision of the Evaluation Lead. 
For the senior specialist: contributing to finalizing the evaluation process and data collection processes, management and documentation.
•    Support developing and pre-testing methods including surveys, and stakeholder consultations.
•    Briefing and task setting for the technical survey teams.  
•    Contributing to authoring of key deliverables: inception report, draft and final reports, presentations

For other specialists: Analysis of current and (as far as possible) projected government policies and priorities on key animal infectious disease control, climate resilient agriculture and inclusion.
•    Contributing to tool development for primary data collection.
•    Contributing to community level data collection and consultations. 
•    Contributing on desk review of secondary data relating to the programme areas.
•    Contributing to the development of the methodology in consultation with and under the supervision of OED. 
•    Participate in information sessions, debriefs, field visits and support to the writing of the final evaluation report.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in a relevant discipline: evaluation, governance, climate resilient agriculture, Natural Resources Management, infectious animal disease control, equity and inclusion.
•    For the senior specialist: more than 5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above. For the other specialists 3-5 years of professional experience in the fields of specialization indicated above
•    For PSA.SBS only working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Ideally previous experience of Country Programme evaluations or reviews
•    Expertise in the above technical areas. 
•    Previous experience in conducting/taking part in independent evaluations of major interventions.
•    Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation skills and interviewing skills 
•    Demonstrated relevant experience of working in Viet Nam and/or of conducting evaluations in the country or in similar contexts.
•    Demonstrated experience in evaluation: experience in designing and conducting surveys, evaluation interviews and focus group discussions. Knowledge of participatory evaluation techniques is strongly desired.
•    Excellent report writing skills.
•    Knowledge of the context in Viet Nam

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
• Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ 
• For more information, visit the FAO employment website
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
•  We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

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