UN Human Settlements Program
Posting Title:
Senior Project Evaluation Expert
Job Code Title:
Department/ Office:
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
Duty Station:
NAIROBI
Posting Period:
22 December 2022-2 January 2023
Job Opening number:
22–UN-HABITAT-197836-C-NAIROBI
Staffing Exercise ID:
N/A
Result of Service
The main purpose of this Mid-tem evaluation or consolidation phase assessment is to give an independent mid-term appraisal of the project, “Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda”.
Work Location
Homebased
Expected duration
Two months
Duties and Responsibilities
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the focal point for urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. The agency supports national and local governments in laying the foundation for sustainable urban development.
UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed, and efficient cities and other human settlements, with adequate housing, infrastructure, and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy and sanitation. To achieve these goals, UN-Habitat has adopted the Strategic Plan (2020–2023), which repositions UN-Habitat as a major global entity and a centre of excellence and innovation. In this respect, the organization is refocusing its niche position as the “thought leader” and the go-to programme for issues pertaining to its work, setting the global discourse and agenda on sustainable urban development. The Land, Housing and Shelter Section (LHSS), within the Urban Practices Branch of UN-Habitat, hosts the secretariat of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), which is a network of over 80 international institutions established in 2006. Since then, the network has been working to promote secure land and property rights for all, through the development of pro-poor fit-for-purpose and gender-appropriate land tools within the continuum of land rights approach. From 2012, GLTN has been working at country level to test and implement developed land tools and approaches, support land policy development and implementation, and undertake capacity development initiatives and awareness and knowledge-building initiatives in collaboration with government authorities and partners. The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) is currently implementing the “Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda” Project funded by the Netherlands government through the Netherlands Enterprise and Development Agency (RVO). The project builds on a successful pilot project “Securing Land Tenure for Improved Food Security in Select Areas in Uganda” implemented by GLTN with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
It is reported that in Uganda, the agricultural sector provides about 64.3% of the employment and contributes to approximately about 23% of the total Gross Domestic Product (UBOS 2020). However, over 80% of the land in Uganda is customary-owned, and most of the communities and households who access land do not have formal ownership documents. Land disputes among families or clans are high. It is estimated that 70% of court cases a related to land disputes. Furthermore, refugee influx in Uganda has put enormous pressure on land and natural resources for settlement, food production, energy etc.
Against this background, this project aims to contribute to the development of a structured and scalable approach towards improved tenure security and sustainable land use for men, women and youth, which can be achieved using inclusive, gender-responsive, fit-for-purpose and participatory tools and approaches. The project builds on a pilot project of securing land tenure for improved security in selected areas in Uganda and also includes land registration and land use planning interventions in refugee-hosting areas.
The main purpose of this Mid-tem evaluation or consolidation phase assessment is to give an independent mid-term appraisal of the project, “Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda”. The mid-term evaluation or consolidation phase assessment will serve both the accountability and learning objectives. It is intended to: (i) provide evidence on whether the project is on track towards achieving the project’s expected accomplishments and objective; and (ii) enhance learning by identifying good practices, lessons, constraints and challenges which may need corrective measures and improvement. The evaluation will therefore be formative, focusing more on the functioning of the project processes, understanding how the project is working and producing its outputs and achieving or not results, and informing planning and decision-making for the remaining period of the project and the second Phase. It is expected that the consolidation phase assessment will provide the necessary findings on what works and what are areas for improvement to improve the project’s efficiency and effectiveness in the next phase.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Chief, Evaluation Unit, UN-Habitat, the Senior Project Evaluation Expert will:
a) Assess the performance of the project in terms of its progress towards the achievement of planned results at the expected accomplishment and output levels;
b) Assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence and sustainability of the project towards scaling up customary land registration and climate-smart land use planning processes;
c) Assess the planning, adequacy of resources, partnerships, coordination modalities and working arrangements and how these may be impacting the effectiveness of the project;
d) Assess how cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, environment, youth and human rights have been integrated into the project;
e) Identify areas of improvement and lessons learned and recommend forward-looking strategic, technical, programmatic and management considerations to improve the performance and processes of the project for the remaining period of the project
Qualifications/special skills
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in land administration, land economics, project design and management, project monitoring and evaluation, public administration, development economics, agriculture, rural development, sociology or related area is required.
A minimum of ten (10) years related experience in programme design and evaluation in developing countries, particularly in areas of land administration, agriculture and food security and natural resource management at the international level is required;
At least five (5) years of experience in programme design and/or implementation of land and natural resources management programmes in developing countries is desirable;
Knowledge and understanding of customary land issues in sub-Saharan Africa or developing countries, and the corresponding dynamics on gender, power structures, land registration and dispute resolution is highly preferred.
Knowledge in addressing land sector issues in developing countries through policy and institutional changes, land tenure security, land tools and innovations is preferred;
Previous experience with UN and/or international organization is highly preferred;
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required.
Additional Information
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.