Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) anchors the evaluation function in the Organization. Evaluation in FAO provides results accountability to both member countries and the Director-General, giving more in-depth understanding and objective basis for their decision-making and oversight. Evaluation also contributes to corporate learning, feeding lessons into a robust feedback loop. Evaluation provides a sound basis for improvements in the Organization’s programmes in terms of their relevance to countries, definition of objectives, their design and implementation. The Office also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development effectiveness by the United Nations (UN) system.

Under its Strategic Framework 2022-31, FAO included “One Health” as one of its twenty Programme Priority areas that constitutes a globally led, integrated, and coordinated approach to preventing, containing and addressing the rising losses to agricultural production and adverse ecosystem effects caused by the spread of animal, plant and aquatic pests and diseases, including zoonotic infections of pandemic potential and antimicrobial resistance.
OED is seeking expressions of interest from qualified individuals to join the team to conduct the evaluations related to FAO’s projects on One Health.
OED will be conducting multiple strategic and project evaluations related to One Health in 2024-25. For example, OED is conducting an evaluation of FAO’s support to the Global Health Security Agenda and is launching a strategic evaluation to provide insights into the nature of the evolution and impact of FAO’s work in One Health.

Reporting Lines

The evaluation specialists will work under the supervision of the assigned OED evaluation manager.

Technical Focus 

The purpose of this call is to identify specialists that may be suitable for different tasks in relation to One Health evaluations. Team members should have demonstrated experience in topics related to One Health work, specifically in areas such as:
•    Epidemiology, veterinary medicine, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance
•    Livestock production and animal health
•    Animal disease, biosafety, and biosecurity
•    Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning
•    Public health
•    Ecosystem health, conservation, and environmental management

Tasks and responsibilities

The specialists will carry out specific tasks in accordance with the evaluation’s Terms of Reference, including:
•    Conduct desk studies
•    Lead and/or contribute to the drafting of the inception report
•    If necessary, participate in field missions and/or briefings and debriefings.
•    Conduct data collection and analysis
•    Lead and/or contribute to the drafting of the final report
•    Respond to feedback from stakeholders on technical areas
•    Present report

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in relevant areas (including agriculture sciences, animal health, zoonotic disease management, social and economic development, public health, environmental sciences or related fields);
•    At least 5 years of relevant and proven experience at international level in their field of expertise;
•    Working knowledge (Level C) of English and limited knowledge (Level B) of French or of one of the other FAO official languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian)

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Extent and relevance of working experience in technical areas being evaluated;
•    Extent and relevance of experience in international cooperation;
•    Proven knowledge of research and evaluation methods
•    Written and verbal communication skills