Sample of International M&E Consultant TOR for ADB

KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

KING NATION RELIGION

National implement office (MAFF-NIO for Rice SDP), General directorate of agriculture; 

Ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTERESTS

International M&E Consultant

The National Implementation Office [NIO] of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries [MAFF] is the implementing unit for agriculture-related activities of the Climate-Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program [Rice-SDP]. The Rice-SDP is being financed through loans and grants from the Asian Development Bank [ADB], the Strategic Climate Fund [SCF] and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program [GAFSP].  The outcome of Rice-SDP is enhanced production of quality rice in Cambodia while preserving the natural resource base. Six outputs are expected to contribute to the achievement of this outcome.  The MAFF-NIO is responsible for part of activities under practically all outputs. The activities under output 2 [agricultural land use zoning improved] include: [a] establishment of land use zones; [b] updating of rice ecosystems and soil classification maps; [c] incorporating results of agro-ecosystem analysis. Output 3 involves infrastructure investments that include paddy drying and storage as well as seed drying and storage facilities. Rice value chain support services will be enhanced under output 4 by improving the availability and quality of commercial rice seed, upgrading of technical extension materials and capability building for rice millers.  A weather-indexed crop insurance system will be piloted under output 5. Under output 6 are activities for effective program management, capacity building for PMO, NIOs and PIOs, among others.

The Program Management Office [PMO] of Rice-SDP with support from the Program Implementation Consultant [PIC] has designed a Program Performance Monitoring System [PPMS] that will track Program performance against sets of performance indicators as well as of implementation progress against the activities in the implementation plan.  Under the system, the MAFF-NIO has responsibilities for collecting, analyzing and reporting on selected indicators and activities.  Aside from submitting reports to the PMO, the MAFF-NIO also has to comply with internal reporting requirements.  The MAFF-NIO therefore seeks the services of a Monitoring and Evaluation [M&E] Specialist whose work will focus on M&E-related matters.

1. The International Consultant is aimed at supporting the Rice-SDP project team (headed at the GDA) in effectively following the recommendations and agreed actions at MTR. Most importantly this includes support to implementation of such actions at national and provincial level.

2.  The M&E consultant will report to Project Director of Rice-SDP and will work in close collaboration with the NCDDS and project staff in the provinces. Moreover the consultant will also coordinate her/his work with MAFF-NIO currently supporting project implementation in the provinces (including Life with Dignity (LWD), Wathnakpheap and Habitat for Humanity International? In particular the M&E Consultant will ensure maximum leverage of project experience in M&E of project, avoid major overlaps and seek to improve coordination of M&E activities and reporting.

3.   The main tasks of the M&E Consultant will be to:     

·       Support overall finalization of the M&E system design as per MT Recommendations in particular on database functioning, progress reporting and impact survey design, implementation and analysis;

·       Build capacity and train Rice-SDP staff, other relevant officials and project related stakeholders in the key project related M&E activities;

·       The M&E Specialist will prepare the terms of reference for a baseline survey that will be carried out by a third party;

·       Take a lead role in planning and implementing the PPMS within the MAFF-NIO;

·       Ensure good coordination with national and provincial partners to support planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning of the Program activities;

·       Collect, process, analyze and report on data in accordance with the PPMS system;

·       Ensure that data collected are of high quality and are analyzed and reported in a timely fashion;

·       Coordinate with all implantations agencies including PIC to consolidate and ensure the Annual Work-plan and Budget on time;

·       Prepare all periodic progress reports including ad hoc reports that the Project Director may identify from time to time;

·       Review the implementation of the PPMS within the MAFF-NIO, identify weaknesses in implementation and conduct coaching on the system where necessary;

·       Coordinate closely with the PMO’s M&E Officer and PIC team on all matters related to M&E;

·       Participate in any meeting where the topics are M&E and/or Technical-related including the program follow-up and supervision missions;

·       Periodically review monitoring activities during project implementation and report any deficiencies, problems, issues or shortcomings to the PMO, through the Project Directors

·       Be able to work and stay in province during Mission

Qualifications: The potential candidate must possess the following qualifications:

·       Should be a post graduate in agriculture, economics and/or statistics with post-graduate specialization in statistics, economics, agro-economics, rural development or related subject;

·       Have designed and completed procedures for monitoring and evaluation of projects and preferably agricultural related projects. Preference will be given to experience in supporting data collection and storage through database;

·       Knowledge of the degree in agriculture, rural development, economics or a related field from recognized institutions would be an advantage, both at the national and grassroots level;

·       Have experience in design and implementation of surveys, namely on topics such as household consumption, food security and agriculture;

·       Have at least 10 years international experience of which at least 5 years working on multilateral funded project(s) in the rural development sector;

·       Have designed and developed similar M&E systems that are used to assess effectiveness of interventions amongst beneficiary smallholder farming families;

·        A demonstrated knowledge of, or experience in preparation of project completion report(s);

·        Needs to be fluent in English. Knowledge of Khmer is not necessary but would be an advantage.

Location, Duration and Other Matters

·       The duty station will be national implement office(MAFF-NIO for Rice SDP), General directorate of agriculture;  Ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries  and frequently communicate with national implement office in Phnom Penh and also with travels to the three project provinces of  Kampong Thom, Battambang and Prey Veng as required and costs included in the contract.

·       The Consultant will work for a total of eight calendar months, including travel time, intermittently till June 2017 or beyond if project is extended, as and when required. The Consultant is expected to start the work as soon as conveniently possible.

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