Evaluation Specialist

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Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is launching an evaluation of the project titled ‘Restoration and strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems in Southern Iraq’. The project aims to improve the agriculture sector in Southern Iraq by creating job opportunities for the rural poor, enabling smallholder farmers and landless households in the governorates of Basrah, Missan and Thi-Qar to increase productivity and income in priority value chains (vegetables, buffalo, dates) while enhancing land and water resources and biodiversity.

Purpose and Objectives of the evaluation\:

The evaluation serves a dual purpose\: to ensure accountability to both the European Union, as donor, and the Government of Iraq; and to generate key learnings to inform future programming. As the first FAO programme of its kind in Southern Iraq, the evaluation provides an opportunity to identify context-specific enablers and barriers in value chain development programming, and to assess additional measures that could enhance the effectiveness of similar interventions.

The evaluation will take place from October 2025 to March 2026. It will include an inception phase, data collection with field visits as well as analysis and report writing. The evaluation mission is tentatively scheduled for November 2025 and will last three weeks.

OED is seeking qualified individuals to join the evaluation team. Candidates should have demonstrated experience in supporting, managing, researching or evaluating agrifood value chain development programmes and projects, and an academic background in sectors relevant to agrifood systems.

Reporting Lines

The Evaluation Specialists will work under the direct supervision and close guidance of the OED Evaluation Manager, and under the overall responsibility of the OED Director.

Technical Focus

The evaluation will be managed by the FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) and conducted by a multidisciplinary team. OED is seeking two specialists to serve as team members, each with expertise in one of the following technical areas\:
• Agrifood value chain development, including market systems analysis and agribusiness
• Gender and social inclusion approaches in agrifood interventions

Candidates must not have been directly involved in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of the mentioned project

Tasks and responsibilities

• Review documents and activities relevant to the evaluation in their respective areas of expertise.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of the evaluation methodology
• Collect and consolidate primary and secondary data through interviews (virtual or face-to-face), as appropriate.
• Participate in field visits in selected areas in Southern Iraq.
• Synthesize and analyze data collected to generate evidence-based evaluation findings.
• Draft specific sections of the evaluation report and contribute to evaluation products.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Master level degree in agricultural sciences, agribusiness, rural development, food systems, economics, sociology, gender studies, or evaluation, with a focus on agrifood systems, value chain development, or gender and social inclusion in agriculture and rural development.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in evaluation or in their above-mentioned respective field of specialization
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and Arabic is required

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience in conducting or contributing to independent evaluations
• Relevant field experience of working and/or conducting evaluations in countries with similar context
• Strong skills in stakeholder engagement, facilitation and interviewing
• Strong analytical, writing and presentation skills, with proven ability to prepare evidence-based findings
• Demonstrated expertise in agrifood value chain programming or gender and social inclusion in agrifood interventions
• Strong knowledge of the Iraqi agrifood context, or comparable regional experience. Iraqi nationals are strongly encouraged to apply

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

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.

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