Impact Assessment Team Leader – Retainer position

European PROGRES is a multi-donor Programme, financed by the European Union (EU), the Government of Switzerland and the Government of Serbia, designed to support sustainable development in the South East and South West Serbia. The Programme has been conceptualised jointly with the European Integration Office of the Government of the Republic of Serbia (SEIO), which has responsibility for monitoring implementation and providing assistance and facilitation. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has been granted with an initial budget of 17.46 million Euros and has the overall responsibility for the Programme implementation.

Through a multi-sector approach this Programme will contribute to sustainable development of underdeveloped areas and creation of more favourable environment for infrastructure and business growth by strengthening local governance, improving vertical coordination, planning and management capacities, improving business environment and development, as well as enhancing implementation of social inclusion and employment policies.

The Programme works towards achieving four main results, while good governance principles are interwoven as a cross cutting aspect of the entire intervention:

1. Strengthened local governance, planning and management capacities through introduction of new, or improvement/elimination of existing procedures and processes in line with the principles of good governance
2. Increased competitiveness of local economy through improved business environment and management/organizational capacities of small and medium enterprises/agricultural cooperatives. 
3. Improved access to employment, offering equal opportunities to both men and women, and social inclusion of most vulnerable and marginalised groups through development and implementation of local policies resulting in reduced migration from South East and South West Serbia.
4. Effects of Serbia’s European accession communicated to general public.

Final beneficiaries, but also the key stakeholders and financial contributors of this Programme are 34 municipalities from the third and fourth group of development level, which have responsibility of taking ownership of activities implemented in their territory:

• Novi Pazar, Ivanjica, Nova Varoš, Priboj, Prijepolje, Raška, Sjenica and Tutin, in the South West Serbia
• Prokuplje, Blace, Žitorađa, Kuršumlija in the Toplica District
• Leskovac, Bojnik, Vlasotince, Lebane, Medveđa and Crna Trava in the Jablanica District
• Vranje, Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Vladičin Han, Preševo, Surdulica and Trgovište in the Pčinja District
• Brus in Rasina District
• Aleksinac, Gadžin Han, Doljevac, Merošina and Svrljig in Nišavski District
• Babušnica, Bela Palanka in Pirot District
• Knjaževac in Zaječar District.

The purpose of the Impact[1] Assessment is to provide the analysis of effects produced by European PROGRES and its predecessor programmes, EU PROGRES[2] and PRO[3],on sustainable social economic development of 34 local self-governments (LSGs) in the South East and South West Serbia. The findings of this Assessment will in turn contribute to improved design of future development programmes and projects. The Assessment should include considerations of positive and negative external changes. It will identify achieved impacts and, where possible, indicate whether longer-term impacts are likely to occur.

The Impact Assessment Team, consisted of the Team Leader and a Team Member, will be responsible to carry out the entire assignment. The Team Leader will be responsible to lead the process and provide directions and guidelines to the Team Member. More specifically, the Team Leader will play a leading role in conduct of the following tasks:

• Analyse to what extent the Programmes have met their overall objectives and purposes
• Identify and assess the key Programmes’ results 
• Identify and assess the difference that the Programmes made to the beneficiaries
• For interventions that supported local self-governments (LSGs), such as strategic planning, establishment of citizens assistance centres, or update of tax-payers’ registries,[4] analyse the extent to which municipalities enhanced performance, while in particular considering accountability, transparency, efficiency, participation, and non-discrimination
• For infrastructure projects, that included support for development of planning and technical documentation, construction works, and on the job training, assess effects that these interventions had on direct beneficiaries, on institutional level, and on wider socio-economic development. In particular include analysis of extent to which the Programmes facilitated investments into further development and implementation of infrastructure projects
• Assess effects of interventions that were designed to improve the capacities and position of the CSOs and their relationship with the LSGs
• Assess whether and how the Programmes contributed to changes in the domain of gender equality and human rights
• Consider cost-effectiveness element of the Programmes and, where possible and relevant, identify examples of cost-effective interventions so that they could possibly be considered for future actions  
• Assess effects of good governance interventions as a cross-cutting theme[5] 

• Analyse contribution of the Programme to the visibility of the support that the EU and the Government of Switzerland provide to the development of South East and South West Serbia
• Identify overall lessons learned as well as those relevant for particular interventions in order to  facilitate decision making and programming by the Government of Serbia, donors and other Programme stakeholders
• Provide realistic, clear, and practical recommendations that could facilitate programming of future actions.  

The Assignment will at least include the following phases: preparatory activities, field missions, drafting of the report, finalisation and presentation of the Final Report.

Within preparatory activities, the Impact Assessment Team will:

• Meet European PROGRES Team in order to: reconfirm Assignment objectives, scope, and methodology; to obtain background information needed for the Assessment; and to reconfirm the extent of logistical and organisational support that will be provided to the process.
• Meet the European Integration Office of the Government of Serbia (SEIO) and donor representatives: the Delegation of the European Union (DEU) and the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC) in order to obtain their views relevant for the Assignment[6]
• Conduct desk research of the Programme documentation, including the Descriptions of Actions, Reports, and Final Evaluations. European PROGRES will provide needed documentation, while part of the materials are available on http://www.europeanprogres.org/biblioteka/en/ and  www.euprogres.org/biblioteka.php  
• Conduct desk research of relevant national policies, strategies, reports, researches, and studies, that provide insight into development trends needed for conduct of the Assignment[7]
• Prepare the Inception Report that will detail the Impact Assessment Methodology and the work plan. Only upon the approval of the European PROGRES Programme Manager, the field work should commence.

The field work should at least include:

• In-depth interviews and group discussions with in at least ten beneficiary local self-governments in the South East and South West Serbia.
• Interviews/group discussions with representatives of at least ten other development partners/stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, development agencies, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, or development projects that will be identified with support from the European PROGRES
• Interviews with at least ten Programmes’ direct beneficiaries that will be identified by the Assessors, while the Programme can provide assistance as required  
• Interviews with current or former officials of at least three national institutions that cooperated  with the Programmes, including the Ministry of Economy, the Coordination Body for Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa, and Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities
• Interviews/group discussions with the senior European PROGRES personnel.

The analysis will include:

• Analysis of the field work findings. The Impact Assessment Team will prepare the draft Report[8] that will include interim findings, lessons learned, and recommendations.

• The draft Report will be discussed with the SEIO, the donors and European PROGRES/UNOPS RSOC. The Impact Assessment Team will consider feedback provided to the draft and edit the Report accordingly

The Final Report, which should be produced in English and have maximum 40 pages, excluding Annexes, should be presented in a workshop that will at least include the SEIO, the donors and European PROGRES/UNOPS RSOC. The Impact Assessment Team will be responsible for efficient functioning of the process and for completing the Impact Assessment Report in accordance with the guidelines and format outlined in the Annex I.

• Master’s Degree preferably in social science, public administration, economics, finance or other relevant subject is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in combination with two additional years of relevant professional experience would be accepted in lieu of Master’s Degree

Work Experience

• Minimum two years of experience in project/programme evaluations, including impact assessments, is required
• Team leader/coordination experience would be an asset
• Prior experience in assessment and or evaluations of EU, Swiss and other donor funded projects/programmes in Serbia is an asset

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English and Serbian is required

Driving license 

• Driving license and ability to travel independently will be considered as an asset

• Understanding  of EU and or Swiss funded programmes/projects and of EU and or Swiss project management methods
• Understanding of the political, economic, and social issues in Serbia
• Understanding of and experience with local and regional economic development
• Understanding of good governance, public administration and local governance 
• Knowledge of development trends and issues in the South East and South West Serbia
• Understanding of infrastructure projects
• Understanding of cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis
• Excellent report writing skills
• Excellent organisational skills
• Demonstrates openness to change
• Focuses on result and responds positively to feedback

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.