Rural Development, Social & Gender Issues Expert

The main objectives of this evaluation are to provide the relevant services of the European Union, the European partner, the national partner and the interested stakeholders with:
- an overall independent assessment of the performance of the Integrated Rural Development Programme for the Kyrgyz Republic (IRDP), paying particular attention to its different levels of results measured against its expected objectives; and the reasons underpinning such results;
- key lessons learned, conclusions and related recommendations in order to improve future interventions.
In particular, this evaluation will serve
- to provide inputs on the project exit strategy and to ensure the sustainability of its results;
-to inform decision-makers on the appropriateness of project results and lessons learned in the specific sector of intervention;
-to identify key intervention modalities and partnerships established in the framework of the intervention that could be replicated in other EU interventions.

The indicative start date is 31/07/2023 and the period of implementation of the contract will be 213 Day(s) from this date (indicative end date: 29/02/2024).

Qualifications required:
The minimum requirements covered by the team of experts as a whole are detailed below: • Qualifications and skills required for the team: All candidates should have a post-graduate degree apart from the Assistant who should have a graduate degree. • General professional experience of the team: The evaluation team must have a cumulative experience of at least 20 years in the area of cooperation development activities, of which 10 years in the fields of rural development and social and gender issues, and at least a minimum of 10 successfully completed intervention-level or strategic evaluations. The Head of mission should prove to have fulfilled min. 3 assignments in the position of team leader. • Specific professional experience of the team: At least one of the experts must have a minimum of 5 successfully completed intervention-level or strategic evaluations. This includes the capacity to adapt and use quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. The thematic expertise should include a specific expertise on rural development issues, including, socio-economic issues, private development, participatory approach, infrastructure development and institution building. An experience in gender sensitive assessment in cooperation will be required as well as in other crosscutting issues, namely environmental issues and climate change related issues. Experience in the evaluation of agriculture and sustainable tourism will be considered an asset. The Head of mission should prove to have an experience on agriculture value-chain analysis and financing mechanisms in the agriculture sector. • Language skills of the team: At least one member of the Team should have a good knowledge of Russian. The team should be able to hold meetings in Russian language, with the support of an interpreter if needed.

Professional experience required:
Cat. II (>6 years of experience) expert. A combined professional experience of minimum 10 years in the fields of rural development, social and gender issues.