Tenders are invited for Consultancy: Midterm Review for WWF GEF project in Guyana Closing Date: 30 Sep 2025 Type: Consultancy Themes: Climate Change and Environment/Mine Action POSITION DETAILS Reporting to Amelia Kissick, WWF-US Preferred timeframe: October 2025 January 2026 Potential sites to visit: Kanuku Mountains Protected Area, North Rupununi Wetlands PROJECT DATA Project Title: Securing a Living Amazon through Landscape Connectivity in Southern Guyana GEF Project ID: 10288 Implementing Agency: World Wildlife Fund Inc. Executing Agency: Environmental Protection Agency Executing Partner: Guyana Forestry Commission and Protected Areas Commission Focal Area(s): Biodiversity, IP SFM Amazon GEF Operational Program: GEF-7 Total GEF Approved Budget: US$5,072,753 Total Co-financing Approved: US$4,624,395 RELEVANT DATES CEO Endorsement/Approval: May 26, 2022 Agency Approval Date: August 10, 2023 Implementation Start: 1 October 2023 (soft start: 1 July 2023) Project Completion Date (proposed or actual): 31 December 2027 (financial close: 30 June 2028) Period to Be Evaluated: May 26, 2022 Sept 2025 INTRODUCTION World Wildlife Fund, Inc. (WWF) policies and procedures for all GEF financed full-sized projects require a midterm evaluation (MTE). The following terms of reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for the MTE for the project: Securing a Living Amazon through Landscape Connectivity in Southern Guyana, hereafter referred to as the Project. The technical consultant selected to conduct this evaluation will hereafter be referred to as evaluator. The Project seeks to to strengthen landscape connectivity through improved management of the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area and North Rupununi Wetlands in southern Guyana. In particular, the project will work to integrate productive activities (forestry, agriculture, tourism) and sustainable land and water management considerations so that the landscapes long-term environmental health, functioning and associated ecosystem services are secured, while at the same time ensuring the landscapes provide livelihood and productive benefits. The project will work in two landscapes, The North Rupununi Wetlands and the Kanuku Mountains Protected Areas, both of which balance productive use and ecosystem management/protection. The Project was organized into the following components: Integrated Protected Landscapes: The project will focus on the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA). It will support strengthening of the KMPAs management, in coordination with the Indigenous communities who supports its management, live around, and utilize resources of the protected area. More specifically, the project will support new infrastructure for PACs site level operations and provide training and capacity building for PAC site level staff and local communities and strengthen natural resource use planning in the KMPA through a participatory process and following the FPIC process. Integrated Productive Landscapes: The project will generate baseline information for better management, decision-making, and planning. Based on this, the project will examine options for integrated management of the North Rupununi Wetland (NRW) landscape. This will inform the development of an integrated wetland management planning strategy, which will include a governance framework for decision making, as well as overall goals and objectives for the landscape. Finally, the project will support implementation of sustainable land and water management strategies, including community-based resource monitoring, sustainable use of forest resources, and sustainable livelihood. Policies/Incentives for Protected and Productive Landscapes: The project will support the revision of the PA Act through a legal review, preparation of regulatory text in consultation with all key stakeholders, and submission of Revised Act to Cabinet for Review and tabling in Parliament. This process will include recommendations for meeting Target 3 (30x30) of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Capacity Building and Regional Cooperation: Includes monitoring and evaluation, communications, as well as cooperation with the wider Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE WWF is seeking an independent consultant to undertake a Midterm Evaluation (MTE) of the Project. The scope of the MTE will cover the WWF GEF financed components. The objective of this evaluation is to examine the extent, magnitude, sustainability and potential for project impacts to date; identify any project design problems; assess progress towards project outcomes and outputs; and draw lessons learned that can improve the project effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of project benefits. Based on this assessment, it is expected that the evaluator will provide feasible recommendations that could be applied for the remaining duration of the project. Evaluation approach and method The evaluation will adhere to the relevant guidance, rules and procedures established by WWF[1] and align with guidance from the GEF Terminal Evaluation[2] and Ethical Guidelines.[3] The evaluation must provide evidencebased information that is independent, participatory, transparent, and ethical. The evaluator must be unbiased and free of any conflicts of interest with the project. The evaluator is expected to reflect all stakeholder views and follow a participatory and consultative approach. There should be close engagement with government counterparts, the GEF operational focal point, the Executing Agency, project management unit (PMU), partners and key stakeholders. Contact information will be provided. The Evaluation process will include the following, with deliverables marked by *: Kickoff meeting; Desk review consisting of, but not limited to: Project Document and CEO Endorsement Request; Relevant safeguards documents, including the Environmental and Social Management Framework, Safeguards Screen and Categorization memo, and the Stakeholder Engagement Plan; Gender Action Plan; Annual Work Plans (AWP) and Budgets; Project Progress Reports (PPR) including Results Framework and AWP Tracking; GEF Agency reports, including Project Implementation Reports (PIRs) and Supervision Mission Reports (PrISM); Relevant financial documents, including financial progress reports; co-financing monitoring tables and co-financing letters; Meeting minutes (Project Steering Committee (PSC, etc) ; and Other relevant documents provided by the Executing Agency and partners. Virtual Inception Workshop to refine and come to mutual understanding on approach, methods and tools used,; Inception report (draft and final version) that outlines evaluation methodology*, which shall include data sources and data collection procedure, initial list of partners and stakeholders to be contacted for visits and interviews, revised timeline, survey tools or questionnaires to be utilized, Evaluation Matrix with guiding questions, etc.; Site visits with PMU and project partners, as necessary and feasible; Interviews, discussions and consultations at local levels, national and international levels, including executing partners, GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP), Project Steering Committee (PSC) members, beneficiaries, WWF GEF Agency, and any other key stakeholder; Post-field visit debrief and/or presentation* of initial findings to project management team and other partners as feasible; Draft report* not to exceed 50 pages (excluding annexes) shared with GEF AMU and PMU for review and feedback. A sample outline will be provided; and Final MTE report* and package that has incorporated feedback and comments. EXPECTED CONTENT OF REPORT The Midterm Evaluation report will include: Information on the evaluation process, including when the evaluation took place, sites visited, participants, key questions, summary of methodology and rating rubric, and feedback log showing how comments on draft were incorporated; Assessment of Relevance (project design, theory of change); Assessment of project Effectiveness and rating of project objective and outcomes (individual and overall); Assessment and rating of risks to the Sustainability of project outcomes; Assessment and rating of Monitoring and Evaluation design and implementation; Assessment of knowledge management approach, including activities and products; Assessment of replication and catalytic effects of the project; Assessment of Relevance of the project (e.g. with WWF and GEF priorities) and Coherence; Assessment of stakeholder engagement and gender-responsive measures; Assessment of any environmental and social impacts and safeguards used for the project. A review of risk category classification and mitigation measures; Assessment of Efficiency, financial management and summary of co-financing delivered; Assessment and ratings of Implementation and Execution; Summary table of key findings by core criteria[4] and GEF ratings, including justification and/or indicators for their determination; Key lessons tied to identified strengths or issues; Recommendations that include: practical and short-term corrective actions by evaluation criteria to address issues and findings; and best practices towards achieving project outcomes, and knowledge sharing / replication for other projects of similar scope. QUALIFICATIONS Required Qualifications and Experience Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience Previous experience conducting independent evaluations of environmental projects Proven experience with results-based management and evaluation methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis Excellent written and oral communication in English; additional relevant languages considered an asset. Strong skills in participatory evaluation approaches and stakeholder engagement No prior Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4172558/consultancy-midterm-review-wwf-gef-project-guyana
