Terms of Reference
Advisor(s) on designing Key Performance Indicator framework for TNC’s Latin America Regional
Strategies on Water Security, Food Security and Smart Infrastructure
Type of Contract:
Languages Required:
Duration:
Location:
Start date:
I.
Consultant or team of 2 Consultants
English and Spanish, Portuguese preferred
estimated March 2015 – May 2015 (approx. 2.5 months)
Miami or Washington, DC
As soon as possible
Background
The Nature Conservancy is aligning its work within the Latin America Region (LAR) under three
strategies: Food Security, Water Security and Smart Infrastructure. There are four Conservation
Programs or Operating Units, Brazil, Mexico and Northern Central America (MNCA), Northern Andes and
Southern Central America (NASCA), and Southern Andes (SA) that will carry out the project work on the
ground, defined as Place Based Projects.
All Outcomes and Indicators in the region will serve in meeting the three long-term strategy Goals:
1. Double food production with no new habitat loss;
2. Use nature to secure clean water supplies for 40 of Latin America´s most at-risk cities; and
3. Design Latin America’s major energy, mining and transport infrastructure to have no net
impact on natural capital.
There will be a regional focus on measuring conservation results to be able to report on our project
impacts at all levels, internally and externally. For this reason, strong Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
must be created/defined, with clearly defined Outcomes, 3 to 4 for each strategy, and strong and
measurable indicators that our team is able to accomplish in a 3 to 5 year period. These results must
contribute in achieving the long term Goals. Also, these KPIs must be presented in dashboards or other
graphic displays to be able to show explicitly the results that are being obtained.
There are outcomes already defined for each strategy, but these outcomes must be fine-tuned and
better defined to ensure they are measurable and are results oriented. There are also indicators
defined for each of these outcomes. These indicators were defined through practice groups in which
representatives from each of the 4 Conservation Programs participated. The indicators are not clear or
easy to measure, and must be further defined to ensure they will represent LARs strategic work on the
ground. Annex I shows a picture of the thinking behind the strategy for LAR, including the outcomes and
indicators that have been defined to date, and also dashboards which show the pictures of achieving
results.
The KPIs will be used by project managers, to be able to measure results and view progress in achieving
results on the ground, and also by the Regional Office management team to be able to report on results
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obtained to higher management and external audiences, such as donors, stakeholders, governments,
etc.
These KPIs will be the drivers of our regional work and efforts, such as staffing, fundraising, budgeting,
etc. They will be important in planning, defining and implementing project work on the ground and will
create accountability at all levels in achieving expected results. They will also serve as monitoring
devices, making it possible to assess if changes in strategic work need to be made in order to achieve
expected results. More importantly, they will be a platform in which LAR can showcase the
importance/impact of the work being done and be able to create excitement and interest in our work at
all levels within the organization and to external audiences.
II. Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant(s) will work in close collaboration with the Latin America Region (LAR) and consultation
with regional units, with support from the Conservation Strategies Team, to refine and further develop
the incomplete Key Performance Indicator framework for the three LAR strategies: Water Security, Food
Security and Smart Infrastructure.
Specific tasks and deliverables under this assignment include:
March 9-13th
March 16-18th
March 31st
April 6th
April 15th
May 5th:
May 19th
Desk review of all documentation provided by LAR program staff and meetings with
LAR management team
Organize and facilitate consultation meetings with regional staff from Water Security,
Food Security and Smart Infrastructure teams to fine-tune outcomes and define /
refine KPIs during Regional Unit meeting in Miami
Draft three 10-page proposals on KPIs for each strategy, including indicators, units of
measurement, data sources and dashboard format
Present draft KPIs propopsal to Regional Management Team (RMT)
Revise draft based on feeback from RMT
Incorporate comments and share as pre-reading for mid-year call to all Latin America
Conservaton Council (LACC) members
Final proposal presented and discussed on LACC mid-year call
The consultant will be supervised by and report to Gina Melendez, Conservation Management Specialist
for the Latin America Region. Quality assurance of all deliverables and some technical support will be
provided by Elena Shishkova, Measures Coordinator of the Conservation Strategies Team.
III. Competences and Qualifications
Competencies:
 Strong client orientation and advisory skills,
 Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills in English and Spanish
 Strong organizational awareness,
 Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
 Strong interpersonal skills,
 Strong drafting and reporting skills in English (familiarity with MS Office is required).
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Education:
 Advanced (MA) university degree (or equivalent) in the area of environmental or social sciences,
public administration, international relations, international development, economy or other
relevant field.
 Additional education/trainings in Results-Based Management, Project Cycle Management,
Monitoring & Evaluation and other relevant field will be an asset.
Languages: Proficiency (verbal and written) in English and Spanish. Knowledge of Portuguese is an asset.
If two consultants, one Spanish speaker and one Portuguese speaker preferred.
Experience:
 At least 15 years of experience in conservation or sustainable development project and
programme management, monitoring and evaluation, and advisory support to non-profit sector
and donor agencies
 Knowledge and experience with indicator development and design of results frameworks for
monitoring the effectiveness of water funds or freshwater projects and/or sustainable
agriculture projects. If two consultants, one Water Funds or freshwater specialist and one
Sustainable Agriculture specialist preferred.
 Extensive knowledge of the recent developments in result based management and M&E of
major conservation NGOs and familiarity with good practices in the use of KPIs in the private
sector
 Previous experience in working with international conservation / sustainable development
organizations, preferably in the Latin America region
 Knowledge and experience conducting environmental and/or social impact assessments of
development projects, including energy, mining or transport infrastructure is an asset
 Demonstrated experience in designing results frameworks for large strategies at a regional scale
or larger sustainable development programmes (proven track record of at least 3 similar
assignments).
 Demonstrated experience in design, leading and facilitation of trainings, workshops and capacity
building activities in the field of conservation or international development, related to strategic
planning and programming (proven track record of at least 3 similar assignments).
IV. Application procedure:
Qualified candidates are requested to send their CV and Financial Proposal (specifying a total lump sum
amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement) to Georgina Melendez at
gmelendez@tnc.org
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