Evaluation Specialist (Multi-country), P4, Fixed-term, WCARO, Outpost Niamey- Niger 113395
Job no: 540997
Position type: Fixed Term Appointment
Location: Senegal
Division/Equivalent: Dakar (WCAR), Senegal
School/Unit: Regional Services Div (WCAR), Dakar
Department/Office: Reg Serv - Prog Section, WCARO
Categories: Monitoring and Evaluation

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. UNICEF and cooperating partners and stakeholders work to secure the rights of each child and the surrounding families, communities and nations.

Working through the country program of cooperation, and likewise through the United Nations Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (UNSDPF), UNICEF assists countries to realize the rights of all children. This involves strategies and programs ranging from innovative and experimental to those at scale. The effectiveness and impact of the strategies and programs must be determined. Evaluation is a critical function for understanding if development objectives have been met in a way that contributes to the progressive realization of children’s rights. To this end, evaluations assist program managers to make necessary adjustments or to confirm that the program can continue to advance to scale. Evaluations have an accountability objective, to assure partners that resources guided through UNICEF are used effectively and efficiently, and that there is a willingness to change when results can be improved. Furthermore, evaluation, together with other sources of evidence contributes to country, organizational and global learning. Evaluation also supports civic empowerment and behavioral change goals when it is implemented in a participatory way that allows stakeholders and rights holders to acquire the skills to assess development initiatives and to hold duty bearers to account.

For every child, results

A Multi-Country (MC) Evaluation Specialist post will, on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness considerations, be located in the Regional Office (Dakar, Senegal). Irrespective of the location, a matrix management approach will be applied in which the Regional Office and cooperating Country Offices contribute to the performance review of the MC Evaluation Specialist. The MC Evaluation Specialist reports to the Regional Evaluation Adviser (P-5) for evaluation oversight, and to the Representatives of the 4 Country Offices (CO) that fall under his/her responsibilities (Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania) for administrative oversight, including in matters related to evaluation sponsorship, planning, funding and use. The MC Evaluation Specialist works in close coordination with the evaluation staff/focal persons in the 4 Country Offices in the development and implementation of the CO costed evaluation plan, and works with the CO to undertake thematic evaluations, evaluation of humanitarian action (for Level 1 emergencies) evaluability assessments, and other evaluative activities for which Country Offices are accountable. S/he works with the CO in engaging competent evaluators who conduct their work in accordance with the norms and standards of the UNICEF evaluation policy.

All the countries listed are in need of additional resources and capacity for enhanced support in order to be able to achieve Evaluation KPIs and workplans, particularly where strategic evaluations (CPD, KRC evaluations) are concerned and where the quality and results of those will be critical for the subsequent planning at national and regional level.

The incumbent works in accordance with the norms and standards of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and the UNICEF evaluation policy. S/he provides guidance to staff involved in managing evaluations in the countries under his/her responsibility and consults the supervisor when major policy decisions and actions must be undertaken.



How can you make a difference?

Purpose for the job:

The Specialist is responsible for contributing to the design and effective conduct and uptake of evaluations in accordance with the UNICEF evaluation policy. S/he ensures that the UNEG Norms and Standards for evaluation as well as UNICEF evaluation coverage benchmarks and quality standards are upheld.

The MC Evaluation Specialist helps the Country Offices to manage its evaluation partnerships, including inter-agency relations within the UN, and collaboration with the Regional Office and Headquarters. The Specialist may also be assigned more specific duties that enable her/him to be a resource person across the region, including methodological work, resource mobilization, and procurement support for evaluations.

The MC Evaluation Specialist ensures credibility, impartiality, and independence of the evaluation function in the COs under her/his responsibility. S/he also facilitates the development and implementation of evaluation workplans in each Country Office and provides guidance and technical support to sectors and to the Country Management Team as well as the national government on evaluation and on related matters.

The MC Evaluation Specialist works with the evaluation specialists/focal points in their duties in the assigned countries (Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania).

The MC Evaluation Specialist will also assist with the embedding of the 4 CO in regional evaluation initiatives and, to this end, will ensure that evaluation efforts underway in the rest of region could fully contribute to those made in the 4 countries assigned to him/her.

Key functions/accountabilities:

1. Evaluation Leadership

Support the Country Offices under his/her responsibility and their national partners to develop and implement a plan of evaluation activities that will provide relevant and strategic information to manage Country Programmes and relevant national policies and programmes toward achieving results for children in both humanitarian and non-humanitarian environments.

2. Evaluation Conduct and Use

Under the guidance of the Regional Evaluation Adviser, ensure that UNICEF-supported evaluations are designed and implemented according to established UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion and used by stakeholders in order to improve programme performance and contribute to wider learning.

3. Evaluation Capacity Strengthening and Partnership building

Under the guidance of the Regional Evaluation Adviser, ensure that evaluation capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – including government and civil society – are strengthened, enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead evaluative evidence generating processes. Ensure that the Country Office is effectively linked to wider UNICEF capacity development initiatives in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

An Advanced University Degree in evaluation, research methodology, social sciences, public policy, statistics and/or economics is required. A degree or certification/accreditation in Evaluation is a significant advantage.
A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in the implementation of equity-focused evaluations and the management of the evaluation function at national and international level.
Experience in development and/ or humanitarian settings is required.
Experience in supporting national evaluation capacity and working with professional evaluation associations;
Experience in evaluation design and in conducting evaluations as per UNICEF and/or UNEG norms and standards for Evaluation in the UN System;
Familiarity with methods used in conducting both ‘up-stream’ evaluations (e.g. focusing on policies, strategies and systems), as well as ‘down-stream’ evaluations (e.g. focusing on delivery of programmes and projects) is an asset.
Experience in related evidence functions is an asset, including Social Policy, Public Policy, Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis, Research, Programme Audit, and Programme Planning and Monitoring. Experience in these areas cannot be substituted for the Evaluation experience but is an advantage.
Fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish (the other two languages spoken in the West and Central Africa Region) is an asset.
Technical knowledge:

Professional expertise in evaluation process management, dissemination of results, and utilization.
Technical knowledge of methodologies employed in Evaluation, including Results-based Management (RBM), theories of change, stakeholders mapping, standards and models, research designs, quantitative/qualitative/mixed methods of data collection, validity/reliability testing of data, data and qualitative information analysis and interpretation, and statistical inference methods.
Technical knowledge in routine monitoring systems; preferably those associated with Health, Nutrition, Education, Child Protection, Social Policy or WASH sectors
Technical knowledge on utilization of evaluation and other evidence approaches to realize Gender Equality and Human Rights based development.
Familiarity with ethics review processes.
Exposure to mobile technology platforms, ‘big data’ and other innovative techniques
Use of data and information quantitative and qualitative software for data analysis is an asset
Familiarity with and use of child-centered evaluation methods in the past constitute an asset
Knowledge of UNICEF & UNEG Evaluation norms & standards
Publications which show sound experience with evaluation methods are an advantage


For every Child, you demonstrate:

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (3)
Works Collaboratively with others (3)
Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
Innovates and Embraces Change (3)
Thinks and Acts Strategically (3)
Drives to achieve impactful results (3)
Manages ambiguity and complexity (3)
The functional competencies for this post are:

Analyzing (3)
Deciding and Initiating action (2)
Applying technical expertise (3)
Planning and organizing (3)
Persuading and Influencing (2)


To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Advertised: Aug 03 2021 Greenwich Standard Time
Application close: Aug 31 2021