Consultancy: Senior Evaluation, Safe Online Initiative Global Partnership End Violence Against Children (EVAC), New York, USA (REQ#548378)

Consultant Monitoring & Evaluation Programme & Policy

Overview

Lead technical evaluations and programs for Safe Online Initiative at UNICEF.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in social science discipline and/or professional qualification in evaluation.
• 8-10 years of experience in managing impact evaluations at the initiative and programmatic level.
• Strong analytical, conceptual and problem-solving skills demonstrated through evaluation/research with a micro and systems level perspective.
• Understanding of results-based management (RBM), learning, monitoring and evaluation process development and management.
• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills in English; knowledge of Spanish, French, and/or other UN languages is desirable.
• Experience working with NGOs or foundations in designing and implementing various research methodologies.
• Strong organizational and process-management skills, able to handle multiple priorities and deadlines.

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential... And we never give up.

The Opportunity

The Global Partnership to End Violence against Children is seeking an experienced professional to provide technical leadership of and support for impact evaluations and other evidence programs. This includes playing a lead role in managing, coordinating and quality assuring evaluations and learning across the Safe Online investment portfolio and network of grantees/partners, contributing to Safe Online strategic development and planning across evaluation, performance monitoring and learning. S/he is expected to assume full day-to-day management responsibility for evaluations and to provide technical assistance for capacity building and supporting the Safe Online portfolio monitoring and annual progress reviews.

The successful candidate will have significant impact evaluation research experience and will have demonstrated expertise implementing research and using evaluations and evidence to inform better programming, and influence policy change. We are seeking a highly diplomatic and entrepreneurial individual who is comfortable taking initiative and who thrives in a fast-paced environment. The Consultant will report directly to the Safe Online Director.

About the End Violence Partnership

The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (End Violence Partnership), and its associated Fund, is a unique public-private coalition launched by the UN Secretary-General in July 2016 to accelerate progress towards SDG 16.2: ending all forms of violence against children by 2030.

The End Violence Partnership convenes partners that collaborate globally to raise awareness, catalyse leadership commitments, mobilise new resources, promote evidence-based solutions and innovation, and support those working to end all forms of violence, abuse, and neglect of children.

The Partnership connects and facilitates collective evidence-based advocacy, especially to keep children safe at home, online, in and through schools, and in communities, while the End Violence Fund is a flexible funding vehicle that identifies new and emerging challenges to SDG 16.2, funds innovative initiatives that have the potential to replicate and scale, and generates data, evidence, and learning to inform policy and increase the impact of programmes. The End Violence Partnership has four priority initiatives:

1. Works with countries through the process of Pathfinding and ending corporal punishment, whereby governments commit to ending violence against children by implementing evidence-based solutions such as the INSPIRE strategies.
2. Builds on existing efforts to ensure children are safe in and through schools via the Safe to Learn initiative, backed by a growing coalition of partners and countries who endorse its Call to Action.
3. Strengthens the network of organisations working to keep children Safe Online by leveraging its network of grantees and partners to influence global policy debates and investing in models and solutions to tackle child online sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).
4. Since 2001, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GI) worked to end corporal punishment, advocating for full and comprehensive law reform to prohibit violent discipline, raise awareness about the issue, and monitor law throughout the globe. In September 2020, the Global Initiative became part of the End Violence Partnership, allowing the organisation's essential work to continue under the new name End Corporal Punishment.

About the Safe Online Initiative

The Safe Online’s investment portfolio has reached US$48 million, funding 60 projects focused on preventing and eliminating online CSEA with impact in over 70 countries. The investments range from supporting programs at country level, large-scale research projects (e.g. Disrupting Harm), to designing new and scaling-up existing technology-based solutions. Beyond investing in individual projects, the Safe Online initiative (Safe Online) has built a strong collaborative network of partners who are working to share the knowledge, learnings and solutions in this field to maximize collective results for children at risk and those who are victim of online CSEA. Safe Online is also increasingly contributing to global policy discussions on child online safety with governments, tech industry, regulators, and others, ensuring that the safety of children is at the heart of intersections between connectivity and safety; privacy and protection; and technology and human rights.

Key tasks and Responsibilities

Evaluation and Evidence Generation

• Manage end-to-end evaluation processes across Safe Online investment portfolio, including:
• Convene a Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group, composed of evaluation and subject matter experts, to drive the process of developing the overarching evaluation plan, defining the selection process and criteria and selecting the interventions to be evaluated.
• Coordinate the working of the Evaluation Advisory Group and ensure their timely advice and feedback throughout the implementation of the evaluation plan.
• Work with the selected organisations and their partners to identify the evaluation teams who would jointly work to develop the evaluation plan for the given intervention and conduct the evaluation over an agreed period of time (depending on the design of the evaluation and appropriate methods, this period may vary).
• Provide peer review and quality assurance of deliverables on Safe Online-funded studies and impact evaluations.
• Serve as a main focal point between the evaluation teams, selected organisations and the Advisory Group.
• Coordinate the process of identifying countries in the Global South which can be used as case studies to document how the change happens at the systems level and what factors contribute to accelerating the progress in establishing key building blocks for an effective response to online CSEA.
• Support preparation of relevant documents for open calls for proposals and review grant proposals to ensure a rigorous evaluation component is built in.
• Establish mechanisms for rapid feedback and learning within projects as well as for evolving a longer-term research agenda.
• Keep abreast of developments in the evaluation and feedback field to ensure Safe Online is using the most up to date methods to gather evidence and distil findings and lessons.
• Undertake or participate in other tasks related to the evaluation function as requested by the Safe Online Director.

Capacity Building and Evidence Uptake

• Provide technical assistance to Safe Online grantees and partners on topics including but not limited to capacity building, evaluation design and methods, impact evaluations, evidence uptake and use, etc.
• Provide guidance to Safe Online grantees on results frameworks, theories of change and monitoring and evaluation plans.
• Work in cooperation with the Safe Online Communications Specialist to prepare concise, user-friendly and engaging content on lessons from evaluations.

Safe Online Strategy and Planning

• Contribute to the execution of the Safe Online strategy and annual reviews of progress.
• Actively assist in monitoring and tracking of the results for Safe Online investment portfolio.
• Contribute to the preparation of annual report with strategic and operational lessons from the evaluation component of the projects.

Expected Results (Measurable Results)

The consultant is expected to deliver the following key results by the end of the contract period:

Convene the Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group (managing the consultation process on building an effective Safe Online Advisory Group composed of evaluation and subject matter experts- Q2 2022.

• Coordinate the meetings of the Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group - Quarterly
• Develop the evaluation plan with inputs from the Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group- Q3 2022.
• Define the selection process and criteria for selecting the interventions to be evaluated and identifying countries in the Global South for in-depth case studies with inputs from the Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group- Q3 2022.
• Operationalize the evaluation plan for implementation (deciding on the best fit for purpose modality to conduct evaluations) with inputs from the Safe Online Evaluation Advisory Group- Q4 2022.
• Support preparation of relevant documents for open calls for proposals including results framework and progress reporting templates and review of grant proposals ensuring a rigorous evaluation component is built in - Q4 2022.
• Organize a webinar for Safe Online grantees with a focus on research/evaluation uptake strategies- Q1 2023.
• Provide technical guidance to Safe Online grantees on results frameworks, theories of change and monitoring and evaluation plans - As and when required
• Support monitoring and tracking results for the Safe Online investment portfolio - Throughout the contract period.

Management and Coordination of Contract

The contract is expected to commence in April 2022, for a total duration of 11.5 months.

S/he will be hired on a full-time basis on a UNICEF consultancy contract and will contribute to a culture of professionalism that emphasizes curiosity, learning, collaboration and delivery. While the End Violence Partnership is based primarily in New York, COVID-19 has prompted remote and more flexible working, and we do not expect to return to full-time office-based working. Therefore, the consultant may be home-based. As and when business travel is possible, some international travel may be required. End Violence staff are encouraged to consider the impact of carbon emissions when making business decisions that may involve travel.

Payment Plan

• Monthly payment, based on satisfactory delivery of tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for their own health insurance, and for assuming the costs for obtaining visas and travel insurance as necessary.
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel.

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced university degree in social science discipline and / or professional qualification in evaluation.
• 8-10 years of experience in managing impact evaluations at the initiative and programmatic level, with a strong practice understanding of both traditional and ‘new wave’ evaluative approaches and methods.
• Demonstrated experience in results-based management (RBM), learning, monitoring and evaluation process development and management and has worked with NGOs or preferably foundations in a collaborative process in designing and implementing one or more of the following: implementation research, process evaluations, formative research, qualitative research, impact evaluations.
• Strong analytical, conceptual and problem-solving skills demonstrated through evaluation / research with a micro and systems level perspective.
• Substantive knowledge and experience related to child rights programming and/or ending violence against children is highly desirable. Experience related to work on prevention, identification and/or deterrence of online child sexual exploitation and abuse would be considered an asset.
• Experience and knowledge on frontier technologies would be considered an asset.
• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills in English is required; knowledge of Spanish, French, and/or other UN languages is desirable.
• Strong organizational and process-management skills and a keen ability to deliver against multiple priorities and deadlines, as well as monitor multiple tasks and actors while keeping people on task.
• Ability to work in a diverse, multicultural, and highly collaborative environment.
• Confidence, diplomacy and savvy in engaging with high-level partners and stakeholders.
• Experience of the UN context and the role of the UN, its entities, and hosted funds are desirable.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

Core Competencies

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (1)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

  Functional Competencies

• Analysing (1)

• Deciding and initiating action (1)
• Persuading and Influencing (1)
• Applying Technical Expertise (1)
• Learning and researching (1)

• Planning and organizing (1)

  How to Apply:

• Applications should be submitted via UNICEF jobs website by March 4, 2022

• Applications must include: cover letter, CV and indicate your ability, experience, availability and monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above.
• Applications submitted without a monthly rate will not be considered.

Ethics and Safeguarding

In order to ensure the protection of, and respect for, human and child rights throughout the process, applicants will be required to follow relevant international norms and standards of ethics in research and evidence generation - including UNICEF’s Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis.

End Violence 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.

End Violence 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/ assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate.

End Violence 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:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org