Evaluation Consultant (Substantive Expert)

Overview

Conduct independent evaluations for anti-corruption projects in Africa.

You have:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, social sciences, economics or related field is required.
• A minimum of 7 years professional technical experience in anti-corruption is required.
• Professional technical experience in evaluation or related field, preferably with the UN is desirable.
• Experience in team-based projects is required.
• Knowledge of the UN System and experience with UNODC is desirable.
• Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods is desirable.
• Experience working with or for civil society organizations is desirable.
• Experience in gender-sensitive evaluation methodologies is desirable.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required; knowledge of French is desirable.

Result of Service The Substantive Expert will be responsible for the quality and timely submission of his/her specific deliverables, as specified below. All products should be well written in English and inclusive, and have a clear, transparent and verifiable analysis process. The evaluation team will report exclusively to the Chief or the Deputy Chief of the UNODC Independent Evaluation Section.

The Substantive Expert, in close coordination and cooperation, will collaborate with the Evaluation Expert and the evaluation team throughout the entire evaluation process, and contribute to the following tasks:

• Draft inputs in relation to the area of expertise to the inception report in line with UNODC evaluation norms, standards, guidelines and templates. This includes a desk review summary, refined evaluation questions, data collection instruments (including surveys/questionnaires and interview guides), sampling strategy, evaluation matrix and limitations to the evaluation. (respecting potential COVID-related restrictions on travel and in-person meetings). Submission to IES through Unite Evaluations for review and clearance (may entail various rounds of comments). Revise inputs in relation to the area of expertise to required changes.
• Contribute to the preparations of an oral briefing of initial observations to internal key stakeholders (if applicable);
• Draft inputs in relation to the area of expertise to the draft report in line with UNODC evaluation norms, standards, guidelines and templates. This also includes an analysis of the performance of the project to adequately address gender equality as well as human rights issues, with concrete findings, conclusions and recommendations. Submission to IES through Unite Evaluations for review and clearance (may entail various rounds of comments);
• Contribute to the revision of the draft report, i.e. revise inputs in relation to the area of expertise based upon comments received from the various consultative processes (IES, Project Management and Core Learning Partners), including full proofreading and editing;
• Contribute to the finalization of the Final Evaluation Report in line with UNODC evaluation norms, standards, guidelines and templates. In addition, draft inputs to the Evaluation Brief and PowerPoint slides on final evaluation results, including full proofreading and editing. Submission to IES through Unite Evaluations for review and clearance (may entail various rounds of comments). Revise inputs in relation to the area of expertise to required changes.

According to UNODC rules and UNEG Norms and Standards, the Substantive Expert shall not have had any responsibility for the design, implementation or supervision of any of the projects, programs or policies that he/she is evaluating.

The UNODC Independent Evaluation Section is the sole clearing entity for all evaluation deliverables and products.

The Substantive Expert shall respect the UNEG Ethical Guidelines.

Work Location home-based with potential travel

Expected duration 33 days over October - December 2021

Duties and Responsibilities The overall objective of the UNODC project GLOU68 “Civil society in Africa contributes to UNCAC and its review mechanism to effectively fight corruption and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”is to strengthen the ability of African CSOs to fight corruption by improving their understanding of the UNCAC through workshops, facilitating their engagement with their governments and the private sector and to contribute effectively to the current, second UNCAC review cycle, as well as follow up on the recommendations of the first cycle review.

The project falls under the CSU global programme “Partnership and Engagement with Non-Governmental Stakeholders on Anti-Corruption, Drugs, and Crime Prevention” (GLOU68), which started on 2 November 2009 and will run till 31 December 2023. Thus far, GLOU68 has undergone two evaluations, as follows: Mid-term Independent Project Evaluation of the “Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations in Africa to Combat Corruption and Contribute to the UNCAC Review Process” (2013) and the Final In-depth Evaluation of the Global Anti-corruption component of the project GLOU 68: “Looking Beyond: Towards a Strategic Engagement with Civil Society on Anti-Corruption, and Drugs and Crime Prevention” (2016).

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a Final Independent Project Evaluation of UNODC’s project “Civil society in Africa contributes to UNCAC and its review mechanism to effectively fight corruption and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” (GLOU68).

The evaluation will cover the entire implementation period of the project, from 1 September 2017 until the end of the data collection phase of the evaluation. The geographical scope will be Africa, with a focus on Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The evaluation will be conducted in line with UNODC and UNEG evaluation norms and standards and be based on the following OECD/DAC criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability, coherence, as well as human rights, gender equality and leaving no one behind.

The general purpose of the evaluation is to evaluate the extent to which the project achieved its overall objective and results as well as provide quality feedback about where and how the Project Team, UNODC, more broadly and the donor can improve their processes and methods of implementation, sustainability of achieved results, as well as overall coordination and gender mainstreaming. It is intended to bring a fresh perspective and objectivity to the project implementation, derive lessons learned, best practice and recommendations to inform future programming and policy making.

The results of the evaluation will be used to inform future CSU programming in Africa, by examining the outcomes and outputs achieved, and by improving managers’ understanding of challenges and constraints that might hamper programme implementation. The evaluation will also support the effective implementation of UNCAC as concerning civil society engagement. The main evaluation users include the CSU and UNODC as a whole, in particular senior management, the UNCAC Coalition, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Member States and beneficiaries.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Chief or the Deputy Chief of the UNODC Independent Evaluation Section at Headquarters (Vienna, Austria), the Substantive Expert, in close coordination and cooperation, will collaborate with the Evaluation Expert and the evaluation team throughout the entire evaluation process, and contribute to the following tasks:

• Provide substantive inputs in relation to the area of expertise to the whole evaluation process and to all deliverables;
• Draft inputs to the inception report (with the evaluation design and the detailed methods, tools and techniques), the draft and final evaluation report, as well as the Evaluation Brief and the final presentation;
• Revise inputs in relation to the area of expertise to all deliverables based upon comments received from the various consultative processes (IES, Project Management and Core Learning Partners), including also full proofreading and editing;

• Ensure that all deliverables mentioned in these terms of reference are submitted in a timely and satisfactory manner, and in line with the quality criteria checklist.

  Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: - Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, social sciences, economics or related field is required. A first level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Experience: - A minimum of 7 (seven) years professional technical experience in anti-corruption is required;

• Professional technical experience in the field of evaluation or related field, including a track record of conducting various types of evaluation at the international level, preferably with experience in conducting evaluations for the United Nations is desirable;
• Experience in working in a team is required;
• Knowledge and experience of the UN System and in particular of UNODC is desirable;
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods is desirable;
• Experience in Africa is desirable;
• Experience in working with and /or for CSOs is desirable;
• Experience in gender sensitive evaluation methodologies and analysis, and understanding of human rights and ethical issues in relation to evaluation is desirable;

• Experience in presenting and communicating complex evaluation or research results in a structured manner (in reports, briefs, presentations, etc.) is required. Language: - English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable.

  No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Potential interview questions

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