Evaluation Consultant (Substantive Expert)

Result of Service The independent evaluation will help programme managers and stakeholders identify and understand overall progress made against the approved programme, decisions and progress made to expand the programme, the timeline of accomplishment, and qualitative lessons learned. The evaluation will also provide a viewpoint from the perspective of stakeholders and donors who assess programmes with an external review of objectives, relevance, management efficacy and implementation, and whether the programme has achieved its overall goals thus far.

Work Location Home based

Expected duration 4 months

Duties and Responsibilities In accordance with its mandate, the UNOCT-UNCCT’s efforts through the BSM programme are focused on countering terrorism and preventing and detecting the movement of FTFs. Through the inception phase of the programme implementation, the Centre has gained a significant understanding of the gaps and technical assistance requirements of Member States. The UNCCT has identified that the Sahel, Western Africa, and the Horn of Africa are regions that face some of the biggest challenges. Expert practitioners from these regions, working with experts from across the globe, have identified challenges in the area of BSM in general, starting with a lack of or inadequate border management strategies and implementation plans, that in turn, has an impact and weakens the cross-border cooperation, border surveillance, gaps and needs analysis, and risk analysis and management in particular. The capacities of Member States within these regions to address such challenges vary drastically. These variations often cause difficulties in ensuring effective cooperation as States with more advanced systems and equipment cannot easily exchange information with those States that do not have such equipment. This is the case, for example, between some North African countries and sub-Saharan countries, which affects overall BSM in the wider Sahel region. Furthermore, there is recognition among experts that effective BSM plays a crucial role in combating transnational threats and cross-border criminal activities. While this situation analysis is provided from a global perspective, the issue of porous borders is particularly exploited by returning FTFs in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, East and Southeast Europe, Central Asia and Afghanistan. As such, this Programme has an emphasis on strengthening the BSM strategies and structures in these regions to avert transnational threats in general and counter terrorism and FTFs in particular on a global scale. The Border Security and Management (BSM) Programme is reinforcing the capacities of Member States to prevent terrorists from moving across borders and to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) in line with the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions. It provides (1) tailored technical assistance to policy-makers on border security and management to design comprehensive border security strategies and action plans based on international "Good Practices" and close inter-agency cooperation; (2) deliver capacity-building activities to law enforcement agencies on border security, information sharing, and use of biometrics at borders. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the guidance and supervision of the Evaluation Manager, 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 as follows:

• Providing substantive inputs in relation to the area of expertise to the whole evaluation process and to all deliverables.
• Participating in the kick-off meeting and other briefings, validation, and results-sharing meetings (as relevant).
• Contributing to robust data collection phase, based on the approved Inception Report, by implementing all approved data collection tools and methods.
• Contributing to robust data analysis, including using related tools and software (e.g., NVivo), and ensuring that the Evaluation Manager has access to all raw data at any given point in time.
• Drafting 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.
• Revising inputs in relation to the area of expertise to all deliverables based upon comments received from the various consultative processes, 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 An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political or social sciences, law, economics, security, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in a similar field in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of 7 (seven) years of professional technical experience in border security and management is required Professional technical experience in the field of evaluation or related fields, 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 Knowledge and experience of the UN System and in particular, of UNOCT is desirable. Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods is desirable. Experience in adopting a human rights-based approach, gender-sensitive evaluation methodologies and analysis, and an understanding of human rights, disability inclusion and ethical issues in relation to evaluation is desirable.

  Languages For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

  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.