Evaluation Officer, P2, 364 days, Evaluation Office, New York

Contract

This is a P-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 108,633 USD and 147,551 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Evaluate

This temporary position is based in UNICEF's Evaluation Office in New York, which serves as the steward of UNICEF’s evaluation function. Its Director reports to UNICEF's Executive Board through an annual report on the evaluation function and selected evaluations. Our Office commissions and manages independent corporate evaluations and other evaluative exercises (e.g., evaluability assessments, syntheses, reviews), usually conducted in collaboration with external consultants but sometimes embedding Evaluation Office personnel in the evaluation teams. It leads the implementation of the Evaluation Policy, strategy and systems; oversees evaluation quality assurance processes; undertakes evaluation capacity development activities within and outside the Organization; actively promotes an enabling environment for evaluation and a strong evaluation culture; and ensures transparent access to evaluation information.

The work of the Evaluation Office is guided by the UNICEF Evaluation Policy (2023) and the Plan for Global Evaluations 2022-2025. By providing timely and dependable feedback on what is working well and any shortcomings, the office helps to strengthen evidence-based decision-making. It seeks to contribute to deepening organizational accountability and learning in support of the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This position is based in our Institutional Effectiveness Unit, which assesses UNICEF’s overall organizational performance in achieving its intended results for children. Institutional effectiveness evaluations concentrate on broader organizational aspects of how UNICEF operates and how goal areas and other cross-cutting programmes are implemented. These evaluations focus on the change strategies and enablers that support the Strategic Plan’s realisation and are critical to positioning UNICEF and its partners to succeed. Other areas covered include evaluative exercises that examine UNICEF’s internal operations, institutional and structural arrangements, policies, support functions, results-based management systems, and overarching partnership approaches.

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance and supervision of a Senior Evaluation Specialist, the Evaluation Office (Institutional Effectiveness) will be responsible for supporting institutional effectiveness evaluations. The Evaluation Officer will also support other evaluative exercises of UNICEF’s overall organizational performance to assess the organization’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and other evaluation criteria.

In accordance with UNICEF’s mission, guiding principles, standards, commitments, and accountability framework, and under United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) revised norms and standards, the Evaluation Officer will ensure that all evaluations conducted under their remit are of the highest relevance, timeliness, quality, credibility and utility possible and that they support the organizational learning and accountability needs of UNICEF and its stakeholders in achieving results for children. The Evaluation Officer will contribute to transparent, inclusive and participatory processes to promote the use of evaluation to influence change in the organization.

The incumbent will also contribute to cross-cutting initiatives within the Evaluation Office and the wider evaluation function within UNICEF.

The Evaluation Officer will support evaluation processes to produce the timeliest and most relevant, credible and valuable institutional effectiveness evaluations possible and generate evidence-based recommendations that are meaningfully acted on by UNICEF and its partners, thus reinforcing its organizational accountability and generating ever-better results for children.

Measurable performance indicators will be part of the performance planning and review.

Key Responsibilities

1. Contribute to the planning, implementation and rollout of independent evaluations of UNICEF’s overall institutional effectiveness (50%)

• Carry out qualitative and quantitative analyses and secondary research to identify topics for inclusion in the UNICEF Plan for Global Evaluations and Evaluation Office Annual Work Plan, and inform the design of planned evaluations (using Stata, SPSS, Excel, NVivo, etc.).
• Contribute to drafting well-tailored and well-written evaluation concept notes and terms of reference under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Evaluation Specialist and in close consultation with key internal and external interlocutors.
• Support the management of independent institutional effectiveness evaluations from start to finish, ensuring that these are as timely, credible and useful as possible in keeping with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) revised norms and standards. Where appropriate, contribute to inception, data collection, data analysis and report drafting phases of individual evaluations as an embedded team member.
• Arrange effective, participatory consultation processes with internal and external interlocutors (using Teams, Miro and other platforms), including scheduling meetings and interviews, preparing meeting logistics and taking notes.
• Contribute to efforts to identify and either utilise or pilot and bring to scale creative and innovative approaches to the evaluation of institutional effectiveness, from best-in-class methodological approaches to alternative modalities for disseminating evaluation results and engaging with key stakeholders in ways that foster evaluation buy-in, learning and ultimately uptake at every stage of the evaluation process. Identify and deploy best practices to the broader evaluation function as appropriate.

2. Support the preparation of high-quality and user-friendly evaluation products and their wide dissemination internally and externally (30%)

• Assist in writing and formatting evaluation reports and other products, ensuring that they are clear, concise, and well-organized in line with UNICEF Evaluation Reporting Standards, and UNICEF Global Evaluation Reports Oversight System.
• Draft communication and dissemination plans for evaluation products involving relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Facilitate the implementation of communication and dissemination plans using various communication channels.

3. Strengthen data documentation and knowledge management (20%)

• Ensure that all data collected and analyzed during evaluation processes are accurately and comprehensively documented. This includes proper labelling, organizing, and storing data files for easy retrieval.
• Establish and adhere to metadata and documentation standards to consistently label, describe, and archive data and information.
• Ensure sensitive data and information security and confidentiality, per UNICEF Policy and Personal Data Protection.
• Maintain a well-organized archive of past evaluation reports for reference and analysis. Implement a system for easily retrieving archived documents and analysing the follow-up and uptake of evaluation recommendations.
• Document best practices and lessons learned from each evaluation of institutional effectiveness to inform future evaluations and improve the overall evaluation process.
• Clearly document the evaluation methodologies used, including data collection tools, sampling techniques, and data analysis procedures for future reference.
• Collaborate with ICT Division to ensure that the knowledge management systems and data storage for institutional effectiveness evaluations are efficient, secure, and aligned with UNICEF standards.

4. Contribute to the office- and function-wide initiatives and the smooth overall functioning of the Evaluation Office and evaluation function (10%)

• Contribute to technical and strategic initiatives to strengthen the work of the Evaluation Office and the evaluation function more generally and of the evaluation culture within the Organization.
• Contribute to office-wide processes, products and other outputs (e.g., strategic planning processes, drafting of annual reports, meeting agendas, syntheses, capacity development activities).
• Contribute to a positive spirit of teamwork in the Evaluation Office.
• Collaborate closely with other Evaluation Office colleagues, Regional Evaluation Advisers, and colleagues in UNICEF’s other knowledge and evidence functions to ensure a maximally efficient whole-organisation approach to planning, managing, conducting, and communicating on evaluations.

Duration

This temporary appointment is for 364 days, from January to December 2024. Key deliverables will be discussed with the supervisor at the beginning of the assignment, and they will include the support of up to four evaluation processes.

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

• A Master's degree or higher in evaluation, social sciences, economics, public administration, or another related discipline.
• Familiarity with the fundamentals of evaluation, including research methodologies, data collection and analysis, and statistical techniques.
• At least three years of professional experience in programme development and implementation, monitoring and/or evaluation activities, examining institutional effectiveness in multilateral agencies or equivalent large-scale public- or private-sector organizations.
• Proficiency in data management and data analysis tools, such as Excel, SPSS, or other statistical software.
• Ability to conduct literature reviews and gather relevant research to inform the evaluation process.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to interpret data and draw meaningful conclusions. Previous experience in conducting evaluations is an asset.
• Strong attention to detail to ensure data accuracy and a commitment to maintaining the highest ethical standards, especially when dealing with sensitive data and information.
• At least one instance of exposure to UNICEF’s work in development and/or humanitarian action can be an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to effectively convey evaluation results to diverse audiences. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is an asset.
• Demonstrated track record working collaboratively in a multi-cultural team environment to contribute positively to shared results.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to handle multiple tasks and projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert diversity profile] are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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