Research Consultant ( 3 positions)

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UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Wednesday 21 Jul 2021 at 23:59 UTC

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Contract

This is a IPSA-8 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 1 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-8 contracts.

Background

Instructions to Applicants:

Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

Applicants are invited to upload as one combined document the following documents to the UNDP Jobs site:

  • CV in the format known as P11, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of at least three (3) professional references;
  • A completed Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Form that indicates your daily rate for this consultancy; and;
  • A brief cover letter (250-400 words) that highlights previous relevant research experience.

Travel:

a) UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements. b) Include any official travel expected to be associated with performing the functions.

Office/Unit/Project Description

The Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP supports the oversight and accountability functions of the Executive Board and the management of UNDP, UNCDF and UNV. The structural independence of the Office underpins and guarantees its freedom to conduct evaluations and report evaluation results to the Executive Board.

The IEO conducts independent evaluations and other activities according to its programme of work approved by the Executive Board. The work of the IEO includes:

  • Conducting thematic programmatic and other independent evaluations, ensuring strategic and representative coverage of UNDP programmes and results against national, regional and global scales;
  • Developing evaluation standards, procedures, criteria and methodological guidance for UNDP evaluations, and contributing to innovation in evaluation methodology and dissemination of good practices;
  • Providing UNDP and its development partners with timely knowledge and lessons drawn from evaluations that can feed into development programming at global, regional and country levels;
  • Assessing the quality of decentralized evaluations of UNDP, UNCDF and UNV, and monitoring compliance with best international evaluation and data collection standards, including the UNEG norms and standards, code of conduct and ethical guidelines;
  • Communicating its evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations through multiple channels and maintaining a searchable, publicly accessible repository of all UNDP, UNCDF and UNV evaluations, and respective management responses and resulting actions;
  • Supporting the development of communities of practice, and partnering with professional evaluation networks to improve evaluation utility and credibility;
  • Supporting the harmonization of the evaluation function in the United Nations system, including contributing to the annual work programme of UNEG, participating in systemwide evaluations, and prioritizing joint evaluations with United Nations organizations; and
  • Promoting national ownership and leadership in evaluation through country-led and joint evaluations.

The IEO will hire three (3) junior Research Consultants to support the conduct of country programme evaluations, thematic evaluations, the synthesis of evaluation lessons, and other tasks under the programme of work planned in 2021-2022. The evaluations use multiple data collection and analysis methods to measure and assess UNDP’s programme performance. Data sources include internal and external documents, UNDP enterprise resource planning systems, key informant interviews, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires.

Institutional Arrangement The Research Consultants will be supervised by the Chief of Section, Knowledge Management. In the interim, while that position is being filled, the Research Consultants will be supervised by the IEO Deputy Director.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Research Consultant will provide direct support to the implementation of IEO’s evaluations and synthesis products being planned for 2021-2022. He/she will be responsible for supporting the preliminary research and data collection and analysis, working closely with IEO evaluation managers. The work of Research Consultant will be guided by IEO’s country programme, thematic evaluation and evaluation synthesis research and process manuals. The specific tasks include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Survey and gathering of UNDP corporate programme documents, results reports, country and financial data, and any other information relevant to the countries and programmes under review, as well as any externally available background material relevant to the themes, countries and programmes under review;
  • Compilation of data and uploading of background material to IEO’s common document portal;
  • Initial desk reviews of material, preparation of analytical material, including infographics for use in the evaluation reports as well as for other IEO knowledge products;
  • Translation of documents, as required; and
  • Provision of other general research support, as required by the IEO.

The research consultant will work as a member of the evaluation team, contributing to the efficient and effective execution of evaluation activities and the establishment of strong and reliable research base at the IEO.

Competencies

Core Competencies

  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
  • Acts as a team player and facilitate teamwork; and
  • Maintains confidentiality.

Functional Competencies

  • Research and analytical skills, including ability to collect reliable, valid and accurate data and information; and quickly digest and analyze a diverse range of information and data collected from varied sources;
  • Use of Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
  • Proven statistical abilities and knowledge of software available for quantitative analysis, including databases, spreadsheets and statistical packages;
  • Ability to prioritize tasks; and plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals (project management skills).

Development and Operational Effectiveness

  • Strong oral and written communication skills;
  • Time management and ability to handle a large volume of work;

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Economics, Public Administration, Political Science, International Relations, or other relevant areas.

Experience

  • A minimum of 2 years of experience in conducting research in the international development context;
  • Experience in using various research qualitative and quantitative methodologies;
  • Experience in designing monitoring and evaluation tools;
  • Experience in using computers and office software packages, web-based data management systems;
  • Prior work experience at or familiarity with the work of UNDP and/or other UN agencies;
  • Knowledge of latest international development issues in UNDP’s areas of work (e.g., poverty reduction, democratic governance, human rights, environment and natural resources management, climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience, gender equality and women’s empowerment)

Language Requirements

  • Fluency in English is required. Additional working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is preferred. Competence in other UN languages is an asset.
Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org