Senior Evaluation Specialist (Humanitarian portfolio), P5, Evaluation Office, NYHQ

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF

Application deadline 1 year ago: Friday 19 Aug 2022 at 03:55 UTC

Open application form

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 208,877 USD and 261,770 USD.

Salary for a P-5 contract in New York

The international rate of 110,869 USD, with an additional 88.4% (post adjustment) at this the location, applies. Please note that depending on the location, a higher post adjustment might still result in a lower purchasing power.

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.

More about P-5 contracts and their salaries.

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

The position is located within the NYHQ Evaluation Office, which serves as steward of UNICEF’s evaluation function. Its Director reports to UNICEF’s Executive Board through an annual report on the evaluation function and on selected evaluations. The Evaluation 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 staff in the evaluation teams. It also leads in the development and implementation of 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 Office works closely with the Regional Evaluation Advisers in each of UNICEF’s seven regions to ensure a well-coordinated, collaborative, whole-of-organization evaluation effort and to continue to build the Organization’s community of practice. Working in a complementary manner with UNICEF’s other data, evidence and research functions, the Evaluation Office aims to deliver consistently timely, credible and useful independent analyses that harness knowledge to help the Organization deliver results for children.

How can you make a difference?

Under the direction, guidance and supervision of the Director of Evaluation, the Senior Evaluation Specialist is responsible for providing strategic leadership for humanitarian evaluations in UNICEF. S/He will be responsible for managing a portfolio of corporate evaluations of the UNICEF humanitarian response, both as an evaluation manager her/himself and as a manager of other evaluation managers in the portfolio. The exercises in this portfolio include evaluations of Level 3 (L3) humanitarian response, real-time evaluations, broad global evaluations related to the organization’s overall approach to emergency preparedness and response, and a wide range of joint and inter-agency evaluations within the framework of the Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation (IAHE) Steering Group established by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). The incumbent will also be responsible for providing quality assurance for other types of evaluation of the UNICEF humanitarian response at the decentralized level and for developing the capacity of UNICEF staff engaged in the evaluations of humanitarian action (EHA), and their counterparts as required, to maximize adherence to applicable norms and standards outlined in the UNICEF Evaluation Policy (2018, to be revised in 2023), the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) norms and standards, and Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs).

The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring that all evaluations in the Humanitarian portfolio are of the highest relevance, timeliness, quality, credibility and utility possible in meeting the learning and accountability needs of UNICEF and its key stakeholders (e.g., Executive Board, partners, donors, governments). This aspect of the incumbent’s role will require professional maturity, sound judgment, and excellent managerial skills. In this leadership and managerial capacity, s/he will also be expected to provide senior-level contributions to the broader aspects of the Evaluation Office and evaluation function and practice described above.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Provide thought leadership and senior-level management, guidance and direction to independent evaluations of UNICEF’s humanitarian work.

  • Lead efforts to identify, and either utilize or pilot and bring to scale, creative and innovative approaches to the evaluation of humanitarian action, 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 wider evaluation function as appropriate.
  • Undertake systematic due diligence to identify the highest-priority and most institutionally relevant evaluation themes in the portfolio, conduct internal and external consultations to refine and finalize these topics for inclusion in the UNICEF Plan for Global Evaluations, and present these topics to key stakeholders inside and outside the Organization.
  • Directly manage independent evaluations of humanitarian action 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.
  • Undertake final quality control of all outputs produced in the section before these are shared with the Director of Evaluation and others.
  • Manage the Humanitarian Evaluation Portfolio human resources, providing overall technical and strategic direction to portfolio, exercising active and positive management of the team, and recruiting highly qualified new staff as necessary, with a view to maximizing the timeliness, relevance, quality, credibility and utility of every evaluation produced in the portfolio. Provide active, positive feedback on an on-going basis that contributes to their professional development and motivates them to perform their best.
  • Exercise fiduciary responsibility over the Humanitarian Evaluation Portfolio, ensuring that evaluation resources in the portfolio are managed efficiently and that these evaluations remain on budget.
  • Undertake on-going consultation and coordination with headquarters divisions, regional offices, country offices and external partners, all in close collaboration with Regional Evaluation Advisers and where necessary Multi-Country Evaluation Officers.

2. Serve as Evaluation Office focal point for externally conducted evaluations and other assessments of UNICEF’s humanitarian work, and of joint, inter-agency, system-wide evaluations within the direct purview of the Humanitarian Evaluation portfolio.

  • Serve as Evaluation Office focal point for externally conducted evaluations and other assessments of UNICEF’s humanitarian work.
  • Partner with other agencies in the UN system and with other evaluation partners on selected joint, inter-agency and/or system-wide evaluations of within the direct purview of the Humanitarian Evaluation Portfolio, providing active and positive contributions to these exercises and helping to ensure their maximum timeliness, quality and credibility as well as their relevance and utility to UNICEF.

3. Contribute to office- and function-wide initiatives and to the smooth overall functioning of the Evaluation Office and evaluation function.

  • Advise the Director of Evaluation on issues of strategic and technical significance, especially but not exclusively those directly related to the Humanitarian Evaluation Portfolio, in the implementation of the UNICEF Evaluation Policy.
  • Contribute to technical and strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening 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).
  • Lead and/or contribute to efforts by the management team (Director and Section Chiefs) to guide, supervise and oversee the smooth functioning of the Evaluation Office.
  • Collaborate closely with other Evaluation Office colleagues, Regional Evaluation Advisers, and UNICEF’s other knowledge and evidence functions to ensure a maximally efficient whole-of-Organization approach to planning, managing, conducting, and communicating on evaluations.

4. Undertake special assignments as required by the Director of Evaluation.

  • At the request of the Director of Evaluation, lead individual initiatives to enhance the evaluation function and evaluation culture within UNICEF and among its partners.
  • Represent the Director of Evaluation at select meetings.

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

  • Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s) in a social science, evaluation or a field related to the sectors that covers humanitarian programmes is required; a PhD in the subject areas mentioned is desirable.
  • Experience: A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in humanitarian evaluation, including knowledge of designing and implementing inter-agency evaluations as well as real-time and other rapid and timely evaluations, is required. Experience related to UNICEF’s mandate and knowledge of its working modalities in humanitarian setting is desirable. Previous work experience in a developing country (and preferably in a humanitarian context) is an asset. Demonstrated track record of excellence in the three pillars of this role – i.e., technical, strategic/political and inter-personal skills – is required.
  • Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of other official UN languages is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

Core Values

  • Care
  • Respect
  • Integrity
  • Trust
  • Accountability

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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. (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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 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.

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 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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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

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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID). 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.

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