Social Policy Officer (Monitoring &Evaluation), P2, Kassala, Sudan (Temporary Appointment until 30 June 2024 - open to non Sudanese only)

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 57,661 USD and 78,318 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.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

In 2018, UNICEF Sudan launched a Social Policy and Inclusion Programme, as part of the four-year Country Programme. The overall objective of the programme is to support the development and implementation of policies and programmes that address structural causes of child multi-dimensional poverty and inequities in Sudan, contributing to achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda, particularly SDG 1 (ending poverty) and SDG 10 (reducing inequality).

In this context, UNICEF Sudan is laying the groundwork to strengthen the effectiveness, integration, accountability and capacities of the National Social Protection System in Sudan. UNICEF Sudan is currently supporting the roll-out of an innovative cash transfer programme, the Mother and Child Cash Transfer Plus (MCCT+) for the First 1,000 Days of Life programme in Kassala and Red Sea States. The MCCT+ is a multi-sectoral social protection programme, strengthening first 1,000 days of life services and integrating cash payments with a behavioural change and communication strategy. The programme also aims to build the foundation for government-led implementation of a flagship social protection programme based on life-course approach, with the eventual aim of national scale-up. UNICEF Sudan plans to scale up the MCCT+ programme in other states affected by the ongoing economic crisis.

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, Hope

Sudan, surrounded by the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, positioned next to East, West and North Africa, is surrounded by complex conflicts in an unpredictable, volatile and rapidly evolving region. Sudan is by size the third biggest country in Africa, with a diverse population of around 42 million people. Sudan's children make up half of the total population, and the past two decades have seen their lives significantly improve: fewer girls and boys are dying before their fifth birthday, primary school attendance is increasing, immunization coverage is high and the country remains polio free. Still, millions of children continue to suffer from protracted conflict in Darfur, the Kordofans, and Blue Nile, from seasonal natural disasters, malnutrition and disease outbreaks, and from under-investment in basic social services. More than three million of Sudan's school aged children are not in the classroom. UNICEF has been in Sudan since 1952 and continues with a presence in 12 of Sudan's 18 states.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the Social Policy officer is accountable for providing technical support and assistance in all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage and impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, child protection, water and sanitation, and HIV

Key Results:

1. Monitoring, Evaluation and Research. The Social Policy programme and partners have a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities, developed collaboratively that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Social Policy programme.

2. Programme Performance Monitoring. The M&E and planning function of the Social Policy Programme has quality information collected and disseminated with the participation of all concerned partners to assess progress towards expected annual and multi-year results.

3. Evaluation. UNICEF-supported evaluations attain established UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to stakeholders for improving programme performance and contributing to national and corporate learning.

4. M&E Capacity Building. The monitoring and evaluation capacities of the Social Policy programme staff and national partners – government and civil society – enhanced with the contribution of UNICEF knowledge partners meet the expectations and requirements of their positions and responsibilities.

5. Coordination and Networking. M&E activities of the Social Policy Programme are linked to wider UNICEF M&E developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective M&E management.

Key accountabilities, duties and tasks:

1. Monitoring, Evaluation and Research: The Social Policy programme and partners have a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities, developed collaboratively that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Social Policy programme.

• Ensure that the section and partners use a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities that will provide the most relevant and strategic information relevant to Social Policy and Social Protection.

• Make professional contributions to and provide technical assistance for the planning and establishing the major research, monitoring and evaluation objectives, priorities, and activities in UNICEF’s multi-year and annual IMEPs pertaining to Social Policy and Social Protection.

• Identify the M&E objectives, priorities, and activities required for effective Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans.

• In humanitarian response situations, within the first month, draft and recommend a simple one-month data-collection plan to cover key data gaps as required for the initial emergency response, working in close collaboration with the humanitarian clusters partners.

2. Programme Performance Monitoring: Ensure that the Social Policy programme has quality information to assess progress towards expected results established in annual work plans.

• Provide technical support to ensure that a set of programme performance indicators is identified and adjusted as necessary, with inputs of all concerned partners in the context of the multi-year and annual IMEPs, the Annual Management Plan and Annual Work Plans, as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Manual).

• Coordinate with partners to ensure that monitoring systems are properly designed, and that data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardised across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring, with special attention to humanitarian response.

• Drawing on monitoring and analysis of key program performance and management indicators, provide professional input to management reports, including relevant sections of the annual reports.

3. Evaluation: Ensure that UNICEF-supported evaluations are designed and implemented to established UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to stakeholders in order to improve programme performance and contribute to wider learning.

• Technically support programme partners to formulate Terms of Reference and evaluation designs of high quality, when relevant drawing on the know-how of knowledge institutions, in compliance with the organization’s programme evaluation policies and guidelines.

• Monitor and ensure the quality of the field work and data management during the implementation phase, and the quality of the analysis and ease of understanding during the report writing phase.

• Disseminate evaluation findings and recommendations to the intended audiences in user-friendly methods. In particular, to ensure that effective participatory feedback is provided to community and civil society stakeholders.

• Monitor and ensure that a management response to the findings and recommendations of the evaluation is completed, recorded, and followed up for implementation. Most specifically, ensure that evaluation recommendations are submitted to the Country Management Team and follow-up actions recorded in CMT minutes. Submit electronic copies of all evaluations to NYHQ via the Evaluation Data Base web portal, with full accompanying documentation.

4. M&E Capacity Building: Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead monitoring and evaluation processes.

• Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of M& E function among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities section-wide.

• In close collaboration with partners, ensure that an M&E capacity building strategy for social protection partners and institutions exists in the context of the IMEP, or UNDAF M&E plan. Pay particular attention so the capacity needs of national partners such as professional evaluation associations will be strengthened by involvement in evaluation processes and possibly through specific capacity building initiatives.

• Collaborate to implement capacity building strategies as a joint commitment with other developmental partners. Utilize a range of appropriate skills building strategies including self-learning, seminars and workshops and practical experience in order that Social Policy staff have the basic knowledge and skills in understanding and applying new M&E policies, tools, and methods to fulfil their responsibilities. Similarly, design and implement strategies suited to the skills needs of national partners.

• Actively seek partnerships with knowledge institutions for the identification of capacity gaps and development of strategies to address them.

5. Coordination and Networking: Ensure that M&E activities of the Social Policy programme are effectively linked to wider M&E developments at the Sudan Country Office in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective M&E management.

• Collaborate with the PME section for overall coordination of priority research, monitoring and evaluation activities, especially those of office-wide scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.

• Work with the PME section to ensure that current and accurate M&E data and results are included in country office reports, multi-country studies, and knowledge sharing networks.

• Undertake lessons-learned reviews on successful and unsuccessful M&E practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate. Similarly, pay attention to M&E knowledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the CO and partners to improve their M&E function.

6. Mother and Child Cash Transfer Plus (MCCT+) monitoring and evaluation: Provide technical, capacity and coordination support for the development and implementation of the M&E plans for the MCCT+ programme.

• Review, update and improve the MCCT+ M&E framework.

• Coordinate and consolidate the inputs of the monitoring consultants at state level and other monitoring data flows into a comprehensive database until an integrated MCCT MIS+ is established.

• Lead the implementation of the MCCT+ baseline, midline and endline surveys through technical inputs and coordinate the involvement of the key MoLSD staff in the process

• In coordination with UNICEF’s PME section, support the development of Terms of Reference for the MCCT evaluator, and support the contracting process.

• Strengthen the capacity of MCCT+ partners to conduct and implement social protection programme monitoring.

• Ensure that the M&E framework meets UNICEF’s data and ethical standards, among others by safeguarding individual privacy; provide guidance to UNICEF and Government personnel on UNICEF’s data and ethical standards during the implementation of the MCCT’s M&E framework.

• Design and provide trainings to state level MoHSW on the Post Distribution Monitoring process and support the MoHSW data focal points and UNICEF data consultants with PDM data analysis.

• Prepare internal briefs, in English and Arabic, on a bi-monthly basis that contain an analysis of received programme monitoring data; disseminate the brief to a wide audience of partners.

• Support the development of presentation with the supply of quality data analysis of available monitoring data.

• Support the inputs to various donor, external and internal reports by providing quality monitoring data and support the dissemination of these among Government and development partners as well as donors.

• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the MCCT+. Ensures that the social planning project enhances policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, management, training, research and support; and that the monitoring and evaluation component strengthens monitoring and evaluation of the social sectors and provides support to sectoral and decentralized information systems.

• Ensure effective implementation of monitoring plans by consultants and development partners, including the state Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and ensure the proper implementation of the Post-Distribution Monitoring tool.

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

• • A university degree in one of the following fields: M&E, statistics or other relevant technical fields. Advanced university degree in one of the mentioned fields would be considered as an asset.

  • A minimum of two years of previous experience with monitoring, evaluation or quantitative research is required

  • Work experience with (integrated) social protection programming is a great asset.

  • Work experience with design, development and/or maintenance of project/programme

  • Management Information Systems is a great asset.

  • Previous work experience with sub-national government in a low-income country is a great asset.

  • Experience in data and knowledge management.

- Background and/or familiarity with emergency particularly experience of cash transfers in emergency is considered as an asset

• For every Child, you demonstrate…

  UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

  The functional competencies required for this post are...

  • Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
  • Works Collaboratively with others (1)
  • Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
  • Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
  • Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
  • Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
  • Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

  View our competency framework at

  http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

  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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

  Remarks:

• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds, irrespective of gender, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

  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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

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

  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 are also 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.