Research & Evaluation Officer

United Nations Children's Fund

Nairobi, Kenya

Under the guidance and supervision of the Chief of Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (P4), the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Officer P2 will provide support to and facilitate the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting functions for the country office. This will be done in close collaboration with other members of the PM&E section – PME Specialist, Partnerships Specialist, PM&E Officers in Field Offices, and programme officers and specialists across the different offices in Somalia and the UNICEF Somalia Support Centre (Nairobi) and others under operations for HACT and Budget.

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks:

Support implementation of evaluations, Research and Surveys:

  • Draft and/or develop terms of reference for external consultants and initiate the recruitment process to ensure the timely selection and recruitment of evaluators. Manage the various processes of assessing and/or selecting consultant and evaluation teams to facilitate the recruitment/selection process
  • Organize materials, briefings and all required administrative arrangements to ensure external consultants are provided appropriate and comprehensive information to start and continue effectively and efficiently the conduct of evaluations.
  • Keep abreast of evaluation progress to proactively meet the evaluators’ need for information or other related issues to ensure delivery of results as scheduled and allocated.
  • Support the evaluation budget preparation. Monitor and verify the use of resources for compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues/findings to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
  • Collect and maintain roster of qualified evaluators and firms, ensure continued update, verification and quality assessment of their suitability for evaluation projects. Develop and maintain an effective system for dissemination of the roster for easy access.
  • Prepare timely analytical documents highlighting critical areas for management progress monitoring, oversight and action.
  • Support the Multi Cluster Indicator Survey for Somalia

Support to the preparation of the integrated monitoring and evaluation plan (IMEP), Dissemination and follow up of evaluations:

  • Provide technical and operational support throughout the evaluation process by executing/administering a variety of technical, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support evaluation results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and assessing results.
  • Prepare required documentations/materials/data to facilitate evaluation planning, implementation and reporting.
  • Consult stakeholders to seek clarification and/or validate findings from draft and final evaluation reports and report on feedback to facilitate timely action.
  • Upload/disseminate completed evaluation reports into Global Evaluation Data base to allow global sharing and final quality review.
  • Upload each approved management response in the tracking systems and monitor quarterly update and produce analytical reports for management action and decision on implementation of evaluation agreed actions/recommendations.
  • Actively follow up with stakeholders on the implementation of evaluation results. Provide appropriate technical support to facilitate implementation and/or report to relevant stakeholders to ensure time action to ensure the implementation of evaluation results.

Support for Programme performance planning and monitoring:

  • Provide technical support as necessary to the process of developing and monitoring Annual Work Plans, including reporting on progress of the equity and gender marker as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Guidance
  • Provide technical support as necessary in organizing and managing annual/mid-year/mid-term/end term country programme reviews ensuring consistency with objectives and goals set out in the CPD and contribute to the Annual Management Plan.
  • Monitor follow-up actions based on management decisions resulting from Country Office performance monitoring and evaluation.
  • Support the programme components to effectively monitor and report on the intersectoral programme results, cross sectoral programme component results and field office results to facilitate programme coherence and convergence where appropriate.
  • Contribute to development of programme monitoring framework including technical backstopping to the field team for convergent programming.
  • Provide technical support to programme sections to effectively monitor and report on the intersectoral programme results.
  • Support data analysis and use, including data from routine programme monitoring

Networking and partnership building:

  • Provide technical and operational support to a wide range of stakeholders and evaluators on UNICEF and UNEG policies, practices, standards and norms.
  • Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate evaluation and build their capacity for evaluation planning and implementation.
  • Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on evaluations to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process

Reporting, knowledge management and capacity building:

  • Provide support to ensure that the internal and external partners (Regional Office, HQ,) regularly receive up-to-date and accurate information on the programme results produced by the Country Office.
  • Analyze monitoring and key programme performance indicators, to support the PM&E Section and Front Office in preparation of professional inputs to management reports including the RAM, Summary narrative, as well as reporting on SMQs and KPIs among others.
  • Provide regular updates to the UNICEF monitoring/reporting platforms (RAM etc) as well as on ad hoc requests from the Regional Office/HQ, and support programme sections in RAM-related and InSight related reporting.
  • Provide guidance and quality assurance to programme documents in line with RBM principles, with emphasis on equity and gender considerations.
  • Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from evaluations for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts.
  • Research and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems for evaluations.
  • Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

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

  • A University Degree in economics, psychology, sociology, education or other social science field is required
  • A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in social development analysis and programming at the international and/or in a developing country is required. Relevant experience in program/project monitoring and evaluation in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
  • Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
  • Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.