Senior Evaluation Specialist, P-5, Evaluation Office (EO), NYHQ, #3759

New York City

Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: New York City
Grade: Senior level - P-5, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
- Accounting (Audit, Controlling)
- Monitoring and Evaluation
Closing Date: Closed

Under the general supervision of the Director of the Evaluation Office, the incumbent of the post will provide high level evaluation services and support in determining the performance and results achieved by UNICEF within the themes set out in the relevant strategic plan and related frameworks. The post will directly manage independent evaluations, communicate evaluation results, develop evaluation guidance and methodologies, and support related research and performance assessment.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Position

Under the general supervision of the Director of the Evaluation Office, the incumbent of the post will provide high level evaluation services and support in determining the performance and results achieved by UNICEF within the themes set out in the relevant strategic plan and related frameworks. The post will directly manage independent evaluations, communicate evaluation results, develop evaluation guidance and methodologies, and support related research and performance assessment.

Key Accountabilities and Tasks

1. Manage independent evaluations at the corporate level in the assigned themes laid out in the global evaluation plan, as presented to the Executive Board. The global evaluation plan derives from and exists to support the fulfilment of the current UNICEF strategic plan. Evaluation management includes these elements:

Identifying the information needs of UNICEF in the topic and developing a Terms of Reference that meets that need.
Managing the service procurement process to engage independent external evaluators.
Coordinating among all stakeholders and establishing appropriate governance arrangements
Ensuring proper quality control during implementation, and adherence to proper ethical guidelines at all times.
Reviewing and approving all deliverables.
Managing appropriate dissemination of completed evaluations and guiding stakeholders in the development of proper management responses, uptake of lessons learned and application of evidence gained.

2. Contribute to managing joint evaluation activities at the corporate level on topics of mutual interest as agreed between UNICEF and partner organizations. The inputs required will usually follow the accountabilities set out under item 1 above

3. Provide technical advice and assistance supporting UNICEF staff in other teams in achieving evaluation related goals:

Where major evaluations will be self-managed by other offices, provide support through training and steering group participation to ensure adequate quality, independence, and use.
Where large scale programme initiatives are being formulated, advise on the overall evaluation plan (e.g. evaluability exercises, M&E frameworks etc.), required to bring forth credible evidence at key decision points in the programme.

4. Contribute to the strengthening of the overall evaluation function in UNICEF through developing the enabling environment and staff office capacities across the organization:

Contribute to the development, implementation and periodic review of the Evaluation Policy, and the Communication of the policy through corporate and regional level guidance.
Contribute to the development of methodologies, training mechanisms and other capacity strengthening activities to reinforce UNICEF staff capacity in evaluation.
Support the corporate reporting and knowledge management functions where evaluation content is required.

5. Represent UNICEF to external stakeholders in issues deriving from the assigned themes. To include but not be limited to:

Inter-agency working groups and conferences, particularly those organized through the United Nations Evaluation group
Professional associations, particularly those where UNICEF is an institutional member or where association activities benefit the development of global or regional evaluation capacities.
Bi-lateral and NGO organizations considering technical partnerships with UNICEF, particularly around the assigned themes.

6. Conduct other tasks as may be assigned by the Supervisor

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

An advanced university degree (Master's) in Social Sciences, Statistics, International Development, Policy Development, Public Administration and Planning or directly related field(s) is required.*
A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, from among the following: strategic planning, evaluation, research and reporting of social development programmes is required.
Prior experience in a supervisory capacity is required.
Previous work experience in an emergency duty station and/or humanitarian context is considered an asset.
Previous experience working in the UN and/or other International development organizations is an asset.
Demonstrated strength from among the following programme areas of health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education and child protection is an asset.
Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is considered an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values