The Evaluation Officer provides high level expert technical and operational leadership to the evaluation function in the WHO Regional Office for Europe aiming to enhance and strengthen regional evaluation practice. The Evaluation Officer coordinates the development of regional and country evaluation plans, contributing to the promotion and operationalization of a quality evaluation culture and ensures the timely planning, management, reporting and both internal and external evaluation of EURO's technical work within the framework of the WHO Evaluation Policy. Evaluation is a critical function for the European Regional Office's implementation of the European Programme of Work (EPW), the General Programme of Work (GPW) and the Programme Budget. Key duties:
Capacity building, advice, and guidance:
Provide strategic, policy and operational advice, information and guidance to evaluation managers at regional and country levels on the conduct of decentralized evaluations through application of the Framework of the WHO evaluation policy;
Support evaluation capacity development in the region, e.g., through the development of relevant materials, conducting a variety of briefings and trainings. Prepare all the briefings and reports related to the evaluation function as requested by EDD/PRM for the governing bodies and other relevant meetings.
Management of the evaluation function
Coordinate the development and implementation of regional and country evaluation plans (including budget considerations), to ensure adequate evaluation coverage of the most salient topics in the region (including tracking where donor proposals and agreements mandate evaluations) in overprogrammed budget cycle. Manage these monitoring and evaluation plans, budget, and funds to successful completion so that all evaluations are relevant, timely, credible, and useful to the region.
Oversee the application of an organization-wide quality assurance system to ensure that regional and country-level evaluations are conducted in accordance with the most updated/applicable WHO Evaluation Policy and UNEG Norms and Standards for evaluation.
Initiate, design and conduct individual decentralize devaluations both internal and with external evaluators including preparation of the terms of reference, facilitating access to all relevant documents, stakeholders and secondary data. Oversee the recruitment and management of the external evaluation team. Manages all external contracts for evaluations, including issuance of bid solicitations, development of contracts, provision of adequate administrative and logistical support (travel, meetings, and field visits).
Ensure that evaluations are impartial, independent, and credible and are of excellent quality and contribute to corporate accountability, evidence-based policymaking, organizational learning, and performance improvement.
Support EDD in the commissioning and manage independent evaluations of WHO strategic contributions at the country level (CSE)with the WHO Evaluation Office, in close collaboration with the respective WHO country office, the Country Support and Partnerships (CPA) division and the Country Support Unit Network and through application of the CSE framework.
Facilitate the European Region Organization-wide thematic evaluations led by the WHO Evaluation Office and support such evaluations., through facilitation of data collection in the region, liaison with key stakeholder in the regional office and with its partners, and provision of technical and strategic inputs into these evaluations.
Manage the draft report review process by stakeholders aiming to create agreement and commitment on the way forward.
Review and make recommendations on inception reports and verify the satisfactory submission of evaluation reports, their issuance, publication, and dissemination.
Organizational learning:
Prepare periodic and ad-hoc reports for the senior leadership evaluation-related issues of organizational and region-wide importance and, in coordination with relevant PRM team functions, contribute to the periodic and ad-hoc monitoring exercises. Ensure the explicit link between evaluation findings and corporate planning, monitoring, and reporting.
Maintain an online inventory of all evaluations performed in the European Region and maintains a system to track evaluation findings and management responses to evaluation.
Ensure that all applicable findings and recommendations emanating from both regional (decentralized) and corporate evaluations are followed up on in the region, e.g., by organizing meetings, workshops, and other discussions on evaluation results, advising key stakeholders in the management response process, and assisting with efforts to follow up on management responses and their associated action plans.
Develop material to promote transparent and effective communication of WHO's evaluation work and findings in support of organizational learning, including preparation of an annual progress report to the Regional Committee on evaluative activities of the European Region.
Global networks:
Contribute, together with counterparts from other regions (evaluation officers and/or advisers) and the WHO Evaluation Office, to strategies, approaches, guidance, procedures and tools for strengthening the evaluation function and evaluation practice in the Organization. Contribute to the work of the United Nations Evaluation Group and regional evaluation network activities, as appropriate
Support PRM essential operations and assume temporary/acting duties, as part of the PRM team, as and when needed, to ensure uninterrupted business continuity of the PRM functions.
Required Qualifications: Education
Essential:
Advanced university degree (Masters level) in the field of public health, statistics, development economics, performance management, monitoring, and evaluation, social sciences, international development, or another field relevant to the demands of the position.
Experience:
Essential:
At least seven years of professional and progressive experience in: (a)planning, conducting and managing mixed-method evaluations, assessments and/or technical reviews of programmes, thematic topics, policies, projects, and other initiatives, that are of high credibility and utility, (b) managing external evaluation teams in the conduct of these evaluations; (c) managing the process of ensuring stakeholders' positive and constructive engagement in, and receptivity to, evaluations.
Skills:
Demonstrated expert knowledge of corporate evaluation principles and methodologies, in the health or social sector, and their application in results-based management in the context of policy planning and analysis;
Demonstrated strong background in research methods and data analysis.
Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with a broad and multiprofessional group of stakeholders.
Demonstrated advanced communication skills to effectively communicate evaluation findings to stakeholders and other relevant parties.
Proven ability to work with competing priorities under pressure.
Ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as well as helping others to do the same.
