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 Evaluation Office (EO), at UNICEF HQ in New York provides global leadership and oversight for the evaluation function. As such the office is responsible for developing an agenda and work plan to evaluate UNICEF's programmes and processes. We conduct and/or manage independent, corporate evaluations and evaluation syntheses, provide technical assistance and quality assurance for evaluations commissioned at the decentralized level (country and regional offices, as well as other divisions in HQ offices), and develop evaluation methods. EO is also responsible for publishing a global evaluation plan that accompanies respective corporate strategies.

The purpose of this position is to contribute to the management of evaluations within the institutional effectiveness portfolio of UNICEF’s Evaluation Office. The Evaluation Specialist is responsible to independently conduct evaluation-related tasks, as well as to contribute to the management of institutional effectiveness portfolio, under the supervision of the Senior Evaluation Specialist and the Director of Evaluation. In accordance with UNICEF’s mission, guiding principles, standards, commitments and accountability framework, and under UNEG evaluation norms and standards, the evaluation specialist would ensure that corporate learning and accountability needs are met through the conduct of these activities.

How can you make a difference?

The Evaluation Specialist will report to Senior Evaluation Specialist, under the overall guidance of the Director of Evaluation and in collaboration with other Evaluation Specialists. Key tasks include:

Contribute to UNICEF’s institutional effectiveness portfolio, with the scoping and preparation of the global evaluations; complex programmes, policies and cross-cutting theme evaluations; as well as joint programme evaluations (in conjunction with other UN agencies):

• Provide guidance for independent corporate-level evaluations related to institutional effectiveness.
• Coordinate as appropriate, with field offices, Headquarters divisions and external partners and other UN agencies’ evaluation offices.
• Collaborate with other UN evaluation units and professional evaluation bodies to advance institutional effectiveness.
• draft evaluation terms of reference.

Contribute to UNICEF’s institutional effectiveness portfolio with the management of the global evaluations as per the UNICEF Global Evaluation Plan; as well as cross-cutting programmes, policies and cross-cutting themes and inter-UN agencies’ joint programmes:

• Facilitate access to data as well as communications and meetings between the evaluation team, the various stakeholders in HQ as well as in the regional and country offices, and the Chair of the Evaluation Advisory Group.
• Provide technical and logistical support to the EO and the evaluation team; help organize country visits and desk-based case studies, and other data collection activities.
• Review and provide inputs/QA on data collection methods and tools as well as on the evaluation deliverables (inception report, document review report, country case study reports, and interim reports).
• Develop a list and repository of relevant documents for use during the evaluation inception and data collection and analysis phases.

Contribute to other evaluation and evidence related initiatives within the EO as needed, for example:

• Providing technical advice and quality assurance on evaluation TORs, reports and other evaluation initiatives sent by HQ, ROs and COs (on demand).
• Contributing to strengthening gender-based analysis in work of the UNICEF evaluation function
• Supporting the Evaluation Office in responding to the requirements of the UN-SWAP on Gender Equality
• Contributing to methodological work and knowledge management activities in the evaluation function
• Undertaking special assignments as requested by the Director of Evaluation.

To qualify as an advocate for every child, you will have:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in social science, evaluation, public policy, economics, statistics, in research methods, or another field related with institutional effectiveness;
• A minimum of eight years of relevant professional work experience in programme evaluation, M&E, and operational research;
• Understanding of institutional effectiveness evaluations within UN-agencies, multi-lateral agencies, large scale public or private sector organizations is required.
• Experience conducting mixed-method evaluations that rely on both qualitative and quantitative approaches and a variety of data collection modalities (surveys, interviews, focus groups, direct observation, desk reviews).
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset

Source:https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=523717