UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
UNFPA Cambodia’s 7th Country Programme (CP) for 2024-2028, is focusing on four outcomes: (i) sexual and reproductive health and rights; (ii) gender equality and GBV; iii) adolescents and youth; and (iv) population dynamics and data.
The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E will drive the population dynamics and data programme by working across all programmatic areas leading the development of data development, analysis and monitoring strategies for the entire team. This includes technical support to data analysis, foresight, monitoring, reporting (including donor reporting) and knowledge management development. The Population Development and Data Specialist will act as a bridge connecting population data to programmatic results by leading and participating in field M&E missions, participates in review meetings and evaluation missions and prepares regular inputs to status and progress reports.
In collaboration with programme teams, The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E leads analysis and interpretation of the political, social and economic environment relevant to population and development and identifies opportunities for UNFPA assistance and intervention. The post keeps abreast of new policy developments and strategies, analyzing policy papers, strategy documents, national plans and development frameworks and prepares briefs and inputs for policy dialogue, technical assistance coordination and development frameworks. The position inputs into, and develops population dynamic related knowledge products.
The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E will act as technical lead in population dynamics and monitoring and evaluation and will be responsible to guide and oversee the support to population data, data and foresight analysis, monitoring and evaluation, strategic information, and reporting at both country and regional levels. The The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E reviews the SIS and annual workplans to ensure that population dynamics intersects with plans and programming and supports the coherence of planned results. The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E coordinates all M&E and reporting responsibilities, supported by the Assistant Representative, ensuring timely and high-quality reporting, knowledge generation and management, and leading the processes of programmatic evaluation in line with UNFPA guidelines.
The Programme Specialist, Population Development / M&E supports establishing collaborative relationships with partners, UN agency colleagues, government counterparts and other development partners and assists advocacy and resource mobilization efforts of the Country Office by preparing relevant documentation including leading and inputting into project proposals and concept notes for funding as required. The post also contributes to the development of relevant documentation at a high level including inputting into project briefs, conference papers, speeches, policy papers and participating in donor and UN meetings, government coordination mechanisms and public information events as required.
Programme Management :
Lead technical and programmatic support for population, development and data activities
Analyze population trends, risks and data impacting ICPD agenda and SDGs
Oversee development of methodologies and tools for censuses and data collection
Build national capacity in census planning, data collection and analysis/processing and new technologies
Coordinate CO's M&E activities for Country Programme implementation
Facilitate inter-agency M&E coordination and UNSDCF work, ensuring quality reporting
Ensure timely data collection and analysis in line with programme indicators and evidence-based results
Provide technical advice for data analysis, RBM and M&E to staff, UN and implementing partners
Work with regional advisors on population and development and programme evaluations
Manage programmatic reporting to UNFPA APRO
Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development :
Provide technical support for national census, DHS and surveys, incorporating new technologies including GIS and satellite imagery
Integrate current population data into CO programme work, CCA and UNSDCF processes
Deliver capacity building through training programs and materials for national partners, UN colleagues and staff
Support South-South Cooperation and modernization of national statistical systems
Coordinate information systems management and program monitoring
Document and share M&E best practices and lessons learned
Conduct field monitoring and collect programmatic evidence
Support inter-agency UNSDCF monitoring and reporting ensuring and external evaluations
Manage risk, donor reporting and corporate evaluation systems
Evidence, Knowledge Management and Reporting :
Build coordinate, update and monitor country level knowledge on population data and promote dissemination, of knowledge, lessons learned, and success stories especially related to innovative practices for population data;
Support the analysis of quality data from administrative systems such as Health Information Systems and others. Support in-depth analysis of data resulting from the Cambodia Demographic Health Survey and other surveys.
Based on data analysis, review and provide input in the preparation of annual Country Office work plans from an PDD and M&E perspective and ensure that the monitoring and evaluation indicators are aligned to the CP and UNSDCF M&E Frameworks.
Coordinate the development of semi-annual, annual and other project reports as may be required that shows progress in relation to the work plan and the results framework at country and regional level, with a focus on impact.
Provide analysis of the data, its implications for programme implementation and initiate operational research activities that will inform and strengthen programme implementation.
Oversee the design of the annual reviews, mid-term and end-of-programme evaluations as required in collaboration with the regional office and its implications for programme management.
Ensure the UNFPA SP output indicator targets set by CO are monitored and reported in a timely manner in SIS/Quantum.
Technical Representation, Strategic partnerships and positioning :
Act as a focal point for UNFPA Cambodia in regional and country level technical networks in population data;
Lead and support the Data for Development Sub Technical Working Group and the Data Partners Group;
Participate in and represent UNFPA at national fora including all meetings on data, population data and statistics and promote UNFPA’s regional and global perspectives on population and development issues in line with the ICPD PoA.
Strengthen national and regional partnerships in population data and statistics and collaborate with UN agencies, academia, research and training institutions, think tanks, centers of excellence in Cambodia on population data and statistics.
Support the development of resource mobilization concept notes in PDD and across all programmes ensuring that the latest data and analysis are included. Ensure all proposals have a sound logical framework and M&E plan.
Support all mandatory donor reports preparation and compilation as per corporate and donor requirements ensuring that the latest data and analysis is incorporated into results reporting.
Act as a bridge between PDD, programming and communications by providing high quality results information to the communications and partnership Specialist including provision of results stories and case studies, human interest stories, quotes from stakeholders, excerpts from interviews and other results relevant to partnerships, communications and advocacy needs.
Perform any other duties commensurate with the complexity of the position, as required by the Representative.
Qualifications and Experience:
Education:
Advanced university degree in either Statistics, Demography, Monitoring and Evaluation or Social Sciences including Gender, Development Studies, or Public Health.
Knowledge and Experience:
At least 5 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the field of population, data and development, results-based management, monitoring and evaluation, statistics, and/or research methodologies; with additional years of experience desirable.
Post graduate training in use of data, statistics, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge in the health sector is an added advantage;
Data analysis skills and familiarity with statistical software (i.e. SPSS, Stata);
Experience in documenting results in a variety of formats including in human interest stories and more qualitative research and reports
Ability to write clear and comprehensive reports.
Experience in capacity building on analysis and data use, and aspects of M&E an asset.
Excellent computer skills especially Access, Excel, SPSS and GIS.
Strong interest in development work, especially the mission of the United Nations Population Fund and dedication to the principles of the United Nations; Knowledge of the UN system would be an advantage
