Chief Planning Monitoring & Evaluation

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative (Programme), the Chief Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation will lead a significantly expanded responsibility which covers both strategic planning and partnership for the country office, as well as leading the detailed planning of the Sabah and Sarawak strategies and supporting development of a business model and approach for Brunei. This role incorporates Strategic Planning for the Country office including PFP, PME, Business Partnership, Child Rights Monitoring, Budgets and Knowledge Management. The role will bring a coherence and focus to the work across the office and the implementation of the East Malaysia strategies, and the planning and implementing of the business model for Brunei.

The Chief Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation will provide overall guidance to the Planning and Monitoring functions and overall programme partnerships in Malaysia and Brunei. The post will supervise 1 PME Specialist (NOC), 1 PME Officer (NOB), 1 Business for Results Officer (NOB), 1 Knowledge Management Officer (NOB) and 1 Programme Associate (GS6).

To lead the Country Programme planning, monitoring, reporting and coordination of the Annual/ Rolling Work Plan development.

To ensure that the UNICEF Country Office has useful, valid, and reliable information on the situation of children and women’s rights in Malaysia and Brunei.

To provide analysis of current trends in Malaysia and Brunei and provide advice on how to integrate these trends in delivery of UNICEF supported programmes in both countries, including their relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability and in case of emergencies, their coverage, coordination, and coherence.

To work within the UN country team to support UNCT goals for delivering valid and reliable information on reaching the SDGs and on the performance of joint UN programmes (when relevant).

To assist in the establishment of monitoring tools which enhance partnerships between the UNCT, government and other key players to collectively track progress on SDGs and other international commitments for children.

To assist in the development of national capacities for planning, monitoring and evidence generation, with special attention to the interest, concern and participation of government, community, and civil society stake holders.

Support the Evaluation Specialist in building national capacities for evaluation (NEC D), and conducting strategic evaluations of UNICEF cooperation in Malaysia and Brunei.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

Strategic Planning:

• Lead on the planning function of the Country Office, including programme prioritization, preparation of theory of change, identification of key risks and assumptions, drafting of the Country Programme Document, and drafting of the Country Programme  Management Plan.
• Review of such with relevant focal points at RO and HQ level, including through mid-term review exercises.
• Consult with key partners throughout the strategic  planning  process,  to  ensure that UNICEF priorities are in line with government plans and the UNSDCF.
• Lead on operationalization of the CPD through development of annua l workplans. Review key programme progress through mid-year and annua l review exercises with partners.

Strategic Partnerships:

• Support senior management on the strategic partnerships function  of the Country Office. Maintain close working relationships with key partner s in relevant government ministries and institutions in order to facilitate the planning and review functions.
• Ensure alignment of planning and monitoring function s with principles of the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT) approach of the UN.
• Oversee PME partnerships with civil society organizations through management of the Partnerships Review Committee.

Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation & Research Plan (IMERP)

• Ensure that the Country Office and national partners use a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities that will provide the most relevant and strategic information to manage the Country Programme, including tracking and assessing UNICEF’s distinct contribution.
• Duties & Tasks: Make professional contributions to and provide technical assistance for planning an d establishing the major research, monitoring and evaluation objectives, priorities, and activities in UNICEF’s multi-year and annual IMERPs, in consultation with child-right s and implementing partners. Likewise, support the development of UNSDCF M&E Plans from a sound results-based programming process. Identify the M&E objectives, priorities, and activities required for effective CO and partner Emergency Preparedness  and Response Plans.
• In humanitarian response situations, within the first month, draft and recommend a simp le one month data- collection plan to cover key data gaps as required for the initial emergency response.
• After the initial humanitarian response, support management of the medium-term response with a revised IMERP

Situation Monitoring and Assessment:

• Ensure that the Country Office and national partners have timely and accurate measurement of change in conditions in the country or region, including monitoring of socio – economic trends and the country’s wider policy, economic or institutional context, to facilitate planning and to draw conclusions about the impact of programmes or policies.
• Duties & Tasks: In coordination with other stakeholder s, support the collection of Sustain ab le Development Goa l (SDG) an d other key social development  indicator s (through  MICS or other surveys) to improve national planning.
• Support partners in the establishment and management of national statistical databases, ensuring that key indicator s are readily accessible by key stakeholders. Potential uses include the Situation Ana lysis, Common Country Assessment, Early Warning  Monitoring  Systems, and Mid -Term Reviews.
• Develop a collective Situation Monitoring and Assessment system owned by all key partners which supports the preparation of country level statistical and analytic reports on the status of children’s and women’s rights issues; and which allow, when opportunities emerge, to influence developmental and social policies. To include technical support to global reporting obligations including national reports on progress toward the SDGs, and toward CRC and CEDAW fulfilment In humanitarian response situations, provide profession al support for one or more rapid assessments (inter -agency or independently if necessary) to be carried out with in the first 48-72 hours, working in close collaboration with humanitarian cluster partners.

Programme Performance Monitoring:

• Ensure that the Country Office has quality information to assess progress towards expected results established in annual work plans.
• Duties & Tasks: Provide technical support to ensure that a set of programme performance indicator s is identified and adjusted as necessary, with inputs of all concerned partners to assess progress towards expected annua l and multi-year results in the context  of the  multi -year and annua l IMERPs, the Annua l Management Plan and Annua l Work Plans, as out lined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Manual).
• Coordinate with partners to ensure that monitoring systems are properly designed, and that data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardised across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring, with special attention to humanitarian response.
• Drawing on monitoring and ana lysis of key program performance and management indicators, provide profession al input to management reports, including relevant sections of annua l reports and donor reports.

Evaluation:

• Support the Evaluation Specialist to ensure that UNICEF – supported evaluation s are design ed and implemented to established UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to stakeholders to improve programme performance and contribute to wider learning.
• Duties & Tasks: Technically support programme partners to formulate Terms of Reference and evaluation designs of high quality, when relevant drawing on the know -how of knowledge institutions, in compliance with the organization’s programme evaluation policies and guidelines.
• Monitor and ensure the quality of the field work and data management during the implementation phase, and the quality of the analysis and ease of understanding during the report writing phase.
• Disseminate evaluation findings and recommendations to the intended  audiences  in user friendly methods. In particular to ensure that effective participatory feedback is provided to community and civil society stakeholders. Monitor and ensure that a management response to the findings  and  recommendations of the evaluation is completed, recorded, and followed up for implementation. Most  specifically, ensure that evaluation  recommendations are submitted to the Country Management Team and follow – up actions recorded in CMT minutes. Submit electronic copies of all evaluations to NYHQ via the Evaluation Data Base web portal, with full accompanying documentation.

PME Capacity Building:

• Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation capacities of Count r y Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead monitoring and evaluation processes.
• Duties & Tasks: Promote the awareness and understanding  of the shared responsibility of M&E function among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities organisation wide. In close collabo ration with partners, ensure that an M&E capacity building strategy for UNICEF/ UN staff national partners and institutions exists in the context of the IMEP, or UNSDCF M&E plan.
• Pay particular attention to the capacity needs of national partners such as professional evaluation association s will be strengthened by involvement in evaluation processes and through specific capacity building initiatives. Collab orate to implement capacity building strategies as a joint commitment with other developmental partners.
• Utilize a range of appropriate skills building strategies including self-learning, seminars and workshops and practical experience in order that UNICEF and UN staff have the basic knowledge and skills in understanding and ap plying new M&E policies, too ls, methods to fulfil their responsibilities.
• Similarly, design and implement strategies suit ed to the skill needs of national partners. Actively seek partnerships with know ledge institutions for the identification of capacity gaps and development of strategies to address them.

Coordination and Networking:

• Ensure that the UNICEF office is effectively linked to wider UNICEF M& E developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective M&E management.
• Duties & Tasks : Collaborate with Regional M&E Advisers and HQ Evaluation Off ice for overall coordination of priority research, monitoring and evaluation activities, especially those of regional scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.
• Partner wit h the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Adviser to ensure that current and accurate M& E data and results are included in regional reports, multi-country studies, and know ledge sharing networks.
• Undertake lessons learned reviews on successful and unsuccessful M&E practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate.
• Similarly, pay attention to M&E know ledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the CO and partners to improve their M&E function.

Impact of Results :

• Strategic Planning and Partnerships: The Country Office has strategic and annua l plans that align with government priorities and address gaps in the realization of child rights.
• Partnerships with external stakeholders (government, civil society, academia etc.) are fostered and allow UNICEF t o extend its impact on children.
• Monitoring, Evaluation & Research Planning: The Country Office and national partner s have a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities, developed collaboratively that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Country Programme.
• Situation Monitoring  and Assessment:  A collective Situation Monitoring and Assessment system owned by all key partners is in p lace, through which t he Country Office and national partners have timely and accurate measurements  of change  in conditions  of children, women, and their families in the country or region; this information is available to facilitate planning and measure program impact.
• Programme Performance Monitoring: The planning function  of the Country  Office  has quality information collected and disseminate d with the participation of all concerned partners to assess progress towards expect ed annua l and multi-year results.
• Evaluation: UNICEF – supported evaluations attain establish ed UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to stakeholders for improving programme performance and contributing to national and corporate learning.
• PME Capacity Building: The monitoring and evaluation capacities of  Country Office  staff and national partners – government and civil society – enhanced with the contribution  of UNICEF know ledge partners meet the expectations and requirement s of their positions and responsibilities.
• Coordination and Networking: The UNICEF office is linked to wider UNICEF PME developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective M&E management.

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

Education:

• An Advanced university degree in social sciences, statistics, planning development or planning is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional work experience in programme development and implementation.
• Developing country work experience and exposure to emergency programming is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Source:  https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/570429