Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst [Independent Evaluator of Young Peacebuilders Latin America and the Caribbean] – Lumpsum contract

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UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.

New York Portfolio Office (NYPO) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, and bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.

The Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners’ programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York. The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations to implement the activities for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is an initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which responds to a broad consensus across nations, cultures, and religions that all societies are interdependent, bound together in their development and security, and in their environmental, economic and financial well-being. The Alliance seeks to forge collective political will and mobilize concerted action at the institutional and civil society levels to overcome the prejudice, misperceptions, and polarization that militate against such a consensus. UNAOC hopes to contribute to a coalescing global movement that, reflecting the will of the vast majority of people, rejects extremism in any society.

The complex, demanding dialogue of civilizations, cultures, and religions is necessary, possible, and fruitful. It is a critical tool against isolation, mistrust, and confrontation and is also the most powerful incentive for understanding and tolerance. History has shown that dialogue is not a simple process but that if we fail to teach and cultivate it, the situation can give way to a monologue or to mutism, which is conducive to conflict and violent extremism.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was created to serve as a soft-power political tool of the United Nations Secretary-General for conflict prevention and conflict resolution. It is a coalition against extremist forces; a movement to advance mutual respect for cultures, traditions, and religious beliefs, and a platform to bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization. The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was intended to promote collective action in society as a means of addressing the threats that emerge from the hostile perceptions that foment violence, overcoming cultural and social barriers, reducing tensions and improving relations between societies and communities with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, and combating violent extremism.

During its more than fifteen years of existence, UNAOC has pioneered a range of approaches and activities across its five priority areas namely, Youth, Education, Media, Migration and Women as Peace Mediators. The impact of many of its projects on the ground has been significant and measurable particularly those implemented with civil society organizations (CSOs) and youth-led organizations. Nonetheless, the context of the current global challenges is more complex than ever before. The multidimensional nature of the scope of today’s conflicts requires a new approach to conflict resolution and conflict prevention. Around the world, there has been a rising wave of violent extremism conducive to terrorism, growing intolerance, hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination, posing a threat to international peace and security.

This is a position in UNOPS for supporting the implementation of UNAOC. The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full administrative and financial responsibility.

Guided by the principle that youth are key actors in achieving peace and preventing violent extremism, as stated in the UN Security Council Resolutions 2250, 2419 and 2535, and the United Nations Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, UNAOC develops educational programming to enhance the ability of young civil society leaders to foster mutual respect, understanding and long-term positive relationships between peoples of different cultures and religions. One of those initiatives is Young Peacebuilders which is a peace education programme that UNAOC implements in different regions of the world to offer peacebuilding competences development to young civil society leaders. Learning objectives include, among others:

Learn about other cultures and worldviews within and beyond the group to foster intercultural cohesion and collaboration.
Learn about stereotypes and how to critically analyze them to reduce their prevalence.
Understand different perspectives in identity-based conflict and gain tools to develop solutions at local, national, and regional levels and transform conflicts peacefully.
Identify push and pull factors creating conditions conducive to violent extremism.
Develop competencies to use different forms of media or expressive arts to create alternative narratives, reduce polarization and promote social inclusion.
Reflect on how to increase meaningful youth engagement in their region.
Learn how to successfully design and run a project.

The aim is to support the growth of networks of young peacebuilders who are equipped with the tools to address stereotypes, prejudice, social exclusion, and polarization (both within and between their communities and countries) to build more inclusive and peaceful societies in their communities and globally.

Programme components:

Part 1: Online phase (2-3 months). Participants access the course through an online collaborative platform provided by UNAOC. UNAOC and other trainers facilitate the first few modules of the curriculum, giving an opportunity to participants to get to know each other prior to their first in-person meeting. They also start getting exposed to tools and concepts, engage in discussion and start reflecting on their individual and joint action.
Part 2: Face-to-face workshop (1 week). All participants travel to complete an intense in-person training. In addition, they work on development of their own action plans.
Part 3: Implementation phase (2-3 months). Participants stay connected through the online platform, improve their action plans and report on the implementation of their interventions. This part consolidates the network and follow-up mechanisms, ensuring the members of the group continue to support each other after the end of the programme.
Part 4: Final symposium (1 day). Participants are invited to participate in a symposium during which they share their experience, lessons learned, achievements, and recommendations with a broader audience of practitioners, policymakers, media and the general public. Additionally, they engage with this audience on topics related to intercultural dialogue, peace and security.

UNAOC plans to implement YPB in different regions of the world to grow and strengthen the global movement of young peacebuilders. The first edition focused on West Africa, the second, third and fourth edition were in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Subsequent fifth, sixth as well as the currently finishing seventh edition of Young Peacebuilders focused on Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC). As part of the project agreement, the donor requested an independent evaluation of this edition of Young Peacebuilders. UNAOC is seeking a consultant to lead that evaluation and to respond to the following questions:

Did the participants of the Young Peacebuilders Programme in the LAC region enhance their peacebuilding skills?
How did the programme contribute to that?
Based on the design, implementation, and impact of the programme, what recommendations do you have for the subsequent editions of Young Peacebuilders?

The evaluation must contain the following criteria: Relevance, Efficacy, Efficiency, Gender, Impact, and Sustainability.

The incumbent, responsible for evaluating the project, will work remotely, starting on December 1, 2024. The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full administrative and financial responsibility.

Functional responsibilities

In close collaboration with the UNAOC Programme Management Specialist – Youth, as well as the former and current trainers and participants of Young Peacebuilders, the evaluator will:

Review documents provided by UNAOC regarding Young Peacebuilders, including project proposal/design, implementation plan, selection process documents, curriculum of online learning programme and face-to-face-workshop, young peacebuilders’ action plans, and final project reports, etc.
Analyze the results of 2 competency surveys, taken by the young peacebuilders (pre and post programme).
Conduct phone or Skype interviews with young peacebuilders, and UNAOC trainers/staff.
Prepare and submit a final report, which will include an independent assessment of Young Peacebuilders’ design, quality, and outcomes and lessons learned/ recommendations for next editions of the Young Peacebuilders Programme. The final report needs to be a substantial document that provides findings and conclusions, which are based on robust and transparent evidence and which supplements UNAOC’s own data with independent research. It will follow the proposed structure and will contain, at least: an executive summary; an introduction (with the background, general data and objectives of the evaluation); the description of the evaluation object and its context; the methodological approach and techniques (questions and evaluation criteria, methodology and techniques applied, and conditioning factors of the evaluation performed); the analysis and interpretation of the information collected and the results of the evaluation; the conclusions of the evaluation in relation to the evaluation criteria; the recommendations; the actions undertaken to disseminate the evaluation; and, where appropriate, annexes.
Remain available for any follow-up questions that UNAOC and/or the donor may have in relation to the final report content and key recommendations.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

Deliverable 1: Evaluation Strategy
Due date: 31 December 2024
Payment (20 %)

Deliverable 2: First draft of the Evaluation report
Initial due date is 31 December 2024 with possibility of adjustment to 30 March 2025 (subject to project extension).
Payment (30 %)

Deliverable 3: Final Evaluation report
Initial due date is 31 December 2024 with possibility of adjustment to 1 June 2025 (subject to project extension).
Payment (50 %)

Education/ Experience / Language requirements

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

Education

First-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) preferably in monitoring and evaluation( M&E), education, political science, international relations, social and humanitarian sciences, law, public administration, or a related field
Any additional qualification in the fields of M&E is an asset.

Work Experience

Required:

A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible professional work experience in programme monitoring and evaluation, both at local and international levels.

Desirable: (The following experience is optional. Candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply)

Experience working as an evaluator in the context of humanitarian, cultural, and developmental projects is an asset.
Knowledge of UN Issues and Frameworks, including those relating to Education and Youth, is highly desirable.
Experience in the field of peace education, prevention of violent extremism (PVE), and promotion of youth development is desirable.
Solid experience in monitoring and evaluation methodologies.
Strong knowledge of project management, designing logical frameworks, and risk analysis.
Strong experience in issuing reports, recommendations, and findings.
Field experience is an asset.

Language requirements

Fluency in English is required.
Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Lumpsum – A Lumpsum contract is issued to engage an individual to produce a defined output or product within a specific time frame (e.g. a document, an evaluation, or to conduct a training course) in which case payment for those services will be made as a lump sum upon completion and handover of the product.

Contract level: IICA 1 (ICS 8)

Contract duration: Initial contract until 31 December 2024 (possibility of extension until 31 December 2025, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and necessity of services).

Duty station: Home based

As home-based position, it may be the responsibility of the selected candidate to make arrangements, to a standard deemed acceptable by UNOPS, for a secure internet connections, laptop and/or equipment necessary for work (as defined by UNOPS).

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx