Research & Evaluation Specialist

Under the supervision of Chief Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, the incumbent will be accountable for the conduct of quality evaluation, research, and studies to strengthen the accountability and enable the identification of high-impact, cost-effective strategies for scale-up as well as strengthening the capacities of UNICEF staff and partners on this thematic with the following duties:

Evaluation conduct and use

• Assess the evaluability of proposed evaluation of the costed evaluation plans, as required, and make recommendations to improve the evaluability of the programmes or projects.
• Support programme partners to formulate Terms of Reference, with 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.
• Assist with the recruitment and selection of appropriately qualified evaluation consultants, ensuring that the selection process is in compliance with UNICEF standards for performance, accountability, transparency and ethics.
• 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.
• Work closely with external evaluation consultants/teams to enable them to deliver results according to the agreed Terms of Reference. Exercise sufficient oversight so that quality is assured, and any quality problems are detected soon enough that timely remedial action is possible.
• Ensure UNICEF-supported evaluations attain established 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.
• Monitor and ensure that a management response to the findings and recommendations of the evaluation is completed, recorded, and followed up for implementation. Ensure that evaluation recommendations are submitted to the Country Management Team (CMT) and follow-up actions recorded in CMT meeting minutes.

Research and Studies portofolio management

• Contribute to drafting quality concept notes and Terms of Reference in close consultation with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist with the recruitment and selection of appropriately qualified research consultants, ensuring that the selection process is in compliance with UNICEF standards for performance, accountability, transparency and ethics.
• Coordinate the peer review process of major research projects to ensure quality and compliance with the UNICEF Policy on Research and country office research priorities.
• Organize and facilitate bimonthly meetings with the Research, Study and Evaluation taskforce, to track progress of the Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (IMEP) and ensure the sharing of information among key members of the office and to monitor the proper integration of study, research and evaluations findings into programme implementation.
• Advocate for an increased consultation and participation of children and adolescents in planning, research, study and evaluation projects. Provide technical and ethical guidance for children consultation.

Knowledge Management & Innovation

• Ensure that the activities in the Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation plan are recorded and updated in the Evidence Information Systems Integration (EISI).
• Disseminate evaluation, research and studies 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.
• Developing and curate content, including reports, best practices, case studies, and other knowledge resourcesfor internal and external audience on relevant platform.
• Undertake lessons-learned reviews on successful and unsuccessful evaluation practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate. Similarly, pay attention to evaluation knowledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the CO and partners to improve their evaluation function.
• Develop an innovation strategy aligned to promote a culture of innovation throughout the Country Office. Identify emerging trends, technologies, and opportunities that can be leveraged to accelerate results for children. Capture and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and insights from innovative projects.

Capacity Strengthening and Partnership Building

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local/national governments and sub-regional governmental bodies, UN system agency partners, donors, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes, including universities, and the private sector. Support interventions related to National Evaluation Capacity Development, specifically collaborate with UN partners, Voluntary Organization for Professional Evaluation (VOPE) and Government on the elaboration of a NECD plan for the upcoming CPD.
• Ensure that sufficient systems and procedures are in place within the Country Office for appropriate ethics reviews of evidence activities as per the UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis.
• Collaborate with Regional Evaluation Advisers and HQ Evaluation Office for overall coordination of priority evaluation activities, especially those of regional scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.
• Partner with the Regional Evaluation Adviser to ensure that current and accurate evaluation data and results are included in regional reports, multi-country studies, and knowledge sharing networks.

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

The following minimum requirements:

Education:

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, economics, public policy, statistics, or in research methods

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the implementation of equity-focused evaluations and research
• Experience in evaluation design and in conducting evaluations as per UNICEF and UNEG norms and standards for Evaluation in the UN System in an advantage
• Experience in conducting high-quality research. This includes experience with research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
• Experience in supporting national evaluation capacity and working with professional evaluation associations
• Experience working with innovative and new methods, technologies, or approaches (e.g. big data analytics, mobile apps and technology) is an advantage
• Experience in developing effective and user-targeted communication materials for different audiences
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French. Fluency in another UN Language and in the national language of the duty station an asset.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/571685/research-evaluation-specialist-p3ft-bujumbura-burundi-127684