Research & Evaluation Specialist – P3  

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

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For every child, every right

The UNICEF Malawi Country Programme (2024-2028) works through a One-UN approach based on the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) Strategic Priorities 2024-2028.  All four strategic priorities of the UNSCDF2024-2028 hold significance to UNICEF and the priorities identified for children: i) Economic Development, ii) Governance, iii) Human Capital Development, and iv) Climate Change. UNICEF co-leads the further elaboration and results in developing the Human Capital Development strategic priority. The intent of the UNICEF CPD 2024-2028 is fully aligned with these priorities, which are also directly linked to the pillars of Malawi Vision 2063, and the Malawi Implementation Plan (MIP, 2030). To this extent, UNICEF’s strategy for the CPD includes Child Survival and Development (Health, Nutrition and WASH), Education, Learning and Child Protection, Social Policy (Social Protection and Public Finance for Children), Gender Equality, Inclusion and Innovation within a robust evidence-informed environment. These are focus areas under the Human Capital Development Enabler of the MIP (2030). The Country Programme envisages the progressive fulfilment of the rights to survival, development, education, protection and participation of all children, including adolescents, especially the most vulnerable and those at risk of being left behind, in an inclusive, resilient and protective environment. Besides Malawi’s 2063 vision and 2021?2030 implementation plan (MIP), the African Union’s Agenda 2063; UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, Gender Action Plan III, Innovation Strategy; and the SDGs. The country programme includes child survival and development, learning, skills development and protection, and social policy. All components are supported by the programme and operational effectiveness and efficiency imperatives. Risk-informed programming across the humanitarian and development nexus in all three outcome areas will strengthen disaster preparedness, enhance climate adaptation/mitigation and response, and increase the resilience capacity of institutions, communities and young people. Programming aligns with UNICEF Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Transformative Agenda.

 Against this backdrop, the Research & Evaluation Specialist has an exciting strategic support role to the Malawi Country Office (MCO) on evaluation on child rights and poverty; research and analysis on child poverty and emerging issues; as well as situation monitoring, with the objective of generating evidence to inform policy advocacy, planning, budgeting and programming.

Through strategic child rights-focused research and analysis, the country office will have high-quality evidence for use in policy advocacy and sector planning and budgeting, particularly in child poverty. Well-coordinated support to the national research and evaluation capacity through capacity building and support to data collection exercises will strengthen the quality and availability of data for evidence-based programming and planning. As Research & Evaluation Specialist, you will  coordinate Malawi country office research and evaluation quality assurance, ensuring that these are of high quality and comply with the organization’s policies and guidelines.Your hands-on experience in statistics, research and evaluation, national household surveys and capacity building will be a great advantage to us.

How can you make a difference?

The Malawi Country Office offers an exciting and rewarding career opportunity to join our dynamic Research and Evaluation team. Under the overall guidance and supervision of the UNICEF Representative, you will play a crucial role in providing strategic support for the office’s work on strengthening national research and evaluation capacities, child rights situation monitoring, and conducting data-driven research and evaluation related to child rights and poverty.

Your responsibilities will include conducting strategic research and analysis on child poverty and emerging issues to generate evidence for policy advocacy, planning, budgeting, and programming. You will also coordinate UNICEF’s support for national statistical system improvements, ensuring high-quality national estimates on key child indicators. This involves capacity building in data analysis and enhancing mechanisms for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In addition, you will support the development and strengthening of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) frameworks for key national policies and plans, including building government capacity. You will oversee research and evaluation activities, ensuring quality assurance and fostering capacity development within the country office.

This job, therefore, presents a unique and significant opportunity for a qualified, vibrant, motivated and committed person to contribute to the overall achievement of transformative results for children with professional excellence and by delivering on the following key responsibility areas, but not limited to:

• Research and Evaluation: Develop, manage and oversee the Country Office Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation & Research Plan (IMEP).
• Child Rights Monitoring and Assessment: Support national statistical system to collect and analyse data on the rights of children, including SDG monitoring at national and sub-national level.
• Evaluation: Ensure that UNICEF-supported evaluations are designed and implemented according to established UN quality standards.
• Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Capacity Building: RME capacity building and strengthening of M&E frameworks for key national plans and policies to ensure robust monitoring of progress against targets.
• Coordination and Networking: Collaborate with Regional M&E Advisers and HQ Evaluation Office for overall coordination of priority research, monitoring and evaluation

You are encouraged to download the detailed Specific JD – Research and Evaluation Specialist, Level 3, #MLW24015.docx here in order to view the full role and its requirements.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have the following minimum requirements:

 Education:

•  An advanced university degree in Demography, Statistics, or another social sciences field is required.
•  Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/supplement the main degree are required.

            *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional work experience is required in statistics, research and evaluation, including experience with national household surveys and capacity building.
• Proven experience in effectively leading and managing a technically professional team to deliver results is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.

Technical knowledge and skills:

• Technical skill in evaluation design and in conducting evaluations as per UNICEF and UNEG norms and standards for Evaluation in the UN System in an advantage
• Technical skill in conducting high-quality research. This includes experience with research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
• Technical skill in supporting national evaluation capacity and working with professional evaluation associations
• Working knowledge with innovative and new methods, technologies, or approaches (e.g. big data analytics, mobile apps and technology) is an advantage.
• Technical knowledge in developing effective and user-targeted communication materials for different audiences. 

Language:

Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, every right

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter:

UNICEF competencies required for this post are?

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others and (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

The position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates from Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa regions  are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

Visa residence requirements: For National Officer (NO) positions, internal candidates eligible to legally reside and work in a country, independently of UNICEF appointment, are eligible to apply i.e.: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

To effectively contribute to the delivery of results for the children of Malawi, the UNICEF Malawi Country Office operates within a dynamic and results-oriented setting. We foster an environment characterised by creativity, innovation, collaboration, teamwork, a commitment to professional growth, and a safe workspace. Consequently, we are actively searching for individuals who are driven to enact tangible change and dedicated to serving Malawi’s children with resourcefulness, resilience, agility, and a commitment to professional excellence.

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