Mission and objectives

UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. We help countries develop strong policies, skills, partnerships and institutions so they can sustain their progress The primary and overarching objective of United Nations Development Programme in Kenya is the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, and promotion of United Nations fundamental principles. A core dimension to the work of UNDP in Kenya is on Democratic Governance given the national focus on governance reforms. UNDP supports the country’s efforts towards achieving the Vision 2030 Political Pillar, which envisions a democratic system that is issue-based, people-centered, results oriented and accountable to the public. This Political Pillar gears to transform the country’s political governance across five strategic areas; The Rule of Law, Electoral and Political Processes, Democracy and Public Service Delivery, Transparency and Accountability, Security Peace Building and Conflict Management. These strategic areas are anchored in the Constitution, promulgated in August 2010 marking a major milestone in the democratic journey of Kenya and set a new threshold in terms of people-centred development.

Context

The Joint SDG Fund (the Fund) is an inter-agency mechanism for strategic financing that incentivizes transformative policy shifts and stimulates strategic investments required to catalyze and accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the country level. The UN Secretary-General sees the Joint SDG Fund as a key part of the UN development system reform by providing the “muscle” for the Resident Coordinators (RCs) and facilitating collaboration and coherence of the UN Country Teams (UNCTs). The Fund invests in national priorities as reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks with a two-folded value proposition: • Activate integrated policy and financing levers to promote systemic change and innovation at the country level to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs (the “what”), and • Advance UN Development System reform in terms of enhancing coherence and effectiveness by bringing together the UN system at the country level under the RC’s leadership (the “how”). As a part of its new 2023-2026 Strategy, the Joint SDG Fund is Incubating funding rounds for the SDG transitions which include Digital Transformation, Food Systems, Decent Jobs and Social Protection, Energy, Education, and Climate. The approach represents a part of the Joint SDG Fund 2.0 focused on a new generation of joint programmes designed to deliver impact at scale in an accelerated manner, ensuring sustainability and integration of policy and financing across SDG transitions. The main implementing framework represent the “engine room actions” for policy and regulatory shifts, mix of development financing (“deal room”, capacity building at scale, and the pipeline of bankable and market-ready project. As part of its Transitional Strategy 2023-2026, the Joint SDG Fund is prioritizing country support to promote transitions towards sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems as a catalytic investment for SDGs acceleration. – The project: This UNV assignment is part of the United Nations Evaluation Group-United Nations Volunteers (UNEG-UNV) young evaluator programme. The programme seeks to recruit and deploy young monitoring and evaluation (M&E) professionals across the UN system, at national and international levels, to support the effective delivery of Agenda 2030 and enhance national evaluation capacity development. The young evaluator programme was initiated by the UNEG working group on young and emerging evaluators in 2023 and was endorsed with commitments by the Heads of Evaluation Offices of various UN agencies during the 2024 UNEG Annual General Meeting. This programme represents a renewal of the initial partnership in 2018. The 2018 partnership recognized an opportunity to complement existing M&E capacities in the UN system through the deployment of youth UNVs and advocated for a coalition of UN entities to support this effort. Over 1,800 people registered and submitted applications to volunteer under the 2018 initiative with a representation of over 100 different nationalities and more than 56 per cent of applicants being from the Global South. The young evaluators programme aims to build upon the achievements of the 2018 coalition, expanding its targets and outreach as more organizations pledge their commitments to building capacities of youth in evaluation.

Task Description

Under the direct guidance of the Reporting & Evaluation Specialist/Manager the UNV Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will undertake the following tasks: • Support development of results monitoring frameworks, including establishing baselines (based on relevant situational, needs and conflict analysis), setting targets, developing indicators (qualitative and quantitative), identification of data sources and risks and assumptions, identifying staff responsible for monitoring and frequency of monitoring. • Support evaluations commissioned by the organization. • Support the planning stage of evaluations by contributing towards the development of evaluation terms of reference, the selection of the evaluation team and establishment of reference groups. • Provide technical support in appropriate methods of data collection, data analysis information management systems, data processing and analysis relevant to the evaluations. • Support the dissemination and use of evaluation results. • As appropriate, assist overall M&E capacity building activities; support for staff to address all issues, challenges and policy questions relating to M&E in the office; when working with national staff or (non-)governmental counterparts, set aside dedicated time for capacity development through coaching, mentoring and formal and on-the-job training. • Assist with organizing, coordinating and monitoring and evaluation missions. • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Competencies and values

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UN Joint SDG Fund; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UN Joint SDG Fund procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, detail oriented and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and MPTFO/UNDP in daily activities and behaviors while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior; does not abuse power or authority. • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. • Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities. • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;

Living conditions and remarks

The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment is modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is highland cool and warm tropical climate. Link to the Entitlement Calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator