JOB DESCRIPTION

Females candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

The Position:

Planning Monitoring & Evaluation (PM&E) is a critical function in UNFPA. The PM&E Adviser provides overall technical advice, guidance and quality assurance for results and evidence-based planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation to the Region, and supports the strengthening of capacities and knowledge sharing and dissemination on these issues.

The adviser works in close collaboration with the Policy and Strategy Division (PSD) and the Evaluation Office in headquarters, as custodians, respectively, of the results monitoring and the evaluation function in UNFPA.

The PM&E will report to the Deputy Regional Director.
How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The PM&E Adviser promotes a culture of results and evidence-based programme management in the region. He/ she provides leadership and guidance to the implementation of corporate policies, procedures, principles, monitoring, reporting and evaluation norms and standards at regional and national level, to ensure relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the work of UNFPA in the Region.

The adviser will work within an integrated and coordinated approach, which is fundamental to the Regional Office and UNFPA’s overall strategy.

You would be responsible for:

I. Strategic Results Support

Contribute to the formulation of the Regional Programme, drawing upon the analysis of evaluative evidence of UNFPA work in the region and evidence stemming from corporate evaluations.
Ensure the integration of evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations in regional and country-level programming.
Provide support for planning, monitoring, reporting of the regional and country programmes in the region, ensuring the design and implementation of robust results and resources frameworks.
Promote results-based monitoring and use of monitored data in the country offices.
Provide oversight of regional and country programmes.
Develop and lead the implementation of annual work plans for regional programme and/or thematic evaluations.
Assist country offices in putting in place monitoring systems and preparing high quality costed evaluation plans.
Ensure result-based monitoring and evaluation plans are implemented, and results acted upon at country and regional levels.

II. Capacity Development

Conduct regional and country-level capacity-building initiatives in order to strengthen a culture of results and evidence-based programme management in UNFPA and partner institutions.
Ensure that all PM&E officers in the region are knowledgeable about UNFPA PM&E policies and procedures, norms, standards and guidance.
Participate in Evaluation Office and Policy and Strategy Division trainings and workshops.
Identify innovative evaluation methodologies, approaches and tools and promote their incorporation into UNFPA decentralized evaluations in the region.
Contribute to the development and adaptation of tools and guidance as well as training materials and manuals in monitoring and evaluation and support their use for capacity development of partner institutions and UNFPA staff in the region.
Contribute to monitoring and analysis of reports on humanitarian, economic, political and social factors in development and management of population and development programmes, such as the UNFPA-supported country programmes and sub-regional programme.
Contribute to identify and validate regional monitoring and evaluation experts;
Coordinate the Country Offices PM&E Focal Points Network to highlight innovations and Programme Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) bottlenecks in the region.
Establish and nurture partnerships with Monitoring and evaluation networks, professional bodies, national and regional institutions, other UNFPA regional offices, United Nations partners, UNEDAP, UNEG and other development partners, and promote peer-to-peer learning to further reinforce national and UNFPA’s evaluation capacity.
Contribute to the development of policies, procedures and tools for monitoring and evaluation, to the efforts of Program Support Division and the independent Evaluation Office respectively.
Identify talent for mentoring and further career growth among PM&E staff in the Region.

III. Evidence and Knowledge Development and Disemination

Contribute to the analysis, synthesis and dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge and new approaches to monitoring and evaluation practice, in particular best practices, and make recommendations for their adoption at regional and sub-regional levels.
Lead the Regional Office in ensuring the incorporation of monitoring and evaluation results and lessons learned in the updating of specific substantive strategies, policies, tools and approaches, and ensure their availability in the organizational system for lessons learned.
Submit regional and country programme evaluations to the Evaluation Office to be: (i) quality assessed; (ii) posted in the corporate website, and for publication in a timely manner.
Manage Regional Programme evaluations.
Disseminate to country offices HQ initiatives on results-based approaches;
Co-ordinate with other UN regional evaluation units and professional evaluation bodies for other evaluation activities, including strengthening national evaluation capacities;
Contribute to efforts by PSD and the Evaluation Office to implement initiatives towards the professionalization of the monitoring and evaluation functions.
Keep abreast of latest developments in the area of monitoring and evaluation.

IV. Quality Assurance on results and Evidence-based Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation

Advise on the validity of the monitoring and evaluation of regional strategies and approaches.
Promote the use of the evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations in the design of the interventions at the regional, sub-regional, and country levels.
Quality assure county office costed evaluation plans.
Provide technical support to country offices conducting evaluations of the UNSDCF.
Quality assure the country programme evaluation (CPE) process undertaken by country offices including drafting of the terms of reference, identification and selection of evaluation teams, review of evaluation deliverables and application of the Evaluation Office quality assessment grid to draft evaluation reports. Submit terms of reference of CPEs for Evaluation Office approval and potential teams for pre-qualification by the Evaluation Office.
Substantially support country offices undertaking different types of evaluations.
Facilitate all decentralized evaluations to meet UNEG norms and standards in line with, and in compliance with, UNFPA Evaluation Policy.
Support the Regional Office’s efforts to strengthen UNSDR Evaluation in the region, including support to the peer review group of UNDG.
Provide guidance to, and quality assurance for, the preparation of management responses to decentralized evaluations, to ensure their timely and quality preparation and follow up.
Collaborate and provide input to the Evaluation Office on: (i) the formulation of the quadrennial budgeted evaluation plan; (ii) the drafting of the annual evaluation report; (iii) the monitoring of the implementation of decentralized programme level evaluations; (iv) provide/coordinate regional contributions and recommendations in connection with the development and implementation of the evaluation policy.

V. Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Advanced University Degree or equivalent (preferably Ph. D.) in statistics, economics, public health or other social science, demography, international relations, international development, public administration, development management or related field with strong research and quantitative methods. Additional credits/ trainings on monitoring and evaluation are an asset.

Knowledge and Experience: 

10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in international development, of which five years at the international level;
5 years or more of relevant professional experience in managing complex regional, country or programme level evaluations including inter-agency and joint evaluations.
Strong track record of innovative leadership in managing evaluations, and proven ability to produce high quality evaluations.
Proven strong track record in setting up practical, results oriented development and humanitarian programmes monitoring systems.
In-depth, up-to-date understanding and knowledge of global and regional geopolitical issues relevant to UNFPA mandate and the implications for evaluation policy.
In-depth, up-to-date understanding and knowledge of methods and techniques to advance international planning, monitoring, and evaluation;
Experience working in a large, complex programme Country Office is a strong asset.

Languages: 

Fluency in English. French language skills are an asset

Required Competencies: 

Values:

Exemplifying integrity,

Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,

Embracing cultural diversity,

Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

Achieving results,

Being accountable,

Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,

Thinking analytically and strategically,

Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies:

Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships
Providing conceptual innovation to support programme      effectiveness
Evaluating the impact of UNFPA’s activities

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA’s workforce – click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements