International Consultant to Conduct Evaluation of the UNICEF Timor-Leste Country Programme (2021-2025)

Under closed supervision of the Evaluation Specialist, generate evidence and identify lessons which can inform the design of the next Country Programme 2026-2030 and adjustments.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Hope

Find out how UNICEF programmes drives change for children in Timor-Leste by visiting https://www.unicef.org/timorleste. 

How can you make a difference? 

Under closed supervision of the Evaluation Specialist, generate evidence and identify lessons which can inform the design of the next Country Programme 2026-2030 and adjustments.

The Consultant will contribute to organizational learning on UNICEF’s strategic positioning (i.e., comparative advantage and value proposition), and enhance its accountability to the Government, donors, UN partners and implementing partners. The results of this CPE are expected to be available just as UNICEF and partners and government begin to design the next Country Programme (2026-2030). The CPE will also inform the development of the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).

WORK ASSIGNMENT:

1. Inception phase: (after incorporation of feedback from Evaluation Reference Group) including methodology, final evaluation matrix, and evaluation instruments/tools).

2. Data collection, analysis, report drafting, and validation phase:

2.1.  Conduct a validation workshop (presentation of preliminary findings and recommendations to ERG)

2.2. Draft Evaluation report and evaluation brief* (after incorporation of feedback from Evaluation Reference Group and Validation workshop comments)

2.3. A stand-alone perception survey report of major stakeholder groups [government, other UN agencies and development partners, implementing partners, academia, private sector organizations etc.,]

3.  Finalization phase (after incorporation of feedback from Evaluation Reference Group)

DELIVERABLES:

1.  Inception Report* (by Mid June 2024)

2.1.  Zero Draft Final Evaluation Report* (by end August 2024)

2.2.  Validation Workshop (by mid - September 2024)

2.3.  Draft evaluation report, perception survey report, and evaluation brief* (by early October 2024)

3.  Final evaluation report, perception survey report, evaluation brief, and PPT slide-deck* (by end October 2024)

* For review by the Evaluation Reference Group -- allow 2 weeks for the ERG to review and provide feedback. All the deliverables must be compliant with UNICEF-Adapted UNEG Evaluation Report Standards, UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluations and GEROS Evaluation Quality Assurance Tool.

Please refer to the attached TOR for the details of the assignment.

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

• Master’s degree in statistics, economics, public policy, social studies, or Management

•  The lead consultant (team leader) is expected to form an evaluation team comprising up to 3 experts (a mix of international and national experts). UNICEF is flexible in the team’s composition provided the evaluation work is of high quality. A gender balanced and culturally diverse team composition, including national team members, is strongly encouraged. Examples of profiles could be as follows: 

  • Team Leader, evaluator by profession (International expert) – with minimum 15 years of expertise and experience in development program evaluation (including country programme and/or outcome level evaluations and evaluative activities jointly conducted with national government partners) preferably with a multidisciplinary background, strong strategic and analytical skills, familiar with the socio-economic context of South East Asian countries, and with good knowledge of UNEG evaluation norms and standards and experience in leading a team for UN evaluations. As team leader, he/she is responsible for preparing the overall work plan and overseeing its implementation, ensuring coherence of the analytical approach, and ensuring that all evaluation outputs are produced in an acceptable and timely manner. He/she will also be responsible for ensuring cross-cutting issues e.g., gender equality, equity and human rights, including child rights are well considered; ensuring ethical conduct of evaluation; ensuring adequate trainings for national team members/enumerators; also ensuring integration of the inputs of the other team members into a coherent evaluation report. Experience working with the UN agencies, particularly with UNICEF on similar assignment, with successful track record will get a preference.
  • Team member - (International  expert) – with minimum 5 years of experience in conducting program evaluations, assessments or reviews, knowledgeable of institutional issues related to development programming, and familiarity with the development context in Timor-Leste, as well as specific equity, gender, disability,  adolescent/youth participation, climate, humanitarian, and human rights issues He/she will support the team leader in the development of evaluation methodology and instruments, overseeing data collection and analysis, analyzing the findings and formation of recommendations, and drafting the evaluation report.
  • Evaluation associate/coordinator (National) – will be tasked to support the team leader in coordinating, organizing and documentation of evaluation meetings including the validation event, and all administrative and logistical support required to implement the evaluation.  Should be a Timor-Leste national.

    The lead consultant (team leader) is expected to form an evaluation team comprising up to 3 experts (a mix of international and national experts). UNICEF is flexible in the team’s composition provided the evaluation work is of high quality. A gender balanced and culturally diverse team composition, including national team members, is strongly encouraged. Examples of profiles could be as follows:

• Note: It is expected that the team will engage a gender specialist to provide guidance and technical support on gender-based programme evaluation as needed.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.