Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist PBF Project

Details

Mission and objectives

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA is formally named the United Nations Population Fund. The organization was created in 1969, the same year the United Nations General Assembly declared “parents have the exclusive right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education. Since UNFPA started its work, the world has seen progress: The number and rate of women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth has been halved. Families are healthier. Young people are more connected and empowered than ever before. But too many are still left behind. More than 760 million people are mired in extreme poverty. Sexual and reproductive health problems are a leading cause of death and disability for women in the developing world. Young people bear the highest risks of HIV infection and unintended pregnancy. Many millions of girls face the prospect of child marriage and other harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation (FGM). Much more needs to be done to ensure a world in which all individuals can exercise their basic human rights, including those that relate to the most intimate and fundamental aspects of life. In 2018, UNFPA launched efforts to achieve three transformative results, ambitions that promise to change the world for every man, woman and young person:

Context

The goal of the project, which is been jointly implemented by UNFPA, UNDP and UNICEF is to increase the number of women in leadership positions and decision-making platforms at all levels. This will be achieved by addressing some of the constraints and inhibitors preventing women from political participation, local community leadership structures and peace-building processes, namely legal frameworks, cultural norms, and limited competencies of aspiring women and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) advocates. The project will use the following approaches in addressing the constraints: strengthening national legislation, legal framework, and political parties’ bylaws to ensure women’s political participation, promote more women in leadership positions at the community level and empower female candidates through capacity-building. The workaround legal framework will notably support the passage of the women’s reservation bill and the adoption of the new Constitution. These documents have provisions to reserve 17 seats for women and persons living with disabilities at the National Assembly. The project will work with an inter-party committee to have by laws and strategies in place to create spaces for more women to participate in the political process through the political party. The project will work with the community structures like the VDC, WDC and traditional institutions to build the social capital of more women to engage in leadership and in the peace conversation within the community. The project approach is innovative as it aims to address inhibitors of women’s participation in leadership and governance through engagements with a diversity of stakeholders that can all play a different, significant role to empower women in politics and leadership more broadly: various wings of political parties; Women’s Branch of the Inter-Party Committee (WOBIPC) and the Youth Branch of the Interparty Committee (YOBIPC), as well as women-led civil society organizations, in ensuring active participation of women in peace deliberations and decision-making platforms, including political parties structure. The trajectory of The Gambia’s long-term political and socio-economic development and its ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will be impacted by the extent to which the entire population is empowered to contribute its ideas and talents to this end. Women have a full and equal role to play in this regard, as underlined by SDG 5 on gender equality, which includes a specific target to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life” (SDG 5, Target 5.5). The objective of this IUNV is to engage an International Monitoring and Evaluation specialist who will provide Programme monitoring and ensure coordination of results among UN agencies and partners and ensure timely implementation of the project across agencies. S/he provides overall technical support and quality assurance for monitoring and evaluation.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Country representative and direct reporting to the Gender/GBV Programme Specialist) or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will: • Assess the project’s performance and achievements vis-à-vis the project’s overall objectives and to conduct an impact assessment on the various subnational level beneficiaries. • Generate lessons learned from the implementation of the project’s activities and the outcomes achieved that will be useful for similar projects. • Assess the implementation process (efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability) • Assess whether the resources (financial, human, and materials) have been used efficiently and effectively for the desired impact on the target group/communities. • To assess the achievements of the project and to determine its overall added value to peacebuilding in The Gambia. • Coordination with stakeholders and program colleagues, draft/prepare M&E plans and associated M&E templates • Organize periodic joint evaluations and monitoring with participating agencies • In coordination with PBF Program Manager, collate and provide analysis of data and information, producing substantive analytical and informative reports • Develop accurate, realistic, and measurable baselines based on the project’s results framework. • Coordinate with Implementing partners across agencies in the Monitoring and evaluation of yearly/quarterly Work Plan exercises, providing guidance and quality assurance • Develop M&E mechanisms for the project, as well as relevant field-friendly tools, modes and systems for data collection, and subsequent analysis • Create, implement, and provide training on necessary monitoring and evaluation template. • Install sound monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure proper implementation of project activities • Provide mentoring as needed to colleagues (e.g. on baseline/indicator/target/results concepts • 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. 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. Results/expected outputs • As an active [insert name Host Agency] team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to [UNFPA] and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: - To assess the project’s performance and achievements vis-à-vis the project’s overall objectives and to conduct an impact assessment on the various subnational level beneficiaries. - To generate lessons learned from the implementation of the project’s activities and the outcomes achieved that will be useful for similar projects.  To Assess the implementation process (efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability)  To Assess whether the resources (financial, human, and materials) have been used efficiently and effectively for the desired impact on the target group/communities. - To assess the achievements of the project and to determine its overall added value to peacebuilding in The Gambia. - In coordination with stakeholders and program colleagues, draft/prepare M&E plans and associated M&E templates - Organize periodic joint evaluations and monitoring with participating agencies - In coordination with PBF Program Manager, collate and provide analysis of data and information, producing substantive analytical and informative reports - Develop accurate, realistic, and measurable baselines based on the project’s results framework. - Coordinate with Implementing partners across agencies in the Monitoring and evaluation of yearly/quarterly Work Plan exercises, providing guidance and quality assurance - Develop M&E mechanisms for the project, as well as relevant field-friendly tools, modes and systems for data collection, and subsequent analysis - Create, implement, and provide training on necessary monitoring and evaluation templates. - Install sound monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure proper implementation of project activities Provide mentoring as needed to colleagues (e.g. on baseline/indicator/target/results concepts)- Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment - A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.