Monitoring, Evaluation and Knowledge Management Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

For more than 25 years UNICEF has been working with the Government and people of Azerbaijan to provide every child with the best start to life. Our activities began during some of the country’s most difficult times, assisting refugees and internally displaced people from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and addressing the impact of economic hardships caused by the transition from Soviet power to independence in 1991. UNICEF now strives to build on the considerable progress Azerbaijan has made, economically and socially, over the last two decades. Poverty rates have dramatically decreased, child mortality rates have fallen, and primary school enrollment is almost universal. UNICEF focuses its attention on those children who have not fully benefited from such advances. We work alongside the Government, communities and families in Azerbaijan to reach out to those children who remain vulnerable or at risk, to initiate new approaches to child and youth development, and to strengthen the national capacities and systems that support children and families. We believe that to match the economic vision of the nation, an investment in the country’s youngest human capital – its children and young people – is one that will bring some of the greatest and longest-lasting dividends. As Azerbaijan’s presence on the global stage increased, so has its commitments to achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda. In doing so, it has also made commitments to ensuring that no citizen – especially its children – is left behind. UNICEF’s work in Azerbaijan reflects that commitment, as we help support the development of new policies, legislation, standards and models of children’s services. We bring our global knowledge and experience to enhance local capacity not only to institutions but to the communities and individuals who work directly with children, and we shape better decision-making and allocation of resources through collection and analysis of data on the situation of children.

Context

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) provides adaptable, actionable guidance to review, monitor and measure the implementation, use, learning, and impact of the initiatives and the components. The M&E outlines recommended steps towards developing monitoring and evaluation for the initiatives and programme. Additionally, this is expected to include suggested indicators that can be used to determine the relevance, usage, and effectiveness of the programme/projects and initiatives, as well as possible data sources for those indicators.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: Programme Performance Monitoring (30%) - Ensure that the Country Office has quality information to assess progress towards expected results established in annual work plans. Duties & Tasks: • Provide technical support to ensure that a set of programme performance indicators is identified and adjusted as necessary, with inputs of all concerned partners in the context of the multi-year and annual Evidence Information Systems Integration (EISI), the Annual Management Plan and Annual Work Plans, as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Manual. • Coordinate with partners to ensure that monitoring systems are properly designed and that data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardized across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring. • Draw on monitoring and analysis of key program performance and management indicators, and provide professional input to management reports, including relevant sections of the annual reports and the UNSDCF annual report. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Capacity Building (20%) - Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead monitoring and evaluation processes. Duties & Tasks: • Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of M&E function among all Country Office staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities office wide. • In close collaboration with partners, ensure that an M&E capacity-building strategy for UNICEF/UN staff national partners and institutions exists in the context of the Evidence Information Systems Integration (EISI), or United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) M&E plan. Pay particular attention the capacity needs of national partners such as professional evaluation associations will be strengthened by involvement in evaluation processes and possibly through specific capacity-building initiatives. • Collaborate to implement capacity-building strategies as a joint commitment with other developmental partners. Utilize a range of appropriate skills-building strategies including self-learning, seminars and workshops and practical experience in order that UNICEF and UN staff have the basic knowledge and skills to understand and applying new M&E policies, tools, and methods to fulfil their responsibilities. Similarly, design and implement strategies suited to the skills needs of national partners. • Actively seek partnerships with knowledge institutions for the identification of capacity gaps and the development of strategies to address them. Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) (20%) - Support and guidance are provided to the UNICEF Country Office and national partners on preparation to and the implementation of the MICS. Duties & Tasks • Support and coordinate the initiative on use of the MICS data for further analysis and generating evidence products. • Support preparation of the knowledge materials including data visualization, infographics etc. based on the MICS data. Knowledge Management (30%) - Ensure that UNICEF contributes to national, regional and international learning on child rights by systematically documenting and sharing knowledge, good practices and lessons and by supporting national partners and civil society to share the same with other countries. Duties & Tasks: • Coordinate the Country Office efforts to support the government and civil society in the identification of good practices in and support their dissemination within the country, regionally and internationally (as relevant) by partners themselves. • Undertake lessons-learned reviews on M&E practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate. Similarly, pay attention to M&E knowledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the Country Office and partners to improve their M&E function.