UNICEF China Office is seeking an experienced international consultant to undertake a developmental evaluation (DE) of the strategic transition of the Office between 2026 and 2027.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to care

The Developmental Evaluation (DE) aims to accompany and inform UNICEF China’s transition process through real-time, utilization-focused learning. It will document strategic shifts, capture lessons, and foster adaptive management and organizational learning during the transition to a high-income country context.

Specific objectives include:

1. Document and guide the transition process, capturing strategic, programmatic, and organizational shifts.
2. Support adaptive management and strategic decision-making, including systematically identifying, monitoring, and mitigating risks associated with the transition through timely feedback and learning.
3. Strengthen UNICEF China’s learning culture, institutional memory, and evaluative thinking.
4. Analyze how leadership, culture, and processes evolve during the transition, offering lessons and insights that inform global UNICEF learning on operating in high- and upper-middle-income contexts.
5. Assess the effectiveness of the Country Programme Management Plan (CPMP) as a critical enabler for a successful transition including reflections on staff wellbeing, transparency and organizational culture.
6. Position findings to influence UNICEF’s global approach to working in high-income countries, including on SSTC.
7. Examine how the transition aligns with national development priorities, government reform agendas, and the UNSDCF, including how UNICEF’s evolving role is perceived and valued by government and key partners.

How can you make a difference? 

Timeframe: January 2026 – December 2027 (24 months), covering the critical early phase of UNICEF China’s transition under the CPD 2026–2030. The DE will focus on the overall transition process, including strategy, partnerships, organizational structure, and adaptive learning systems. It will not assess programme performance or results but will instead document and facilitate the learning and adaptation process.

The DE will employ a mixed-method, participatory, and systems-thinking approach. The evaluator will act as an embedded learning partner, rather than a purely external assessor or observer—independent yet engaged—working closely with UNICEF teams to capture, analyze, and feed back learning.

The approach will include document reviews, observation of key meetings, key informant interviews, reflective workshops, and short case studies. The DE will generate iterative learning briefs and facilitate quarterly sense-making sessions aligned with management decision cycles.

Importantly, the evaluator will be expected to further elaborate, refine, and expand the methodology and approach during the inception phase. This will include:
• Developing a detailed Learning and Reflection Framework for the CO, aligned with management decision points;
• Proposing additional learning tools and techniques (e.g., systems mapping, after-action reviews, real-time feedback loops, decision logs, reflective journaling, or adaptive leadership techniques);
• Establishing a systematic office-wide learning architecture that ensures insights are captured, synthesized, and
used consistently across programme and operations teams;
• Defining protocols for risk identification, monitoring, and mitigation, integrated into transition reviews.
The approach will be intentionally flexible, allowing the evaluator to respond to emerging opportunities, risks, and shifts
in context throughout the transition.

The total level of effort is estimated at 90 working days. The consultant will be home-based and is expected to undertake
three in-country missions, each of approximately 10 days, during critical phases of the evaluation.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review  CCO Developmental Evaluation ToR Jan 16 2026.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

The DE will be conducted by a senior external consultant with extensive experience in evaluation, learning facilitation, and UNICEF’s operating environment. The evaluator should combine strategic insight, technical expertise, and exceptional facilitation ability.

Education: Master's degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Evaluation, Economics, Social Studies, International Relations or other related fields

Work Experience:

• Minimum 10–15 years of experience in evaluation, adaptive management, or organizational learning.
• Proven expertise in Developmental Evaluation, utilization-focused, or complexity-aware methodologies.
• Extensive experience with UNICEF, including programming, evaluation, learning, or organizational change roles.
• Demonstrated facilitation skills to design and lead reflection and sense-making workshops.
• Experience supporting organizational transformation or repositioning within multilateral or UN settings.
• Strong analytical, synthesis, and writing skills.
• Familiarity with UNEG Norms and Standards, as well as UNICEF’s Evaluation Policy (2023).

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience in middle-or high-income transition contexts.
• Knowledge of system thinking, foresight, or innovation evaluation.
• Ability to mentor staff and strengthen internal evaluation and knowledge management capacities

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.