Evaluation Officer (P3)

Background:

The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.

The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna assists the Chairpersonship in its activities, and provides operational and administrative support to the field operations, and, as appropriate, to other institutions.

The Evaluation Unit is part of the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) within the OSCE Secretariat, in Vienna, Austria. It consists of one Head of Evaluation and three additional staff members. OIO is responsible for planning and delivering internal audits, investigations, and independent evaluations. In line with the Organization’s Evaluation Policy, OIO Independent Evaluations usually focus on cross-organizational strategic issues and thematic areas.

The work of OIO assures the adequacy of governance, risk management, and internal control, ensures compliance with the Organization's internal control framework, and enhances performance as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.  The Evaluation Unit aims to enhance the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of OSCE’s operations by conducting independent evaluations and promoting a culture of evaluation in the organization. In the OSCE, evaluation has three functions: to contribute to decision-making processes, to enhance learning and organizational development, and to ensure accountability for results.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Evaluation Officer will be part of the Evaluation Unit’s core team, and plays a key role in leading and conducting thematic and/or strategic Independent Evaluations from beginning to end, managing evaluation consultants where relevant. The Evaluation Officer is required to develop independently or collaboratively the objectives, scope, approach, and methodologies to be used in each evaluation assignment, to lead evaluation processes, and to prepare reports and other products, in accordance with applicable professional standards and internal guidelines. In addition, the Evaluation Officer will be responsible for reviewing draft products of peers, for the biannual follow-up on the implementation of recommendations, and for providing ad-hoc advisory and capacity building services to Evaluation Focal Points and Evaluation Managers. The evaluation officer is expected to perform evaluation duties in line with international standards and principles for evaluation, as established by the United Nations Group Norms and Standards for Evaluation and the OSCE’s Evaluation Policy. 

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Evaluation/Deputy Director of OIO, Evaluation Officer will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Contributing to the development of proposals for new strategic and/or thematic evaluations and conducting evaluability assessments to determine readiness for evaluation and appropriate evaluation scope, approaches, methodologies, budgets and timelines;

2. Designing and conducting evidence-based evaluations and strategic assessments of the OSCE’s work included in OIO’s work plan. This includes managing and coordinating evaluation processes, where relevant, in collaboration with other team members or external consultants, preparing key evaluation deliverables (including Terms of Reference, Inception Report, Final Report), collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative data, applying appropriate methods and tools for data collection and analysis, and applying evaluative judgement to answer evaluation questions and formulate credible conclusions substantiated by (triangulated) evidence; 

3. Managing evaluations that are commissioned to external consultants where relevant, and contributing to periodic update of the evaluation consultancy roster;

4. Developing communication plans and products for Independent Evaluations, and present evaluation results to relevant audiences;

5. Monitoring key KPIs of the Evaluation Unit for internal reporting, including through biannual appraisal of the adequacy of follow-up action taken in response to evaluation recommendations, and compiling relevant statistics on evaluation recommendation acceptance and implementation;

6.  Contributing to building a culture of evaluation and accountability in the OSCE through contributions to the internal Evaluation Network (including the Annual Evaluation Network Meeting, delivering trainings and workshops) and providing advice to OSCE evaluation focal points and managers on request on decentralized evaluations;

7. Performing other related duties as assigned. 

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Secretariat, please see https://www.osce.org/ secretariat . 

Necessary Qualifications:

- A first-level university degree in public policy, international affairs, evaluation or other social sciences that involve qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis;

- A minimum of seven years (five years with a relevant second-level degree) of progressively responsible experience leading and conducting complex (strategic and/or thematic) evaluations within or for international organizations and/or the public sector;

- Demonstrated experience developing high-quality Evaluation Terms of Reference, Inception Reports, and Final Evaluation Reports in line with international quality criteria, and with reviewing draft evaluation products of peers;

 - Demonstrated problem-solving and communication skills, including ability to identify and participate in the resolution of issues/problems, establish rapport with evaluation clients, and apply sound judgment in the context of evaluation assignments;

- Demonstrated technical evaluation skills, including: application of different evaluation approaches and methods; designing quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments and analysis frameworks, criteria and rubrics;  collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative data using relevant techniques and software applications;  applying evaluation judgement to draft credible conclusions and actionable recommendations based on triangulated evidence;  developing communication products and disseminating evaluation results;

- Knowledge of UNEG evaluation norms and standards, ethical guidelines, and developments in the field of evaluation, including integration of human rights and gender equality into evaluation processes, and experience applying evaluation norms and standards in practice, including upholding them under pressure;

- Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; Good command of other OSCE languages is an asset.

- Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;

- Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

- Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and relevant evaluation software applications (e.g. PowerBi, Survey Monkey, Atlas.ti or similar). Experience with responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in evaluation processes is an asset.

Remuneration Package:

Monthly remuneration is around EUR 7,800 with the actual monthly salary depending on post adjustment and family status. OSCE salaries are exempt from taxation in Austria. Social benefits will include possibility of participation in the Cigna medical insurance scheme and the OSCE Provident Fund. Other allowances and benefits are similar to those offered under the United Nations Common System. 

Appointments are normally made at Step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. In exceptional cases, an initial appointment at up to Step 3 may be considered. This depends on factors such as relevant experience exceeding minimum requirements or higher previous remuneration. Any such request by a candidate must be reviewed and approved by the OSCE before the appointment

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/. 

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment at a lower grade or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration. 

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

Candidates interviewed and found suitable in the recruitment process for this vacancy notice will be placed on a roster of suitable candidates (valid for three years) for fixed-term posts, should a suitable opportunity arise. The placement on a roster does not guarantee a future appointment or assignment.

Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States, please see https://www.osce.org/participating-states.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation, therefore the maximum period of service in this post is 7 years.

Please be aware that OSCE appointments are subject to medical clearance. 

The mandatory retirement age at the OSCE is 65 years for contracted positions at the general service, professional and director level. The Organization shall apply an age limit of 62 years at the time of appointment as the incumbent selected is normally expected to carry out the contractual obligation of two years. 

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.