Job description
Background and Purpose of the Consultancy:
The IEO is the custodian of the UNFPA evaluation function. It reports functionally to the Executive Board and administratively to the Executive Director. The office is independent from the operational, management and decision-making functions in the organization, and is impartial, objective and free from undue influence.
The IEO conducts centralized evaluations, including select country programme, regional programme evaluations, selected major country-level humanitarian evaluations, as well as other types of evaluation exercises. It develops evaluation standards, criteria and methodological guidance and coordinates post-hoc quality assessment of centralized and decentralized evaluations.
The IEO provides the necessary capacity development on issues related to evaluation and engages in partnerships with professional evaluation networks, such as the United Nations Evaluation Group and the Interagency Humanitarian Evaluation Group. It also promotes multistakeholder and intergenerational partnerships to strengthen national evaluation capacities, with a particular focus on meaningful involvement of young evaluators.
The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) seeks to recruit a Young and Emerging Evaluator to support the implementation of centralized evaluations and other exercises outlined in the multi-year costed evaluation plan of the IEO.
Scope of Work
Under the supervision of the Evaluation Manager(s) within the centralised evaluation team at the IEO, the YEE will provide support across all phases of centralized evaluations and evaluative exercises. This includes the following duties and responsibilities:
● Create and maintain a repository of background documents and undertake preliminary document review
● Conduct a preliminary financial analysis
● Support stakeholder mapping, analysis and sampling
● Support the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data using appropriate data collection and analysis tools/software
● Support planning and logistics of field missions for evaluation teams, including IEO Evaluation Manager(s)
● Contribute to the drafting and quality assurance of evaluation deliverables aligned with UNFPA evaluation quality standards
● Support stakeholder engagement and liaise with internal and external stakeholders, including coordinating meetings and workshops with evaluation reference and advisory groups
The YEE will perform any other relevant duties as required by the Evaluation Managers within the IEO.
Duration and Working Schedule
11 months with the possibility of extension based on performance and needs of the IEO
Place where services are to be delivered
The YEE is expected to work in Nairobi, Kenya, at the UNFPA IEO Office. Applicants who are not Kenyan citizens must have a valid work permit to work in Kenya.
Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:
The YEE will report to the assigned Evaluation Manager(s) and will be expected to provide regular updates on progress against agreed tasks and deliverables. Reporting will be conducted monthly, as agreed with the Evaluation Manager, and may include brief written updates or check-ins.
Outputs will be reviewed and approved by the Evaluation Manager(s) prior to finalization. Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and approval of deliverables.
Supervisory Arrangements
The YEE will report to Evaluation Advisor in the centralized evaluation team at the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office and will work closely with three Evaluation Managers across the centralised evaluation team, contributing to multiple evaluation exercises.
Expected Travel
Travel will be determined based on needs identified by the IEO.
Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:
Education
● Undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s) in development studies, public health, social sciences, business administration, development planning, evaluation, statistics, demography/population studies, data analysis, or a related field
Knowledge and Experience
● Two years of professional experience in participating or contributing to evaluations ideally within the United Nations or other international organizations
● Strong knowledge of monitoring, results-based management and research activities would be considered an asset
● Technical knowledge of diverse evaluation approaches, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods and tools would be considered an asset
● Strong report writing skills
● Strong analytical skills including statistical analysis, financial analysis, and survey data analysis
● Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly in written reports and presentations
● Familiarity with the application of AI in evaluation would be considered an asset
Language
● Fluency in spoken and written English is required
● Fluency in Spanish or French would be considered an asset.
Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:
Conflict of interest and independence
To ensure independence, the consultants must not have had any prior involvement with the programmes/ interventions to be evaluated.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Evaluation Office work AI technologies cannot be used in the framework of this contract unless a prior written agreement is obtained from IEO. Upon this prior agreement, the consultant is obligated to disclose the utilization of AI tools in evaluation and commits to upholding ethical standards and accuracy in the application of AI tools.
1. Prior approval for utilization of AI tools: The use of AI tools must be explicitly agreed upon and approved in writing by the Evaluation Managers.
2. Declaration of the utilization of AI tools: If the use of AI tools in evaluation is agreed upon with EO, the consultant must be transparent and declare the use of AI tools in evaluation work and other work-related tasks, specifying the nature of AI usage. The AI tools utilized in work-related tasks must include only those tools that are vetted by IEO.
3. Verification of accuracy: The consultant commits to diligently checking the accuracy of AI-generated results and assumes full responsibility for its reliability and validity.
Ethical and responsible use: The consultant is obligated to uphold ethical principles in the use of AI in work-related tasks, as well as relevant regulations that govern the use of AI in the UN system. This includes the Digital & Technology Network Guidance on the Use of Generative AI Tools in the UN System, Principles for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the United Nations System, and UNFPA Information Security Policy. The consultant commits to employing AI tools that adhere to principles of non-discrimination, fairness, transparency, and accountability. The consultant will adopt an approach that aligns with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’, ensuring that AI tool usage avoids exclusion or disadvantage to any group.
Required documents (attachments)
Applicants must submit:
● A cover letter highlighting relevant experience in supporting evaluations and expertise in research and data analysis.
● An updated CV
Please submit your application to evaluation.office@unfpa.org with the subject line “UNFPA IEO Young and Emerging Evaluator, Nairobi”
Only those candidates who meet all qualifications and experience will be contacted for further consideration. Incomplete applications will be automatically disqualified.