Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

UNOPS Global Portfolios bring together a range of expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide.

With hubs in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and expert teams operating across regions, we lead complex, multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, peacebuilding and climate action.

We work in close collaboration with the UN family, governments and other local and international partners. Our work ranges from supporting mine action in some of the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected contexts, to expanding access to healthcare and clean water, to helping protect the environment.

From Geneva, UNOPS strives to facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment,  energy, climate and trade.

UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

UNOPS provides quality services, integrated solutions and management support to UN agencies, initiatives and partners in a strategic, cohesive, cost-effective and results-oriented manner. Geneva is also home to UNOPS Europe and Central Asia Regional Office

ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is seeking  a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist to support the team in assessing if progress is made in achiev­ing expected results, to spot bottlenecks in implementation and to highlight learnings that can be fed back into programmes.

ATscale is a cross-sectoral partnership with the goal of reaching 500 million additional people with assistive technology by 2030 to support them in participating in education, work, and everyday life.. 

Today, over 2.5 billion people need at least one form of AT, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, but in low-income countries 90% do not have access to the AT they require. The number of people who need AT is expected to grow to more than 3.4 billion people by 2050. Access to appropriate AT enables people with loss of function, disabilities, non-communicable diseases, and the ageing population to more fully participate in education, work, family, and community life. Lack of access to AT significantly affects individuals, their families, and the wider society. Without AT, individuals may experience isolation and exclusion from education, the labour market, and civic life. Increasing accessibility and affordability of AT unlocks unrealized economic potential and provides socio-economic benefits for individuals, families, and countries by increasing productivity and participation in the workforce.

ATscale is committed to ensuring that its investments have the maximum potential impact on the populations in need and are, at the same time, high-quality, appropriate, cost-effective, and relevant. Monitoring,evaluation and learning is critical for ATscale to collect information on the challenges that exist, in addition to progress being made, to inform ATscale’s plans to invest in the most catalytic and impactful activities. Having high-quality data will also support ATscale’s monitoring of progress towards the ambitious goal of reaching 500 million more people with life-changing assistive technology by 2030. An M&E framework was developed in 2022 and further refined in 2025.

The MEL Specialist reports to the Strategy and Coordination Advisor who provides direction and general supervision. He/she works in close collaboration with ATscale partners and other key stakeholders.

As part of the Global Portfolio Office, UNOPS Geneva provides comprehensive solutions in secretariat hosting, operational support, and fund management. We manage global programmes, including the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio, offering project management, procurement, HR, and financial services. Geneva hosts the secretariats of eight global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), humanitarian leadership (GELI), urban development (Cities Alliance), and disaster displacement (PDD). We also provide fund management for EIF and UN Water, and operational support to Geneva-based partners like the Global Fund and UNHCR. The EU-UNOPS Lives in Dignity (LiD) Grant Facility is also based here.

ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is seeking  a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist to support the team in assessing if progress is made in achiev­ing expected results, to spot bottlenecks in implementation and to highlight learnings that can be fed back into programmes.

ATscale is a cross-sectoral partnership with the goal of reaching 500 million additional people with assistive technology by 2030 to support them in participating in education, work, and everyday life.

Today, over 2.5 billion people need at least one form of AT, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, but in low-income countries 90% do not have access to the AT they require. The number of people who need AT is expected to grow to more than 3.4 billion people by 2050. Access to appropriate AT enables people with loss of function, disabilities, non-communicable diseases, and the ageing population to more fully participate in education, work, family, and community life. Lack of access to AT significantly affects individuals, their families, and the wider society. Without AT, individuals may experience isolation and exclusion from education, the labour market, and civic life. Increasing accessibility and affordability of AT unlocks unrealized economic potential and provides socio-economic benefits for individuals, families, and countries by increasing productivity and participation in the workforce.

ATscale is committed to ensuring that its investments have the maximum potential impact on the populations in need and are, at the same time, high-quality, appropriate, cost-effective, and relevant. Monitoring,evaluation and learning is critical for ATscale to collect information on the challenges that exist, in addition to progress being made, to inform ATscale’s plans to invest in the most catalytic and impactful activities. Having high-quality data will also support ATscale’s monitoring of progress towards the ambitious goal of reaching 500 million more people with life-changing assistive technology by 2030. An M&E framework was developed in 2022 and further refined in 2025.

The MEL Specialist reports to the Strategy and Coordination Advisor who provides direction and general supervision. He/she works in close collaboration with ATscale partners and other key stakeholders.

The MEL Specialist will directly contribute to the design of M&E systems and the availability of M&E results and performance data. 

The incumbent will ensure the quality and timeliness of execution of services and submission of key deliverables in the programmatic and monitoring and evaluation area, and if needed, propose innovative and proactive solutions.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Lead the development and implementation of programme/project performance indicators, log frames, results frameworks, M&E plans, and theories of change.

• Establish and coordinate plans for collection and analysis of data.

• Provide guidance and develop initiatives to ensure that the programmes are aligned with M&E principles and guidelines and assess Monitoring & Evaluation capacity of implementing partners

• Support capacity building of implementing partners in Monitoring and Evaluation

• Develop and maintain an M&E dashboard to increase and strengthen the quality and availability of country and programmatic data

• Review progress reports submitted by partners and provide feedback to improve the quality and timeliness of reporting, and ensure the capture of lessons learned.

• Draft programme/donor reports (narrative) as well as lessons learned reports that are evidence-based and practical.

• Ensure alignment of reports with corporate, donors or other stakeholders reporting templates and regulations

• Support team members by providing guidance and technical assistance in the area of annual planning, reviews and reporting, promoting a results and performance improvement mindset and M&E culture.

Learning

In collaboration with the Advocacy and Communications team, disseminate strategic information and share best practices:

• Interact and follow up with partners to solicit case studies, lessons learned, success stories, and best practices for internal and external sharing.

• Lead the preparation of success and impact stories, lessons learned, and best M&E practices for inclusion in internal and external communication products.

• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovative practices to ensure the office/programmes are continually incorporating best practice approaches.

• Provide coaching and support to facilitate learning-focused monitoring and evaluation processes, including the use of participatory methods (such as Most Significant Change, Outcome Harvesting), beneficiary and stakeholder feedback mechanisms and facilitation of peer-learning events etc. 

• Promote learning and exchanging lessons learned and good practices between partners

• Data Collection, Management & Use

Plan, design, and set-up data collection tools and management systems.

• Implement strategies to ensure data quality, including data validation checks, consistency checks, and error reduction techniques.

• Create data visualizations (charts, graphs and dashboards) to effectively communicate results, achievements and findings to stakeholders.

• Work on evaluation data collection and identify evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations and input them into programme reporting and learning.

  
  

Required

• An Advanced University Degree (Master's degree or equivalent) preferably in public health, political or social science, economics, international relations, international development, public administration, management or other related field

• A Bachelor's degree in the above with a combination of two additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

Required

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in developing M&E framework, learning and reporting tools for international development programmes is required

• Demonstrated knowledge of MEL methodologies for these types of programmes is required

• Demonstrated excellent writing and analysis skills is required

Desired

• Familiarity with disability rights and inclusion of disability in projects and programmes, as well as a foundational understanding of the CRPD and other international instruments and relevant frameworks is desirable

• Experience incorporating the engagement of affected populations is an asset.

• Experience working  in more than one low- or middle-income country is an asset, 

• Experience in a UN system organization is desirable

• Knowledge of web technologies and management information systems is preferable

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.