Evaluation Planning and Performance Officer

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

UNICEF’s Programme in Italy was set up in 2016 to respond to a large influx of unaccompanied minors arriving primarily through the Central Mediterranean route.

The UNICEF Evaluation Office (EO) is responsible for strengthening evaluation as an independent source of evidence for organizational accountability, learning, and decision-making. Its Strategy, Planning and Operational Coherence (SPOC) team connects strategic planning, performance monitoring, quality assurance, governance, learning and operational management across the Evaluation Office and the wider evaluation function.

The assignment will support implementation of the Plan for Global Evaluations 2026–2029 and related annual planning and performance processes. Key work includes preparation and monitoring of the Costed Annual Workplan, integrated planning across headquarters, regional and country offices, improved performance information and management-response follow-up, and coordination of policy and governance products. SPOC is also advancing the Evaluation Policy Implementation Procedure, Evaluation Handbook, Global Learning Committee and improvements to operational processes and management systems.

In the context of constrained resources and organizational transition, the assignment will provide targeted technical and coordination capacity across the planning/performance and policy/governance portfolios, with selected operational support. It will contribute to timely delivery, accurate documentation, consistent follow-up and effective collaboration across the evaluation function. The UN Volunteer will work under professional guidance and will not exercise delegated financial, procurement or policy approval authority

Under the supervision of the UNICEF Evaluation Specialist, the Evaluation Planning and Performance Officer will carry out the primary duties described below:

1. Support strategic planning, portfolio monitoring and performance reporting
• Support development of the Annual Report on the Evaluation Function (AREF), including coordination of inputs, compilation and quality checks of supporting data, preparation of analytical summaries and tracking of review and clearance milestones.
• Support preparation of the Costed Annual Workplan and associated workplans, planning calendars, milestones, consultation materials and consolidated inputs.
• Support consultations, user feedback, documentation and rollout preparations for EvalPlanner, the integrated global evaluation planning tool connecting headquarters, regional and country offices.
• Compile, validate for completeness and present routine performance information, including KPI summaries, portfolio monitoring and inputs to corporate reporting products, under technical guidance.
• Support the development and testing of the different spins for the ‘Ask EISI’ AI initiative by providing technical inputs in each of the different stages.
• Review, assess, and support the harmonization of different databases towards the development of a new version of EISI.
• Support the testing and validation of visualization tools as well as verify the consistency of data and information.
2. Support policy, governance and institutional coordination
• Support consultation inputs, feedback matrices, version records and follow-up actions for the Evaluation Policy Implementation Procedure and related guidance.
• Support coordination of Evaluation Handbook chapters, including author/reviewer follow-up, editorial schedules, review matrices and documentation for finalization and dissemination.
• Prepare background materials, meeting records, action trackers and briefing inputs for governance processes, including the Global Evaluation Leadership Team and other relevant coordination mechanisms.
• Support Global Learning Committee meeting preparation, documentation, learning-priority tracking and follow-up on agreed actions.
• Assist with coordination of inputs from regional and country-level evaluation stakeholders and relevant internal/external partners on functional planning, policy implementation and learning initiatives.
• Support coordination and follow-up of UNICEF's contributions to UNEG initiatives and working groups, including professionalization, learning and the development or revision of relevant guidance and training materials.
3. Contribute to knowledge management and innovation in performance systems
• Maintain organized and accessible repositories of SPOC planning, reporting, policy and governance products, with appropriate version control and confidentiality safeguards.
• Review all the current policies, guidelines, and frameworks available in PPPX portal related to the evaluation function and provide assistance in updating them when required.
• Support synthesis of lessons, consultation findings and practice examples for briefs, presentations, knowledge-sharing sessions and management updates.
• Contribute to exploratory work on performance measurement, including evaluation-function maturity, evaluation use and influence, and the quality of management responses, through desk research, data organization and documentation.
• Support coordination, documentation, consultations, testing and implementation follow-up for initiatives to strengthen evaluation information systems, quality assurance processes and related digital tools.
• Support preparation of learning events, workshops and practical guidance on improved tools and ways of working.
4. Provide selected operational planning and coordination support
• Assist with preparation and documentation of periodic AWP implementation and budget-monitoring reviews, including consolidation of inputs and action follow-up.
• Maintain selected tracking records for consultancy, procurement and operational workstreams, under the guidance of the responsible operations focal point.
• Support documentation of simplified workflows, standard operating procedures, and service arrangements Provide coordination support for SPOC meetings, mission/event logistics and other time-bound operational tasks as agreed in the consolidated assignment workplan.

The Evaluation Planning and Performance Officer will perform other related duties and assignments as and when required by the section and the EO.