Senior Evaluation Officer P5-Head of Unit

The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. In emergencies, we get food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After the cause of an emergency has passed, we use food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. WFP is part of the United Nations system and is voluntarily funded. To learn more about WFP's operations, please visit our website at: http://www.wfp.org

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.   ABOUT WFP   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are seeking to fill the position of Senior Evaluation Officer at the P5 level, based in the Office of Evaluation at our Headquarters in Rome, Italy. This is a specialist position and requires a high level of evaluation expertise.   As a major part of WFP’s accountability framework, evaluations assess the performance and results of policies, strategies, country portfolios, programmes and activities of WFP for accountability and learning to inform future direction. The Evaluation Policy 2016-2021 aims to strengthen WFP’s contribution to ending global hunger by embedding evaluation into the heart of WFP culture, ensuring evidence-based decision making in policies and programmes. In the coming period, WFP’s Office of Evaluation (OEV) will maintain its work on a variety of complex evaluations with continued innovation and improvement in evaluation quality and relevance. The Director of Evaluation heads an independent evaluation function within the WFp Secretariat.   ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT These jobs are found in Headquarters (HQ) and report to the Director of Evaluation. Job holders typically lead a team of staff working on key work-streams, provide second-level quality assurance for certain evaluations and are likely to manage directly the most complex and/or sensitive evaluations.   JOB PURPOSE  To provide independent evaluation evidence, assessing the performance and results of policies, programmes and activities of WFP for accountability and learning to inform future direction. Job holders are expected to take the lead on evaluation activity associated with a particular approach and/or thematic area.     KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)   1. Contribute to the development of evaluation strategy, policies and plans to ensure: a) timely and effective approaches to evaluating the performance and results of policies, programmes and activities; b) application of the normative framework, quality support, assessment mechanisms and reporting on decentralized evaluation. 2. Manage high profile and/or highly complex evaluation processes and budgets from preparation and design through to completion, meeting high professional standards in line with norms and standards and codes of conduct for evaluation in the UN system, embodied in WFP's Evaluation Quality Assurance System (EQAS) to ensure the production of independent, credible evidence and recommendations for future directions. 3. Source, recruit, manage and quality assure the work of external consultants to ensure the production of evaluations that meet EQAS requirements. 4. Engage stakeholder groups, both internal and external to WFP, appropriately in the evaluation process and manage communications. 5. Promote WFP’s evaluation culture of accountability and learning through analyzing evidence and lessons; preparing syntheses and summaries of evaluation findings and recommendations and presenting to these, tailoring messages to specific audiences and platforms, and working with internal and external stakeholders to enhance learning from and use of evaluation evidence in policy, programme and project design. 6. Lead development and implementation of a specific stream of Office of Evaluation work-plan, as assigned by the Director, providing functional supervision and/or line management to other staff working on that stream; provide coaching and guidance to staff to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance, and/or second level quality assurance on a particular type(s) of evaluation. 7. Lead specific evaluation expertise group(s) to enable sharing of experience and development of good practice. 8. Represent the Office of Evaluation as required in inter-agency forums on monitoring and evaluation issues and in professional bodies and networks, developing strategic relationships, as appropriate, to enhance WFP performance and results. 9. Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men. 10. Other as required.   FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES   Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency levelStrategic Management: Leverages in-depth, up-to-date understanding of humanitarian and development actions in different contexts and knowledge of global geo-political issues, monitoring standards and/or advancing international professional evaluation standards to define and adapt monitoring and/or evaluation functions that support and aligns with WFP’s strategic goals. Performance Management: Leverages knowledge of internal and external best practices and partnerships to develop and implement optimal monitoring and/or evaluation arrangements to improve the quality and credibility of monitoring results or the quality, credibility, independence, and utility of WFP’s evaluation processes. Qualitative/Quantitative Methodology: Oversees and provides guidance to others in the selection and application of high quality, credible, analytical approaches and qualitative and quantitative methods appropriate to monitoring and review requirements and/or evaluation needs across WFP at different levels. Technical Communication: Demonstrates sophisticated skills and judgment to communicate effectively strategic evaluation concepts and evidence to a range of internal and external stakeholders with diverse, complex and high stake interests. Analysis: Demonstrates advanced skills in listening, influencing and interpreting evaluation evidence, management information, partner relationships, and the wider geopolitical and policy environment to ensure the delivery of independent, credible and useful evaluations to improve WFP’s performance. Evaluation Competency: Excellent and up to date knowledge of evaluation ethics and ability to consistently apply this knowledge in all evaluations; able to ensure that ethics are incorporated into the evaluation process;  able to uphold ethics; and able to maintain independence and impartiality under pressure. Excellent knowledge of international norms and standards for evaluation, ability to communicate the essentials of the norms and standards to others apply them consistently in all settings. Excellent knowledge of human rights and gender equality to ensure that evaluation design, questions, and analysis incorporate this knowledge into all settings.   TERMS AND CONDITIONS    Non-Rotational Nature Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is however classified as “non-rotational” which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational.    WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.   Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with http://www.wfp.org  Click on: “Where we work” and “Our work” to learn more about WFP’s operations. http://icsc.un.org  Click on Quick Links > Salary Scales > by date http://www.unstaffmobility.org  Learn more about countries where the UN operates   DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS   16 September 2018   Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS   Education: * Advanced University degree in International Development, Economics, Social Science or other relevant fields, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.  Language: * Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working language, Portuguese.  Experience:    * Strong team management skills and proven ability to produce results to deadlines. * 10 years or more (of which at least four international) of relevant professional experience both in the field and in Headquarters in international development or humanitarian work, evaluation and/or policy studies. * At least 8 years’ experience in managing complex, global and country-specific evaluations including inter-agency and joint evaluations.   OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS    * First-hand experience in conducting as team leader complex global and country-specific evaluations (under time and financial constraints), in diverse contexts, assessing policies and programs including subject areas relevant to WFP (desirable). * Firsthand experience in evaluation quality assurance and assessment mechanisms. * In-depth, up-to-date understanding and knowledge of global geopolitical issues relevant to WFP’s mandate and the implications for evaluation policy and practice to achieve Agenda 2030. * In-depth, up-to-date understanding and knowledge of advancing international professional evaluation standards to define and adapt evaluation functions that support and aligns with WFP’s strategic goals. * Broad knowledge of diverse evaluation practices, concepts, and principles. * Demonstrated ability to communicate knowledge and skills effectively and remote coaching skills. * Membership in professional evaluation association and/or professional certificate in evaluation is highly desired. * French and/or Spanish speaking individuals are highly desired.