NUNV Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (KOLKATA)

Organizational Context & Project Description

UNICEF India Country Office has rolled out Country Programme 2018-2022, which will support the Government of India, State Governments and other key stakeholder groups in effective delivery of essential services to enable all children, especially the most disadvantages and excluded to have their rights progressively fulfilled and to develop their full potential in an inclusive and protective society.

The new country programme includes a dedicated outcome on inclusive Social Policy which focusses on provision of inclusive social services and social protection systems, that are based on evidence generation and support SDG implementation and monitoring, with an objective to make governance systems more child-sensitive and break the inter-generational cycle of multi-dimensional deprivations. The vision of the programme is; therefore, to strengthen government systems and financing to facilitate reduction of child deprivations, support development and implementation of effective policies of social and economic inclusion, especially for the most marginalized and vulnerable children and adolescents. Further, the inclusive social policy programme is also expected to provide curcial support in planning and coordinating UNICEF's support to districts identified as most deprived following multi-dimensional vulnerability analysis.

The overall objective of inclusive Social Programme will be achieved through the following result areas:

• Output 6.a: National, UNICEF Programming state governments and other partners have adequate capacity to plan, integrate, implement and monitor social protection programmes for children, adolescents and their familities especially addressing marginalized and vulnerable at most critical stages of life cycle and vulnerable situations (*urban slums, climate change impacts, insurgencies) by 2022;
• Output 6.b: Key decision makers at national and sub-national levels in UNICEF programming states have enhanced capacities to apply a child and adolescent focussed lens and establish monitoring and tracking expenditure with emphasis on two critical stages of lifecycle in budgeting cycle by 2022;
• Output 6.c: Institutional capacities of governments at state level strengthened for decentralized planning, implementation, monitoring and using feedback in planning processes by 2022;
• Output 8.a: UNICEF staff and partners are provided guidance, tools and resources to effectively plan and monitor programmes and report on results.

The UN Volunteer is expected to support effective programme monitoring and reporting of all programmes and the inclusive social policy outcome in West Bengal Field Office particularly in areas of equity-focussed evidence generation and research, strengthening data systems and use of data in planning and monitoring with specific focus on equity and coverage.

Living Conditions

Kolkata also known as Calcutta is the capital of the Indianstate of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. Kolkata is subject to a tropical wet-and-dry climate that is designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk

Conditions of Services

A 12-month contract; with subsequent contract extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) of Rs. 42,473.67 (Rupees Forty Two Thousand Four Hundered Seventy Three and Paise Sixty Seven only) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.

Interested candidates should submit their applications at http://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/operations/careers/.

Under the overall guidance of Chief Field Office and direct supervision of Social Policy Specialist, the UN Volunteer will provide support in evidence generation; situation/equity analysis, facilitating convergent planning and monitoring. More specifically, the UNV will:

• Support development of monitoring plans across programme outcomes and contribute in developing an overall monitoring framework and plan for the field office;
• Contribute to equity-focussed evidence generation to identify key bottlenecks that limit and enablers that promote services for the most poor and marginalized;
• Support programme clusters in research and reporting evidence based development results as strongly and accurately as possible;
• Support strengthening of government capacities, including decentralized levels of local self-governance on SDGs. Contribute to state SDS monitoring and reporting;
• Assist with innovative forms of data gathering;
• Participate in annual joint monitoring visits to assess the implementation of activities and progress towards the results and to formulate concrete recommendations to ensure the achievement of the expected results in districts of convergence;
• Support strengthen monitoring and tracking systems for expenditure on Children's issues;
• Support creation of a data support system for local self-governance structures to aid planning, implementation and monitoring of decentralized plans;
• Provide day-to-day support to Social Policy Specialist, including in the following activities:
  • Demonstrating convergent and multi-sectoral programming in convergent programming (performing low on socio-economic indicators) districts;
  • Strengthening the use of vital statistics for population enumeration and generating useful analysis to feed into planning and monitoring of key child wellbeing indicators.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Outputs

The key results expected from this assignment are:

• Mapping and analysis of social protection programmes and schemes being implemented in the state of West Bengal;
• Demonstration of an integrated data management and information system along with a decision support system for local self-governance structures;
• Propose differentiated approaches to overcome exclusion and reduce disparities on account of geography, age, gender, social group, etc.;
• Preparation of SDG Baseline Report and Roadmap for West Bengal;
• SDG Implementation and Monitoring Framework
• The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development dur-ing the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented.

Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations.

Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.

Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.

Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender;

Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;

Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary;

Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

The incumbent must be dynamic, multi-functional person, who supports UNICEF India with professionalism, dedication and client orientation. The following qualifications are required:

• Master's degree in Developjment Studies, Social Sciences, Statistics, Economics, Demography, etc.
• Excellent knowledge of computer standard applications (Word. Excel, Outlook, Access and PowerPoint)
• Excellent knowledge of statistical packages (STATA, SPSS)
• Excellent command of written and spoken English required

At-least 2 years of relevant professional experience in social development programming, research and evaluation with emphasis on social inclusion and diversity issues.

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

United Nations Volunteers reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this opening for other openings with United Nations Volunteers with similar assignment description, experience and educational requirements.