Consultant for Academic Partnerships for UNICEF Congo and other UNICEF offices in West and Central Africa

This  assignment aims to assist the UNICEF Congo Brazzaville Country Office  (CBCO) and other UNICEF offices in the West and Central African Region, in establishing an evaluation academic network that  would  build upon and expand further its recent efforts to strengthen ties between local universities and development partners through the generation and use more localized evidence.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

 

And we never give up.

 

For every child, advocacy

 

Objectives

This  assignment aims to assist the UNICEF Congo Brazzaville Country Office  (CBCO) in establishing an evaluation academic network that  would  build upon and expand further its recent efforts to strengthen ties between local universities and development partners through the generation and use more localized evidence. 

 

In particular, this assignment will  have three main objectives. First, to develop an evaluation training curriculum that could be integrated by different academic institutions within and beyond the CBCO into their regular course offerings.  Second, to forge a web of collaborations between Congolese universities and a number of similar institutions in other countries in the West and Central Africa Region (WCAR), including Cameroun,  the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Togo. Third,  to strengthen the scientific production on evaluation-related topics, with a special focus on child-focused methodologies, as well as the publication of related articles in open access and more widely accessible peer-reviewed journals across Africa.

 

As a result of the capacity development enable by the assignment, this consultancy will contribute to:   a) enhancing the professionalization of evaluation in WCAR through the roll-out of rigorous evaluation academic programs ; b) improving the quality of supply of evaluation services to development partners and national institutions across the region through the creation of a new cadre of academically trained evaluators ; c) promoting the compliance of both demand and supply of evaluation in the region with internationally recognized evaluation norms and standards; and d) increasing the exchanges on the most appropriate pedagogic approaches to use and materials to disseminate amongst universities across the region rolling out academic programs in evaluation.

 

In doing so, the assignment will build on other capacity development efforts supported by UNICEF across the region, including the conduct of national diagnostics of evaluation capacity and the launch of training programs aimed at parliamentarians and other government officials. 

 

How can you make a difference?

 

Scope of Work

Working under the supervision of the Congo Brazzaville Country Office Monitoring & Evaluation Officer under the technical guidance of the Regional Evaluation Adviser, and overall multi-country coordination from the Deputy Representative,  the consultant recruited as part of this assignment will support the CBCO in the:

• Design of an academic curriculum in evaluation aimed to be introduced in Universities and other Academic Institutions in the Region (this curriculum would build upon existing evaluation training curricula offered by international recognized institutions)
• Establishment and maintenance of an academic network for evaluation, which would not only promote more systematic scientific production on evaluation across the region  but would also foster the use of evaluation for policy-making purposes, especially in the interest of children’s welfare.
• Promotion of evaluation practices and child-centered methodologies amongst young and emerging evaluators involved with the network of Academic Institutions

 

In order to achieve the assignment objectives, the consultant will support the CO on the following activities articulated around three main axes:

 

Evaluation Curriculum Development

• To identify, in collaboration with partnered Academic Institutions and UNICEF Multi-Country Evaluation (MCE) Specialists across the region, the first cohort of participating universities in at least 7 countries across the region.
• To design and pilot a training curriculum adapted to the targeted academic audience (Master Student/PhDs). This curriculum will combine both initiation to evaluation principles, child-centered data collection methods and data analysis as well as practical experience on planned evaluations in the participating countries. It is worth mentioning that the consultant will be encouraged to build upon the evaluation curricula already used by international recognized institutions
• To identify and mobilize UNICEF internal expertise and external trainers to deliver theoretical yet practice -oriented training modules
• To devise a learner’s training assessment framework to validate participants’ achievements
• To monitor the implementation of the training programme, ensuring that all milestones are successfully achieved
• To evaluate the partnership, identify lessons learnt and make recommendations for potential scale-up and training formalization ( for example, through formal accreditation) in collaboration with the UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa (WCARO) and the UNICEF Multi-Country Evaluation (MCE) Evaluation Specialists delocalized across the region.

 

Academic Partnership Development

• Develop an engagement strategy that would foster the ties and collaboration amongst all the academic institutions participating in the initiative launched by UNICEF
• Develop webinars as well as well as other learning resources aimed at promoting the launch of joint initiatives aimed not only to strengthen the collaboration amongst academic institutions within the region but also to better place the concerned academic institutions vis-à-vis their other relevant institutions/agencies demanding and using evaluation in their respective countries (government, parliament, private sector, etc…)

 

Promotion of Child-Centered Evaluation Methodologies and good practices

• Launch and Moderate a regional community of practice aimed at sharing experiences, capitalizing on lessons learned and good practices in the area of child-focused evaluation methodologies
• Design a strategy that would enhance the sustainability of such initiative so that the academic institutions participating in it could take a leadership role and responsibility for its functioning at least 4 months before the end of the consultancy assignment
• To identify evaluations in each of the participating countries to which trained students could participate in as trainees so as to get practical experience in data collection and/or data analysis as part of the academic program developed within the scope of the assignment

 

Deliverables and Schedules

• An action plan detailing the timeline to go by and the milestones to achieve in order to fulfil the assignment objectives.
• Some more specific deliverables are envisaged as follows:

 

Evaluation Curriculum Development

• A compilation of major academic evaluation training curricula offered by internationally recognized institutions which would serve the basis of the one rolled-out as part of this assignment
• A strategy to pilot and field-test the academic curriculum
• A draft training curriculum outlining the different modules as well as the identified internal experts and trainers
• A revised and final curriculum including the results of the field-testing and the comments provided by UNICEF and the teaching staff at the concerned academic institutions

 

       Academic Partnership Development

• An Engagement Strategy fostering the ties between universities across the region
• At least 6 webinars and 10 blogs reflecting on the lessons learned by the different universities in the course of the assignment.
• At least 2 Articles on key lessons learned and good practices identified in the course of a) the design and roll-out of the evaluation academic training developed in the course of the assignment;  and b) in the establishment and maintenance of the evaluation academic partnership supported by this assignment
• Monthly reports on progress achieved towards achieving the envisaged  milestones and targets
• A midway report reflecting on experiences and corrective measures to take
• A final report highlighting achievements, challenges and evaluating the overall performance of the Academic Partnership Initiative at a national and regional level and recommendations for scaling-up (if and as necessary)
• A list of teachers and students (by country/region) that could be deployed to work on evaluation assignments as part of the academic training
• An online  or mobile based forum (such as Slack or any other type of easily accessible collaborative platform)  to host  an evaluation community of practice linking academic partners, young and emerging would-be evaluators and any other institutions.

 

Promotion of Child-Centered Evaluation Methodologies and good practices

• At least 3 webinars and 3 blogs reflecting on the lessons learned by the teachers and students on child-focused methodologies
• At least 3 Articles on key lessons learned and good practices identified by teachers and students in the area of child-centered evaluation (it would be advisable for the three articles to be published in the African Evaluation Journal)

 

 

Timing

The total duration of the contract is 100 days over the period from December 2021 to November 2022.

The consultant is expected to work remotely with the support of the MCE Specialists and the Regional Office.

 

Conditions de travail et déplacements

During the period of the contract, the consultant will be subject to the provisions in force at UNICEF relating to security, compliance with rules, standards and procedures governing United Nations personnel and UNICEF in particular. He / she must have his / her computer tools for the smooth running of the activities.

 

Applications submission modalities

Interested individuals with the required profile are invited to submit an offer by the set deadline.

The offer should contain :

1. Cover Letter including the proposed daily fee in USD;
2. CV ;
3. An electronic link presenting the consultant’s previous work on evaluation training ;
4. 2-3 recommendation letters or evaluation forms of recent works done, if available.

 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

 

Education and experience:

• Master in Social Sciences, Evaluation and/or Research Methods
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing training curriculum in Evaluation for an adult learners’ audience (either in a MOOC or University setting)
• Demonstrated experience in establishing and coordinating academic partnerships or other multi-country partnerships concerning topics such as evaluation, research, evidence-based decision-making, etc…
• Demonstrated experience in managing multi-stakeholder partnerships with a diverse audience
• Prior evaluation work experience with UNICEF in the past would be considered an advantage.
• Prior remote working experience on the same project over a period of 6 months would be considered an advantage
• Fluency in English and in French (Spanish and Portuguese would be an asset).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

 

Skills and capabilities:

• Demonstrated advanced skills in quantitative and qualitative  data collection and data analysis evaluation;
• Ability to engage diverse internal and external stakeholders on evaluation methods and methodologies
• Ability to provide capacity development in evaluation, including remotely ;
• Ability to work in and manage teams, conflicts and solve problems;
• Ability to communicate complex ideas and concepts clearly
• Ability to meet deadlines within minimum supervision;
• Good communication skills (writing and oral)

 

Desired Experience:

• Past publications on evaluation methods and methodology  in peer-reviewed journals;
• Application of andragogy and youth development tools and theories
• Familiarity with the use of GEROS and other UNICEF evaluation guidelines will be considered an advantage
• Management of evaluation team(s) and/or supervise monitoring/assessment staff and processes;
• Prior work in a multi-cultural environment;
• Work/travel experience in the West and Central Africa region.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

 

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

 

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

 

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.