Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Spotlight Initiative Country Programme

Background

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the  European Union and the United Nations have launched the Spotlight Initiative (SI), a multi-year programme aimed at addressing all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), and harmful practices.  The Spotlight Initiative (SI) aims to support transformative change on the ground to end VAWG, in numerous countries globally, including the Kyrgyz Republic. The initiative comes with the highest level of commitment globally and will be governed by the UN Deputy Secretary General and the Vice President of the EU Commission. 

The SI in the Kyrgyz Republic will apply a comprehensive set of approaches based on social innovation, Human Rights, multi-sectoral inclusive response and survivor-centred principles to the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of interventions across the SI’s six Outcome Areas. Particular emphasis will be placed on integrating the voices and experiences and solutions of women and girls who face multiple forms of discrimination, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’. The SI in the Kyrgyz Republic has sought to reflect on current or common place models of ‘conducting business’ in order to propose innovative alternatives aligned with commitments to gender transformative and community-led approaches guided by adaptive leadership and a joint-One UN systems management approach.  

The Spotlight Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist, based at RCO, will support overall monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the Spotlight Initiative Country Programme. Reporting to and working under the supervision of  Spotlight Programme Coordinator based at RCO and working closely with the Spotlight Technical Coherence Specialist based at UN Women, the M&E Specialist will lead the development of the M&E plans for the Programme; coordinate monitoring, data collection, evaluations, research and reporting on the SI in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The M&E Specialist is part of a team leading an integrated approach to EVAWG. This position is a core function on the SI Kyrgyz Republic team and as such, they are a member of the SI’s Programme Coordination Unit working under a One UN frame and mindset without agency affiliation irrespective of where they are hosted. All SI Kyrgyz Republic email and communication will be in the context of one UN. The Programme Coordination Unit, under the leadership of the UN resident coordinator, works closely with the National Steering Committee (comprised of government stakeholders and the EU), the National Civil Society Reference Group, all Recipient UN Organizations (RUNOs), and implementing partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Lead the development of M&E plans

• Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive and realistic M&E plans and strategies with appropriate data sources, collection methods, analysis plans, quality controls and resource requirements, in cooperation with technical staff of RUNOs;

• Continually assess methodologies and instruments for collection, documentation, analysis and reporting of data for weaknesses and potential improvements and alignment with Ethical and safety guidelines for research and data collection on gender-based violence;

• Advise the Spotlight Programme Coordinator and the Spotlight UN team on the development and improvement of core implementation tools, including joint work plans; and
• Collect information on the latest developments of the use of new types of data sources and tools, (e.g. big data) for sustainable development.

2. Coordinate monitoring, data collection and reporting on the Spotlight Initiative

• Design and disseminate M&E resource materials, templates, and guidance documentation to RUNOs, and where relevant, implementing partners;

• Support inter-agency efforts on results and progress monitoring and reporting on the Spotlight Initiative working in close cooperation with M&E staff across RUNOs and associated agencies where relevant;

• Coordinate and participate in inter-agency work related to the collection and use of monitoring data, as well as evaluation and reporting;
• Develop SI Kyrgyz Republic monitoring plan and perform regular field visits and monitoring missions to ensure the quality and accuracy of collected or reported data;

• Ensure alignment of all research protocol, data collection tools, etc. with Ethical and safety guidelines for research on gender-based violence (GBV);

• Coordinate joint UN-EU-Government monitoring missions;
• Support the development and implementation of baseline, mid-term and final evaluations (as well as other planned research initiatives);
• Ensure results from planned research, mapping, etc. is shared across SI Kyrgyz Republic implementation team and stakeholders;  
• Supervise M&E consultants and contractors alongside the Spotlight Programme Coordinator;
• Coordinate evaluation validation meetings
• Document progress of the Spotlight Initiative Country Programme against project implementation plans, results matrix, milestones and targets;
• Mainstream key results achieved and knowledge acquired through ongoing M&E during the life cycle of the programme and communicate results effectively to SI Kyrgyz Republic’ Communication Specialist; and
• Based on the M&E information, advise RC, Spotlight Programme Coordinator, Spotlight Technical Coherence Specialist, Country Programme National Steering Committee and RUNOs on timely readjustments of strategies and corrective actions as necessary to ensure programme delivery.

3. Develop and expand strategic research and data partnerships

• Support the SI Kyrgyz Republic engagement with national data and statistical systems, facilitating this engagement with national entities and data systems;
• Communicate and coordinate with existing partnerships and help form new partnerships with a range of stakeholders to further the use of data science for elimination of violence against women and girls; and
• Communicate and coordinate with internal and external partners on data collection and programme implementation.

4. Knowledge management, dissemination and use of data on the elimination of violence against women and girls

• Facilitate the efficient flow of monitoring and evaluation data within RUNOs, EU, the Government and civil society partners and in close coordination with Spotlight Communication Specialist; and
• Identify, document and disseminate good practices and lessons learned and facilitate the sharing of such practices with the Spotlight UN country team, UNCT and partners.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously

LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility 

LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination

LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner

LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Technical competencies:

• Design and management of evaluation processes, including with multiple stakeholders
• Survey design and implementation especially related to topics of VAWGs and GBV
• Strong knowledge (and expertise applying) Ethical and safety guidelines for research on gender-based violence
• Social science research
• Results-based project/programme/policy planning, monitoring and management
• Strong awareness and sensitivity to gender issues and programming on elimination of violence against women and girls
• Understanding of human rights-based and LNOB approaches to programming
• Understanding of Results Based Management (RBM) principles
• Logic modeling/logical framework analysis
• Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
• Rapid assessment procedures
• Participatory approaches

Functional competencies:

Technical knowledge of policies and programmes on gender equality and elimination of violence against women and girls;

• Experiences in working on rights-based approaches including intervention models to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination;
• Demonstrates awareness and sensitivity regarding gender issues;
• Strong understanding of various methodologies in gender responsive monitoring and evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative, such as surveys, record reviews, focus groups and cases studies;
• Ability to contribute to the development of efficient and effective monitoring and evaluation methodology for programming;
• Ability to build and sustain effective partnerships with UN Agencies and main constituents, advocate effectively, communicate sensitively across different constituencies;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and in a team;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Demonstrates creativity and creative problem solving;
• Schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources; monitors performance against development and other objectives and corrects deviations from the course;
• In providing advice to the RCO and the UNCT, has the capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations; evaluates information accurately and identifies key issues required to resolve problems;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities; and
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in evaluation or relevant social science or other related field is required;
• A relevant Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) with two additional years of qualifying experience can be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.

Experience and qualifications:

• Minimum 2 years (4 years for a Bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in monitoring and evaluation, including hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Experience working on gender equality and human rights,  preferably in the area of elimination of violence against women and girls shall be a strong asset; 
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of programmes of one or several of the UN agencies would be a strong asset; 
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management and knowledge management/M&E systems.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Russian is required;
• Fluency in Kyrgyz would be a strong asset.

Application:

• Applications without UNDP Personal history form (P.11) will not be considered. 
• Please upload P.11 form instead of CV and combine all your documents into one single PDF file as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.