The Regional Evaluation Officer job will be an outposted position based in the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa. Working under the overall guidance of the Head of the Evaluation Office (EvO), the post focuses on operational aspects of evaluation work. The incumbent will contribute to provision of evaluation technical support for both decentralized and centralized evaluations and possibly also inter-agency evaluation initiatives that requires interaction with key external actors e.g. UN agencies, donors, NGOs and wider evaluation communities.
The position will be supervised by and support the Senior Evaluation Specialist who covers East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes and Southern Africa in overseeing, process coach and quality assuring decentralised evaluations commissioned by UNHCR at regional bureau or country level, or jointly with regional partners. The position will also support management of Country Strategy Evaluations commissioned by the centralized EvO in HQ, which may involve engagement in the drafting of concept notes and Terms of References, management of procurement, and contracting processes associated with evaluation services, and provision of quality assurance on inception and draft and final evaluation reports. The incumbent will support the design and delivery of UNHCR evaluation-related capacity building efforts in UNHCR Regional Bureaux and Country Offices, contribute with an evaluation perspective to UNHCR’s Plan, Get and Show RBM Phases, and s/he will support the Regional Bureau, Multi-Country and Country Offices in identifying key evidence gaps and priorities and developing appropriate evaluative strategies and plans to address these.
The incumbent will closely collaborate with members of Multi-Functional Team (MFT) in the Bureau when planning and engaging in both centralised and decentralized evaluation exercise including solicitating inputs when responding to report recommendations to enhance effective engagement at the Bureau level and particularly from relevant sector expertise.
All Individual Contract Holders are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR, which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, Individual Contract Holders are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties and Responsibilities
Support the Senior Evaluation Specialist in managing or co-managing decentralised evaluations in the Regional Bureau, in Multi-Country or Country Offices, and providing quality assurance to evaluation methodologies and deliverables. Deploy scoping missions to build stakeholder support, develop and draft evaluation Terms of Reference, including defining key evaluation questions, as required. Oversee the successful completion of evaluations and reviews. Support selection and procurement of quality evaluation services (evaluation firms and individual consultants) and participate in the selection of qualified evaluation team members when appropriate. Support the Senior Evaluation Specialist in providing appropriate instructions and guidance to contractors, consultants, and experts commissioned to undertake evaluation work. Enhance the technical aspects (both quantitative and qualitative) of decentralised evaluations commissioned by UNHCR through expert advice and guidance. Inter-act with appropriate UNHCR entities with respect to the design, commissioning and management of the evaluation cycle and work programme. Contribute to mainstreaming of evaluation in programme cycle management and internal business processes. Under the guidance of the Senior Evaluation Specialist, attend and represent UNHCR at external meetings on evaluation. Contribute to the development of follow up mechanisms for evaluation recommendations. Respond to requests for details of the evaluation function work of programme and activities. Ensure that institutional knowledge, understanding, and practices associated with evaluation are strengthened. Provide guidance and training in evaluation work to UNHCR staff in bureaus and in the field. Work with Evaluation Office colleagues to design and develop evaluation-related training modules and materials, and deploy to facilitate evaluation-related awareness raising, training and/or capacity building sessions as required. Develop networks and associations with other evaluation communities to enhance internal knowledge management and expertise. Enhance the technical quality of UNHCR’s evaluation methodologies, tools, and procedures. Perform other related duties as required.
Qualifications and Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P3/NOC - 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree Choose an item.
Field(s) of Education
Social Sciences; Economics; Law; International Development, Anthropology or another relevant field.
(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Certificates and/or Licenses
Research & Evaluation Methods;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience
Essential:
Proven track record of evaluating and managing evaluations of humanitarian or development operations, programmes and projects. Experience with a range of evaluation types, purposes, objectives, and methodologies. Demonstrable expertise of evaluation norms and standards. At least 5 years applied research or M&E related experience. Good knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation methods/approaches, statistics, data collection tools and analytical approaches. Experience of leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams with variable evaluation experience. Experience of working with and influencing senior decision makers, organizational change and delivering challenging, or potentially contesting, key messages. Experience in developing and/or delivering M&E or evaluation-related capacity building content and facilitating. Experience of building effective working relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Desirable:
Formal qualification or certification in evaluation work. Substantial experience in a humanitarian or development context. Knowledge of UNHCR programmes and other humanitarian operations in a variety of geographical locations. Ability to write publications with minimal editorial supervision. Relevant work experience in field contexts, ideally including in refugee response contexts.
