Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP

The Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP supports the oversight and accountability functions of the Executive Board and the management of UNDP, UNCDF and UNV. The structural independence of the Office underpins and guarantees its freedom to conduct evaluations and report evaluation results to the Executive Board. The IEO conducts independent evaluations and other activities according to its programme of work approved by the Executive Board. The work of the IEO includes:

• Conducting thematic programmatic and other independent evaluations, ensuring strategic and representative coverage of UNDP programmes and results against national, regional and global scales;
• Developing evaluation standards, procedures, criteria and methodological guidance for UNDP evaluations, and contributing to innovation in evaluation methodology and dissemination of good practices;
• Providing UNDP and its development partners with timely knowledge and lessons drawn from evaluations that can feed into development programming at global, regional and country levels;
• Assessing the quality of decentralized evaluations of UNDP, UNCDF and UNV, and monitoring compliance with best international evaluation and data collection standards, including the UNEG norms and standards, code of conduct and ethical guidelines;
• Communicating its evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations through multiple channels and maintaining a searchable, publicly accessible repository of all UNDP, UNCDF and UNV evaluations, and respective management responses and resulting actions;
• Supporting the development of communities of practice, and partnering with professional evaluation networks to improve evaluation utility and credibility;
• Supporting the harmonization of the evaluation function in the United Nations system, including contributing to the annual work programme of UNEG, participating in systemwide evaluations, and prioritizing joint evaluations with United Nations organizations; and
• Promoting national ownership and leadership in evaluation through country-led and joint evaluations.

Scope of Work

• The Research Analyst will play a crucial role in supporting the execution of IEO’s evaluations and syntheses products scheduled for 2024-2025. He/she will be instrumental in conducting preliminary research, data collection, and analysis, in collaboration with IEO evaluation managers. This position is aligned with IEO’s knowledge and data management strategy, and involves adhering to methodologies outlined in the country programme, thematic evaluation, and evaluation syntheses research and process manuals.

• In addition to general responsibilities, the Research Analyst will leverage project management and data analytics expertise to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of evaluation activities. The role demands a proactive approach to managing project timelines, resources, and stakeholder communications, ensuring that evaluation projects are delivered on schedule and within scope.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting surveys and gathering UNDP corporate programme documents, results reports, country and financial data, and any other relevant information for the countries and programmes under review, as well as externally available background materials;
• Utilizing quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to analyze data, discern trends, patterns, and key insights, and formulate evidence-based conclusions;
• Conducting comprehensive research, gathering pertinent data, and sourcing both primary and secondary data to bolster evaluation studies and assessments;
• Compiling data and uploading background materials to IEO’s common document portals and systems, such as ERC and Teams/SharePoint intranet;
• Performing initial desk reviews of materials, preparing analytical content, including infographics for evaluation reports and other IEO knowledge products;
• Assisting lead evaluators in examining country programme outcomes;
• Translating and assessing the quality of documents, as necessary;
• Coordinating the work of the Research Analysts team as necessary;
• Desgining PowerBI dashboards, coding and automating processes as required; and,
• Providing additional general research support as required by the IEO.
• The Research Analyst will be a vital member of the knowledge and data management section, contributing to a robust and dependable research foundation at the IEO. This role is key to supporting the successful and high-quality completion of evaluation activities, with a strong emphasis on project management and data analytics skills to enhance overall productivity and outcomes.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Research Analyst will be supervised by the Chief of Section, Knowledge and Data Management section, and will work in close collaboration with other units of IEO.

Competencies

Core

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Education requirements    

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Economics, Public Administration, Political Science, International Relations, or other relevant areas is required. OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated listed above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience              

• Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in conducting research in the international development context with expertise in the use of machine learning applied to development.

Required skills  

• Experience in using computer and office software packages, web-based data management systems; Microsoft Office Word, Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, TEAMS, SharePoint, MS Project, NVivo.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience in using various research qualitative and quantitative methodologies; monitoring and evaluation tools is desired.
• Experience in python and/or R, PowerQuery and PowerBi for data analysis is an asset.
• Prior work experience at or familiarity with the work of UNDP and/or other UN agencies is an asset.

Required Language(s)   

• Fluency  in English is required.
• Working knowledge of French or Spanish is highly desired.