Evaluation & Learning Plan. The programme section and national partners have a well prioritised and realistic plan of evaluation and learning activities, developed collaboratively, that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Country Programme.

Evaluation. Programme Section-supported evaluations are designed and carried out with quality process and products, in line with priority and strategy, and implemented according to established UNICEF policies and procedures, attaining established UN quality standards.

Learning and Research. UNICEF-supported learnings and research are designed and implemented according to established UNICEF policies and procedures, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to the intended audience to improve programme performance and foster organizational learning.

Capacity Building. The Evaluation and Learning capacities of the Country Office and partners – government, civil society, and others – are enhanced with the contribution of UNICEF enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead evaluation processes.

Effective communication and partnerships are achieved in carrying out planning of evaluation activities within the Country Office and with the Regional office, and with all other stakeholders, including national partners, the UN Country Team and the international community; and the results are shared with all partners to stimulate joint engagement.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS  

1.  Ensure that the Country Office and national partners have a well-prioritized and realistic plan of evaluation and learning activities, developed collaboratively that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Country Programme. 

• Support the preparation of PRIME submissions by different sections, regularly track progress and report to senior management about evaluation activities. Enhance the culture of evidence generation and use and make professional contributions to and provide technical assistance for the planning and establishing of major evaluation objectives, priorities, and activities in UNICEF’s annual PRIME exercises.

• Coordinate and support the development, approval and monitoring of the Costed Evaluation Plan to meet the UNICEF policy coverage norms requirements.

• Support and contribute to effectively joint evaluations with developmental partners, including joint evaluation of UNICEF or of multi-partner programs.

• Identify the evaluation objectives, priorities, and activities required for L1 or L2 Emergency Responses. In humanitarian response situations, adjust the prevailing PRIME submission plan in accordance with evaluation guidance for emergency situations. Likewise, adjust the PRIME in accordance with the transition through the stages of transition and recovery.

• Identify gaps in evidence, knowledge and work with sector specialists and officers to ensure these are addressed in planned evidence activities. Facilitate cross-sectoral collaboration in evaluation activities.

• Review if agreed evaluation activities are incorporated in CO workplans and are budgeted; and report on this to senior management in the form of a set of performance indicators.

• Consolidate evaluation and research plans activities within required systems and documentation, particularly UNICEF’s EISI system (Evidence Information System Integration).

2.  Ensure that UNICEF-supported evaluations are designed and implemented to UNICEF policies and guidance and established UN quality standards, and the evaluation findings, recommendations and reports are used and disseminated in a timely fashion internally and to stakeholders in order to improve programme performance and contribute to wider learning. 

• Help guide the programme section and partners to identify priority evaluation topics in accordance with the coverage guidelines of the UNICEF Evaluation Policy, and in accordance with the commitments contained in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and in the agreed country programme costed evaluation plan.

• Draft Terms of Reference for evaluations in consultation with programme specialists and programme partners and guide evaluation designs of high quality. Manage the recruitment of qualified teams of consultants.

• Support the overall day-to-day management as the designated Evaluation Manager on evaluations in collaboration with programme specialists and partners with the support of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.

• Provide assistance in tracking to ensure that a management response to the findings and recommendations of the evaluation is completed, recorded, and followed up for implementation.  Most specifically, ensure that evaluation recommendations are submitted to the Country Management Team and follow-up actions recorded in CMT minutes.

• Ensure that all evaluations follow UNICEF evaluation standards, the ethical principles and standards outlined in the UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis as well as UNEG norms and standards.

• Coordinate the review of key deliverables according to the Standard Operating Procedure of the office, by engaging an Evaluation Reference Group and colleagues in the regional office.

• Coordinate the validation of actionable evaluation recommendations, the formulation of an evaluation management response and the monitoring of its implementation.

• Promote the use of evaluation findings through the development of user-oriented evaluation products and their dissemination. Ensure evaluation findings, lessons and recommendations are incorporated in the Country Office Annual Report, Midterm review report, the Country Programme Document and any other UNICEF reporting and planning processes. Share lessons from evaluations through internal and external events (e.g., webinars, meetings, etc).

3.  Ensure that the evaluation and learning capacities of Country Office staff and partners – government, civil society and others – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead evaluation processes.  

• Guide the country office in identifying the appropriate learning, knowledge management strategies and approaches that enable the office to address its knowledge needs and learn from the implementation of the work plan.

• Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of evaluation, learning and review function among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities organization wide.

• In close collaboration with partners, contribute to an evaluation capacity building strategy for UNICEF/UN staff national partners and institutions in the context of the PRIME or UNSDCF M&E plan. Pay attention so the capacity needs of national partners such as government partners and professional evaluation associations by involving them in evaluation processes and possibly through specific capacity building initiatives.

• Collaborate to implement capacity building strategies as a joint commitment with other developmental partners. Utilize a range of appropriate skills building strategies including self-learning, seminars and workshops and practical experience in order that UNICEF and UN staff have the basic knowledge and skills in understanding and applying new evaluation policies, tools, methods to fulfil their responsibilities. Similarly, design and implement strategies suited to the skills needs of national partners.

4. Ensure that effective communication and partnerships are achieved in carrying out planning of evaluation activities within the Country Office and with the Regional office, and with all other stakeholders, including national partners, the UN Country Team and the international community; and the results are shared with all partners to stimulate joint engagement.  

• Collaborate with Regional Evaluation section and Planning/Data section and HQ Evaluation Office for overall coordination of priority evaluation activities, especially those of regional scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.

• Partner with the Regional Advisers and specialists to ensure that current and accurate evidence are included in regional reports, multi-country studies, and knowledge sharing networks.

• Undertake lessons-learned reviews on successful and unsuccessful evaluation practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate. Similarly, pay attention to knowledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the CO and partners to improve their evaluation function.

• Submit electronic copies of all evaluations to NYHQ via the Evaluation Data Base web portal, with full accompanying documentation

 Job Description Monitoring and Evaluation Officer 125643.docx