JOB DESCRIPTION

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background and Justification

Programme Monitoring is an increasingly strategic area within UNICEF, with its importance widely acknowledged across the organization. The adoption of the UNICEF Monitoring Procedure, along with the accompanying Guidance and Checklist, has further clarified standards and expectations for programme monitoring. However, the level of adoption and implementation varies across Country Offices, influenced by contextual factors and capacity.

To address these disparities, the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) Planning, Monitoring, Data and Research (PDMR) team is prioritizing support to Country Offices in strengthening their programme monitoring systems and practices in alignment with ESARO Programme Monitoring Framework. This support aims to enhance the generation and use of reliable monitoring data for strategic decision-making and adaptive programming.

In response to growing demands, ESARO seeks to recruit a consultant to assist with strengthening programme monitoring and analytics across the region. The Consultant’s deliverables will directly contribute to improving Country Office monitoring systems and practices, ultimately supporting more effective and responsive programming aligned with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and regional priorities.

Scope of Work

1. Goal and objective: Under the supervision of the Monitoring Manager, the Consultant will work on deliverables related to strengthening programme monitoring in the region
2. Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered: The deliverables will support ESAR Country Offices on strengthening monitoring systems and practices in the region.

The deliverables contribute to the following ROMP Outcome: ESAR Country Offices are supported to accelerate the advancement of Child Rights through strategies that transform gender and social norms, builds evidence-base and its use in advocacy, promotes partnerships, and responds robustly to crises, and regional stakeholders are influenced to advance child rights at scale through normative and intellectual leadership, policy dialogue, evidence-based advocacy and regional partnerships.

Related AWP Output WBS: 240R/A0/11/880/030 PPM GRP 2024-2025

1. Activities and Tasks:

The consultant will support key deliverables to advance UNICEF ESARO’s programme monitoring agenda, with responsibilities spanning analytical work, direct support to Country Offices and knowledge management.

Key areas of support include:

Review of Results Based Management (RBM) application and regional dataset for new Strategic Plan Results Framework (10%)

• Review the application of Results-Based Management (RBM) in selected 2025 Country Office (CO) Annual Reports
• Support COs in collecting and validating baseline, milestone, and target data for the new Strategic Plan Results Framework
• Provide quality assurance of the regional dataset for the baselines, milestones and targets of the new Strategic Plan Results Framework

Assessment of Programme Monitoring in ESAR (20%)

• • Assess the state of Programme Monitoring across 23 Country Offices using the standardized checklist and the Programme Monitoring Framework (PMF) Maturity Model.
  • Identify and categorize key gaps in CO programme monitoring systems and practices; develop actionable recommendations to address these gaps
  • Highlight best practices for replication and knowledge sharing.

 

Support COs on Strengthening Programme Monitoring (50%)

• • Provide targeted support to Country Offices in addressing key gaps in CO Programme Monitoring, including: developing Monitoring Strategies, Frameworks and Plans; establishing systems for triangulating implementation and results monitoring with budget utilization; creating samples and tools for quality assurance of results monitoring data.

 

Documentation of programme monitoring strengthening in ESAR (15%)

• • Document support efforts and outcomes as case studies to showcase successful approaches and lessons learned.

 

Knowledge Management (5%)

• Support the implementation for the global Knowledge Management (KM) Strategy within the region
• Contribute to regional KM platforms

1. Work relationships: Consultant will primarily work with the PMDR team in the Regional Office and liaise with other teams as needed.
2. Outputs/Deliverables:

 

Deliverable

Timeline

Cost, US$

Support and Quality Assurance of CO Annual Reporting and the regional dataset for new Strategic Plan Results Framework 

• Support on quality assurance of CO annual reporting
• Support COs on collection and quality assurance of the regional dataset for the baselines, milestones and targets of the new Strategic Plan Results Framework

28 February 2026

10%

Mapping and Assessment: Produce a comprehensive mapping of the current state of Programme Monitoring across ESAR Country Offices using the standardized checklist.

30 May 2026

20%

Support COs on Strengthening Programme Monitoring: Provide targeted support to Country Offices in addressing key gaps in CO Programme Monitoring

30 November 2026

50%

Documentation of strengthening programme monitoring in ESAR: Document support efforts and outcomes as case studies to showcase successful approaches and lessons learned in strengthening Programme Monitoring.

 

30 December 2026

15%

Knowledge Management:

• Support the implementation for the global Knowledge Management (KM) Strategy within the region
• Contribute to regional KM platforms

30 December 2026

5%

Desired competencies, technical background and experience

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in the social sciences, data science, management, development sciences, public health, education, economics, public policy, statistics, research methods or similar is required.

Work Experience

• A minimum of three years of professional experience with data analysis, monitoring and / or evaluation is required.
• Technical knowledge and and skills in the development and use of PowerBI dashboards is required
• Existing knowledge of UNICEF systems and datasets is an advantage

Competencies

The candidate is expected to uphold UNICEF”s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) and the following competencies

1. Drive to achieve results for impact
2. Manages ambiguity and complexity
3. Thinks and acts strategically
4. Works collaboratively with others
5. Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
6. Innovates and embraces change

Language Proficiency 

Fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency in another language is an asset.

Administrative issues

• The consultant will be based in Nairobi and the inclusive fee should account for any reasonable living cost associated unless they are already based in Nairobi.

Conditions

As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment made against approved deliverables.

• Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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 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.
• The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract is valid for the entire period of the contract.
• Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
• Consultant is responsible for determining and meeting their tax or duty liabilities in accordance with local or other applicable laws. UNICEF does not issue statements of earnings to consultants.

How to apply

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV form and technical  and financial proposals (including relevant samples of their work) to the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System).

Interested candidates to indicate their ability, availability, and rate for delivery of this consultancy expressed in US$ to undertake the terms of reference. The fees should be inclusive of other costs incurred.

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements