Senior Evaluation Specialist – P4

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, takes the lead in protecting people forced to flee wars and persecution around the world, providing life-saving aid including shelter, food and water to ensure their basic safety, rights and dignity. With 16,803 women and men working in 134​ countries, we work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of 70.8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

Our dedicated and professional staff work around the clock in roles including legal protection, community services, public affairs, health and more. Despite the challenges they can face, our staff are proud to work for UNHCR and determined to make a positive impact. Our colleagues bring a wide range of specialized skills, including expertise in legal protection, administration, community services, public affairs, health and other disciplines.

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. We work with skilled professionals who are committed to put people first, make a real difference in people's lives and are willing to go anywhere we are needed to get the job done. We need committed and passionate people who strongly believe in what they do and whose work ethic and motivation inspire others. We seek new talent and skills to respond to the needs of people forced to flee across the globe. Thus, we are looking for candidates who thrive in a diverse and multi-cultural work environment and are keen to bring new innovative ideas, skills and solutions to help build a better future for people forced to flee.

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Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Senior Evaluation Officer job may exist in Headquarters or in a Regional Bureau. In HQ, the job is in the Evaluation Office (EvO) in UNHCR Headquarters Geneva. Working under the supervision of the Head of Office, the post focuses on normative and operational aspects of evaluation work, norms, standards and guidance. This requires contributing to the technical support for both centralized and decentralized evaluation, and to the design, commissioning, management and follow up of a range of different types of evaluative work undertaken by the Office. It includes UNHCR's contributions to inter-agency evaluation initiatives and thereby requires interaction with key external actors in the UN agency, donor, NGO and wider evaluation communities.

In a Regional Bureau working under the overall leadership of the Senior Evaluation Coordinator, the position will complement existing HQ evaluation capacity to lead on the development of organizational norms for evaluation, guidance and tools, planning and delivery of country strategy and decentralised evaluations with UNHCR regional bureau and country operation colleagues (including the development of evaluation Terms of Reference, procurement and contract management of evaluation services, and providing quality assurance of evaluation deliverables). The incumbent directly participates in decentralised evaluation processes at a Regional Bureau and country operation level as relevant and required. S/he supports the design and delivery of UNHCR evaluation-related capacity building efforts in UNHCR Regional Bureaux and Country Offices. S/he also supports the Regional Bureau, Multi-Country Office and Country Office to identify key evidence gaps and priorities and develop appropriate evaluative strategies and plans to address these.

All UNHCR staff members 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, staff members 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

In Headquarters

• Lead the design and timely management of global independent strategic, thematic and/or Level 3 Emergency Response Evaluations.
• Deploy on mission as needed, notably scoping and draft report/ recommendation co-creation phases to build stakeholder involvement and ensure products are developed to standard.
• Lead the dissemination and follow-up activities on global and/or L3 Emergency Response Evaluations.
• Contribute to strengthening the global normative evaluation framework, including the revision of policies, strategies and procedures.
• Enhance the technical quality of UNHCR's evaluation approaches, methodologies and tools.

Lead, where requested, the updating of technical evaluation guidelines and capacity development products and services.

• Contribute to the preparation of other technical evaluation products including evaluation syntheses.
• Lead and participate in the selection and procurement of quality evaluation services (evaluation firms and individual consultants).
• Provide technical assistance and quality assure decentralized evaluations commissioned by divisions.
• Respond to requests for details of the evaluation work programme and activities.
• Participate in conferences, workshops, and seminars relevant to UNHCR's evaluation work and contribute to UN professional evaluation practice through active participation in UN Evaluation Group working groups and events.
• Provide technical continuity and advice on specialist evaluation areas to rotational colleagues.

In a Regional Bureau

• Lead the design and management of independent Country Strategy Evaluations (CSEs).
• Deploy on mission as needed, notably scoping and draft report/ recommendation co-creation phases for CSEs and technical assistance in commissioning and design of decentralized evaluations to build stakeholder involvement and ensure products are developed to standard.
• Lead the dissemination and follow-up activities of independent CSEs.
• Contribute to strengthening the global normative evaluation framework, including the revision of policies and procedures with a specific emphasis on those relevant to the decentralized evaluation function.
• Enhance the technical quality of UNHCR's evaluation approaches, methodologies and tools.
• Lead, where requested, the updating of technical evaluation guidelines and capacity development products and services.
• Contribute to the preparation of other technical evaluation products including evaluation syntheses.
• Lead the development and strengthening of the evaluation function within the region, including generating awareness and demand among senior management at bureau and operation levels; establishing a regional work programme, building a network of focal points, generating resources, and supporting decentralized evaluation conduct in line policy requirements.
• Enhance the technical aspects (both quantitative and qualitative) of decentralised evaluations commissioned by UNHCR are improved through expert advice and guidance.
• Ensure the quality of decentralized evaluations commissioned by regional bureaux and country operations.
• Contribute to the design of evaluation-related training modules and materials for the decentralized function, and deploy to facilitate evaluation-related awareness raising, training and/or capacity building sessions as required.
• Respond to requests for details of the evaluation work programme and activities.
• Participate in conferences, workshops, and seminars relevant to UNHCR's evaluation work and contribute to UN professional evaluation practice through active participation in UN Evaluation Group working groups and events.
• Ensure continuity for the evaluation function and perform an advisory role in the regions.
• Support risk assessment and discussions within the Evaluation Office team and proactively manage risks related to evaluation conduct and use for evaluations for which the S/M is responsible, escalating the risk to the Head of Evaluation Office, as needed.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P4 – 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Social Science; Economics; Law; International Development;

or another relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Research & Evaluation Methods;

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Proven track record as an evaluator of humanitarian or development operations, programmes and projects. Experience with a range of evaluation 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 evaluation processes, including ideally managing multi-disciplinary teams with variable evaluation experience. Experience of working with and influencing senior decision makers, including in delivering challenging, or potentially contested, key messages. Experience in developing and/or delivering M&E or evaluation-related capacity building content. 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 and displacement response contexts.

Functional Skills

SO-Research

DM-Data Collection and Analysis

IM-Statistics Analysis

Available: EL-Evaluation of humanitarian operations

MG-Policy Development, Evaluation, Research, Publication

CO-Strategic Communication

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

Empowering and Building Trust

Judgement and Decision Making

Leadership

Managing Performance

Managing Resources

Strategic Planning and Vision

Cross-Functional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

Planning and Organizing

Policy Development and Research

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

Desired Candidate Profile

• Possess leadership, organizational and managerial skills to ensure supervision, oversight and management of complex evaluation projects with consultants, firms and multiple stakeholders;

• Be capable of establishing an enabling working environment in complex and difficult circumstances; be pro-active in anticipating and managing stakeholders (internal and external);

• Be able to travel on missions to remote field locations with challenging working conditions and security concerns;

• Proven track record of managing large and complex humanitarian or development evaluations;

• Evidential leadership and managerial skills to ensure supervision, management and quality control of complex projects with a range of stakeholders, including teams of consultants;

• Possess strong networking and relationship building expertise to work effectively with staff in UNHCR operations, persons that we serve, UN and multilateral agencies, Government, NGOs, and academic institutions;

• Be capable of establishing an enabling working environment in complex and difficult circumstances; be pro-active in anticipating and managing stakeholders (internal and external);

• Possess strong logical modelling skills, and methodological expertise and experience in quantitative and/or qualitative data collection and analysis approaches;

• Be able to travel on missions to remote field locations with challenging working conditions and security concerns;

• Communicate effectively, orally and in writing;

• Have expertise in coaching, capacity building, mentoring and facilitating;

• Desirably have experience in Inter-Agency and UN system engagement, and

• Desirably have Operational experience in the Americas region

• Fluent in Spanish

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

Spanish

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

Nature of Position:
The Senior Evaluation Specialist position is located in the Regional Bureau for the Americas, in Panama City, Panama. The Senior Evaluation Specialist will report to the P5, Senior Evaluation Coordinator in HQ, Geneva, and have a strong link to the Regional Director and the wider Regional Bureau senior management team. The work of the Senior Evaluation Specialist will require building strong relationships with all services within the Regional Bureau, and with Representatives, Deputy Representatives and their teams in all country operations in the Region.

Evaluation is a growing function in the Organization as reflected in the new evaluation policy of 2022. The organization in undergoing major structural and procedural reforms, including regionalization and decentralization (since 2019/20), the introduction of multi-year planning and results-based management through the COMPASS system. Other business process reforms are also underway. Evaluation is part of these reforms, supporting multi-year planning and RBM in particular. The numbers of evaluations being commissioned by Regional Bureau and Country Operations is increasing and the new policy has coverage norms for evaluation over the next five years.

Living and Working Conditions:

Panama City is classified 'A' Duty Station (Family) and has good infrastructure (health, housing, banking, transportation, telecommunications and recreational facilities) and good supply of goods and services, with no particular health hazards. -In terms of security Panama is relatively safe compared to other cities throughout Latin America and it is rated as security level '1 minimal' whereas for Darién Province (border with Colombia) it is security level '2 low'. The city is a communication hub and it is possible to fly to all countries of the region with direct flights and it offers good options for travelling in general. -UNHCR offices are located in the Canal Zone, in a green area outside the city centre called 'Ciudad del Saber' where most of the other UN Agencies are also located, as well as International Schools, NGOs and research centres, etc. -The cost of living is relatively high for the region (reflected in the post adjustment), especially for housing and health, but it is easy to find accommodation on the private market, including in the area of the office in houses or in the city centre towers in modern apartments. Most of the food is imported except for sea products and some fruits and vegetables. There is a wide range of international schools, several of them offering IB curriculum including some in the office area. -In terms of recreational activities, Panama being a hub for the purchasing of goods for neighbouring countries, the city offers a lot of malls and doing shopping and going to malls is a common weekend activity. Cultural offer is limited but there is a good offer of restaurants and a dynamic nightlife. Beaches on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are reachable within one hour by car or by boat directly from the city and there are some options for hiking too. There is also a relatively good range of sports activities.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Economics, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Development, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Social Science

Certifications

Research and Evaluation Methods – Other

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Policy research & development, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

Compendium

Add. 1 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 – Part B

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

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Working hours (%): 80-100%

80-100%

Type of contract: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)

Macro-area: Latin America and the Caribbean

Level of experience: Senior Professional, more than 5 years

Area of work: Monitoring and Evaluation, Results-based Management

Type of organisation: Multilateral Organisations

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