UNICEF International Consultancy- Evaluation Consultant Jobs in Kenya

UNICEF International Consultancy- Evaluation Consultant Jobs in Kenya

Background and Justification

Evaluations are critical to UNICEF’s mission of helping realise the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged. Evaluations help UNICEF improve its performance and results by supporting evidence-based programmatic decisions, organisational learning, and accountability for UNICEF’s contribution to outcomes for children.

The Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) covers 21 countries across the region. UNICEF ESARO’s primary responsibilities include supervising UNICEF’s programmes and activities for children, supporting resource mobilisation efforts, and coordinating the UN Coherence process in the region.

ESARO’s Evaluation Section serves as a centre of technical support and guidance on evaluations of UNICEF’s programmes in the development and humanitarian contexts of all 21 countries. The Evaluation Section operates under the 2018 Revised Evaluation Policy of UNICEF and the leadership of the Regional Director.

It is responsible for upholding the norms of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and quality assurance of evaluations. The Evaluation Section manages and conducts regional-level evaluations, provides technical support and oversight to the evaluation function in country offices, enhances the use and uptake of evaluations, and supports evaluation systems strengthening, including national evaluation capacity development (NECD).

Goal and Objective: Under the direct supervision and technical guidance of the Regional Evaluation Advisor of ESARO, the Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for (i) the management of ESARO evaluations, including L2 humanitarian evaluations as well as regional or multi-country evaluations; (ii) the development/adaptation of regional evaluation technical guidance documents and tracking systems; and (iii) the provision of technical support to, and quality assurance of, evaluations managed by, country offices.

It is expected that country offices assigned to the Evaluation Consultant for support will have improved capacity to plan, design and manage evaluations and liaise effectively with counterparts in conducting joint evaluations or NECD.

Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered: Programme Effectiveness/Evaluation/Timely and rigorous evaluations yield findings and recommendations that are used by UNICEF, governments, civil society and development partners, to strengthen programmes and support advocacy for children.

Activities and Tasks:

Team-lead for the R-WASH evaluative programme assessment

Provide advice in the formulation of TOR for an evaluative assessment accompanying the R-WASH programme, covering 2023-2025

Prepare an Inception Report for the evaluative assessment, including an evaluation matrix and interview protocols

Pilot data collection for the midline assessment’ (2024) in at least one programme site, with a view to building capacity of national evaluators and other team members

Compile data from all data collection efforts, undertake a crosscutting analysis, and prepare a midline assessment report

Present the draft report to key stakeholders and finalize based on inputs

Manage and quality assure all phases of the evaluation process, including the TOR development, recruitment/contracting, inception, data collection, reporting, finalization and EMR phases for the following ESARO evaluations:

Formative Evaluation of Gender Transformative Programming in ESAR (remote management only)

Learning Focused Evaluation of the Uganda L2 Ebola Response (remote management only)

Evaluation of the Mozambique-Malawi L2 Response to the Cholera and Floods Emergency (remote management with two in-country missions)

Horn of Africa L2 evaluation (Eritrea and Djibouti) in coordination with the Horn of Africa L3 evaluation managed by the Evaluation Office (remote assessment only; no in-country travel)

Develop or

adapt and support the operationalization of the following regional evaluation technical guidance documents and tracking systems:

Develop an action plan/guidance note for ESAR on involving children in evaluation

Update ESAR’s evaluation management and quality assurance guidance documents (ESAR Evaluation Guidance Note, ESAR Evaluation Quality Assurance Guidance Note, ESAR Technical Note – Evaluation Reference Group)

Develop a systematic approach to tracking/recording/showcasing influential evaluations in ESAR

Develop a monitoring/tracking system of ESAR’s Regional Evaluation Framework

Support ESARO Evaluation Specialists and County Office staff in operationalizing the above guidance through technical assistance and advisory services to ensure they are fully adopted, while adjusting the guidance as needed.

Work relationships: The Regional Evaluation Advisor in ESARO will be the overall supervisor of the contractor. On the R-WASH evaluation, the consultant will work directly with the respective UNICEF/ESARO Evaluation Manager. The consultant will also have direct contact with all ESARO Evaluation Section staff and other Regional Office staff and evaluation focal points in 21 country offices.

The consultant will be home based in the ESA region.

It is expected that most of the interaction between ESARO, COs and the consultant will be by email and Teams.

The assignment will include field missions to support the Malawi-Mozambique L2 evaluations and R-WASH process evaluation.

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience

Education: Advanced university degree in social sciences, statistics, international development or development economics.

Work Experience:

At least eight years of professional work experience in development programming – including planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Demonstrated experience in designing, managing and quality assuring evaluations, particularly humanitarian evaluations, is indispensable.

Thorough understanding of results-based management (RBM) theory and practice is essential.

Familiarity with the range of development issues addressed by UNICEF in the Eastern and Southern Africa region is necessary. Prior work experience in the region is a distinct advantage, as is experience with evaluations of WASH and/or resilience programming with displaced populations.

Experience in providing technical support to development stakeholders at different levels – including government, civil society, as well as UN and other partners – on evaluation-related issues, including national evaluation capacity development, would be a plus.

Experience in working with multiple stakeholders is an asset.

Previous experience with UNICEF and/or the UN is desired.

Languages needed: Excellent written and oral command of the English language is crucial. Knowledge of other official languages used across the Eastern and Southern Africa region, in particular Portuguese and/or French, would be an asset.

Home-based in one of the 21 countries of the Eastern and Southern Africa region, to ensure timely and cost-effective regional travel if required. Candidates who are not based in the ESA region will not be considered.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; UNICEF International Consultancy- Evaluation Consultant Jobs in Kenya

Find jobs in Kenya. Jobs - Kenya jobs. Search our career portal & find the latest Kenyan job positions, career opportunities & jobs in Kenya.

Jobs in Kenya - banking jobs, IT jobs, accounting jobs, NGO jobs, business administration, ICT, UN jobs, procurement jobs, education jobs, hospital jobs, human resources jobs, engineering, teaching jobs, and other careers in Kenya.

Find your dream job from 1000s of vacancies in Kenya posted and updated daily - click here!