Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist (Re-advertised)

Background information – Cities Alliance

Cities Alliance, which is hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership for the promotion of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Headquartered in Brussels and supported by a Secretariat, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership including – global organisations of local authorities, national governments, international non-governmental organisations, foundations, knowledge networks and multilateral organisations – which have come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader, with a strong track record in grant making, that supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, flexible grant-making mechanism with global reach.

Background information – job specific

As per its Charter, the main objective of the Cities Alliance is to reduce urban poverty and promote the role of cities in sustainable development. To assess the extent to which its efforts and those of partners are making progress toward that objective, the Cities Alliance monitors, evaluates and publicly reports its activities within an agreed-upon corporate results framework and through a dedicated result-based management system. The Cities Alliance results framework follows international standards and practices in development cooperation on results-based management, used by development banks and other institutions

At the programmatic level, Cities Alliance is now implementing its 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, with a recalibrated business model combining global programmes for normative work and country/city programmes for operations across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the MENA region. All programmes of the Cities Alliance at global and country level have in place dedicated log frames and M&E plans and specific gender indicators. These log frames are often required and influenced by specific funding sources, however, to the extent possible, it was maintained their alignment with the corporate results framework, which is intended to provide the summarization of results across the portfolio. As the Cities Alliance is also a grant making institution, there is more M&E granularity stemming from data and results at the project level, where grantees report on their progresses and activities.

Cities Alliance is seeking highly motivated and dynamic M&E Specialist to manage and strengthen the Results Based Management system of the organization to meet the development objectives of the 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and the operational performance standards of the Cities Alliance Corporate Scorecard. The M&E Specialist reports to the Senior Programme Specialist. Under his/her guidance, the M&E Specialist will contribute to the promotion of a 'performance and results culture' within the Cities Alliance and will provide technical oversight to all corporate M&E processes and systems, and summarise results at the portfolio level. The M&E Specialist will also contribute to effective and efficient team work and team results that are delivered on time, within budget and to high quality standards.

Corporate Results Based Management

• Contribute technical expertise in maintaining, reviewing and updating the Cities Alliance Results Framework, annual Corporate Scorecard and the overall Results Based Management system for the organisation;

• Provide ongoing oversight and input to the core set of indicators of the Cities Alliance both those measuring aggregated results at the outcome level as well as – in coordination with the Grants, Portfolio and Operations team - the key performance indicators (KPIs) to track organisational efficiency. This will include definitions, milestones, targets, data collections strategies, frequency of collection and ownership;

• Provide guidance, quality assurance and technical inputs to the development of log frames, results frameworks, theories of change, M&E plans and other tools/systems for country and global programmes and for business development proposals;

• Ensure that programmes in the country and global window include the core corporate indicators of the Results Framework and, where appropriate, that grantee proposals align with the Results Framework;

• Provide guidance to the gender team in the collection and evaluation of gender analytical information at the project and programmatic level as well as in tracking internal indicators on the implementation of the Gender Action Plan;

• Oversee TORs for local M&E staff in country offices and M&E consultancies. Participate in the identification and recruitment of consultants and staff and, as required, oversee their work and deliverables;

• Pilot and refine M&E tools and protocols to improve corporate analysis and reporting;

• Support the monitoring of identified programme and corporate assumptions/risks which intersect the delivery of the agreed results and, if necessary, assist in the development and implementation of the risk mitigation plans;

• Undertake field visits to support implementation of M&E and identify where changes may be needed.

Management of data, qualitative information and report writing

• Track, analyse, aggregate and provide quality assurance for M&E data in relation to the core indicators of the Results Framework and the Corporate Scorecard. Ensure appropriate disaggregation of data, especially by gender.

• Make and implement recommendations on how to strengthen data quality, accuracy and consistency to build credible performance/results evidence including improved systems for M&E record management and analysis. Provide guidance and quality assurance to data collection strategies (baselines/midlines/end-lines studies, surveys etc.).

• Extract and illustrate qualitative information on programmatic results through a variety of methods (most significant changes, impact stories, etc.) from programme and grant progress reports, interviews and other sources of information.

• Support the preparation, drafting and data analysis for results-based reporting for donors, corporate reporting or for communication purposes. Produce quarterly monitoring and evaluation progress reports with status of results and implementation of improvements. Provide M&E inputs to programme progress reports by the global and country window programmes.

• Support the content production and maintenance of the results section of the website providing qualitative and quantitative data in support of the published materials.

Evaluation

• Refine the Evaluation Plan for the organisation including assessing and planning the evaluation obligations and needs through a variety of methods, including desk/field evaluations and thematic assessments. Where requested, coordinate the evaluation assignments, including the assessment and dissemination of reports.

Capacity Building and Learning

• Follow-up on M&E findings to ensure that corrective actions are taken and/or adjustments are made to programmes/projects as required; contribute to the analysis of longer term outcomes and recommend improvements to programme interventions to demonstrate impact and reach targets.  

• Conduct training seminars, workshops, and technical meetings to develop the capacity of the Cities Alliance Secretariat staff members and, where required, provide training and support to stakeholders regarding the various aspects of M&E.

• Undertake any other tasks assigned by the Secretariat and contribute to the Secretariat’s corporate priorities as required.

Education

• Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Business Administration, Development Studies, Urban Studies, Social and Political Science or related fields is required.  OR
• A Bachelor's degree together with 2 years' additional relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master's degree.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years with master's degree or 7 years with a bachelors degree of demonstrated expertise with quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation approaches to technical and socio-economic aspects of development programmes and projects including experience with the application of qualitative and quantitative methods and data/information treatment;
• Demonstrated advanced skills across one or some of the following: quantitative analysis, qualitative methodologies, survey design, administration, and other data collection methods, Excel/SPSS and/or other data management software, data representation and infographics is required. 
• Experience with M&E in large donor-funded programmes and/or with corporate results-based management systems - which aggregate results across different programmes, projects, sectors, and partners - is considered an asset;
• Experience with input/output-based corporate reports/methods (balanced scorecard, key performance indicators. value-for-money etc.) is considered an asset;
• Experience with gendered M&E systems and gender data disaggregation is considered an asset;
• Experience in the delivery of training courses, including informal training and technical support is an advantage;
• Experience and understanding of development aid and agencies, government policies in developing countries and the urban sector is an advantage;

Languages

• Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish would be considered an asset. 

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

This position is based in Belgium and the fee is subject to national legislation including but not limited to taxes levied by the Belgian authorities.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.