Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Expert*, Multiple positions

*Please see the advertised positions for other levels of the UN Peacebuilding Fund’s Programme Support Team roster of consultants, namely:

- Junior Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, IICA-1: https://jobs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=26350

- Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, IICA-2: https://jobs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=26351

- Senior Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, IICA-4: https://jobs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=26353

Candidates are asked to apply only to the position that best matches their level of experience and expertise.

General Background 

UNOPS Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP). It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York.  The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

Since its inception in 2006, the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is the United Nations’ financial instrument of first resort to respond to and prevent violent conflict. The PBF invests with UN entities, governments, regional organizations, multilateral banks, national multi-donor trust funds or civil society organizations. From 2006 to 2022, the PBF has allocated nearly $1.72 billion to 67 recipient countries. The Fund works across thematic pillars and supports integrated UN responses to fill critical gaps, respond quickly and with flexibility to political opportunities, and catalyze processes and resources in a risk-tolerant fashion.

In order to provide the best quality and most timely support to UN Country Teams in PBF focus countries, in 2019 the PBF set up a surge mechanism – the PBF Programme Support Team (PST) – made up of peacebuilding Design, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (DMEL) expert consultants. As demands increased and objectives became more ambitious, in 2020 and 2022 the PBF hired additional talents to its surge mechanism. In 2023, in light of scaling up existing initiatives and launching new DMEL pilots and exercises (such as country portfolio-level Strategic Results Frameworks and evaluations, Community-Based Monitoring, Thematic Reviews and Synthesis Reviews, Cohort Evaluations and the reviews of the PBF Strategy), the PBF identified the need to expand the current 30-member roster composition and hire an additional cohort of peacebuilding DMEL experts. In support to the PST mechanism, UNOPS will recruit, on behalf of UNPBF, experts under retainer contracts on the basis of their expertise in peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation, UN programme development experience, knowledge of PBF, and thematic expertise. These experts are the backbone of the PBF PST mechanism and are deployed to the field upon demand from the field.

The team of experts helps ensure the following four attributes of the PBF:

1. PBF support is timely and flexible. The experts will support the Fund with timely programme development in selected priority countries by providing additional capacities at the strategic time of priority setting and project developments, including thematic expertise. 

2. PBF support is catalytic. The experts will help ensure that the Fund will further expand its role as investor of first resort ensuring all its investments are catalytic. This means supporting programmes that enable peace processes to become unblocked, accelerate existing efforts, or kick-start longer-term change through country portfolio-wide approaches. 

3. PBF is willing to be risk-tolerant. The experts will, in close coordination with the relevant Resident Coordinators’ Offices (RCOs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs), work to strengthen the national risk-management system through refined risk markers and streamlining mitigation strategies through all procedures. 

4. PBF support is adequately monitored and evaluated, ensuring downward accountability of entities implementing projects, and results-based evaluations of PBF country portfolios.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment 

The peacebuilding experts will increase programming capacities of the PBF Secretariats, the RCOs and UNCTs through their expertise and guidance on:  i) identifying country-wide strategic peacebuilding priorities and conducting conflict analysis; ii) supporting project development, including theories of change and results frameworks; iii) advising on and supporting data collection initiatives; and iv) evaluating and extracting lessons learned from PBF investments in countries. The assignments will entail support across the three levels – project, country portfolio, and Fund-level. Specific Terms of Reference will be developed before each assignment.

Candidates who are nationals or residents of PBF eligible countries*, along with individuals from other Global South countries, are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The consultants, based on the specificities of the PBF portfolio in each country and needs of the PBF, will be required to support or lead on some of the following processes:

1. Supporting the identification and consultations on peacebuilding priorities for UN and for PBF more specifically, including facilitating the development of five-year country-wide Strategic Results Frameworks (SRFs)**.

2. Supporting UNCTs in project development (specifically, conflict analyses and results frameworks) on the basis of country’s peacebuilding priorities, including theories of change, results frameworks and monitoring arrangements. 

3. Supporting piloting innovative monitoring and evaluation approaches, including but not limited to Community-Based Monitoring and Evaluation (CBM&E) and Outcome Harvesting.

4. Conducting project and portfolio level evaluations.

5. Developing guidance notes and facilitating training and capacity development of UN staff and PBF Secretariats. 

6. Conducting Fund-wide DMEL exercises, reflecting on PBF’s global efforts (for example, through Thematic Reviews, Synthesis Reviews, Cohort Evaluations and alike).

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The project is managed by the Chief, Financing for Peacebuilding Branch, Peacebuilding Support Office. The experts on the retainer roster are reporting on all technical issues directly to the relevant PBF Programme Officer, delegated by the Chief, Financing for Peacebuilding Branch, Peacebuilding Support Office. 

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent), preferably in social science or other relevant discipline from a recognized university is required. 

Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in design, monitoring and evaluation is required.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in peacebuilding or development is required.
• Knowledge of PBF modalities, guidance, approaches and projects is an asset.
• A particular regional focus in previous work experience is an asset.
• Experience of working in peacebuilding and PBF’s peacebuilding priority areas is an asset.
• Prior experience of working with the UN in PBF programme countries is desired.

Proven areas of expertise

• Expertise in developing innovative approaches to Design, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning efforts is desirable. 
• Expertise in stakeholder engagement and strategic planning facilitation is desirable.
• Expertise in capacity building support and guidance to international organizations is desirable.
• Expertise in report writing and data analysis is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in another official UN language (particularly French or Spanish) is a strong asset.

• Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Retainer - A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work
• Contract level: International Individual Contractor Agreement I-ICA 3 (ICS 11)
• Contract duration: Initially up to 31 December 2023 with possibilities of extension, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance. 

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• The United Nations embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. United Nations seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the United Nations workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• All United Nations personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UN Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.