Programme Management Office (PRMO) - Advisor (Substantive BI Expert) - Retainer

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. 

The New York Portfolios Office (NYPO) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York - based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management. 

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. 

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) to implement the project activities for the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism.

The 'International Hub on Behavioural Insights (BI) to Counter Terrorism (CT)' has been established as a UNOCT Programme Office in Doha, the State of Qatar, through an Agreement signed between UNOCT and the State of Qatar on 15 December 2019, as well as a contribution agreement signed on 8 December 2020, to perform three core functions: (conduct and advance research in behavioural sciences to better understand the drivers and factors contributing to radicalization leading to violent extremism and terrorism; provide capacity- building assistance to Member States, regional organizations and civil society partners to develop and implement programmes, projects and initiatives that integrate behavioural insights to counter terrorism; and promote communication, outreach and partnerships to share knowledge, expertise, experiences and lessons learned on behaviourally informed counter- terrorism interventions. 

Behavioural insights, through a combination of diverse disciplines such as psychology, behavioural economics, cognitive science and social science, examine how people think, behave and make decisions. This approach focuses on understanding what actually influences the decisions and behaviours of people, rather than relying on assumptions of how they should act based on traditional models. In doing so, it ensures policies and programmes reflect actual needs and motivators for greater impact and effectiveness. Insights from behavioural science help us gain a better understanding of the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, which require evidence-based research and analysis of individual, contextual and structural factors affecting human motivations, actions, interactions and responses. There is no single set of drivers that push or pull an individual into violent extremist action. Research shows the presence of certain recurrent drivers, which either in isolation or in combination with other factors, lead to radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism. Many of these drivers have behavioural roots and require behavioural tools such as education, strategic messaging, rehabilitation, youth empowerment, employment facilitation, skills development, community engagement, gender equality, inclusion and conflict resolution. 

A behavioural insights approach enables the identification of risk and resilience factors and the development of empirically validated interventions for policymakers and practitioners to effectively prevent and counter violent extremism.

The incumbent of this position will be a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment 

The purpose of this assignment is to contribute substantive expertise to, and fully participate in, an independent evaluation of the BI Hub Programme fully complying with the UNOCT evaluation requirements, as well as the UN Evaluation Group norms and standards. 

The Programme Management Office (PRMO) - Advisor (Substantive BI Expert) will perform the following responsibilities:

• Providing substantive inputs in relation to the area of expertise to the whole evaluation process and to all deliverables.

• Participating in the kick-off meeting, and other briefing, validation, and results-sharing meetings (as relevant).

• Contributing to robust data collection phase, based on the approved Inception Report, by implementing all approved data collection tools and methods.

• Contributing to robust data analysis, including using related tools and software (e.g., NVivo), and ensuring that the Evaluation Manager has access to all raw data at any given point in time. 

• Drafting inputs to the inception report (with the evaluation design and the detailed methods, tools, and techniques), the draft and final evaluation report, as well as the Evaluation Brief and the final presentation.

• Revising inputs in relation to the area of expertise to all deliverables based upon comments received from the various consultative processes, including also full proofreading and editing. 

• Ensure that all deliverables mentioned in these terms of reference are submitted in a timely and satisfactory manner, and in line with the quality criteria checklist.

Key Deliverables:  

The Substantive Expert (BI Expert) is responsible for the quality and timely submission of their specific deliverables, as specified below. All products should be well written in English.

• Draft inputs in relation to the area of expertise into the Inception Report, which is to include a desk review summary, refined evaluation questions, data collection instruments, sampling strategy, analysis process, evaluation matrix and limitations to the evaluation.

• Contribute to the data collection phase based on the instruments from the cleared Inception Report, ensuring that ethical considerations for evaluations in the UN are fully met.

• Contribute to data analysis, ensuring that all evaluation results are based on triangulated evidence.

• Contribute to the sharing of initial observations and findings at a Briefing Meeting with the project team/internal key stakeholders and at a Validation Meeting with the Evaluation Reference Group and other stakeholders (if applicable).

• Draft inputs in relation to the area of expertise for the draft Evaluation Report in line with UNOCT evaluation norms, standards, guidelines, and templates. This may entail various rounds of comments and revision in accordance with comments received.

• Contribute to the draft Evaluation Report based upon comments received from the various consultative processes (ECU, Programme Management and Evaluation Reference Group), including full proofreading.

• Contribute to the finalization of the Final Evaluation Report which is to be fully proofread and edited. This may also entail various rounds of comments and revision in accordance with comments received.

• Draft inputs for the 2-page evaluation brief and PowerPoint slides on final evaluation results.

• Participate in the final presentation of evaluation results to internal and external stakeholders.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

Performance Assessment Indicators for Substantive Expert (BI Expert):

Timely, satisfactory, and high-quality delivery of the abovementioned outputs as assessed by UNOCT (in line with UNOCT standards, guidelines, and templates as well as UNEG Norms and Standards).

Schedule for Deliverables and Payments:
Deliverable Working Days 1.  Inception Report (including desk review) 6 - 12 2. Data collection, data analysis, and Draft Evaluation Report 15 - 30 3. Final Evaluation Report, 2-page Evaluation Brief and PowerPoint slides (including full proofreading) and presentation of final evaluation results  3 - 5
Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and submission of outputs/deliverables as assessed by the Evaluation Manager.

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

• 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.

• UNOPS 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. UNOPS 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 UNOPS 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 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS 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.