Org. Setting and Reporting
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. This position is located in the Independent Evaluation Unit, Office of the Executive Director.
The evaluation function at UN-Habitat is led by the Independent Evaluation Unit, which is responsible for coordinating and evaluating the organizations’ performance at global, regional and country levels. The Unit is positioned independently from offices that plan and implement the development interventions. It is in the Executive Directors’ Office and the Chief of the Unit reports directly to the Head of the organization through the Deputy Executive Director. The main objective of the Independent Evaluation Unit is to enhance the development effectiveness of UN-Habitat through evaluations. Such evaluations assess the organization’s policies, strategies, processes, project, programmes and impacts of the organization.
To support the Agency’s development effectiveness, the evaluation function has three core objectives:
(i)To provide a basis for accountability by documenting the results UN-Habitat achieves;
(ii)To contribute to enhanced learning in the organization’s where evaluation findings, lessons learned and recommendations are used to improve current and future policies, strategies, programs, projects and processes.
(iii)To promote an evaluation culture in the organization by building evaluation capacity and encouraging demand and use of evaluations, focusing on development results, learning and continuous performance improvement.
Working under the direction of the Chief, Independent Evaluation Unit, the Evaluation Officer will contribute to the implementation of the Evaluation Unit’s work plans. Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:
Responsibilities
1. Participate in planning, management, conduct, reporting and follow-up of UN-Habitat evaluations, conducted by external evaluators to UN-Habitat.
2. Ensure evaluation data systems and repositories for evaluation products are readily available.
3. Support and liaise with the evaluation teams and ensure timely delivery of documentation and information requested; organize meetings and interviews requested by the evaluation teams with internal and external parties.
4. Monitor implementation of the evaluation work-plans and ensure their timely completion.
5. Facilitate country/project site visits, including communications with regional offices and country offices.
6. Organize briefings and debriefings with main stakeholders as appropriate.
7. Review and technically assess evaluation teams inception reports, drafts and final evaluation products, including following up with the evaluation teams to ensure that products reflect all requirements for high quality evaluations.
8. Conduct quality assessment of all evaluation reports using the UN-HABITAT criteria and checklist.
9. Follow-up on the preparation and implementation of management responses and action plans for implementation of evaluation recommendations
10. Improved use of evaluation in formulating new projects and programmes, and implementation of ongoing projects.
11. Support the work of Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and other evaluation association groups/Association to promote the culture of evaluation.
12.The staff member might be assigned other tasks related to the work plan of the Independent Evaluation Unit as appropriate.
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Ability to perform a broad range of administrative functions, e.g., budget/work programme, human resources, database management, etc. Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Technical competencies in evaluation or research. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to develop data collection collection tools and to ty to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
PLANNING & ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Education
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in, economics, statistics, social sciences information Technology. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of work experience in project or programme management, administration, of which at least three should be related to evaluation functions is required.
Experience working in international organizations such as the United Nations is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.
NOTE: "fluency equals a rating of "fluent" in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and "Knowledge of" equals a rating of "confident" in two of the four areas.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
This position is open for recruitment for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/ Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.
Internal Applicants – when completing the PHP, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.
Individual contractors and consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.
On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "need Help" link.
United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.