Consultancy: Team Member/Research Assistant for the Study of Influential Evaluations 2024, 6-months (87 days), Evaluation Office, NYHQ

UNICEF works in among the world’s hardest locations, to achieve the world’s most deprived kids. To save lots of their lives. To defend their rights. To assist them fulfill their potential. 

Throughout 190 nations and territories, we work for each baby, in all places, every single day, to construct a greater world for everybody. 

And we by no means hand over. 

For each baby, consider

UNICEF’s Analysis Coverage states that, “Analysis at UNICEF unequivocally serves the group’s mission and helps UNICEF in fulfilling its mandate1.” The Analysis Coverage additional states that, “to be helpful, evaluations should contribute to organizational studying, accountability and to decision-making.” In step with these coverage statements, analysis in UNICEF is to be thought-about a car in direction of contributing to tangible change for kids. Evaluations in UNICEF are thus anticipated to be influential.

UNICEF evaluations play an important function in informing decision-making processes for each inside and exterior stakeholders. The group’s evaluations present evidence-based info and evaluation of UNICEF applications, insurance policies, and interventions. In addition they assess their relevance, effectiveness, effectivity, and sustainability, amongst different elements. Due to this fact, it is vital for evaluations to be influential in decision-making for a number of causes:

1. Bettering program and coverage effectiveness: UNICEF evaluations present precious insights into the affect of its applications and insurance policies. Determination-makers can even use analysis findings to determine greatest practices, assess program effectiveness, and make knowledgeable selections about tips on how to allocate sources (each scaling up and cutting down). As well as, UNICEF collaborates with governments to generate proof to enhance coverage design and effectiveness by the use of analysis.
2. Enhancing accountability and transparency: UNICEF evaluations present a mechanism for accountability and transparency. By sharing analysis outcomes with stakeholders, UNICEF demonstrates its dedication to transparency and openness.
3. Selling studying and information sharing: UNICEF evaluations present a spot for studying and information sharing. By speaking analysis findings, UNICEF promotes studying and information sharing amongst stakeholders, together with UNICEF employees, donors and companions.
4. Strengthening partnerships and collaboration: UNICEF evaluations present a possibility to strengthen partnerships and collaboration. By involving stakeholders in analysis processes, UNICEF can construct belief and strengthen relationships with companions.

UNICEF Analysis for Determination-Making

The aim of analysis is to make sure that UNICEF has well timed, strategically targeted, and goal info on the efficiency of its insurance policies, applications, and initiatives to provide higher outcomes for kids and their caretakers. It’s to strengthen evidence-based decision-making and advocacy, transparency, coherence, and effectiveness. Moreover, the aim and use of analysis at UNICEF is to find out the relevance, affect, effectiveness, effectivity and sustainability of the interventions and contributions of the organizations of the United Nations system.

UNICEF conducts evaluations at 5 institutional ranges reflecting the organizational accountability framework: (i)native or undertaking, (ii) nation program of cooperation, (iii) regional, (iv) international strategic and (v) institutional performance2. These embrace the next 3 typologies of evaluations:

1. Thematic Evaluations: These evaluations are developed in session with the World Analysis Committee, in addition to divisions and workplaces on the international, regional, and nation ranges. Impartial Company Evaluations collect and synthesize analysis proof on precedence matters associated to selling and defending kids’s rights, with a selected concentrate on the 5 Purpose Areas outlined within the UNICEF Strategic Plan.
2. Impression Evaluations: Impression analysis (IE) goals to empirically set up attribution by quantifying causal hyperlinks between the intervention (initiatives, applications, insurance policies, networks or capability growth) and outcomes of curiosity, usually on the focused beneficiary stage. It does so by establishing a counterfactual situation.
3. Humanitarian Evaluations: UNICEF’s humanitarian evaluations are systematic assessments carried out in emergency and disaster settings to grasp the effectiveness, effectivity, and relevance of UNICEF’s humanitarian response efforts. These evaluations concentrate on evaluating the affect and outcomes of UNICEF’s interventions in assembly the pressing wants of youngsters and their households throughout occasions of disaster, corresponding to pure disasters, conflicts, epidemics, or displacement.
4. Nation-led Evaluations: A UNICEF country-led analysis is an analysis carried out on the nation stage, the place the nationwide authorities leads the evaluation with assist and steering from UNICEF. One of these analysis focuses on applications, insurance policies, or interventions associated to kids’s welfare and rights, which UNICEF helps or is concerned in. The important thing options of a country-led analysis embrace sturdy nationwide possession, alignment with nationwide priorities and programs, and capacity-building for native analysis professionals.

UNICEF evaluations stay essential in informing decision-making processes, bettering program, institutional and coverage effectiveness, enhancing accountability and transparency, selling studying and information sharing, and strengthening partnerships and collaboration. Thus, it stays necessary for UNICEF evaluations to be influential in decision-making, notably in serving to to enhance the circumstances and conditions of probably the most weak kids and, extra broadly, to make sure that UNICEF applications and insurance policies are evidence-based, efficient, environment friendly, and sustainable. To what extent are UNICEF evaluations catalyzing the modifications anticipated from them? This query stays to be extra comprehensively answered. Though there have been a couple of assessments aimed, amongst different issues, at figuring out the extent to which evaluations have been getting used, these have been primarily targeted on the diploma of implementation of analysis suggestions.

To make additional progress in direction of answering the extent to which UNICEF evaluations are being influential, the Analysis Workplace undertook 2 separate research, in 2018 and 2020 to look at the extent to which a pattern of UNICEF evaluations had been influential.

The research concluded that, mostly, the affect was instrumental, resulting in the improved design and implementation of insurance policies and applications. In different instances, the evaluations prompted the re-conceptualization of long-standing applications, resulting in the excellent reform of insurance policies. What distinguished the influential evaluations was the size and scope of change achieved. Among the many most salient outcomes was the rise in authorities funding and possession, displaying that evaluations can contribute to sustainability – an space that has been flagged for enchancment in UNICEF.

The examine reaffirmed the necessity for added proof to find out the affect of evaluations and to make sure that evaluations are purposefully deliberate and designed to have an effect on determination making.

Varieties and Standards for Affect

The related literature has highlighted a number of elements that needs to be thought-about to find out whether or not an UNICEF analysis has been influential in decision-making. One key kind of affect is strategic affect, the place evaluations form the general path of a program or coverage by offering evidence-based insights and suggestions. This usually includes assessing the relevance and sustainability of initiatives. One other necessary kind is operational affect, the place evaluations result in enhancements within the day-to-day administration and implementation of applications. This may increasingly contain figuring out greatest practices or areas for enchancment. A 3rd kind is studying affect, geared toward enhancing information and understanding amongst stakeholders, which might result in higher decision-making and coverage formulation. These evaluations should be credible, unbiased, and clear to successfully inform coverage and program selections, guaranteeing that interventions are aligned with the wants and priorities of the focused populations. Desk 1 beneath describe these influential features in additional element:

Desk 1: Determinants of Affect3

We additionally embrace an tailored model of assessing affect by making use of the OECD analysis standards. These standards guarantee an intensive and balanced evaluation, capturing each the instant outcomes and the longer-term results of an analysis, making them an necessary for understanding and enhancing an analysis’s affect. 

1 UNICEF (2023). Revised Analysis Coverage for UNICEF. 4 Aug 2023. Second common session 2023. N2322917.pdf (un.org)

2 At UNICEF, institutional efficiency or effectiveness evaluations major assess the general efficiency and effectivity of the group. These evaluations concentrate on measure the extent to which an UNICEF’s objectives and goals are being achieved, its capability to make the most of sources successfully, and its capability to adapt to altering circumstances. The evaluations could embrace features corresponding to governance, management, strategic planning, monetary administration, and administrative programs. The objective is to reinforce UNICEF’s perform and optimize its operations.

3 Utilized from UNICEF 2020 Examine of Influential Evaluations: McPherson and Kumar.

How are you going to make a distinction? 

The aim of this examine is to find out probably the most influential evaluations that have been carried out by UNICEF between the interval of 2020-2022; and to investigate what are the enabling or constraining elements resulting in affect. Affect shall be analyzed by way of evaluations’ contributions to the coverage surroundings, coverage change (public insurance policies in addition to organizational insurance policies), strategic shifts, improved programming and efficiency, organizational studying, joint work, amongst others. Findings, conclusions, and suggestions shall be used to enhance the standard and intent of evaluations in UNICEF; and to develop tips to assist obtain higher ranges of affect by evaluations. The ultimate anticipated end result of this examine shall be to offer precious insights into the elements that contribute to the affect of evaluations. Furthermore, it’s going to assist UNICEF to enhance its analysis follow and to provide evaluations which might be extra more likely to be influential.

The anticipated outcomes of the examine intend to:

1. Determine constructive (enablers) and unfavourable (bottlenecks and obstacles) which might be deemed related to affect an intervention.
2. Determine greatest practices and classes discovered for an analysis to be thought-about “influential”.
3. Internally confirm how program design and implementation improved by the use of proof technology and use.
4. Determine which main enablers have been crucial areas of affect corresponding to useful resource mobilization, partnerships, advocacy, coalition constructing, evaluative tradition, strengthening skills for analysis, management, administration, governance, information administration, and so forth.

To qualify as an advocate for each baby you should have… 

• A complicated college diploma (Grasp’s or greater) in growth, social sciences or associated disciplines.
• A minimal of 5 years of related skilled expertise in analysis or in evaluative research.
• Expertise in utilizing Pure Language Processing for textual content mining.
• Expertise in analyzing qualitative knowledge.
• Sturdy analytical and writing abilities.
• Means to carry out broad stakeholder consultations.
• Growing nation work expertise and/or familiarity with emergency is taken into account an asset. 
• Fluency in English is required. Working information of Spanish and French is fascinating. Information of one other official UN language (Arabic, Chinese language, or Russian) or a neighborhood language is an asset. 

The best way to apply:

• CV and canopy letter.
• The each day price and availability inside period of this project.
• A check could also be administered to shortlisted candidates.
• The shortlisted candidates could also be requested to submit brief examples (of accomplished analyses or revealed papers, in step with the required {qualifications} described above.

For each Baby, you reveal… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Belief, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please go to  here. 

UNICEF is right here to serve the world’s most deprived kids and our international workforce should replicate the variety of these kids. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, regardless of their race/ethnicity, age, incapacity, gender id, sexual orientation, faith, nationality, socio-economic background, or every other private attribute.

UNICEF affords reasonable accommodation for consultants/particular person contractors with disabilities. This may increasingly embrace, for instance, accessible software program, journey help for missions or private attendants. We encourage you to reveal your incapacity throughout your software in case you want affordable lodging throughout the choice course of and afterwards in your project. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance coverage on conduct that’s incompatible with the goals and goals of the United Nations and UNICEF, together with sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF additionally adheres to strict baby safeguarding rules. All chosen candidates shall be anticipated to stick to those requirements and rules and can subsequently endure rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will embrace the verification of educational credential(s) and employment historical past. Chosen candidates could also be required to offer further info to conduct a background examine. 

Remarks:  

People engaged below a consultancy or particular person contract won’t be thought-about “employees members” below the Employees Laws and Guidelines of the United Nations and UNICEF’s insurance policies and procedures, and won’t be entitled to advantages offered therein (corresponding to depart entitlements and medical insurance coverage protection). Their circumstances of service shall be ruled by their contract and the Normal Circumstances of Contracts for the Companies of Consultants and Particular person Contractors. Consultants and particular person contractors are liable for figuring out their tax liabilities and for the cost of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with native or different relevant legal guidelines. 

The chosen candidate is solely accountable to make sure that the visa (relevant) and medical health insurance required to carry out the duties of the contract are legitimate for the complete interval of the contract. Chosen candidates are topic to affirmation of fully-vaccinated standing towards SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Well being Group (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which should be met previous to taking on the project. It doesn’t apply to consultants who will work remotely and should not anticipated to work on or go to UNICEF premises, programme supply places or immediately work together with communities UNICEF works with, nor to journey to carry out capabilities for UNICEF in the course of their consultancy contracts.