The Monitoring and Data Manager will be responsible for coordination and functioning of the office wide Information Management Hub, facilitate strengthening quality and reach of UNICEF Sudan HPM system, lead cross-sectoral data collection and analysis across the office by working closely with monitoring and IM specialists in the PME section, sections’ monitoring/data focal points and Cluster Information Management officers and ensure technical coordination of field monitoring, including the management of third-party monitoring institutions. S/He will ensure strong linkage and coherence with Clusters/Sectors and interagency monitoring frameworks, promoting harmonization of systems and solutions and support efficiency.

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For every child, access.

II. Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

 Purpose of the job:

1. Lead and coordinate the Sudan CO Information Management Hub covering programme sections, crosscutting areas and operations, as well as coordination with UNICEF Led Cluster IM and AoR IM. Supervise 3 IM Officers, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Information Management Specialist (GIS) and Data Systems Officer (P2). Secondary reporting line for UNICEF Cluster IM Officers (Nutrition, WASH, Education, Child Protection AoR).
2. Ensure the alignment and consistency of key performance indicators across all planning and programme documents, including Interagency plans and donor proposals.
3. Strengthen, adapt, and maintain monitoring systems for high-frequency partner reporting against a prioritized set of key performance indicators, in accordance with the Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal and the Interagency Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). The system should meet the needs of both the Country Office and Field Offices.
4. Lead harmonization of UNICEF High Frequency Partner Reporting system with UNICEF-lead Cluster IM systems in close coordination with Cluster Leads and Cluster IMs, ensuring coherence and coordination and reducing any duplication of efforts.
5. Establish and maintain a systematic approach to field monitoring across UNICEF-supported programming to ensure adequate data on the quality of programmes (use of supplies, implementation bottlenecks, equity of access, do no harm, engagement with local capacities).
6. Review and maintain the program monitoring strategy and plan to ensure consistent relevance to the evolving context. Supervise CO Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.
7. Support the Programmes to ensure the prompt use of digital monitoring systems, including eTools Field Monitoring Module (FMM), and other mobile data collection tools such as Inform/Kobo, etc.
8. Conduct monitoring training and relevant capacity-building activities for UNICEF staff and implementing partners.
9. Support the development of periodic reports and information products, including situation reports (SitRep), and CO annual reports.
10. Support and participate in need assessments and other data collection initiatives as required.
11. Ensure collaboration with other agencies, organizations, and clusters to advocate for relevant disaggregated data collection and analysis plans at the interagency level.

How can you make a difference? 

III. Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

 

1. Setting standards for, and lead country office data and monitoring function
2. Situation Monitoring and Assessment
3. Programme Performance Monitoring
4. M&E Capacity Building
5. Data and Information Management Function Leadership
6. Networking and partnership building
7. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Setting standards for, and lead country office data and monitoring function

In close collaboration with Evaluation Manager, ensure that the Country Office and national partners use a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities that will provide the most relevant and strategic information to manage the Country Programme, including tracking and assessing UNICEF’s distinct contribution. 

Duties & Tasks

1. Make professional contributions to and provide technical assistance for the planning and establishing the major research, monitoring and evaluation objectives, priorities, and activities in UNICEF’s multi-year and annual IMEPs, in consultation with child-rights and implementing partners.
2. Likewise, support the development of UNSDCF M&E Plans from a sound results-based programming process.
3. Identify the M&E objectives, priorities, and activities required for effective CO and partner Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans,
4. In humanitarian response situations, within the first month, draft and recommend a simple one-month data-collection plan to cover key data gaps as required for the initial emergency response.
5. After the initial humanitarian response, support management of the medium-term response with a revised IMEP

2.  Situation Monitoring and Assessment 

Ensure that the Country Office and national partners have timely and accurate measurement of change in conditions in the country or region, including monitoring of socio-economic trends and the country’s wider policy, economic or institutional context, to facilitate planning and to draw conclusions about the impact of programmes or policies.

Duties & Tasks

1. In coordination with other stakeholders, support the collection of SDG and other key social development indicators (through MICS or other surveys) to improve national planning.
2. Support partners in the establishment and management of national statistical databases ensuring that key indicators are readily accessible by key stakeholders. Potential uses include the Situation Analysis, Common Country Assessment, Early Warning Monitoring Systems, and Mid-Term Reviews.
3. Develop a Situation Monitoring and Assessment system owned by all key partners which supports the preparation of country level statistical and analytic reports on the status of children’s and women’s rights issues; and which allow,  when opportunities emerge, to influence developmental and social policies.  To include technical support to global reporting obligations including national reports on progress toward the SDGs, and toward CRC and CEDAW fulfilment.
4. In humanitarian response situations, provide professional support for one or more rapid assessments (inter-agency or independently if necessary) to be carried out within the first 48-72 hours, working in close collaboration with the humanitarian clusters partners.

3.  Programme Performance Monitoring 

Ensure that the Country Office has quality information to assess progress towards expected results established in annual work plans.

Duties & Tasks

1. Provide technical support to ensure that a set of programme performance indicators is identified and adjusted as necessary, with inputs of all concerned partners to assess progress towards expected annual and multi-year results in the context of the multi-year and annual IMEPs, the Annual Management Plan and Annual Work Plans, as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Manual).
   1. Coordinate with partners to ensure that monitoring systems are properly designed, and that data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardised across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring, with special attention to humanitarian response.
   2. Drawing on monitoring and analysis of key program performance and management indicators, provide professional input to management reports, including relevant sections of the annual reports.

   4.  M&E Capacity Building

   Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead monitoring and evaluation processes.

   Duties & Tasks

   1. Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of M& E function among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities organization-wide.
   2. In close collaboration with partners, ensure that an M&E capacity building strategy for UNICEF/UN staff national partners and institutions exists in the context of the IMEP, or UNDAF M&E plan.  Pay particular attention so the capacity needs of national partners such as professional evaluation associations will be strengthened by involvement in evaluation processes and possibly through specific capacity building initiatives.
   3. Collaborate to implement capacity building strategies as a joint commitment with other developmental partners. Utilize a range of appropriate skills building strategies including self-learning, seminars and workshops and practical experience in order that UNICEF and UN staff have the basic knowledge and skills in understanding and applying new M&E policies, tools, methods to fulfil their responsibilities. Similarly, design and implement strategies suited to the skills needs of national partners.
   4. Actively seek partnerships with knowledge institutions for the identification of capacity gaps and development of strategies to address them.
   5. Data and Information Management function leadership

Ensure that the IM processes effectively enable a well-coordinated, strategic, coherent, and effective programming across humanitarian-development-peace nexus by UNICEF and partners.

1. Create and oversee the implementation of an IM strategy, a data collection and an analysis plan that consider the information needs of stakeholders and are compliant with standards and protocols for ethical data and information management,
2. Plan, support and oversee the regular implementation of secondary data reviews and primary data collection including designing, or supervising the design of, questionnaires using appropriate tools,
3. Oversee and ensure accurate data processing including organizing, cleaning, triangulating, evaluating and validating the data,
4. Analyse data to meet identified information needs of UNICEF and UNICEF led Clusters and Child Protection Area of Responsibility and other stakeholders,
5. Oversee the creation of accurate, quality and timely information products that are in line with agreed style guides,
6. Ensure the dissemination of information and information products through appropriate channels,
7. Establish, maintain and ensure the accessibility of a common and shared secure storage system,
8. Ensure feedback on IM products is gathered and used to make improvements.

 

6.  Coordination and Networking 

Ensure that the UNICEF office is effectively linked to wider UNICEF M&E developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective M&E management.

Duties & Tasks

1. Collaborate with Regional M&E Advisers and HQ Evaluation Office for overall coordination of priority research, monitoring and evaluation activities, especially those of regional scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.
2. Partner with the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Adviser to ensure that current and accurate M&E data and results are included in regional reports, multi-country studies, and knowledge sharing networks.
3. Undertake lessons-learned reviews on successful and unsuccessful M&E practices and experience at the national level, and ensure they are shared as appropriate.  Similarly, pay attention to M&E knowledge networks to identify innovations and lessons learned that may be relevant for the CO and partners to improve their M&E function.

7.Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

1. Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from the field office monitoring efforts, for integration into the broader office knowledge development planning and management efforts. Ensure innovations are sought and implemented for planning and monitoring, especially with use of digital technology for data collection and analysis.

1. Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders

 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD_PME_P4_Monitoring_and_Data_Manager_PRIME SUD24024.docx

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

The following minimum requirements:

Education:An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Information Management or Information Systems, GIS Information Technologies, Computer Science, Statistics, Social Science or another subject area relevant to Information Management.

Experience:Professional work experience in programme development and implementation including monitoring and evaluation activities as follows:

• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional work experience. Developing country work experience (for IP) or field work experience (for NO)
• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in information management, data management, geographical information systems, assessments, situation analysis and/or PM&E with the UN and/or NGO is required, out of which, a minimum of 2 years of experience in a humanitarian context.
• Experience in leading and managing complex high-capacity technical teams is essential for this post.
• Experience in demonstrating excellent information management skills in a professional context is essential for this post.
• Experience working in the humanitarian coordination system is considered an asset.

The following desirables:

• Formal training in AoR/ Cluster Working Group Information Management is considered an advantage.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

 

ii) Core Competencies (For Staff with Supervisory Responsibilities) *

 

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

IM Competencies

• Applies Humanitarian Principles, Standards and Guidelines (3)
• Applies Key EiE Concepts and Tools (3)
• Manages Education Programmes (3)
• Operates Safely and Securely (3)
• Demonstrates Commitment to a Coordinated Response (3)
• Promotes Cooperation and Collaboration (3)
• Demonstrates Accountability (3)
• Promotes Inclusion (3)
• Provides Reliable Support to the Cluster (3)
• Collects, Collates and Analyses Relevant Data (3)
• Handles and Stores Data Efficiently and Sensitively (3)
• Communicates and Disseminates Information (3)
• Monitors the Response (3)
• Strengthens National Capacity to Respond and Lead (3)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

 

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.