Job Description
This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the development of Sri Lanka through effective monitoring and evaluation of key projects. The position offers exposure to a diverse portfolio of projects, collaboration with national and international stakeholders, and professional development opportunities within the UN system.
The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Senior Officer plays a crucial role in planning, development, and implementation of a comprehensive Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for UNOPS Sri Lanka projects. The M&E Senior Officer’s primary focus is to systematically track progress, assess performance, generate evidence for impact and identify areas for improvement throughout the project lifecycle. Aggregating programme-level results, ensuring robust data management and helping to prepare analysis and reports as needed. The M & E Senior Officer will report to the Head of Programme.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Senior Officer directly impacts the achievement of UNOPS Sri Lanka’s program and project results by coordinating the collation, reviewing, and analyzing of data from projects and programmes. This contributes towards improved performance through enhanced data management, an effective monitoring system through systematic tracking of progress and performance at programme and project levels, facilitating informed decisions at both project and programme level, and supporting communication and marketing initiatives to promote the visibility of UNOPS in Sri Lanka. Key outcomes will be improved quality, consistency, and effectiveness of project delivery, data management, and knowledge management. This consequently reinforces the visibility and image of the UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management; and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.
1. Portfolio level Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Responsibilities
- Define and introduce UNOPS Sri Lanka’s M&E approach to all projects and programme stakeholders.
- Put a robust M&E system that is aligned with UNOPS’ corporate M&E standards and guidelines.
- Coordinate and oversee the development, piloting and maintenance of databases and dashboards to accurately track data from various interventions across program activities.
- Ensure the implementation and maintenance of data back-up and retrieval systems.
- Develop performance metrics, collect and analyze key data to support timely and informed decision-making by UNOPS Sri Lanka management.
- Support the documentation of challenges, lessons learnt and recommendations to inform future learning and organizational development.
- Lead or support the preparation of Terms of Reference (ToRs) for procured services, including baseline surveys, mid-term reviews, end-of-project evaluations, annual reviews, and related reporting requirements.
- Lead the training and capacity development of programme and project staff, with a primary focus on Monitoring and Evaluation.
- Take minutes, manage records and documentation, and ensure accurate and organized documentation management
- Support various external and internal assessments, evaluations, and data requests.
2. Program/ project Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
- Coordinate the development of project logical frameworks, including the hierarchy of objectives, indicators, means of verification, assumptions, and risks. Provide strategic advice during project design to enable effective and comprehensive monitoring and measurement of project achievements.
- Ensure that sufficient resources are allocated for the defined M&E scope of work.
- Establish an M&E system that includes clear guidelines, implementation arrangements, and an M&E plan aligned with the project’s logical framework, financing agreement, and implementation plan.
- Design and implement data collection tools and methodologies (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, site visits) to gather data on project activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
- Document lessons learned, good practices, and innovations to support continuous improvement in project implementation.
- In coordination with the Head of Program, PMO, and Project Managers, develop an evaluation framework to measure project outcomes and impact. Prepare Terms of Reference (ToRs) for baseline, midline, and endline studies, as well as annual reviews and associated reporting requirements.
- Provide guidance to project teams and coordinate with Project Managers to ensure understanding of and compliance with reporting standards.
- Support the recruitment of M&E personnel at both UNOPS Sri Lanka and field office levels, including field enumerators, as necessary.
3. Communication and Knowledge Management
- Integrate knowledge management into the overall M&E framework, including the systematic recording and dissemination of lessons learned and best practices.
- Contribute to knowledge building and the dissemination of lessons learned across UNOPS Sri Lanka’s projects and programmes.
- Work closely with the Communications Unit to support the development of periodic publications, such as annual reports, monthly newsletters, and other communication and marketing materials.
- Actively engage with project and programme personnel to share case studies, lessons learned, and best practices.
- Support Engagement Developers in incorporating lessons learned from previous experiences into the design of new projects.
- Collaborate with the Communications Unit to disseminate evidence of project and programme impact to donors, partners, and beneficiaries.
4. Capacity building on M&E
- Develop a comprehensive M&E capacity-building plan for UNOPS Sri Lanka and lead its implementation across Sri Lanka
- Provide training and technical assistance to project staff on M&E tools, processes, and dashboards.
- Conduct regular capacity assessments to identify gaps and training needs within project teams.
- Train project staff on the use of dashboards, databases, OneUNOPS Collect, or any other M&E platforms used for data management.
- Mentor and coach project personnel, including field-level M&E teams, on M&E concepts, tools, and Methodologies.
