Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist

Job Description

Dutystation: Yangon, Myanmar

Functional responsibilities

Key Functions:

1. MEAL Design and Planning

2. Partnerships Building and Partner Support

3. Capacity Strengthening and Knowledge Management

4. Monitoring and Reporting

5. Risk Mitigation

MEAL design and planning:

• Work closely with the Senior Programme Manager and M&E Retainer to develop the MEAL Framework and Work Plan.

• Provide and coordinate technical support to projects on the development of their project MEAL frameworks and associated tools to ensure that partners meet the Project M&E requirements, including developing and updating the results framework and MEAL plan, including KPI´s for existing and new projects.

• Coordinate periodic reviews of M&E tools, guidelines, and processes - consolidating recommendations for necessary updates for review by Senior Programme Manager and M&E Retainer and undertaking follow-up actions, as required.

• Lead project planning processes related to MEAL work plan and budget.

• Establish and/or maintain a reliable MEAL framework according to the donors’ requirements and UNOPS policies and principles to ensure quality and compliance.

• Monitor operations and ensure quality deliverables.

Partnerships Building and Partner Support:

• Become familiar with the project teams’ objectives, challenges, and methods to understand and provide relevant information and advice.

• Create dynamics to regularly meet and participate in relevant discussions within the teams to constantly learn about their performance and needs.

• Coordinate closely with the team leads to ensure constant communication and fluent interaction between both parties.

• Liaise with HQ when necessary for benchmarking, networking, and/or capacity-building purposes.

• Become a trusted advisor for the project team and UNOPS.

• Conduct comprehensive and ongoing assessments of partner’s MEAL systems and identify areas for capacity development to improve the overall quality of data reported to the project.

• Participate in project field visits to review implementing partner MEAL systems and conduct data quality reviews.

Capacity Strengthening and Knowledge Management

• Guide relevant project personnel on the utilization of the project framework implementation tools to ensure consistency in their application across the Project.

• Support project staff with training and mentoring on routine monitoring procedures and monitoring techniques.

• Provide coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training to the project team to improve their skills and constantly raise the bar.

• Organize annual re-skilling and up-skilling sessions with the project team.

• Support in developing KM mechanisms and processes for the project.

• Establish practices to incorporate project studies’ findings, lessons learned, achievements, and gaps, to ensure knowledge management.

• Facilitate process review and lessons learned exercises, including data collected to assess improvement opportunities and act upon them.

• Conduct relevant M&E training and related capacity development activities to ensure implementing partner MEAL systems are fully operational and in compliance with the Project’s MEAL standards.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Oversee implementation of day-to-day M&E activities and raising issues affecting implementation and proposing subsequent actions to the Senior Programme Manager in a timely manner.

• Oversee the collection and timely reporting of data and statistics.

• Lead the regular reporting process for the Programme and work closely with the Project teams to ensure alignment and quality/reliable data.

• Consolidate and draft inputs for regular reporting exercises.

• Create an effective, efficient, and reliable framework for data reporting.

• Establish reporting parameters with the Senior Programme Manager and M&E Retainer, to ensure timely compliance of reports requirements and deliverables.

Risk Mitigation

• Identify and mitigate risks related to the Programme´s performance and proactively communicate them.

• Identify risks affecting the implementation of Programme M&E activities, raising these risks and proposing subsequent actions to the Senior Programme Manager and M&E Retainer in a timely manner;

• Ensure putting in place the right mechanisms to identify and act on risk management, considering the Programme’s processes and UNOPS policies and principles.

• Create a risk management culture within the Project MEAL team, to enhance proactivity and safeguard the Programme’s interests.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education:

• A Master’s degree preferably in social sciences, statistics, international development, public administration, sociology, or similar is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s) in the above fields with an additional 2 years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) at the programme level, preferably in rural or community development, livelihoods, climate, or related fields, is required.
• Minimum 2 years experience in designing, implementing, and overseeing monitoring and evaluation system is required.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative M&E methodologies is required.
• Experience in coordinating or managing diverse stakeholders is required.
• Experience in leading or coordinating teams is required.
• Previous experience designing and implementing gender-sensitive or disability-inclusive M&E would be a distinct advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in mainstreaming MEAL practices within large-scale development projects is highly desirable.
• Experience working with the UN or international organizations is highly desirable.
• Experience with database management would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Myanmar is required.
• Knowledge of an additional UN language is desirable.
• Knowledge of other languages spoken in Myanmar would be an advantage.

About the Organization

TOGETHER, WE BUILD THE FUTURE

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.

Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

We are proud of our people and embrace diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunities. Our workforce brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners. Spread across 80 countries from a range of backgrounds, and languages and have different gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.

We encourage women and candidates from underrepresented groups in UNOPS to apply. These include candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.