Vacancy Announcement: Chief Planning and Monitoring (Research), P4, Fixed Term, Amman, Jordan Country Office, #87736 (non-Jordanian only)
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, Protection
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is leader in the region for the rights of its children. Working closely with the Government of Jordan, civil society, the private sector and communities, UNICEF Jordan Country Office aims to sustain results achieved for children to date, and strive to further improve policies, national institutions and programmes, for the well-being of every child in Jordan, in line with Jordan's Vision 2025 and the National Human Resources Development Strategy (2016-2025) towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Our programmes focus on improving the lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the Kingdom, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or background. Our main pillars include: Child Protection; Education; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Adolescent and Youth Engagement; Health and Nutrition; Social Protection; and Operations.
How can you make a difference?
The Chief of Programme Planning and Monitoring will support the Deputy Representative-Programmes and lead in preparation, review and analysis of strategic programme planning documentation and processes, including the overall Country Programme planning, Country Programme mid-term reviews / strategic moments of reflection and end year reflections. The incumbent will ensure that the UNICEF Country Office has useful, valid and reliable information on the situation of children’s and women’s rights and the performance of UNICEF-supported programmes.
Specific responsibilities are highlighted below:
Programme planning and performance monitoring.
Ensure that the Country Office and national partners have well-prioritized and realistic programme plans and monitoring activities, developed collaboratively that provides all the relevant and strategic information needed to manage the Country Programme.
Duties & Tasks
• Contribute to the coordination and development of the Country Programme Document, including providing guidance and quality assurance support in the development of result-based programme strategies.
• Coordinate the organizing and managing of annual/mid-year/mid-term/end term country programme reviews ensuring consistency with objectives set out in the CPD and contribute to the Annual Management Plan.
• Coordinate the process of guiding, developing and monitoring Rolling/Annual Work Plans, including reporting on progress of the equity and gender markers as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Guidance. Coordinate efforts around convergent and multi-sectoral programming in annual planning.
• Assure the quality of child rights-based programmes through consistent and effective planning, design, implementation, monitoring and/or evaluation of programmes and projects. Bring coherence, synergy and added value to the programming planning and design processes using a results-based management approach to programme design. Monitor follow-up actions based on management decisions resulting from Country Office performance monitoring results.
• Coordinate the programme components to effectively monitor and report on the intersectoral programme results, cross sectoral programme component results to facilitate programme coherence and convergence where appropriate.
• Provide technical oversight to programme sections to effectively monitor and report on the intersectoral programme results.
• Likewise, support the development of UNSDCF M&E Plans from a sound results-based programming lens.
• Identify the monitoring objectives, priorities, and activities required for effective CO and partner Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans,
• 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, working in close collaboration with the humanitarian clusters partners.
• After the initial humanitarian response, support management of the medium-term response with a revised monitoring plans.
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
• In coordination with other stakeholders, coordinate the collection of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other key social development indicators (through DHS or other surveys) to improve national planning.
• Ensure the Country Office and national partners use data and monitoring plans that provide relevant and strategic information to manage national programmes and the UNICEF Country Programme, including supporting the establishment and management of national statistical databases and 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.
• 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.
Programme Performance Monitoring and Knowledge Exchange
Ensure that the Country Office has quality information to assess progress towards expected results established in annual work plans.
Duties & Tasks
• In close coordination with partners, ensure that a set of programme performance indicators is identified and adjusted as necessary, in the context of the rolling and annual monitoring plans, the Annual Management Plan and Rolling/Annual Work Plans, as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Manual.
• Provide technical support to Deputy Representative to ensure that key annual programme indicators are tracked and analysed with the contribution of implementing partners and provided regularly to the Country Management Team for effective programme and management decisions.
• Oversee to ensure that data collection and analysis from field visits is coordinated and standardised across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring and gender mainstreaming. Ensure optimum use of staff resources.
• Provide technical advice in order that management reports including relevant sections of the annual reports are prepared drawing on monitoring and analysis of key management indicators.
• Enhance and coordinate the overall office field monitoring strategy and implementation of programme implementation monitoring. Ensure generation of analysis of programme implementation efforts and learning and support usage of analysis and learning for programme adjustment, including through monthly PMT meetings and mid and annual reviews.
• Coordinate the establishment of robust information management systems to support the consolidation, visualization and analysis of development and humanitarian programme data collected from the sectors to enhance programme monitoring, implementation and adjustment as needed
• Coordinate country office knowledge management and exchange efforts, ensuring timely generation of learning for programme adjustment
Implementing partnerships management
Ensure that UNICEF implementing partners deliver quality services that help to push UNICEF’s mandate.
Duties & Tasks
- Coordinate with and/or seek technical support of the Regional Office on implementation of eTools procedures.
- Coordinate and oversee that the results framework within the donor proposals, reports and programme documents with NGOs are of quality and related to the workplan nad CPD.
Capacity Building
Ensure that the planning and monitoring capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead planning and monitoring processes.
Duties & Tasks
• In close collaboration with partners, ensure that a capacity building strategy for UNICEF/UN staff national partners and institutions exists in the context of the IMEP, or UNSDCF monitoring plan.
• In coordination with senior managers, develop staff capacity development strategy and plans, and exercise effective leadership in implementing them, ensuring that Country Office staffs have the basic knowledge and skills to fulfil their monitoring responsibilities, and training is planned and carried out to fill identified gaps. Organize, design and conduct country workshops and seminars as needed.
• Actively seek partnerships with knowledge institutions for the identification of capacity gaps and development of strategies to address them.
• Lead and guide the development of training materials, as well as delivery of training in gender-sensitive, results-oriented planning and monitoring.
Coordination and Networking
Ensure that the UNICEF office is effectively linked to wider UNICEF P&M developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective P&M management.
Duties & Tasks
• Collaborate with Regional Advisers for overall coordination of planning, monitoring, reporting and knowledge management activities especially those of regional scope requiring the coordinated effort of multiple countries.
• Facilitate macro level integrated planning and monitoring activities within the Country Office, with national partners, the UN Country Team and the wider international community, in the context of internal office management plans, the country programme process, the UNSDCF and sector wide approaches, incorporating transparency on gender inequalities and using, where applicable, strategies for gender mainstreaming across sectors.
• Build partnerships within and outside the organization. Work collaboratively with clients and partners. Facilitate joint monitoring activities with national partners, the UN Country Team and the wider international community, wherever possible in the context of the above processes.
• Provide synthesis of monitoring results to the country office senior management, the Country Management Team and key programme and operations staff.
• Facilitate learning from the results of monitoring within the Country Office and more widely within UNICEF in the region and globally, as well as among national partners and other key stakeholders, ensuring that gender equality is a standard feature.
• Coordinate with other UN agencies in the country and share lessons on partnership management and coordinate in supporting partners.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
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Education: Advanced university degree in social sciences, statistics, planning development or relevant degree applicable to the post will be considered.
Experience:
A minimum of eight years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: programme development/management, planning and management, monitoring or another related area.
Experience working in a middle income country is considered as an asset.
Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
Technical Knowledge
Specific Technical Knowledge Required (for the job)
(Technical knowledge requirements specific to the job can be added here as required.)
• Comprehensive understanding of various approaches and methods of Programme and Project Planning and Monitoring
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in methodological guides for all types of Monitoring.
• Knowledge of Human Rights, Gender and Equity issues and their implications of projects/programmes.
• Knowledge of Result Based Management and Strategic Monitoring.
• Emerging international good practice in planning and monitoring.
Common Technical Knowledge Required (for the job group)
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in methodology of Monitoring, including theories, standards and models, quantitative/qualitative/mixed methods, validity/reliability testing of data, data analysis and interpretation, and statistical inference methods.
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in Activity Monitoring, data analysis, and reporting.
Technical Knowledge to be Acquired/Enhanced (for the Job)
• Professional/technical knowledge of best practices, lessons learned, follow-up on recommendations, communication and dissemination
• Understanding of UNICEF’s policies and procedures for programming, monitoring and evaluation guidelines.
• UNICEF strategic framework for partnerships and collaborative relationships.
• Latest programme monitoring, methodology, technology and tools.
• Understanding of UN Mission and system, current key UN topics; and International Code of Conduct.
• Understanding of UNICEF Mission Statement and UNICEF Guiding Principles.
Specific Technical Knowledge & Competencies Required (for the job)
• Knowledge of Project Planning and Monitoring
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in project planning and monitoring.
• Emerging international good practice in planning and monitoring partnerships.
Technical Knowledge to be Acquired/Enhanced
• Professional/technical knowledge/expertise in Team Management, Coaching & Training.
• Mastery of UNICEF’s Planning and Monitoring policies and procedures.
• Latest programme planning and monitoring methodology, technology and tools.
• Understanding of UN Mission and system, current key UN topics; and International Code of Conduct.
• Understanding of UNICEF Mission Statement and UNICEF Guiding Principles.
• UNICEF strategic framework for partnerships and collaborative relationships.
Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or Arabic is considered as an asset.
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. For the position, suitable candidates will receive preferential consideration and selection, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements stated above.
UNICEF offers a wide range of benefits to its personnel, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. The UNICEF Jordan Country Office has an elevator as well as accessible bathrooms. Core hours in Jordan Country Office are from 08:00 to 15:15 (excluding lunch break), from Sunday to Thursday.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.
Remarks:
For international posts: Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process
This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with child, is a safeguarding response role or has been assessed as an elevated risk role for child safeguarding. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.
Mobility Remark:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service
