Current vacancies

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, DEDICATION.

UNICEF’s Evaluation Policy (2023) outlines the purpose, standards, and governance of evaluations across the organization. It emphasizes the importance of delivering independent, credible, and useful evaluations at all levels—corporate, regional, and country—according to the norms and standards of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG). The policy defines evaluation as a systematic and impartial assessment of various organizational activities and stresses the principles of rigor, transparency, learning, and accountability. All evaluations must adhere to ethical standards, especially when involving human subjects or sensitive data, as guided by UNICEF’s Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection, and Analysis.

To support its evaluation work, the LACRO Evaluation Section is seeking qualified consultants under a Long-Term Agreement (LTA) to provide services in two main areas: conducting quality reviews of evaluation documents such as terms of reference and reports and offering technical support for evidence generation in evaluative exercises.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this LTA is to provide support to UNICEF’s evaluative work in the LAC region through the preparation, conduct, and follow-up of related processes in the highest quality manner. It will support a more efficient and regionalized production of high-quality evidence that will feed into UNICEF programming and advocacy efforts and ultimately support decision-making.

To this end, UNICEF seeks to establish a pool of LTAs with individual consultants to provide services for a range of evaluative products that UNICEF LACRO and country and multi-country offices manage and commission. The two service categories are:

a) Quality review key evaluative deliverables
• Quality assurance of terms of reference (completed review matrix for terms of reference)
• Quality assurance of inception reports (completed review matrix for inception reports)
• Quality assurance of draft evaluation reports (completed review matrix for draft evaluation reports)

b) Support the conduct of evaluative exercises
• Planning (draft terms of reference)
• Preparation (draft inception reports)
• Data collection and analysis (draft report)
• Reporting (final draft report)
• Dissemination (Other relevant evaluative products)

For both LTA service categories (i.e., quality review and conduct), “evaluative exercises” are defined as encompassing the following types of UNICEF products:

• Country program evaluations
• Evaluability assessments
• Ex-ante evaluations
• Formative evaluations
• Impact evaluations
• Meta-evaluations
• Portfolio evaluations
• Process evaluations
• Programme reviews
• Real-time evaluation
• Summative evaluations
• Thematic evaluations
• Tracer study/evaluation
• Value for money analysis

Certain evaluative methods and techniques are relevant for other UNICEF evidence functions such as research, studies, assessments. In the UNICEF taxonomy of evidence, there are activities that may be used in part or in whole within an evaluation. For the purposes of the LTA, the following methods and techniques can accordingly be secured through the LTA either as part of an evaluation or as a stand-alone exercise.

• Behavioural insights and nudging
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Cross-sectional surveys
• Development of new analytical methods and tools to apply in monitoring and evaluation systems
• Development of new products or local contextualization of an existing product
• Developing a theory of change
• Determinant analysis
• Foresight analysis
• Ethnographic research
• Innovation testing, especially technologically enhanced/mobile solutions
• Longitudinal surveys and cohort studies
• Multi-dimensional poverty Index (MPI) and Multidimensional Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA)
• Operational research and implementation research
• Pilot programmes
• Proof of concept efforts
• Social network analysis
• Social norms determination
• Systematic reviews
• Scalability analysis

For more information, please go to the full version of the Terms of Reference English - Spanish 

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

• • Advanced University Degree in disciplines relevant to evaluative work (social sciences, health, education, management sciences, and others). 
• A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in managing, designing and/or implementing evaluative exercises with/for United Nations agencies (particularly with UNICEF) or other relevant partners:
  - covering a wide range of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, and/or
  - covering experimental, quasi- and non-experimental evaluation designs using participatory, case study, longitudinal as well as rapid approaches; experience with impact evaluations is considered as an asset.
• A track record in specific sectoral areas of interest to the UNICEF mandate (child protection, education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, social inclusion, adolescence, social policy, communication for development, climate change, innovation, gender equality) within development and/or humanitarian contexts.
• Full professional proficiency (analytical, written and editorial) is required in English and/or Spanish.

Considered as an asset:

• Experience in providing quality and/or oversight of evaluation and research processes and outputs (e.g., terms of reference, inception reports, and draft evaluation reports), preferably with United Nations agencies, is considered an asset.
• A deep understanding of evaluation quality and ethical issues in UNICEF areas of intervention, and more particularly for evaluations involving children, adolescents and youth as well vulnerable groups of population, including people living with disabilities.
• Familiarity with United Nations evaluation quality and ethical standards for terms of reference, inception reports and evaluation reports; experience applying UNICEF quality standards (GEROS) will be an added advantage.
• Advanced proficiency in Portuguese and/or French will be considered an advantage.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset. 

APPLICATION & EVALUATION CRITERIA: 

The application to be submitted through the online portal must include the following four required documents: (1) a detailed profile/CV listing relevant experience and qualifications, including specific experience matching the technical evaluation criteria, (2) a short cover letter (approximately 300 words) in English or Spanish; list of publications / portfolio of at least three (3) relevant evaluative products and methods/techniques (see Section 2) written by the individual bidder; (4) financial bid detailing their daily fee for the assignment.

Note: Without all the above requested elements, the application will be considered invalid and will not be considered.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.