Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

Since 1995, UNOPS has maintained an active presence in Afghanistan, delivering efficient, agile services in support of both humanitarian response and development efforts. Prior to August 2021, the Afghanistan Country Office (AFCO) implemented projects across a broad range of sectors, including infrastructure, procurement, capacity building, and environmental protection. In response to evolving humanitarian needs, AFCO has shifted its focus to supporting life-saving initiatives and basic human needs. Current priorities include managing large-scale cash-for-work programmes, procuring emergency supplies, and providing inter-agency coordination, communication, and accountability support.

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist will be part of the Aid Coordination and Effectiveness Section of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UN RCO) in Afghanistan. The incumbent will support implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting under the UNSFA and the humanitarian-basic human needs coordination architecture, and will help strengthen system-wide data coherence and evidence-informed policy advice. The incumbent will report to the Head of the Resident Coordinator’s Office and will submit activity reports and other required documentation to UNOPS in accordance with applicable contractual and administrative procedures. 

The M&E Specialist will strengthen system-wide monitoring, evaluation, learning, data analysis and reporting across the UN’s engagement in Afghanistan. The position will ensure the effective tracking of results, quality and coherence of programme, financing and performance data, and provide evidence-based analysis to support strategic planning, informed decision-making, accountability and learning under the UNSFA and the humanitarian-basic human needs-development nexus. The role will also contribute to strengthening inter-agency M&E systems, results frameworks, reporting mechanisms, data governance and capacity development across UN entities and partners.`

• Coordinate and support inter-agency monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting efforts, and provide technical advice to the Head of the Resident Coordinator’s Office. 

• Maintain and strengthen a comprehensive, risk-informed and conflict-sensitive system for monitoring and reporting on the UNSFA, its Joint Work Plans and relevant humanitarian-basic human needs linkages.  

• Serve as the UN RCO focal point for M&E within the Programme Management Team (PMT), its relevant task teams and other inter-agency mechanisms. 

• Support the PMT in developing and updating UNSFA Joint Work Plans, results frameworks, indicators, baselines and targets, and coordinate timely and quality-assured updates in UN INFO.

• Coordinate agency-specific monitoring and reporting capacities and engage, as appropriate, with the Afghanistan Coordination Group (ACG) and other partners to promote coherent approaches, reduce duplication and improve the use of evidence.

• Liaise closely with UN agency M&E, data and reporting focal points, and with relevant ACG members, to collect, validate and analyse accurate information on implementation progress, results, financing, geographic coverage and identified gaps.

• Work closely with the UNCT, PMT and relevant results groups or thematic mechanisms to facilitate data collection, analysis and the preparation of periodic and annual collective reports in a One UN voice.

• Work closely with the Data and Visualization Officer and relevant technical teams to develop and maintain accessible dashboards, maps, infographics and analytical products based on verified UN and partner data.

• Ensure that results and monitoring frameworks comply with results-based management principles and integrate human rights, gender equality, leave no one behind, disability inclusion, conflict sensitivity and risk-informed programming.

• Consolidate, analyse and synthesize collective UN results and financing data for periodic reporting through UN INFO, the UNCT Annual Results Report, funding and indicator fact sheets, and other strategic products.

• Support independent evaluations, reviews and evaluability assessments of the UNSFA and other collective frameworks, including preparation of terms of reference, evidence repositories, stakeholder consultations, quality assurance, management responses and follow-up tracking.

• Coordinate with the UNCT on the timely provision, validation and reconciliation of programme, results and financial data, and document data limitations and methodological caveats.

• Serve as secretariat support to the inter-agency Data Working Group and engage relevant task teams and stakeholders to advance common data standards, metadata, interoperability, data-sharing protocols and a harmonized approach across UN and partner data systems.

• Contribute to Common Country Analysis updates, strategic foresight and trend analysis, end-of-cycle reviews and the design of subsequent UN strategic frameworks, as required.

• Develop and improve UN reporting templates, guidance and quality-assurance tools, and strengthen staff capacity in M&E, data quality, analysis and reporting.

• Develop training packages and organize capacity-development activities for relevant UN personnel and partners.

• Prepare evidence-based briefing notes, talking points, presentations and other analytical products for the Resident Coordinator, the RCO, senior delegations and visitors on UN results, financing, vulnerabilities and operational trends in Afghanistan.

• Prepare and distribute concise records of decisions and action points from relevant coordination meetings, and monitor follow-up.

• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor. 

Required

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in monitoring and evaluation, statistics, economics, social sciences, public policy, development studies, data science or another relevant field is required.

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Required

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in programme monitoring and evaluation, results-based management, data collection and analysis, strategic planning or reporting is required. 

• Proven experience in developing results frameworks, indicators, M&E systems and reporting or data-visualization tools is required. 

Desired

• Experience with UN INFO or comparable results-reporting platforms, data-quality assurance, and quantitative and qualitative analytical methods is desirable.

• Experience working in a complex humanitarian, fragile or conflict-affected setting is desirable. 

• Familiarity with the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, inter-agency coordination, evaluations and strategic foresight is desirable. 

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
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• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.