Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist - Evidence & Learning with and for Adolescent Girls (P-4), PG Gender Equality, New York HQ #00131023

Job no: 577863

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment

Duty Station: New York

Location: United States

Categories: Gender Development

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, … a champion

Gender equality is essential to realizing the mandate of UNICEF to uphold the rights of all children. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan (GAP), 2022–2025, operationalizes the UNICEF Gender Policy, 2021–2030, by specifying how UNICEF will promote gender equality across its programmes and workplaces. It affirms that promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of organizational role. The GAP elaborates the steps required to accelerate progress on gender equality across the five Goal Areas of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, as well as within institutional systems and processes, with clear indicators and monitoring mechanisms to track change. Recognizing that gender discrimination has lifelong and intergenerational impacts, the GAP advances gender equality throughout the life course. At the same time, it promotes targeted actions to advance the leadership and well-being of adolescent girls, as girls are both disproportionately affected by gender inequality and have tremendous potential to be leaders for change. This dual-track approach goes beyond responding to the manifestations of gender inequality to tackle its underlying drivers, including by engaging boys and men as allies; advancing upstream financing and policy solutions; and supporting girls’ agency and voice.

UNICEF has launched an Adolescent Girls’ Programme Strategy which aims to accelerate action against these commitments, and articulates a vision for moving forwards, with and for adolescent girls’, to deliver multi-faceted, girl-targeted programming, working in partnership with other partners, especially girl-led and girl-focused organisations. Girls' voice, agency and empowerment is at the core of the strategy.  

Much progress has been made in implementing this new strategy, with millions of adolescent girls reached through under the pilot programmes under the POWER4Girls Initiative umbrella; a new Global Girl Leaders Advisory Group launched; a new Adolescent Girls’ Data Portal; new research programmes kickstarted, and more. But more is needed to spearhead and institutionalize focused work on adolescent girls rights in a holistic way.  

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF is seeking a passionate Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist to drive evidence and learning in support of adolescent girls' well-being and empowerment. Guided by UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan and Adolescent Girls’ Programme Strategy, this role will work under the supervision of the Senior Advisor, Gender Equality. As part of the Global Team leading the adolescent girls’ agenda, you will collaborate with Gender and Adolescent Development colleagues to oversee a robust portfolio of 46 country programs under the POWER4Girls Initiative. These programs aim to enhance adolescent girls' skills, protection, health, and leadership through multisectoral approaches.

This role presents a unique opportunity to shape the ‘evidence into action’ agenda, translating research into impactful programming for girls worldwide. You will lead knowledge generation efforts, support implementation research, and work closely with UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti, Data & Analytics, and Global Office of Evaluation to bridge the gap between evidence and practice. If you are passionate about improving outcomes for adolescent girls and advancing gender equality, this position offers a chance to make a tangible, lasting impact.   

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

● The Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist will lead the development of a strategic evidence and learning agenda centered on advancing the rights and empowerment of adolescent girls. Working closely with the Senior Advisor and collaborating with the Global Girl Leaders Advisory Group, UNICEF staff, and research colleagues, the role ensures that the evidence agenda is both inclusive and practical, driving meaningful shifts in policy and practice. Key responsibilities include planning the overall evidence portfolio, aligning global research priorities with programmatic needs, and coordinating with external partners to build high-quality learning opportunities. By managing contracts, consultants, and partnerships, this role will deliver evidence-based insights that inform and enhance UNICEF’s adolescent girls' programming.

● The Specialist will co-create and manage evidence generation projects in collaboration with UNICEF’s country offices and a global network of adolescent girl champions. This includes designing project management plans, providing technical oversight for research methods, and ensuring high-quality outputs such as reports and policy briefs. Additionally, the role involves conducting literature reviews, identifying knowledge gaps, and fostering engagement with internal and external stakeholders to shape UNICEF’s adolescent girl agenda. By staying abreast of emerging research and representing UNICEF in evidence forums, the Specialist will strengthen the organization’s capacity to advocate for and implement transformative policies and programs for adolescent girls worldwide.

The following minimum requirements:

Education:

Advanced university degree (Masters or higher) in the social sciences (i.e. sociology, demography, psychology, political science, social policy or economics), public health, public policy, public administration, international development, or in an area relevant to UNICEF’s sectoral work (e.g. Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education, Child Protection, Social Inclusion, HIV/AIDs, etc.)

Work Experience:

● Minimum eight years of relevant professional experience and demonstrated track record of having undertaken and led substantive programming and research on gender/adolescent girls and development in key issue areas that are the focus of UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan.

● Proven experience drafting quality research outputs for different stakeholders and audiences is required.

● Experience working in a development setting, managing programmes and / or research is required.

Desirables

● Strong experience in statistical analysis utilizing large data sets, is as asset.

● Experience with qualitative data collection methods and analysis techniques highly desirable.

● Demonstrated people management skills and the ability to forge and manage partnerships.

Assets

● Experience advocating with industry and multistakeholder platforms, investment institutions, governments, NGOs, or within the corporate sector, including coordinating advocacy efforts with others.

● Knowledge of econometric models and identification strategies to test impact of programmes an asset

● Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

● Familiarity/ background with emergency contexts is considered as an asset.

● Demonstrated excellence in writing and verbal communication; experience with proposal writing an asset.

Language Requirements:

● Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

● Builds and maintains partnerships

● Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

● Drive to achieve results for impact

● Innovates and embraces change

● Manages ambiguity and complexity

● Thinks and acts strategically

● Works collaboratively with others 

● Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Advertised: 13 Dec 2024 Eastern Standard Time

Deadline: 01 Jan 2025 Eastern Standard Time

Apply now