Terms
of Reference for TA
Position Title: Programme Officer, Research & Evaluation,
(Temporary Appointment –TA)
Level
: NO-A
Location : Nairobi
Duration : One-year
Start Date : April 2012
Reporting to: Research and Evaluation
Specialist
Justification
Efforts to monitor
progress in relation to human rights or the MDG targets crucially depend on the
availability of evidence-based statistics. Evidence is key in influencing
social sector budgets, informing policies as well as supporting the implementation
and ensuring that social policies and programmes benefit particularly those who
are excluded from decisions that affect their lives. The Research and evaluation
role of the SPME section covers routine data collection, review of evidence
from synthesis of studies, and support to the indicator development, tracking
and reporting at the country office level.
Collecting national data is a very expensive undertaking, and while the
benefits might out-weigh the costs of collecting this information, the key
remains in the timely completion of the surveys and eventual utilization of the
findings in developing appropriate policies. As Kenya devolves its political
and social governance structures, the relevance of having more disaggregated
data at lower levels of governance has become more important. UNICEF supports
the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) as part of the goal to narrow the
information gaps required for appropriate planning, monitoring the situation of
children and women, advocacy, accountability and measuring progress of good
governance. The use of comparable MICS tools enables many countries to produce
statistically-sound and internationally comparable estimates for a range of
indicators, including, health, education, child protection and HIV and AIDS. In
Kenya, UNICEF recently supported the Eastern province district level MICS, and the
Mombasa informal settlement MICS which were published and disseminated in 2011.
Within the same year, County level MICS was undertaken in the 6 counties in
Nyanza Province. Currently, this data is undergoing analysis prior to report
writing, publication and dissemination in the first half of 2012. During the
last half of 2012, the section will undertake a new set of surveys at the
county levels in Western and Rift Valley provinces. Beyond the management and planning function
of the routine devolved Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), the sections
supports the following activities: Updating and synthesis of the Situation
analysis report; contributes to the technical reviews of other on-going
national surveys; development of analytical products and factsheets documenting
the relevant evidence for policy making; support the inception activities for
undertaking level three monitoring and bottleneck analysis, etc.
In order to support the research and evaluations roles of the sections, UNICEF KCO is
seeking a suitable candidate to support the team for a period of one year.
Scope of Work/Responsibilities
Under the guidance and
supervision of the Research and Evaluation Specialist, the staff will focus on addressing
the thematic areas within the section that profile the situation of children
and women. This temporary appointment will contribute to the intermediate result
4: Quality and timely disaggregated data
available and used for evidence-based policy planning, monitoring and
evaluation of the rights of women and children by 2013.
Specifically, this
position will:
·
Provide coordination and analytical support towards the
drafting of the 2012 Situation Analysis (SitAn) Report and provide background
research on identified priority areas for SitAn,
·
Support the design of the bottleneck analysis research (an
initial situation analysis followed by operational research) together with
Social Policy Unit and in collaboration with the National agencies (MED, KNBS)
and relevant sections;
·
Support the data analysis and report writing activities of
the Nyanza MICS reports, including the support
towards developing the advocacy plan and final launch of the survey reports;
·
Support the online CRING data upload for the country office
with the support of the NYQ team and office sections;
·
Provide technical support and coordinate of other planned and on-going national
data collection exercise, overseeing quality of the data (PPA IV, KIHBS,
National Survey prevalence of Drug abuse, etc);
·
Support the KenInfo activities and review of data tables in the UNCRC reports;
·
Support initial planning activities for addressing the Birth
Registration concerns among vulnerable and marginalised populations.
·
Routinely support the UNDAF M&E working group on national
level planned data activities.
The position will work
synergistically with the office of the Deputy Representative and the various
M&E focal persons in the various sections as well as focal persons at the
UNCT level and government agencies where applicable.
Expected Deliverables
1. Coordinate/support the development of
survey reports and final launch of the county level reports. Includes linking
findings to KenInfo platforms and develop sector briefs and factsheets for
policy advocacy.
·
Support
the questionnaire review, translation, and monitoring sheets for the next
county-level MICS survey in Western and Rift Valley provinces.
·
Support
the final report writing and publication activities of the Nyanza MICS reports.
This will include extraction of relevant data for developing factsheets and
supporting advocacy plans.
·
Manage
the dissemination activities and advocacy plan at the provincial and county
level to ensure maximum use for the survey findings at the 6 county levels.
·
Analyse
and support the new CRING web enabled web-link and support data extraction for
supporting the data entry for the new online platform.
End Result(s):
Nyanza county level survey reports published, operational
survey support initiated for new surveys, and CRING national indicators updated
and uploaded.
2. In collaboration with other Sections,
coordinate a series of interactive activities aimed at initiating the bottleneck
analysis, SitAn review, update and timely publication.
·
Plan
and implement a series of virtual discussions targeting SitAn working groups
comprising of several representatives from various Universities.
·
Drive
the review and update of the various chapters for the new SitAn report
emphasizing knowledge gained from pilot studies, analysing bottlenecks and
scale up of innovative technologies and programmatic approaches.
·
Coordinate
and carry out preliminary synthesis and analysis to inform the bottleneck
analysis from an external view of local publications and information sources.
·
Coordinate
technical support for programme reviews particularly with respect to
gap/bottleneck analyses and level three monitoring
End Result(s):
SitAn analysis and write-up supported
inception synthesis report on bottleneck analysis undertaken.
3. Coordinate opportunities for enhancing
quality in national level surveys and studies, M&E systems support and
exchange of knowledge and information sharing on M&E monitoring tools
·
Provide
technical support to priority surveys that evaluate the situation of women and
children in Kenya (Drug-use survey, urban informal settlements survey,
Household budget survey, etc).
·
Identify
opportunities for highlighting progress, experiences, and lessons learned
through various channels, such as presentations at key events, newsletter
articles, or other publications.
·
Support
the birth registration planning activities on increasing coverage and equity
re-dress in proportions of births registered among the most vulnerable and
marginalised populations.
·
Support
the review and update of statistical annexes featured in the UNCRC report due
2012.
End Result(s):
Opportunities for M&E systems and quality national
level data collection supported and a forum for highlighting, experiences and
lessons learned instituted. UNCRC report
completed with accurate statistical annexes.
Desired background and experience
·
Advanced
university degree in public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, or another
information management-related discipline with relevance to UNICEF’s work on
research and evaluation OR two years of relevant work experience in the field
research.
·
At
least two years progressive experience working for international organization
in public health, statistics, research and project design, or monitoring and
evaluation.
·
Familiarity
of tools and techniques related to multi-disciplinary assessment and analysis
of data on children and women;
·
Strong
skills and proven track record in development of factsheets, data synthesis and
familiarity with data manipulation skills or quantitative data analysis.
·
Excellent
report writing skills and ability to present data and graphics in a
user-friendly manner;
·
Familiarity
with issues related to equity, gender analysis, public health, bottleneck
analysis, child development;
·
Early
career experience in report writing based on empirical research;
·
Ability
to synthesize technical information into simple, understandable manner;
·
Excellent
interpersonal and communication skills, and an ability to communicate with
partners of diverse backgrounds.
·
Experience
working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset.
·
Fluency
in English
Conditions
(Important)
The TA is expected to commit fully to this
task and respect the attached rules and regulations governing UNICEF TA
appointments.
Applications quoting reference number KCO/PPME/2012-16 should be
addressed to:
Human Resources Manager
UNICEF Kenya Country Office
Email: kenyahrvacancies@unicef.org
Closing date for receipt of applications is 11 April 2012.
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