Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist, (IPSA-9), Accra, Ghana (UNCDF) [Open to internal and external applicants]

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organisation, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to “bring into operation the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organisation of the United Nations. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developed countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDF's vision is to help mobilise and catalyse an increase in capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.

UNCDF utilises its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF’s unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realisation of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031. 

As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organisation and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG-aligned projects in partnership with the private sector, UNOs, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions, as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets, and mobilise and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset, which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilise investment flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector.  By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognise the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF’s work is focused on six priority areas, including:   

• Sub-national and local infrastructure financing 
• Women-owned enterprise financing 
• Nature and climate financing 
• Energy and decarbonization finance 
• Sustainable food systems financing 
• Inclusive digital finance 

Following a recent restructuring, UNCDF’s organisational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand), with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and performs the function of the Executive Board of UNCDF. 

In Ghana, UNCDF is managing a portfolio of projects focused on youth empowerment, SME finance and climate finance for a total portfolio of 10M USD. Under this framework UNCDF team is supporting a wide range of service providers from the public and private sectors to design and pilot new business models to increase access and usage of digital services for the most vulnerable segments (youth, women, MSMEs in particular). To this end, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) is key for managing the implementation of the portfolio as well as the learning and result measurement strategy to inform implementation and also explore new opportunities. The MEL Specialist based out in Ghana is overall responsible for the MEL strategy.   

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the UNCDF Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning agenda at the country level 

• Lead on the gathering of insights and learnings from UNCDF interventions in-country to identify best practices and inform UNCDF programming to address development challenges, such as youth employment  
• Apply monitoring tools for all UNCDF interventions (results chains, project KPIs, data collection plans) and participate to the roll out of the implementation (field visits, key informant interviews, review and validation of partner reporting, project closing, etc.) to contribute to UNCDF’s country MEL framework 
• Design and implement quantitative and qualitative research to identify programme learnings, inform market engagements and capture programme results and impact. 
• Supervise evaluation exercises  

Lead MEL activities for selected partners to ensure delivery and achievement of targets  

• Ensure timely reporting of results to inform the UNCDF M&E exercise at the portfolio level and assist partners in identifying strengths and weaknesses to improve their performance  
• Contribute to the positioning of UNCDF in leading the efforts by supporting partners in building the business case, identifying critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and driving analysis and understanding of customer behaviour    
• Support the collection, review and analysis of partner reporting  
• Lead on specific partner’s activities that have MEL implications (e.g. surveys, data collection tools) 

Contribute to the development of the UNCDF of practice (CoP) in the country with key stakeholders 

• Conduct research on relevant themes using primary and secondary data sources    
• Contribute to knowledge dissemination for private sector and public sector stakeholders in the MEL framework and best practices  

Contribute to the corporate MEL activities   

• Lead on corporate reporting and corporate result framework 
• Ensure the country office complies with corporate requirements in terms of MEL and RBM 
• Be the focal point with the regional office for MEL activities    

Contribute to the kick-off and design of new programming  

• Contribute to proposal development and ensure that Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning frameworks are aligned to UNCDF and donors’ priorities.   

Facilitate knowledge sharing 

• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partners. 
• Organise training, workshops, and capacity building activities in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia 
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation. 

Competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: 

• Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline 

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: 

• Open to creative ideas/known risks, is a pragmatic problem solver, and makes improvements  

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: 

• Open-minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback 

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: 

• Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: 

• Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in the face of adversity, confident 

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: 

• Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships 

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: 

• Appreciate/respect differences, be aware of unconscious bias, and confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Development: Monitoring and Evaluation     

• Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; 
• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results. 
• Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmarks, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of the client, current and upcoming. 
• Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools. 
• Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Ability to anticipate the client's upcoming needs and concerns. 

Business Direction & Strategy: Systems Thinking      

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system  

Business Development: Collective Intelligence Design       

• Ability to bring together diverse groups of people, data, information, ideas, and technology to solve problems and design solutions or services. Knowledge and understanding of Collective Intelligence Design principles, methodology and practices   

Business Management: Portfolio Management      

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organisation's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity 
• Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management  

Business Management: Partnerships Management       

• Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies   

Digital: Agile methodologies and practices      

• Ability to manage projects and processes through continuous iteration, learning and improvement. 
• Ability to manage a self-organising cross-functional teams, foster a team culture of curiosity and learning. Being nimble and being able to improvise and quickly adjust to unforeseen events or changes in conditions or context.  

2030 Agenda Prosperity: Inclusive Growth       

• Jobs and Livelihoods  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent )  in Economics or Public Administration, Public Policy or related field is required. or   
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree)in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years (with Master’s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience in design, learning and insights development and/or monitoring and result measurement and evaluation in an international organisation  

Required skills:

• Experience in designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative research in the context of inclusive development   
• Experience in thematic areas related to financial inclusion, development finance and/or SME finance
• Experience in providing oversight to implementing partners in delivering activities around digital inclusion and digital financial services 

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section 

• Professional experience or exposure within a UN setting (UN entity or UN-funded project) 
• Proven experience developing and managing performance indicators, data collection tools, and tracking systems. 
• Hands-on experience conducting baseline, midline, endline evaluations, and impact assessments. 
• Experience in the project management cycle (PMC) principles, from design to evaluation 
• Capacity to do research and write technical publications 
• Experience and good knowledge of MEL tools such as Power BI 
• Experience preparing donor reports, learning briefs, dashboards, and data visualisation products. 
• Proven ability to build the capacity of field staff through training and mentoring on MEL systems and tools
• Exposure to Quantum (ERP platform), Exposure to the Ghanaian financial ecosystem 

Required Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.  

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organisation. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with a similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

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