Background

The UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women is operational in Moldova since 2010 on the basis of former UNIFEM projects, which were laid and active in the country from 2007. It extended continuous support to the Government of Moldova, to key stakeholders from national and local levels, through various programmes and activities aimed at creating an enabling environment for gender equality, recognized as a prerequisite for sustainable development with a strong and active policy on gender equality.

UN Women is one of the 16 agencies present in Moldova and operate a Country Office, with Delegation of Authority staring with June 2014. UN Women Country office has been established in the Republic of Moldova to provide continuous support for the Government, UN and Civil Society to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment based on the four key strategic areas in Moldova: (i) Women lead and participate in decision-making at all levels, (ii) Women, especially the poorest and most excluded, are economically empowered and benefit from development, (iii) Women and girls live a life free of violence and (iv) Women Peace and Security and (v) Governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for GE commitments and priorities.

Currently, UN Women is implementing the following major projects: “Joint Integrated Local Development Programme” (JILDP), Project on Enhancing Women’s Political Representation (WiP), Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) as part of a regional project, Women Labor Migrant project, as part of a global project. The first two projects are joint projects with UNDP. These projects are implemented through close inter-coordination at the policy, institutional and local levels in Moldova. The coordination is ensured through joint weekly meetings, coordination and cooperation around the key actions that are supported by the country office team with respect to program and operations functions.

Moldova Country Office is at the mid-term stage of implementation of the its strategic plan covering the period 2014-2017. This entails number of key momentums, including the completion of current and starting of new programs, raising funds for the new areas of engagement and focus, and implementing new programs, including Women in Leadership and VAWG, GRB, Romani Women, work in Transnistria, Labor Migration, as well as capacity building of CSOs, including in the framework of the CSO Advisory Board.

Moreover, as per approved Strategic Note for 2014-2017 and 2015 AWP, UN Women will continue supporting UN concerted efforts on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, supplemented by work where UN Women has a clear comparative advantage: coordinating the work on GE and WHR, leading Civil Society Advisory Group, advancing introduction of temporary special measures and increasing women’s leadership and participation in decision making in public and private sectors, securing women’s access, especially from rural areas to productive resources and services, providing social protection to the most excluded groups of women such as Roma and disabled; leading UN agencies efforts for ending violence against women and girls, promoting and protecting rights of migrant women. In this respect the results are planned in the areas of Women in Leadership, Women’s Economic Empowerment, Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls as well as policies, plans and budgets that are engendered.

With the overall aim to support and promote evidence-based and results-oriented operation of the office, and with a view to supporting global knowledge generation of effective, innovative solutions and models for adaptation and upscaling, the country office plans to hire a Monitoring & Evaluation associate, based in Chisinau, Moldova. The Monitoring & Evaluation Associate will support results-based planning, M&E and reporting related work in Moldova and act as liaison on RBM and M&E-related matters with UN Women Europe and ECA Regional Office.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the National Programme Officer/Programme Specialist and in close collaboration with UN Women projects and operations teams as well as with the Planning and Coordination Specialist and Regional Evaluation Specialist in UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office in Istanbul, the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Associate will be responsible for ensuring that UN Women programmes and projects conduct M&E activities in line with corporate policies, procedures and requirements by providing relevant information from the HQ and RO in a timely and effective manner.

More specifically, the M&E Associate will be responsible for the following:

Summary of key functions:

• Ensure the compliance with UN Women corporate requirements and processes, and assist planning process of CO;
• Manage monitoring activities at the CO level;
• Manage reporting activities at the CO level;
• Manage evaluation activities at the CO level;
• Strengthen capacity and knowledge sharing of CO staff and with UN agencies in the areas of RBM and M&E.

Ensure the compliance with UN Women corporate requirements and processes, and assist planning process of CO:

• On behalf of representative, UN Women Moldova Country Office, together with Programme Specialist, act as primary contact with Planning and Coordination Specialist and Regional Evaluation Specialist in UN Women ECA Regional Office in the areas of planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation to ensure the regular communication and coordination;
• Ensure the compliance of UN Women Moldova Office with the corporate requirements and process, including the use of UN Women Results Management System (RMS), application of the Programme Chapter of UN Women Programme and Operation Manual (POM) as well as additional guidance from HQ, to the work of Moldova Office;
• Provide support to the annual planning process of UN Women Moldova Country Office, including support to the development and revision of Annual Work Plan (AWP), Strategic Note, Monitoring, Research and Evaluation Plan (MERP), Performance Monitoring Framework (PMD), in order to ensure the results-based planning and proper planning of M&E activities from outset;
• Provide M&E-related inputs to programme and project colleagues for the development of M&E plan as well as for development of concept notes, project proposals to ensure the minimum standard and requirements of M&E in line with CO Strategic Note, MERP and PMF;
• Lead and coordinate with CO staff to ensure the effective use of UN Women Results Management System for planning purposes, by ensuring the timely data entry and update of Strategic Note and AWP data in the system.

Manage monitoring activities at the CO level:

• Lead and coordinate with CO staff for the monitoring and review activities of Strategic Note of UN Women Moldova Office, including support to the mid-term review of strategic note, mid-year and annual review of AWP, data collection and analysis of outcomes and outputs indicators against Strategic Note (in line with MERP and PMF of Moldova CO);
• Monitor the implementation of MERP and PMF on a quarterly basis and lead the annual update of MERP and PMF in consultation with CO staff;
• Lead and coordinate with CO staff to ensure the effective use of UN Women Results Management System for monitoring purposes, by ensuring the timely data entry and update of monitoring data against outcomes and outputs, corresponding indicators and activities on a quarterly basis;
• Undertake regular monitoring of UN Women projects, including those implemented by the partners in respect to the delivery of the planned results, including financial allocations and expenditures;
• Update on a monthly basis (based on inputs from programmes and projects teams and the results of the monitoring) on the achievements of the target results, progress made, on track initiatives, delayed activities, etc.;
• Substantially contribute to the organization of UN Women weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual meetings and retreats with dedicated inputs and, when required, with M&E sessions to update on the current status, flag urgent issues and actions required and propose solutions.

Manage Reporting Activities at the CO Level:

• Coordinate with CO staff to ensure the completion of data collection and analysis against outcome and outputs indicators  of Strategic Note and related projects prior to the annual reporting (by mid-December);
• Lead and coordinate with CO staff to ensure the effective use of UN Women Results Management System for preparation and submission of annual report of Moldova CO, by ensuring the timely data entry at the initial drafting and finalization stages;
• Provide support to the preparation of quarterly reports to UN Women ECA Regional Office.

Manage evaluation activities at the CO level:

• Ensure the Country Office Evaluation Plan  2014’2017 is properly followed by programmes and projects and updates on its implementation are provided to Country Representative and ECA Regional Evaluation Specialist, as required;
• Provide substantive support in initiating the mid Term Review (MTR) of the Country Office Strategic Note (SN) for the period 2014-2017;
• Provide support to the project teams (JILDP, GRB and WMW) in participating in mid-term or final (case specific) evaluations ensuring quality inputs to the development of the Evaluation ToR, design of the evaluation process, questionnaires, checklists, etc.;
• Support CO in the design of new programmes (Women’s’ Economic Empowerment, Violence against Women, etc.) by reviewing the evaluations findings (including corporate evaluations), lessons learned and recommendations and incorporate relevant issues emerging from those in the design of the new programmes;
• Ensure the Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation system (GATE) is updated regularly with the upload of the evaluation plans, results of the evaluations and their findings and recommendations, quarterly updates of the Management Responses to evaluations, etc.;
• Provide support and guidance to country representative on the development of relevant management responses within six weeks after evaluation processes are concluded;
• Provide support and follow up inputs as required to the corporate evaluation of UN Women contribution to UN coordination on gender equality including on country data, identification of required documentation to be shared, etc.;
• Provide evaluation related inputs to the CO and RO Annual reports;
• Participate in relevant evaluation trainings including the UN Women Evaluation e-learning training.

Strengthen capacity and knowledge sharing of CO Staff and with UN agencies in the areas of RBM and M&E:

• Provide substantial support in the organization of the RBM/M&E training for UN Women CO staff, and UN thematic groups (such as Gender Theme Group, Donors Group on Gender, Civic Society Advisory Group) in collaboration with UN Women ECA Regional Office;
• Organize learning sessions on RBM and M&E for UN Women CO staff at least once every quarter to strengthen the knowledge and skills of CO staff in those areas by sharing knowledge and experience on the effective M&E tools and their application;
• Share the promising practices and lessons learned from M&E/RBM work in Moldova with other UN Women offices in ECA regional, in close collaboration with UN Women ECA Regional Office;
• Oversee the UN Gender Score Card initiative and its follow up by the UN agencies;
• Support CO to effectively contribute to the work of the UN coordination groups with required M&E inputs and follow up, including to joint M&E frameworks development under the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF) and Action Plans, Gender Theme Group, Donors Group on Gender Equality, Civil Society Advisory Group, Operations Management Team.

Impact of results

The key results have an impact on the overall efficiency and effectiveness in implementation of programme strategies. Accurate analysis and presentation of information enhances UN Women position as a strong development partner and the information provided facilitates decision-making of management.

The results delivered by the incumbent will have an impact on the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the UN Women Moldova Country Strategic Note for 2014-2017, with the systematic M&E activities and the management of development results at the CO level.

Competencies

Core values/ guiding principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing Diversity:

• Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.

Organizational Awareness: 

• Building support and political acumen.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

Working in Teams:

• Building and promoting effective teams.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Creating and promoting an enabling environment for open communication.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization.

Conflict Management /Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

• Leveraging conflict in the interest of the organization and setting standards.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Fair and transparent decision-making;
• Calculated risk-taking.

Functional Competencies:

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• In-depth substantive knowledge of monitoring and evaluation and related development policy and programming issues, including knowledge of results-based management and log frames;
• Promotes learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UN Women.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Promotes a knowledge-sharing and learning culture in the office;
• Understanding of how to make knowledge easily accessible to Country Offices;
• In-depth knowledge on development issues;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in the office.

Management and Leadership:

• Able to manage for results: translate strategy into achievable plans, establish priorities, and monitor them and periodic adjustments as required;
• Able to effectively represent UN Women in, and contribute to, United Nations inter-agency programming and evaluation initiatives related to violence against women;
• Builds strong relationships with, and focuses on results for clients and partners, responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates openness to change and able to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master`s degree (or equivalent) in Public Administration, Programme/Project Management, International Development or in the field of social sciences or other relevant field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience with progressive responsibilities in monitoring and evaluating programmes/projects in development filed;
• Knowledge in the concept and application of Results-Based Management (RBM) to programme/project cycle;
• In-depth knowledge of results-based planning, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and programme/project management;
• Experience in data collection and analysis with qualitative or/and quantitative data collection methodologies for monitoring and/or evaluation work is required;
• Experience in results-based planning, monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation of gender-specific programme/project at the country level is an asset;
• Experiences in developing practical guidance and tools on M&E is an asset;
• Substantive knowledge of and experience on gender equality and women's empowerment will be considered a strong advantage;
• Experience in the UN system, agencies and international organizations is an asset;
• Experience in monitoring and evaluating programmes related to gender equality is highly desirable;
• Experience as a trainer and/or facilitator on monitoring and evaluation issues, and in developing user-friendly practical guidance and tools conducive to learning is an asset;
• Experienced in working in a global multi-cultural setting respecting gender equality and an ability to contribute to team work and provide conceptual leadership.

Language:

• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required, and Romanian and a good knowledge of Russian is required.

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Application Process

This is a local position, therefore only citizens of the Republic of Moldova are eligible to apply. Applications should be submitted on line and include fully completed UN Women Personal History Form as attachment instead of CV/resume, with the mark “Monitoring & Evaluation Associate /UN Women Vacancy” by 10 July 2015, COB.

Failure to disclose prior employment or making false representations on this form will be grounds for withdrawal of further consideration of his/her application or termination, where the appointment or contract has been issued.

Note

The system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and Cover letter must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Only qualified, shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.