Evaluation Officer

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in more than 130 countries worldwide.

To this end, FAO implements a wide portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives across multiple sectors. These include animal production and health, fisheries, food security and nutrition, food systems and safety, forestry, social protection, inclusive rural development, information management systems/data systems for monitoring and decision making, land and water, plant production and protection, and others. FAO has a growing portfolio of work in the development and humanitarian (emergency and resilience) sectors.

FAO evaluates the strategic alignment, implementation, efficacy, and efficiency of its portfolio of work through its independent Office of Evaluation (OED), which is led by the Director who reports to the FAO Governing Bodies and to the Director-General.

OED evaluates FAO strategies, initiatives, programmes, and projects at global, regional, and national levels. OED seeks to generate credible and useful evidence and insights to inform decisions, support oversight, and help FAO achieve its mission.

In so doing, OED advances knowledge and provides results accountability to both Members and the Director-General. OED also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development and humanitarian effectiveness by the UN common system.

OED values candidates who are highly motivated to excel and want to join OED colleagues in generating transformative knowledge for FAO, its Members, and others working in the fields in which FAO operates to achieve its mission of ending hunger

The post is located in the Office of Evaluation (OED) and based in Panama City, Panama.

Reporting Lines

The Evaluation Officer reports to the Senior Evaluation Officer, OED.

Technical Focus

Leadership in promoting high quality research and evaluations.

Key Results

Planning, designing, conducting and promoting the use of evaluations thereby contributing to enhanced results-accountability to the Director-General the Governing Bodies, and donors; enriched learning by FAO and others working in the fields in which FAO operates; and mentoring of junior evaluation staff.

Key Functions

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Leads, designs, and manages mixed-methods evaluations of complex projects, programmes, operations and themes, focused on implementation, outcomes, and, whenever possible, impacts.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Applies (and enforces in others) rigorous analytic thinking in leading/conducting analyses (qualitative and quantitative) and preparing dissemination materials (reports, papers and journal articles, presentations, and so on).

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Participates actively and productively in multidisciplinary evaluation teams, often with internal and external partners.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Presents findings, conclusions and recommendations of evaluations to relevant audiences.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Promotes the use of evaluations so that their results are taken into account in the design and implementation of intervention approaches, strategies, programmes, projects.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Promotes responses to recommendations to support continuous improvement efforts.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Liaises and collaborates with other units of the Organization with a view to promoting results-based and evaluation culture, and enhanced learning from evaluations.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Ensures the quality of the work conducted or managed, including reports and presentations.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Keeps abreast of methodological developments in evaluation.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Guides junior Evaluation Officers and affiliate workforce in conducting evaluations.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Performs the duties of the regional evaluation coordinator as needed for the region or subregion (for example, during the absence of the regional evaluation coordinator or to meet the needs of the region as work increases).

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Performs other duties as required.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Advanced university degree in a social science field (such as economics, sociology, or psychology) or evaluation, with a focus on research and evaluation methods.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Seven years of experience conducting rigorous evaluations, especially using mixed-methods designs.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and Spanish.

Competencies

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Results Focus

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Teamwork

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Communications

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Building Effective Relationships

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->A career focused on conducting evaluations is required.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Extent and relevance of technical expertise in leading and conducting rigorous evaluations (that is, using designs that are well aligned with the evaluation questions and, if seeking to measure impacts, using designs that establish cause and effect relationships).

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Extent and relevance of technical expertise and experience designing and leading evaluations and managing teams.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Extent and relevance of work experience conducting evaluations in substantive fields related to FAO's mission (agriculture, agrifood systems, climate change, nutrition, resilience, one health and other areas in development and humanitarian settings) and in other key elements of the FAO Strategic Framework (such as private sector engagement, data and technologies, and innovations), especially considering priorities of FAO donors in the locations of the duty stations.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in conducting evaluations in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•Proven ability to deliver clear and concise reports and presentations as demonstrated through\: (1) a writing sample of an evaluation conducted, (2) a presentation based on that writing sample, and (3) a brief justification for the writing sample selected (all to be uploaded and submitted with the application).

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of French and/or Portuguese is desirable.

<-- [if supportLists]-->•<--[endif]-->Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions.