Programme Monitoring Officer

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a UNOPS IICA-2 consultancy within the Programme Unit in the Mauritania operation, to be based in Nouakchott.

UNHCR is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Programme Monitoring Officer

Duty Station: Nouakchott, Mauritania

Duration: 6 months with possibility of renewal

Contract Type: UNOPS International ICA-2 (equivalent of P3)

Closing date: 16 June 2022

Start date: 01 July 2022

Organisational context

With its decades-old open-door policy, Mauritania hosts over 70,000 Malian refugees in the arid southeast Hodh Chargui region where the Mbera camp is located. At the same time, more than 11,000 refugees and asylum-seekers comprising 40 different nationalities live in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. With the volatile security situation in Mali, largescale returns are not expected, and a low-scale influx continues.

At the government’s request and using the Refugee Coordination Model, UNHCR coordinates an interagency humanitarian response with national and local authorities in the refugee-hosting Hodh Chargui region.

UNHCR’s strategy in Mauritania is to ensure refugees access adequate protection and assistance and, at the same time, are progressively included in national services and systems. UNHCR also engages directly with refugee and host communities to strengthen their decision-making, participation and self-reliance within the broader pursuit of durable solutions.

The position

The Programme Monitoring Officer will work in Nouakchott under the overall guidance of the Programme Officer. S/he will report directly to the Deputy Representative. UNHCR Manual and UNHCR Results-based management and protection principles will guide the work of the Programme Monitoring Officer. S/he is expected to work very closely with the Evaluation Colleagues in HQs. Externally, the Programme Monitoring Officer will represent UNHCR on subject matters related to monitoring issues. The incumbent is expected to work in line with the multi-functional team (MFT) approach as defined within the Program Manual, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders in all phases of the Program Management Cycle, especially UNHCR project partners. The incumbent will provide functional guidance to an IUNV Associate Programme Monitoring Officer based in the sub-office in Bassikounou.

Duties and responsibilities

• Support the development and management of the operation’s monitoring portfolio and the consistency and coherence of UNHCRs monitoring activities.
• Assist in setting up and managing UNHCR’s approach, systems and tools for monitoring protection, assistance and solutions results (impact, outcomes, outputs) together with relevant teams and ensure a results-based monitoring culture throughout the operation and the operations management cycle.
• Support the development of sound Theories of Change and related Results Frameworks, the measurability of multi-year protection and solutions strategies and annual plans and appropriate measurement tools and indicators.
• Support setting up monitoring systems, the tracking and analysis of indicators and sharing with senior management to guide programme and management decisions.
• Guide UNHCR and partners teams in data collection methodologies, data sources, management and analysis, including qualitative and quantitative data.
• Support coherence on monitoring standards, plans, tools, indicators and resources across UNHCR and project partners and that protection and solutions principles, including age, gender and diversity and data protection, guide all monitoring actions.
• Support senior management on monitoring findings and possible course-correcting actions, keep track of management decisions and follow-up actions and communicate monitoring findings to key stakeholders.
• Guide and train UNHCR and partner staff in UNHCRs results based management monitoring standards and procedures.
• Cooperate and coordinate with partners and stakeholders to facilitate coherence of monitoring approaches across multi-partner initiatives and engage in UN fora on monitoring (UNDAFs, HRP, RRP etc.).
• Facilitate innovative solutions for monitoring and facilitate dissemination of lessons learned within the operation and globally.
• Seek advanced technical support from and collaborate with regional and headquarters monitoring and evaluation advisors for overall coordination of priority M&E activities.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

The ideal candidate will

• Possess a University degree in economics, social sciences, statistics, or related fields. Graduate degree preferred.
• Possess 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Essential

• Experience in planning, monitoring and evaluation in an international development and/or humanitarian context. Experience in setting up systems and rolling out monitoring frameworks. Experience in results-based management. Experience in managing a variety of internal and external stakeholders in a cross-cultural professional environment.
• Experience in data management and statistics, including surveys and indicator management.
• Working knowledge of French and English required.

Desirable

• Demonstrated experience in collaborating with UN development or humanitarian actors, frameworks and coordinating mechanisms. Experience in data management and statistics, including surveys and indicator management. Experience with organisational change processes. Experience in strategic planning processes and in coordinating and drafting strategies and plans, in particular on protection and solutions, advocacy, or partnership building.
• Working knowledge of Arabic or another local language is an asset.

Location

The successful candidate will be based with the team in Nouakchott.

Conditions

The UNOPS contract is for six months and the start date is in July 2022. It is a full-time role based at the duty station in Nouakchott with missions to the sub-offices in Bassikounou and Nouadhibou as needed.