Strengthening the UN system's monitoring and evaluation capacity through the deployment of young evaluators

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN reform agenda, monitoring and evaluation capacities are more important than ever to achieve UN system effectiveness and to strengthen the capabilities of countries in the achievement of their own localized SDGs and national development policies.  

UN Youth Volunteers, who receive a monthly living allowance and a benefits package, can be impactful resources to support these monitoring and evaluation efforts. UN Volunteers can contribute to national SDG monitoring, evaluation and reporting; support monitoring and evaluation of UN Development Assistance Frameworks and Common Country Assessments; assist with innovative forms of data gathering; provide analysis and support communications efforts; contribute to the development of training programmes on monitoring and evaluation, including building capacities of national and local stakeholders; and engage local stakeholders and marginalized groups, particularly in deep-field and remote locations.

Deploying national UN Youth Volunteers supports national capacity-building while deploying international UN Youth Volunteers can be an opportunity to promote south-south cooperation and disseminate field-tested and well-adapted practices across borders.

A new collaboration

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and EvalYouth, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNWomen, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), are committed to engaging with youth and young people with expertise and interest in the area of evaluation, thereby building a cadre of emerging evaluators for the United Nations and its partners. Under this new collaboration:

• Young and emerging evaluators are invited to register on UNV’s database of UN Volunteer candidates
• UN agencies will recruit youth UN Volunteers to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation capacity of their own country and regional offices
• UNV will leverage its database to vet candidates, recruit the UN Youth Volunteers, deploy them with UN agencies and other partners, and support the youth UN Volunteers’ assignments, development and learning.

This collaboration aims to ensure youth voices are included in evaluations, national evaluation capacities are enhanced through skills development and experience, and that the UN evaluation function is enriched through the contributions of motivated and well-supported UN Youth Volunteers.

Assignments could take place with a variety of UN organizations, including UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women, UNICEF, FAO, WFP and DPKO for a time period of between 6 months to up to 2 years. Selected UN Youth Volunteers will be based in country, regional or headquarters offices around the world. Additional information is available on the description of assignment available here.

When applying for this new programme, you may also be selected for any of the assignments offered globally by the UN organizations participating in this partnership.

Who is eligible?

Young people with a commitment to the values of the United Nations and with some experience in monitoring and evaluation are encouraged to apply. Candidates must comply with the following criteria:

• Be between 18-29 years of age
• Have up to two years of relevant work experience
• Be fluent in English or another working language of the United Nations (preferably French or Spanish)

How to apply?

To apply for this new opportunity, you need to register your profile here. Please note that after creating your account, you must complete all sections of your profile and submit it. Then go to My Page and click on the ‘Special calls’ link. Lastly, select the special call to which you would like to apply.

The deadline for this recruitment is 1 June 2018.

Need more information

For additional information about becoming a UN Youth Volunteer with the United Nations, please refer to the UNV website. For more information about EvalYouth, please visit the EvalYouth website.