UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children, to save their lives, defend their rights and help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up. UNICEF has been the leading child-rights organization, and a respected partner, for saving and improving children’s lives.

In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government, the UN Country Team and other partners to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to ensure equitable access to quality social services, and to expand children’s opportunities to reach their full potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic programme areas. The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life. The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP) and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending violence and open defecation). UNICEF main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation.

How can you make a difference?

The position of Planning & Monitoring Specialist reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. It leads the PM&E Unit and coordinate planning, monitoring, assurance and evaluation activities within the country office, including the planning and quality assurance of research and the implementation of the CEP and IMEP. The Specialist provide oversight and quality assurance on situation monitoring and reporting, statutory programme planning, performance monitoring and reporting, and knowledge generation. He/she will coordinate the PM&E unit in providing rapid support to emergency monitoring needs, and manage UNICEF’s contribution to UN joint planning and monitoring activities. He/She will support UNICEF programmes to advance national routine monitoring systems.

Summary Of Responsibilities

• Coordinate and provide technical support to the process of developing and monitoring Annual Work Plans, including reporting on progress of the equity and gender marker as outlined in the Programme Policy and Procedures Guidance. Monitor follow-up actions based on management decisions resulting from Country Office performance monitoring and evaluation
• Ensure that the Country Office and national partners use a well-prioritised and realistic plan of research, monitoring and evaluation activities that will provide the most relevant and strategic information to manage the Country Programme, including tracking and assessing UNICEF’s distinct contribution.
• Ensure that UNICEF-supported evaluations are designed and implemented to established UN quality standards, and the results are disseminated in a timely fashion to stakeholders in order to improve programme performance and contribute to wider learning.
• Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation capacities of Country Office staff and national partners – government and civil society – are strengthened enabling them to increasingly engage in and lead monitoring and evaluation processes.
• Ensure that the UNICEF office is effectively linked to wider UNICEF PM&E developments in a way that both contributes to and benefits from organizational learning on effective PM&E management.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: social sciences, statistics, development planning, economics, demography, business or public administration.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience in a PME related field is required, preferably in a middle income country context,
• Strong technical knowledge in planning, monitoring and evaluation processes and standards and demonstrable experience in managing country programme planning processes is required.
• Demonstrable experience in advancing national routine monitoring systems, data management, MIS and/or GIS is desirable and considered a strong asset.
• Demonstrable experience in emergency response programming, including preparedness planning is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Core Competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (2)
• Applying technical expertise (2)
• Learning and researching (2)
• Planning and organizing (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.