Consultant (External Evaluator for JFiT-DHE)

JOB DETAILS

Type of contract : Consultant Contract

Level :  Level 2 - Middle

Hiring Unit : Communication and Information Sector (CI)

Duty Station : Paris

Work location : Remote

Duration of contract : 4 months

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Midnight UTC+2 Time) : 04/08/2026

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW

UNESCO is implementing the project “Consolidating the Gains in Policy Development and Capacity Building for the Preservation and Accessibility of Documentary Heritage”, with the extra-budgetary support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme. In the course of a four-year cycle, the project has sought to generate impact by having more documentary heritage across the globe safeguarded against disaster and enhancing its universal access. The strategic objectives of the project are to:

I. Follow up and further promote policy advocacy and awareness-raising on disaster risk reduction and management for preservation of documentary heritage through global partnerships, so that policymakers and memory institutions have further developed policies and strategies on preservation, access and awareness.

II. Strengthen the capacity of memory institutions, especially in LDCs, SIDS, Africa, as well as Asia and the Pacific, to enhance knowledge of and techniques about the sustainable preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage, with a specific focus on disaster risk reduction and management.    

The implementation period began on 14 June 2024 and will end on 14 June 2026. Within this timeframe and with the voluntary contribution of USD 1.5 million, the project has been managed by the Unit for Documentary Heritage, which also manages the MoW Programme at UNESCO Headquarters. Regional implementation partners include a network of the Organization’s field offices, notably in Bangkok, Kingston, Montevideo, and Nairobi, as well as the Regional MoW Committees. At the national level, National MoW Committees, National Commissions for UNESCO, and line ministries are instrumental for implementation. Key international professional associations have also contributed to the project.

Together with key partners, the project operates at a global scope, with a focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from the African, Asia-Pacific as well as Latin America and the Caribbean regions. This focus was set in part following a survey conducted globally among memory institutions (2019) that revealed that 40 out of 63 institutions lack disaster management strategies, particularly for emergency planning. Of the 63 institutions, 30 were from LDCs and SIDS.

Long Description

The project is underpinned by the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage including in digital form. In addition, the international agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), serves as a reference in providing focus to areas of disaster management in the event of a natural or human-made disaster.

The project is conducted within the framework of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, with the vision that the world's documentary heritage belongs to all, should be fully preserved and protected for all and, with due recognition of cultural mores and practicalities, should be permanently accessible to all without hindrance. It contributes to the UNESCO Strategic Objective 3: Build inclusive, just and peaceful societies by promoting freedom of expression, cultural diversity, education for global citizenship, and protecting the heritage, aligned with the Organization’s 41 C/4 Mid-Term Strategy for 2022 - 2029.

More directly, the project contributes to the programmatic planning of UNESCO through the Communication and Information Sector’s Outcome 8: Foster knowledge sharing and skills development in the digital age, Output 8.CI4: Member   States are enabled to foster universal access to information and knowledge, including through the Information for All Programme (IFAP), as well as through open solutions, and through the identification, preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage.

Furthermore, the project directly supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically:

• SDG 4 on Quality Education:

• Target 4.7 on education for sustainable development and global citizenship

• SDG on Sustainable Cities and Communities:

• Targets 11.4 to safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage;
• 11.5 to reduce the number of people affected by disasters;
• 11.b on implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters.

• SDG 16 to Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development:

• Target 16.10 to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.

As the ongoing project reaches its completion, UNESCO will conduct an external evaluation to assess the project’s performance following the OECD-DAC criteria. Lessons learned shall inform the design of future initiatives and generate actionable recommendations to strengthen UNESCO’s work in this area.

2. Purpose and Use

Purpose and Use

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the project's results against its Results Framework using the OECD-DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. The evaluation will identify the challenges and best practices of the intervention up to the last quarter of the 4-year cycle to generate evidence-based lessons learned that will inform the planning of initiatives aligned with the UNESCO 43 (C/5) Intersectoral Output 2.5: Capacity, risk awareness, prevention and preparedness of Member States and communities strengthened for inclusive climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and resilient societies in line with the Sendai Framework.

In particular, the assessment will produce a set of actionable recommendations (route map) for use of the project management unit to justify and accurately inform their future decisions.

The evaluation will therefore answer two parallel sets of questions:

• How did the current project perform against standard criteria?
• What actionable lessons and design principles can be extracted from this project to guide joint delivery of the Intersectoral Output 2.5?

Users:

The main audience is the UNESCO senior management of the Communication and Information Sector, in particular of the Unit for Documentary Heritage, and of selected programmes across UNESCO Sectors. The secondary audience is key implementing partners: Member States, such as National Commissions for UNESCO and Permanent Delegations; Regional and National Memory of the World Committees, and potential voluntary contributors.

Long Description

Objectives and Scope

The evaluation will cover the entire programmatic scope of the project, reviewing all the components set out in the Theory of Change and Results Framework (Annex 1 and 2). The geographic scope of the evaluation will focus on the impact on Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean regions. The evaluation shall solicit perspectives from implementing partners and primary beneficiaries, including memory institutions’ management and staff as well as policy makers. The period covered will be from the start of the project in June 2022 up to the last quarter of its final year in June 2026.

In particular, the evaluation will:

• Assess the effectiveness of the activities undertaken, compile evidence and present the results achieved against the original project objectives.
• Identify gaps that may be addressed in future initiatives and projects.
• Propose actionable recommendations for effective intersectoral delivery in line with the UNESCO 43 (C/5) Draft Programme, Intersectoral Output 2.5 for the 2026-2027 biennium.
• Identify possible synergies within the sector’s programmes to be included in the coordinated approach for joint delivery.

Evaluation criteria:

The evaluation will be undertaken using the OECD-DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability while taking into consideration the cross-cutting factors and themes when appropriate such as Gender and Human Rights aspects as well as disaster risk reduction. The following questions are indicative and will be further refined and prioritized at the inception phase based on feedback from the Evaluation Reference Group (ERG):

Relevance:

• To what extent did the project enhance capacities in memory institutions to make documentary heritage collections more resilient?
• To what extent did the project influence policymakers in the targeted areas on the need to improve or develop policies to safeguard documentary heritage?

Coherence:

• To what extent was the project coherent with UNESCO Global Priorities, Priority Groups and the cross-cutting theme of crisis preparedness and response, including UNESCO’s action on Disaster Risk Reduction?
• Where was coordination needed to avoid duplication and maximize outputs within other programmes under the cross-cutting theme?

Effectiveness:

• Which activities have been the most effective in delivering results through an integrated multi-stakeholder approach?
• Which have been the most effective activities in responding to real-time needs and emergencies in memory institutions?

Efficiency:

• To what extent did the dedicated UNESCO structures across the globe (field offices, National Commissions, etc) ensure the efficient delivery of results?

Impact:

• What difference has the intervention made in strengthening documentary heritage collections across the globe and enhancing their universal access?
• What unexpected results have arisen from the intervention, and which unforeseen group has benefited from these?

Sustainability:

• To what extent have disaster risk reduction strategies been integrated into emergency planning in memory institutions, ensuring that collections could be sustainably preserved and accessed?

To what extent have policymakers integrated a disaster management approach into the development of national policies to preserve documentary heritage?

Long Description

Design and Methodology

The design and methodology will be refined in the draft evaluation inception report. As a basis, it will consist of a mixed-method approach to be used for data collection and analysis, incorporating:

• Document review: Past self-assessment reports, project document, publications.
• Online survey with multiple-choice and open-ended questions for stakeholders.
• Interview and involvement of Field Offices and other implementing partners throughout.

All data will be triangulated to ensure a high-quality analysis. The evaluation products will follow quality criteria outlined in the UNESCO Evaluation Manual, in particular:

• Guidance #10 on Evaluation Inception Reports
• Guidance #12 on Evaluation Reports
• Guidance #13 on Report Quality Checklist

The evaluation will integrate gender and human rights considerations as per UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) Guidance on Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluation (2024). It will also follow ethical principles outlined in the UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation (2020), and UNEG Ethical Principles for Harnessing AI in UN Evaluations (2025).

ASSIGNMENTS

Roles and Responsibilities

The External Evaluator is responsible for conducting the evaluation in its entirety. S/he will be in charge of collecting data through the methodology described here as a baseline, integrating their suggested methodological approach to ensure accurate and substantive results. The involvement and feedback from stakeholders will be comprehensive and well-integrated into the analysis and deliverables. Among the roles are to:

• Map evaluation stakeholders, maintain engagement and regular communications.
• Organize and conduct stakeholder meetings (group and individual, as needed).
• Draft and conduct stakeholder interviews, gather and analyse data.
• Draft a preliminary and final evaluation report, seeking stakeholder review.
• Draft a maximum 4-page summary of the evaluation findings (containing graphs, testimonies, diagrams, as needed) and a set of actionable recommendations to distribute among the main users of the evaluation, including recommendations for effective intersectoral delivery.
• Develop a communication plan tailored to the different users and audience.

The evaluation will be managed by the UNESCO CI sector. UNESCO will establish an Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) to ensure systematic stakeholder involvement and enhance the credibility of evaluation findings and their utilization.

CONTRACT DURATION

4 months (no longer than 14 December 2026)

DELIVERABLES

1. Prepare a draft evaluation inception report in close consultation with UNESCO, containing a methodology for data collection and analysis, and a timeline with deliverables for the evaluation. This includes:

• Participating in an inception meeting with UNESCO to review and confirm the consultancy’s scope, objectives, and expectations;

• Conducting a comprehensive desk review of key project documents, including the project proposal, Results Framework (RF), workplans, workshop and progress reports, and other relevant literature;

• Mapping key stakeholders, including implementing partners, donor, beneficiaries, relevant parties and the UNESCO project team; and

• Preparing the narrative inception report that documents the overall methodology for the evaluation, proposes the key areas of assessment, timeline and associated data types, data collection approaches, and tools. This may include:

• Refined evaluation questions
• Evaluation framework and methodology
• Data sources and stakeholders
• Detailed data collection tools
• Evaluation timeline
• Resource requirements

2. Schedule an inception meeting to present and discuss the proposed evaluation methodology, and revise the draft inception report according to feedback received.

3. Prepare and submit the final evaluation inception report with revisions to the overall methodology, tools and other relevant components incorporated.

4. Conduct data collection and analysis as specified in the methodology (interviews, discussion group, surveys, etc).

5. Draft and submit a final evaluation report and summary presentation, presented in English and structured as follows:

• Executive Summary

• Project Description

• Evaluation purpose and scope

• Evaluation methodology

• Findings

• Conclusions

• Lessons learned

• Recommendations

• Annexes

The report length is a maximum of 30 pages, in A4 format, plus annexes.

6. Facilitate an online validation meeting to discuss the preliminary findings, recommendations, conclusions, and next steps.

7. Develop a communication plan that outlines tailored strategies to disseminate the evaluation findings and mechanisms to monitor subsequent use.

*We need to finish all of the activities and payments before 14 December 2026.

Long Description

Annex

https://app.box.com/s/hlj87795savpws4h8hkdnk0wci4shdv4

COMPETENCIES - Core (C) & Managerial (M)

• Communication (C)
• Accountability (C)
• Innovation (C)
• Knowlegde sharing and continuous improvement (C)
• Planning and organizing (C)
• Results focus (C)
• Teamwork (C)

For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

An advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in social sciences, information, communication, archival science, records management, or related discipline, including history, archaeology, sociology, heritage studies.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods in social sciences research.
• Experience in conducting evaluations in the information and/or cultural-related sectors.
• Strong understanding of UNESCO’s mandate and knowledge of the 2015 Recommendation for the Preservation of and Access to Documentary Heritage, including its Digital Form. (Desirable)
• Relevant professional experience in UNESCO’s programmes and/or normative tools in the field of communication and information. (Desirable)
• Submission of at least two (2) references/supporting examples of relevant evaluations previously completed.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Excellent analytical, spoken, and written communication skills, including the production of written content for both specialist and generalist audiences.
• Experience in online participatory meeting design, facilitation and evaluation.
• Familiarity with common data analysis software (e.g., Microsoft Excel and relevant statistical tools) and data collection applications, survey tools (e.g., Microsoft Forms, Google Survey).

LANGUAGES

• High-level of proficiency in English, both written and spoken, to ensure clear communication and the production of high-quality reports and materials.

Long Description

Desirable Qualifications

• Proficiency in French and/or any other UN languages.
• Familiarity with Results-Based Management in projects or programmes within an international framework.
• Experience working with UN agencies.
  
  

Additional information

• The consultancy will be carried out remotely throughout the entire period. No travel is required.

The candidate must guarantee their availability during CET working hours for any meetings and consultations that may arise.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please prepare one PDF document in the order below, inserting the extra pages with the following required information:

• An updated Curriculum Vitae.
• A cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment.
• Short approach to work (maximum 3, A4 pages) identifying the specific components of these ToRs and how the intended objectives/outputs/delivery shall be addressed, including more than two references to relevant examples of evaluation assignments.
• The proposed daily rate or the amount/budget to be charged in consultancy fees for the assignment, quoted in USD. The total consultancy fees should be broken down according to level of effort, time-on-task, or per output.
• Please submit your application via the UNESCO Careers website no later than 24 July 2026, 11:59 p.m. (Paris time).
• If you have any questions, please contact us:  mowjfit@unesco.org (Documentary Heritage Unit of the Memory of the World Programme)

Assessment

Only applications providing the information requested in the application procedure will be considered.

Evaluation of qualified applicants will include the review of the curriculum vitae, technical proposal, and proposed consultancy fee.

Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a competency-based interview.

Notes:

Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidate(s) about the outcome or status of the selection process.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information, by the above deadline.

To apply, please visit the UNESCO Careers website. No modifications can be made to the application once submitted. 

The process may include pre-recorded video interviews and/or written assessments, interviews with a Panel, as well as reference checks. In addition, candidates may be requested to provide additional information which may be pertinent to the position’s qualifications.  

Please note that all candidates, whether selected or not, will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course. 

Short-listed candidates may also be added to Talent Pools; subject to their consent (i.e. Data Privacy Statement).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of personnel shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.
• lndividuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
• All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
• UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the hiring process.