Consultant: Expert to support the development of policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessment

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station: Paris

Job Family: Social and Human Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 13-OCT-2025

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

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Fast-changing conditions and critical challenges of today – amongst which global pandemics, climate change, digital transformations, and the interplay of these trends – require large-scale and future-oriented reforms. Public administrations are under pressure to design and implement such reforms, while simultaneously addressing internal needs and building capacities to prepare themselves for the future. In this context, efforts to recalibrate the engagement of the public administrations with private consulting services and to develop internal/in-house consulting capacities for the design and implementation of reforms are being initiated across countries.

Six Member States (i.e., Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Greece and Latvia) have requested support in addressing the afore-mentioned needs.

Long Description

Submitted and funded through the EU’s Technical Support Instrument, the ensuing multi-country project will be implemented over a period of  26 months by UNESCO with the aim of achieving the following outcomes:

1. Approved action plan to establish in-house consulting focusing on a selected service portfolio adapted to each participating Member State;
2. Capacity built for the implementation of the action plan in the participating Member States; and
3. Increased awareness on the importance of in-house consulting and creation of an EU network of experts.

To this end, UNESCO is organizing teams to support, in conjunction with the central project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, country-specific delivery for the 6 participating countries.

The expert will be responsible for delivering technical assistance and capacity development in support of participating Member States’ efforts to strengthen internal consulting capacity on the issues of policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessment. Specifically, the expert will:

• Design and develop country-specific training materials tailored to the institutional context of each participating Member State, incorporating state-of-the-art methodologies, tools, and international good practices to support in-government consultancies – i.e., direct beneficiaries of the project – in the development of their internal services on the issues of policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessment (RIA);
• Organise and deliver six structured capacity-building training programmes (one per participating Member State) for core teams of the in-government consultancies and relevant experts, with a focus on practical application of policy evaluation and RIA in their internal consulting work to ministries and departments across the national governments;
• Provide five tailored on-the-job support sessions per Member State, working directly with beneficiary authorities to consolidate learning, address country-specific challenges, and embed expertise within their in-government consultancies on the issue of policy evaluation and RIA;

• Draft six country-specific reports, in close collaboration with UNESCO experts and the UNESCO Headquarters project coordination team, summarising the training activities, on-the-job support provided, lessons learned, and tailored recommendations for institutionalising internal consulting capacity in policy evaluation and RIA;
• Ensure quality assurance of all deliverables, including iterative revision and finalisation of outputs based on feedback from UNESCO, national counterparts, and other project partners;
• Contribute to cross-country learning, by identifying transferable practices, challenges, and recommendations emerging from the six participating Member States, to inform UNESCO’s broader programme on strengthening internal consulting capacity in government.

The following are to be delivered in/for each participating Member State:

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

-

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The expert must demonstrate proven expertise in the theory and practice of policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessment (RIA), including the ability to apply systematic, evidence-based methodologies to assess the design, implementation, and effects of public policies and regulations, and to translate these approaches into practical tools for government decision-making. The expert shall equally demonstrate state of art knowledge and the ability to trains government officials on the afore-mentioned topics.

Long Description

Academic Qualifications

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, public administration, governance, public policy, knowledge-policy nexus, evidence-based policy making; PhD would be considered an asset.

Professional Experience

• Track record, with minimum 10 years of experience, in policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessments, public administration, good governance, knowledge-policy nexus, institutional development and capacity building or similar areas;
• Demonstrated experience in conducting stakeholder trainings and capacity building exercises;
• Experience in providing tailored, high-expertise technical support and implementing capacity building projects for the benefit of public administrations/governments; and
• Experience working with or within public administration is an asset.

Skills

• Excellent training and capacity building skills;
• Experience in policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessments, including the design and implementation of strategies to enhance institutional capacity;
• Solid advocacy, communication and presentation skills adapted to technical and general purposes. Familiarity with EU-funded project, including multi-country technical support, considered an advantage;
• Strong interpersonal skills, including interacting with various actors and working effectively and respectfully in a complex environment on sensitive issues; and
• Understanding and adherence to the UN principles.

Language

• Excellent writing skills in English.

TERMS & APPLICATION PROCESS

Duration of Contract: 9 months

Interested candidates should submit their applications to most@unesco.org with copy to c.hathaway@unesco.org.

The application should consist of:

1. Personal CV;
2. A cover letter/statement indicating how their qualifications and experiences make them suitable for the assignment; and
3. A written technical and financial proposal comprising: 1) the proposed approach for the undertaken of the assignment in line with the terms of reference; and 2) the amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in EUR.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Footer