Strategic Learning, Knowledge and Evaluation Specialist, P3, Bangkok, Thailand, UNCDF [Open to Tier 1 applicants]

Organisation: UNDP
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Deadline: 11 November 2026

The Strategic Learning, Knowledge, and Evaluation Specialist will work closely with all UNCDF divisions to implement the organization’s learning and knowledge agenda, while overseeing the evaluation cycle. The Strategic Learning, Knowledge, and Evaluation Specialist will be based in Bangkok, Thailand, and may be required to travel occasionally.

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0 : UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.

• Tier 1 : Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments

• Tier 2 : UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers

• Tier 3 or no tier indicated : All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to “bring into operations the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organization of the United Nations. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developing countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDFs vision is to help mobilize and catalyze an increase of capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.

As a Flagship Catalytic Blended Financing platform of the UN, UNCDF utilizes its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF’s unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031.

As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organization and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG aligned projects in partnership with private sector, United Nations Organizations, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets and mobilize and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilize investments flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector. By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognize the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF’s work is focused on three priority areas, including:

• SME Finance

• Sub-National Finance

• Digital Finance

UNCDF’s organizational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OOD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand) with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by an Executive Board comprised of UN Member States.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working under the guidance and supervision of the Head of the Impact Measurement, Verification, and Learning (IMVL) Unit, the Strategic Learning, Knowledge, and Evaluation Specialist leads the design, development, and implementation of UNCDF’s organizational learning and knowledge workstream, as well as coordinating UNCDF’s portfolio of evaluations.

The Strategic Learning, Knowledge, and Evaluation Specialist will drive initiatives that systematically capture, synthesize, and disseminate lessons learned, knowledge, and evaluation findings from across UNCDF’s portfolio, fostering a culture of continuous organizational learning that strengthens the design, delivery and impact of UNCDF’s work.

To support these objectives, the Specialist will lead UNCDF’s portfolio of thematic, programme, and project learning, knowledge, and evaluations activities, ensuring they are strategically designed, developed, and implemented to generate actionable insights that strengthen relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of UNCDF’s interventions. The Strategic Learning, Knowledge, and Evaluation Specialist will translate these insights into learning loops, knowledge products, strategic recommendations, and innovative tools and approaches.

UNCDF adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNCDF personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

1.) Design and manage thematic, programme, and project learning, knowledge management, and evaluations in line with UNCDF’s learning and evaluation plan and priorities

• Liaise with all UNCDF divisions in the scoping, design, and execution of UNCDF’s learning and knowledge strategy, internal and external evaluations, and other learning exercises commissioned by UNCDF, including overseeing the work of external evaluation firms and consultants.

• Oversee the management cycle of UNCDF’s learning and knowledge strategy, including evaluations – preparing templates, finalizing Terms of References (TORs), sourcing, vetting and assessing evaluation firms/consultants, supervising inception periods, overseeing country visits of the evaluators, and reviewing draft and final reports.

• Ensure that UNDF’s learning, knowledge management, and evaluation work is aligned with relevant international standards and best practices across International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), as well as UNDP’s Evaluation Policy and UN Evaluation Group guidance and gender-responsive evaluation standards

• Provide technical guidance and quality assurance throughout the learning, knowledge strategy, and evaluation process, collaborating across the IMVL team and ensuring that objectives, questions, methodology, evidence, and deliverables are credible, useful, and fit for purpose.

2.) Strengthen UNCDF’s organizational framework, standards, and quality assurance for learning, knowledge, and evaluation

• Develop a learning, knowledge, and evaluation plan for UNCDF’s evolving portfolio of development finance instruments, to be used in all relevant organizational learning initiatives supporting UNCDF’s blended finance programming.

• Develop learning, knowledge and evaluation guidance notes, tools, templates, and training materials to support consistent application of learning, knowledge, and evaluation approaches across UNCDF’s development finance instruments and programmes, in line with applicable policies, norms, and standards.

• Participate in UNCDF Programme Appraisal Committee meetings to ensure that new projects/programmes meet relevant learning, knowledge, and evaluability standards.

• Lead, or participate in, as appropriate, internal reviews of UNCDF’s organizational or programmatic performance to identify opportunities for learning, knowledge, innovation, and greater operational impact.

3.) Guide and support knowledge building and management within and outside UNCDF

• Identify and formulate insights, lessons learned, and recommendations to be integrated into UNCDF knowledge management efforts both internally and externally with its key stakeholders,

• Use databases, tracking tools, knowledge management systems, and innovative technologies and approaches to support the use of learning, knowledge, and evaluation findings across UNCDF.

• Contribute to UNCDF’s participation in external learning, knowledge, and evaluation networks and communities of practice, including United Nations Evaluation Group task forces and other forums focused on the learning, knowledge, and evaluation of international development finance instruments.

• Participate in meetings, workshops, and other fora to establish a dialogue on learning, knowledge, and evaluation insights taking into account the information needs of various audiences for evaluation.