onitoring and Evaluation and Risk Management-Team Lead (Open to all applicants).
- Organisation: UNDP
- Location: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Deadline: 6 November 2026
Duties and Responsibilities
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
Central Africa is home to the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Forest loss is accelerating despite ongoing efforts, as government action alone has not been sufficient to establish an effective balance between the interests of the forest and of economic development.
On this basis, a coalition of willing donors – Norway, European Union, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, and South Korea – together with Central African partner countries – Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Gabon – have entered in 2015 into a collaborative partnership to establish in partnership with the United Nations, the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). The objective of this initiative is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development.
The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-Office (http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/AFI00). As per the updated Fund Terms of Reference and the direct cost Secretariat project document, the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) is hosting the CAFI Secretariat providing the secretariat administrative services under the oversight of the CAFI Executive Board and other participating UN organizations (UNDP, UNCDF, FAO, UN-Habitat, UNFPA, and UNEP).
Established by the Executive Board, the CAFI Secretariat was created to support the fund management coupled with policy and programmatic dialogue and portfolio administration, strongly based on result-based management and solid reporting methods. With the intensification of CAFI presence in countries and solid increase in investment programmes and related digital innovations, including but not limited to the introduction of Payment for Environmental Services, a Technical Assistance Facility, Private Sector projects, it is fundamental that the Secretariat provides high-efficiency M&E services to support the Trust Fund objectives. This requires an M&E Unit led by an expert Head of M&E that can efficiently work across all CAFI partner countries and portfolio accordingly namely DRC, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Gabon, embracing and helping to expand CAFI’s digital ecosystem in support of M&E in general and performance-based programming in particular.
Position Purpose
Under the strategic guidance of the Head of Secretariat, the Team Lead f the Monitoring and Evaluation and Risk Management Unit promotes results-based management and a programme effectiveness approach, by leading the design and implementation of innovative and effective monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks, systems and tools, and implements a robust approach to risk management across the investment portfolio of the Trust Fund, serving the Executive Board in risk-based decision making approach. Where relevant, the Team Lead of M&E & Risk Management will also support programme quality assurance and developing relevant systems. The Team Lead of M&E & Risk Management provides technical support on M&E and reporting practices to the business unit`s senior management as well as programme and project teams. The Team Lead of M&E & Risk Management promotes a collaborative, efficient, client-focused, evidence-based, and portfolio management approach.
The Team Lead of M&E and risk leads a team of personnel working on M&E and RBM, and as applicable, quality assurance work; collaborates closely with Programme, Operations and project teams in other branches and across partners and donors, programme staff in other UN agencies, and Government officials, technical advisers and experts, NGOs, and other organizations on programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation issues and practices.
UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.
Duties and Responsibilities
1.) Lead in designing and implementing the monitoring and evaluation frameworks, systems, and tools at Fund level and conduct quality assurance of the overall Fund’s portfolio.
• Develop integrated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and results-based management (RBM) policies, frameworks, systems/tools and plans at Fund level, in line with CAFI’s Terms of Reference and CAFI’s Manual of Operations and its related policies towards programmes, projects and initiatives, to inform on their adequate implementation, and ensure their effectiveness and compliance with the Fund programming and reporting requirements.
• Development, continued improvement and implementation of CAFI M&E and Learning policy and strategies/Plans (e.g. the Fund’s evaluation strategy/plan), as well as related guidelines, minimum standards, procedures and templates.
• Develop SOPs and guidelines for CAFI Secretariat staff, partner countries and implement organizations.
• Coordinate partner countries in adapting, if and as required, CAFI’s M&E framework, procedures and tools to their context, while ensuring full alignment with CAFI’s.
• Participate in CAFI’s annual planning processes, defining targets and harmonized indicators to ensure consistency with CAFI’s policies across CAFI’s portfolio of programmes and projects.
• Contribute to the elaboration and mapping of business processes and procedures in programme and project oversight that includes providing input to establishment of quality assurance processes, guidance notes, protocols, tools, checklists, and sharing best practices.
• Provide technical, innovative and policy advice on M&E and RBM requirements and activities to programme and project managers, staff concerned with monitoring and evaluation, and consultants and/or members of the evaluation team. Collaborate with Programme and project teams on developing integrated development approaches.
• Ensure gender equality, disability inclusion, and Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principles are an integral part of programmes and operations and that these considerations are fully mainstreamed into programming and reflected in project design, monitoring, reporting, and evaluations in line with the UNDP Gender Equality and Disability Inclusion Strategies, UNSDG Operational Guide for Country Teams on LNOB, and available regional guidance.
• Develop the evaluation plan and ensure its timely implementation in line with CAFI standards for the CAFI funded programs/projects, Letters of Intent and the Trust Fund (such as independent evaluations, mid-term reviews, tranche releases).
• Ensure monitoring of data collection by projects, analyze and exploit data combining layers of maps, photo and satellite images, text and statistics.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of spatial monitoring through a dedicated structured geographic information system integrating data acquisition, administration, processing, analysis and dissemination, with support from specialized personnel.
• Support the implementation and growth of CAFI’s ecosystem of digital tools in support of efficiency and transparency, in synergy with colleagues from the programming and PES teams (specifically CAFI Connect and CAFI PES).
2.) Lead coordination of monitoring, reporting, evaluation and results-based management of CAFI programmes and projects.
• Oversee implementation and application of efficient and evidence-based results monitoring, and as applicable, quality assurance work for programme and project development and delivery using integrated portfolio management approach as well as the CAFI Connect tool and the CAFI PES dashboard
• Ensure timely identification of potential implementation problems and bottlenecks and advise the management and programme/project teams on strategies/corrective measures to address them.
• Lead the cross-cutting reviews, studies and evaluations of the M&E unit.
• Manage and coordinate third-party monitoring and/or any other data collection intervention.
• Review and approve all plans and Terms of Reference (TOR) for project and programme mid-term reviews, evaluations, and assessments. Participate in consultant and evaluation team recruitment and selection. Review and provide input on evaluation inception reports, evaluation methodology, and draft evaluation reports for quality assurance and compliance purposes.