Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will provide technical monitoring and evaluation support to the ending child marriage programme, under the oversight and technical leadership of the Chief Programme Planning and Monitoring. The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will lead the monitoring, evaluation and learning work for one of Malawi’s most ambitious child protection investments, supporting systems strengthening, real-time case monitoring, and evidence-driven action across 10 high-burden districts. As the programme pioneers innovations such as Mobile Response Teams, mass birth registration for legal identity, strengthened justice pathways, and large-scale community norm change, the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will ensure that data from frontline actors, government MIS platforms and community feedback loops is transformed into actionable insights. This role offers a rare opportunity to shape national policy dialogue, strengthen government-owned data systems and directly influence decisionmaking that protects children and accelerates the end of child marriage.

Child marriage remains a critical challenge in Malawi, with approximately 38% of girls marrying before age 18—one of the highest rates globally and the third highest in Eastern and Southern Africa—driven by entrenched poverty, harmful social norms, limited access to services, and weak, under-resourced child protection and case-management systems. The practice (Equivalent of NOC) disproportionately affects rural and poorer households, where multidimensional deprivation is most severe, and contributes to school dropout, adolescent pregnancy, and intergenerational cycles of poverty.

Despite national progress, the scale and persistence of child marriage requires a targeted, system-strengthening approach that enhances detection, improves survivor-centered response, and expands community-level prevention. Frontline actors— child protection workers (CPWs), police, judiciary, social workers, health workers and community structures—face major constraints including understaffing, limited mobility, slow case processing, poor coordination and weak data systems. As a result, cases are identified late, referrals stall, and survivors often lack timely, survivor-centered support. In addition, awareness of protection risks remains low, child-friendly reporting mechanisms are limited, and preventive services are inconsistent. Community-level structures often lack coverage, trained personnel and adequate facilities.

UNICEF is negotiating a five-year, multi-country partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) with a focus on Ending Child Marriage (ECM). The programme in Malawi builds on existing government structures, aligns with the National Strategy to End Child Marriage (2024–2030), and complements ongoing capacities across social welfare, police, judiciary, and community mechanisms.

It aims to strengthen law enforcement, improve rapid response mechanisms, enhance community-led norm change, and mainstream data-driven decision-making through systems like CPIMS, Police MIS, Judiciary CMS, CRVS, and RapidPro. Given the programme’s strong emphasis on adaptive, data-driven implementation, the Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist will play a central role in ensuring data quality, timely evidence generation, analysis, learning, and use.

Institutional Framework & Recruitment Context

This position is being filled as a Partner Personnel role. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is supporting UNICEF Malawi as a UN partner, providing dedicated recruitment and administrative support for this position.

The selected candidate will be recruited by UNICEF  using UNOPS recruitment rules and regulations. Upon completion of the process, the incumbent will be engaged directly as personnel of UNICEF Malawi, not as UNOPS personnel. Consequently, the selected professional will work under the effective management, day-to-day oversight, and supervision of a designated supervisor within UNICEF.

The Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist will be responsible for designing, implementing and overseeing the full Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system for the Ending Child Marriage Programme. The role ensures that high-quality, timely and reliable data, from district social welfare offices, police, judiciary, community volunteers, the helpline, and health facilities, is consolidated, analysed and used to strengthen programme performance and accountability. The Specialist will enhance the functionality and interoperability of government data systems (including CPIMS, Police MIS, Judiciary CMS, CRVS and DHIS2), lead the development of digital data collection tools, and support evidence generation through routine monitoring, evaluations, and mixed-methods learning studies. Working closely with government, UNICEF teams and implementing partners, the Specialist will embed data-driven decision-making, facilitate adaptive management and ensure the programme demonstrates measurable, credible impact.

Lead the development and implementation of the Programme MEL Framework.

• Develop a comprehensive MEL strategy, aligned with the CIFF investment, UNICEF global guidance, and Government systems.
• Finalize and operationalize programme indicators, Theory of Change (ToC), results framework, KPIs and monitoring tools.
• Develop/update digital data collection tools, SOPs, data flow maps and quality standards.

Strengthen routine monitoring and government data systems.

• Support integration of routine data across CPIMS, Police MIS, Judiciary CMS, CRVS, DHIS2, Education MIS.
• Institutionalize real-time case alert mechanisms (e.g., RapidPro, helpline linkages to Mobile Response Teams).
• Conduct monthly district-level data reviews, validation, reconciliation and quality assurance checks.
• Build capacity of district ECM Units, CPWs, MRTs, helpline staff, police, health and justice personnel on data quality and reporting.

Support data analysis, visualization, reporting and learning.

• Produce monthly, quarterly, and annual analytics for programme decision-making and donor reporting.
• Create user-friendly dashboards for district and national coordination platforms.
• Lead learning reviews, after-action reviews, and adaptive programming sessions.
• Generate technical briefs, learning notes, and evidence summaries for CO leadership, government and partners.

Manage baseline, midline and endline evaluations and surveys.

• Coordinate the design and implementation of the mixed-method Midline and Endline Survey including TOR development, sampling, supervision, quality control and dissemination. Oversee consultants, research firms and/or academic partners. 
• Ensure ethical and child-safe data collection standards.

Ensure strong community and survivor-driven feedback mechanisms.

• Strengthen existing feedback loops (helpline 116, Community Child Protection Committees, CPWs, Children’s Corners).
• Establish documentation systems for community feedback, referrals, and complaint resolution.
• Ensure feedback informs programme adjustments and is linked to accountability to affected populations (AAP).

Support knowledge management, communications and visibility.

• Contribute to documentation of change stories, human interest pieces and results.
• Work closely with the ECM Investment Communications Group.
• Ensure visibility materials reflect real programme data and insights.

Provide technical support for partner MEL systems.

• Support Government and NGOs to strengthen MEL capacity.
• Review partner reports, provide feedback, and ensure alignment with programme MEL standards.
• Support harmonization of community-level tools to reduce duplication and ensure consistency.

Contribute to risk analysis, mitigation, and programme quality assurance

• Support monitoring of institutional, programmatic, contextual and fiduciary risks, with focus on data-related risks (accuracy, confidentiality, legal age verification).
• Integrate MEL evidence into risk mitigation actions.