The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is recruiting a Senior Evaluation Officer in Geneva, Switzerland, within its Strategic Planning, Programme Management, Evaluation and Change Management Service.
The position focuses on leading evaluation work, strengthening results-based management, and ensuring evaluation evidence is used to improve strategic and programme-level decision-making.
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The vacancy has a closing date of Friday, 16 October 2026.
Senior Evaluation Officer — Key Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Position | Senior Evaluation Officer |
| Organization | Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) |
| Duty Station | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Service | Strategic Planning, Programme Management, Evaluation and Change Management Service |
| Minimum experience | 10 years of progressively responsible programme-management experience |
| UN/international evaluation experience | At least 7 years of recent experience as an Evaluation Officer within the UN system or a similar international organization |
| Education | Advanced university degree in a relevant field, or qualifying alternative |
| Required language | English |
| Desirable languages | French or Spanish |
| Assessment | May include an assessment exercise followed by a competency-based interview |
| Closing date | 16 October 2026 |
The position is located in OHCHR’s Geneva service and reports to the Chief of the Service.
What Would the Senior Evaluation Officer Do?
This is a strategic evaluation position rather than a role limited to producing individual evaluation reports. The successful candidate would help lead and strengthen the evaluation function across OHCHR.
A central responsibility is ensuring that evaluations are impartial, independent and credible, while managing the design and implementation of process and programme evaluations in cooperation with relevant divisions and branches. The role also includes incorporating gender and other cross-cutting issues into the organization’s evaluation system.
The position also has an important organizational-learning function. The officer would help ensure that evaluation findings are systematically used in strategic and programme-level decisions, prepare reports and briefings on significant recommendations and lessons learned, and coordinate management responses to evaluation findings.
Other responsibilities include:
- Developing follow-up action plans for evaluation recommendations.
- Maintaining coordination with divisions and branches responsible for implementing recommendations.
- Preparing progress reports for relevant senior-management and other entities when required.
- Helping incorporate evaluation findings into strategies, policies and new programmes or projects.
- Increasing awareness of evaluation principles and their benefits across the organization.
- Designing and implementing an evaluation capacity-development programme as part of OHCHR’s Results Based Management (RBM) capacity-building strategy.
The role further involves supervising evaluation colleagues and consultants, supporting evaluation resources, providing strategic guidance on the evaluation function, and helping connect evaluation evidence with OHCHR’s Performance Monitoring System. The officer would also support baseline studies, action research and surveys and lead the preparation and updating of evaluation tools and guidance.
Who Is Eligible for This OHCHR Position?
The vacancy requires substantial professional experience and an advanced academic background.
Applicants generally need an advanced university degree — a Master’s, Doctorate or equivalent — in social sciences, international relations, development studies or a related field. The source states that a first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted instead.
The experience requirements are particularly significant:
- At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management is required.
- At least 7 years of recent experience as an Evaluation Officer within the UN system or a similar international organization is required.
- Experience involving evaluation and programming in human rights is desirable.
- Experience in knowledge management, Results Based Management (RBM), and organizational change is also desirable.
This means the position is aimed at experienced evaluation and programme-management professionals, particularly those who have already worked within the UN system or a comparable international organization.
What Skills Does OHCHR Look For?
The competency requirements extend well beyond technical evaluation knowledge.
Professionalism is a major component. The organization seeks candidates with detailed knowledge of the UN and its components, broad exposure to human rights issues, knowledge of relevant mandates and policies, and the ability to handle complex and sensitive issues with independent judgment and discretion. Candidates are also expected to understand evaluation design, Terms of Reference, methodologies, sampling techniques, data collection and quantitative analysis.
The vacancy also identifies planning and organizing, accountability, judgement/decision-making and building trust as competencies. These include setting clear goals, managing priorities and resources, taking responsibility for outputs, assessing the consequences of decisions, and dealing appropriately with sensitive or confidential information.
Language Requirements
English is required for this vacancy. French or Spanish is desirable.
The required English level is UN Level III across reading, writing, listening and speaking. French and Spanish, where applicable, are also listed at UN Level III across all four skills.
How Will Candidates Be Assessed?
Qualified candidates may be asked to complete an assessment exercise, followed by a competency-based interview.
Applicants should therefore make sure their application accurately demonstrates the experience and qualifications against which the vacancy will be evaluated. The UN states that applications are assessed based on the information submitted in the application and the evaluation criteria applicable to the job opening.
Important Information Before Applying
The vacancy includes a specific geographic-diversity notice. Applicants from several unrepresented and under-represented Member States as of 30 June 2026 are strongly encouraged to apply. The source separately lists countries in both categories.
Current UN Secretariat staff should also pay attention to the lateral-move requirement. Staff members must fulfill the applicable lateral-move requirements and are asked to identify qualifying lateral moves in their Candidate Profile and cover note.
The UN also states that reasonable accommodation may be provided for applicants with disabilities when requested and indicated in the application. Recruitment decisions are based on qualifications and organizational needs, with geographic diversity also taken into account.
Applicants should follow the instructions in the UN’s inspira recruitment platform carefully. The source warns that applications must contain complete and accurate information and that submitted applications cannot subsequently be amended, added to, deleted, revised or modified.
Finally, the UN explicitly states that it does not charge a fee at any stage of recruitment, including applications, interviews, processing or training. Applicants should not provide bank-account information in response to requests claiming to be part of the recruitment process.
Application Deadline
The closing date for the Senior Evaluation Officer position in Geneva is Friday, 16 October 2026.
Because the role requires extensive programme-management and UN or comparable international evaluation experience, applicants should review the experience and education requirements carefully before submitting an application.