Senior Evaluation Officer
Apply NowCompany: The World Bank Group
Location: Washington, DC 20011
Description:
Senior Evaluation Officer
Job #:
req30939
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Human Development
Grade:
GG
Term Duration:
3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Spanish, French
Closing Date:
1/8/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org
About the World Bank Group
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.
The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions and thirteen Global Practices to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.
IEG's Role
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is responsible for the assessment of the relevance, efficacy, and efficiency of World Bank Group operational policies, programs and activities, and their contribution to development effectiveness. IEG's evaluations aim to enhance accountability and learning to inform the formulation of new directions, policies and procedures, country and sector strategies, and programs for the World Bank Group's work.
IEG is directly responsible for:
* Assessing whether the World Bank Group Institutions' operational policies, programs and activities are producing the expected results, including global, regional, and other programs in which the Institution(s) is a participant.
* Incorporating evaluation assessments and findings into recommendations designed to help improve the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group's programs and activities, and their responsiveness to member countries' needs and concerns.
* Appraising the Institutions' self-evaluations of strategies and projects and attesting to their adequacy to the Boards.
* Reporting periodically to the Boards on actions taken by the Institution(s) in response to evaluation findings, and on the measures being taken to improve the overall operations evaluation system including dissemination and outreach activities.
* Identifying and disseminating evaluation findings and lessons to maximize contributions to the World Bank Group's learning and knowledge framework and reinforce learning and accountability within the World Bank Group in service of achieving its corporate goals.
* Encouraging and assisting developing member countries to build effective monitoring and evaluation associations, capacities and systems.
* Working closely with development partners among donors and developing countries in order to foster international evaluation harmonization, to develop evaluation capacity in developing countries, and to encourage best practice in international development evaluation.
Internal and external contexts:
IEG's work is aligned with the changing internal and external contexts. The World Bank is currently undergoing a transition. A process has been launched to expand and revise the vision of the World Bank and review its operational and financing model to ensure it is ready to meet the changing needs of its clients and address the challenges of the future. Evaluation has an important role to play in this process, not only in keeping the World Bank accountable, but also to ensure that the way forward builds on evidence on what works and what doesn't. This will require providing evidence both for the longer-term strategic direction but also shorter-term, real-time evidence to help the institution course correct, particularly in times of crisis.
Internally, the WBG's organization has launched a consultative change process known as the Evolution Roadmap, which recognizes the increasing importance of global challenges in achieving development goals, and that there is a need to sharpen the WBG mission with greater emphasis on sustainability, resilience to shocks, and inclusion, which are also critical for achievement of the twin goals and the SDGs. The provisional vision is to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet, with a mission to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. Externally, the global community has reached consensus on ambitious post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, and client countries and development partners are demanding increased focus on development impact and results.
Consistent with the WBG 2016 Forward Look and subsequent discussions with stakeholders around the Evolution Roadmap, the focus will continue to be on poverty reduction and shared prosperity, while also addressing the interlinkages with global challenges, such as climate change, pandemic risks, and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV). In this context, and the recent discussions about the financing of the WBG and development more broadly to do more, the independent evaluation can play an important role in helping the WBG achieve greater development effectiveness by assessing what works, and why.
IEG has increasingly moved to a strategic selection process for its major evaluations to ensure greater influence of each individual evaluation, and of all of them collectively. IEG continues to pursue two objectives:
* Achieving the evolving goal and mission of the WBG - What Works and Why? Deepening evidence about the results of WBG programs and activities and their contribution to WBG's strategic priorities and ultimately its mission goals. This objective is addressed mostly through thematic evaluations that currently cover IEG's three Strategic Engagement Areas (SEAs) which are aligned, but may adapt, with the Forward Look and emerging Evolution Roadmap, namely: (i) Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth; (ii) Investing in People, especially through Sustained Service Delivery to the poor and bottom 40%; and (iii) Fostering Resilience to Global Shocks and Threats.
* Real-Time Feedback on WBG Operational choices: Assessing implementation of, and providing WBG Management and Executive Board with early feedback on, reforms and WBG operational choices to ensure that timely course corrections are made when needed. This objective is addressed mostly through corporate evaluations covering four strategic pillars: i) Assisting All Client Segments; ii) Leading on Global and Regional Issues, iii) Improving the WBG Business Model, and iv) Mobilization: Scaling Up Finance for Development.
Under the Director General of Evaluation, IEG is developing a long-term strategy to best contribute to the Evolution Roadmap. This will involve building on the work already underway, with a particular emphasis on strengthening engagement with various stakeholders, using mixed methods and innovating to enhance the quality and rigor of evaluations, while also maintaining the independence of the evaluation function as both a tool for accountability and learning. IEG will also continue to place emphasis on (i) IEG's value proposition as a contributor to the WBG's development effectiveness through focused, timely, and impactful evaluative activities, (ii) IEG's efficiency and value for money, and (iii) IEG's effective engagement with WBG management and other stakeholders.
Organizational structure:
IEG is led by the Director General, Evaluation (DGE), who reports directly to the Board of Executive Directors through the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE). IEG's organizational structure comprises:
* Office of the DGE (IEGDG);
* Human Development and Economic Management Department (IEGHE);
* Financial, Private Sector, and Sustainable Development Department (IEGSP); and
* Knowledge and Communications Unit (IEGKC).
Human Development and Corporate Evaluation Unit (IEGHC)
Within the Human Development and Economic Management Department (IEGHE), the Human Development and Corporate Evaluation Unit (IEGHC) covers four main areas of work:
* Evaluations and validation of self-evaluations of Human Development projects (comprising the Global Practices: Education; Health, Nutrition & Population; Social Protection & Labor; and the Gender Equality Cross-Cutting Solution Area [CCSA]);
* Thematic Evaluation: evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of sector and thematic strategies and programs of the WBG in the above-mentioned thematic areas;
* Leading on Corporate evaluation and preparation of the IEG's Review of Results and Performance of the World Bank Group;
* Leading on the evaluative angle of the thematic areas related to the Human Capital Project and similar.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Unit Manager, the Sr. Evaluation Officer will have the following primary responsibilities:
Lead, co-lead and/or participate in thematic evaluations and other evaluative knowledge products assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the IFC, MIGA and/or World Bank assistance in human capital development and in areas of corporate importance, including the annual IEG Review of Results and Performance of the WBG. While many evaluations cover the work of the World Bank, the IFC and MIGA, some are specifically focused on one or two of the three agencies.
Lead, co-lead and/or participate in the validation of self-evaluations of Human Development projects (comprising the Global Practices: Education; Health, Nutrition & Population; Social Protection & Labor; and Gender Equality).
Oversee the work of junior staff, including by providing quality-assurance (setting and upholding high standards of quality for various evaluations) and mentorship. Advise other IEG teams in areas of expertise.
Work closely with the IEG Methods team in all phases of the evaluation, including to identify the evaluation questions and the relevant methods to answer them, discuss the validity of the findings of the analysis and proposed recommendations.
Engage with IFC, MIGA and World Bank operational counterparts during key stages of development of the evaluations, including at inception; discussion of emerging findings and recommendations; and review of the draft evaluation.
Disseminate findings from thematic evaluations and other knowledge products within the World Bank Group (internal dissemination) and with external clients (government representatives, private sector and international partner organizations). He/she will work on the dissemination plan closely with IEG Knowledge and Communications (KC) team.
Contribute to IEG-wide, departmental, and cross-sectoral activities designed to help IEG pursue its mission, specifically in providing methodological advice and coaching across units, and contribute in other forms to the development of IEG products.
Selection Criteria
The successful candidate is required to have the following minimum qualifications, skills, motivation and personal attributes:
A Master's degree (Ph.D. preferred) and a minimum of 8 years of experience in directly relevant area of expertise (evaluation, economics, finance, public policy, health, social protection, jobs and labor markets, gender, and/or education).
Demonstrated analytical skills as leader of research or major sector work, which could include publications in international journals.
Demonstrated experience in designing, conducting and leading evaluations, preferably with a strong focus on using a range of methods. This could include in-depth knowledge of advanced qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, such as (among others,) structured literature review, portfolio analysis, development of theory of change and theory of action, comparative case studies, statistical and econometric analysis and qualitative data analysis, and experience working with large datasets.
Demonstrated in-depth knowledge and experience of working in international development. Understanding of World Bank, IFC and MIGA strategies and operations, and/or of strategies and operations of other Multilateral Development Banks.
Knowledge and experience of evaluations in Fragile, Conflict and Violence affected situations would be an advantage.
Outstanding writing skills: ability to convey complex concepts through well-structured, simple, convincing messages. Outstanding aptitude for critical and structured qualitative and quantitative analysis, as evidenced by a strong track record of contributions to complex analytical and operational work.
Excellent communication, diplomatic and negotiating skills, with demonstrated strong personal maturity, balanced judgment, and a track record of building and maintaining partnerships with colleagues and clients.
Demonstrated ability to manage teams to deliver complex tasks, including high quality analytical reports, on time and within budget.
Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills, capacity to motivate and develop teams, and ability to operate collaboratively within and across organizational boundaries. Proactive, inclusive and innovative, with an open and collegial work style and ability to listen and integrate ideas from diverse points of view.
Ability to coach, mentor, develop and empower more junior staff, provide seasoned advice to more senior staff and managers, and work collaboratively with peers.
Ability and willingness to travel to developing countries. Fluent in written and spoken English. Fluent knowledge of other languag
Job #:
req30939
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Human Development
Grade:
GG
Term Duration:
3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Spanish, French
Closing Date:
1/8/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org
About the World Bank Group
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.
The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions and thirteen Global Practices to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.
IEG's Role
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is responsible for the assessment of the relevance, efficacy, and efficiency of World Bank Group operational policies, programs and activities, and their contribution to development effectiveness. IEG's evaluations aim to enhance accountability and learning to inform the formulation of new directions, policies and procedures, country and sector strategies, and programs for the World Bank Group's work.
IEG is directly responsible for:
* Assessing whether the World Bank Group Institutions' operational policies, programs and activities are producing the expected results, including global, regional, and other programs in which the Institution(s) is a participant.
* Incorporating evaluation assessments and findings into recommendations designed to help improve the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group's programs and activities, and their responsiveness to member countries' needs and concerns.
* Appraising the Institutions' self-evaluations of strategies and projects and attesting to their adequacy to the Boards.
* Reporting periodically to the Boards on actions taken by the Institution(s) in response to evaluation findings, and on the measures being taken to improve the overall operations evaluation system including dissemination and outreach activities.
* Identifying and disseminating evaluation findings and lessons to maximize contributions to the World Bank Group's learning and knowledge framework and reinforce learning and accountability within the World Bank Group in service of achieving its corporate goals.
* Encouraging and assisting developing member countries to build effective monitoring and evaluation associations, capacities and systems.
* Working closely with development partners among donors and developing countries in order to foster international evaluation harmonization, to develop evaluation capacity in developing countries, and to encourage best practice in international development evaluation.
Internal and external contexts:
IEG's work is aligned with the changing internal and external contexts. The World Bank is currently undergoing a transition. A process has been launched to expand and revise the vision of the World Bank and review its operational and financing model to ensure it is ready to meet the changing needs of its clients and address the challenges of the future. Evaluation has an important role to play in this process, not only in keeping the World Bank accountable, but also to ensure that the way forward builds on evidence on what works and what doesn't. This will require providing evidence both for the longer-term strategic direction but also shorter-term, real-time evidence to help the institution course correct, particularly in times of crisis.
Internally, the WBG's organization has launched a consultative change process known as the Evolution Roadmap, which recognizes the increasing importance of global challenges in achieving development goals, and that there is a need to sharpen the WBG mission with greater emphasis on sustainability, resilience to shocks, and inclusion, which are also critical for achievement of the twin goals and the SDGs. The provisional vision is to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet, with a mission to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. Externally, the global community has reached consensus on ambitious post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, and client countries and development partners are demanding increased focus on development impact and results.
Consistent with the WBG 2016 Forward Look and subsequent discussions with stakeholders around the Evolution Roadmap, the focus will continue to be on poverty reduction and shared prosperity, while also addressing the interlinkages with global challenges, such as climate change, pandemic risks, and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV). In this context, and the recent discussions about the financing of the WBG and development more broadly to do more, the independent evaluation can play an important role in helping the WBG achieve greater development effectiveness by assessing what works, and why.
IEG has increasingly moved to a strategic selection process for its major evaluations to ensure greater influence of each individual evaluation, and of all of them collectively. IEG continues to pursue two objectives:
* Achieving the evolving goal and mission of the WBG - What Works and Why? Deepening evidence about the results of WBG programs and activities and their contribution to WBG's strategic priorities and ultimately its mission goals. This objective is addressed mostly through thematic evaluations that currently cover IEG's three Strategic Engagement Areas (SEAs) which are aligned, but may adapt, with the Forward Look and emerging Evolution Roadmap, namely: (i) Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth; (ii) Investing in People, especially through Sustained Service Delivery to the poor and bottom 40%; and (iii) Fostering Resilience to Global Shocks and Threats.
* Real-Time Feedback on WBG Operational choices: Assessing implementation of, and providing WBG Management and Executive Board with early feedback on, reforms and WBG operational choices to ensure that timely course corrections are made when needed. This objective is addressed mostly through corporate evaluations covering four strategic pillars: i) Assisting All Client Segments; ii) Leading on Global and Regional Issues, iii) Improving the WBG Business Model, and iv) Mobilization: Scaling Up Finance for Development.
Under the Director General of Evaluation, IEG is developing a long-term strategy to best contribute to the Evolution Roadmap. This will involve building on the work already underway, with a particular emphasis on strengthening engagement with various stakeholders, using mixed methods and innovating to enhance the quality and rigor of evaluations, while also maintaining the independence of the evaluation function as both a tool for accountability and learning. IEG will also continue to place emphasis on (i) IEG's value proposition as a contributor to the WBG's development effectiveness through focused, timely, and impactful evaluative activities, (ii) IEG's efficiency and value for money, and (iii) IEG's effective engagement with WBG management and other stakeholders.
Organizational structure:
IEG is led by the Director General, Evaluation (DGE), who reports directly to the Board of Executive Directors through the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE). IEG's organizational structure comprises:
* Office of the DGE (IEGDG);
* Human Development and Economic Management Department (IEGHE);
* Financial, Private Sector, and Sustainable Development Department (IEGSP); and
* Knowledge and Communications Unit (IEGKC).
Human Development and Corporate Evaluation Unit (IEGHC)
Within the Human Development and Economic Management Department (IEGHE), the Human Development and Corporate Evaluation Unit (IEGHC) covers four main areas of work:
* Evaluations and validation of self-evaluations of Human Development projects (comprising the Global Practices: Education; Health, Nutrition & Population; Social Protection & Labor; and the Gender Equality Cross-Cutting Solution Area [CCSA]);
* Thematic Evaluation: evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of sector and thematic strategies and programs of the WBG in the above-mentioned thematic areas;
* Leading on Corporate evaluation and preparation of the IEG's Review of Results and Performance of the World Bank Group;
* Leading on the evaluative angle of the thematic areas related to the Human Capital Project and similar.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Unit Manager, the Sr. Evaluation Officer will have the following primary responsibilities:
Lead, co-lead and/or participate in thematic evaluations and other evaluative knowledge products assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the IFC, MIGA and/or World Bank assistance in human capital development and in areas of corporate importance, including the annual IEG Review of Results and Performance of the WBG. While many evaluations cover the work of the World Bank, the IFC and MIGA, some are specifically focused on one or two of the three agencies.
Lead, co-lead and/or participate in the validation of self-evaluations of Human Development projects (comprising the Global Practices: Education; Health, Nutrition & Population; Social Protection & Labor; and Gender Equality).
Oversee the work of junior staff, including by providing quality-assurance (setting and upholding high standards of quality for various evaluations) and mentorship. Advise other IEG teams in areas of expertise.
Work closely with the IEG Methods team in all phases of the evaluation, including to identify the evaluation questions and the relevant methods to answer them, discuss the validity of the findings of the analysis and proposed recommendations.
Engage with IFC, MIGA and World Bank operational counterparts during key stages of development of the evaluations, including at inception; discussion of emerging findings and recommendations; and review of the draft evaluation.
Disseminate findings from thematic evaluations and other knowledge products within the World Bank Group (internal dissemination) and with external clients (government representatives, private sector and international partner organizations). He/she will work on the dissemination plan closely with IEG Knowledge and Communications (KC) team.
Contribute to IEG-wide, departmental, and cross-sectoral activities designed to help IEG pursue its mission, specifically in providing methodological advice and coaching across units, and contribute in other forms to the development of IEG products.
Selection Criteria
The successful candidate is required to have the following minimum qualifications, skills, motivation and personal attributes:
A Master's degree (Ph.D. preferred) and a minimum of 8 years of experience in directly relevant area of expertise (evaluation, economics, finance, public policy, health, social protection, jobs and labor markets, gender, and/or education).
Demonstrated analytical skills as leader of research or major sector work, which could include publications in international journals.
Demonstrated experience in designing, conducting and leading evaluations, preferably with a strong focus on using a range of methods. This could include in-depth knowledge of advanced qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, such as (among others,) structured literature review, portfolio analysis, development of theory of change and theory of action, comparative case studies, statistical and econometric analysis and qualitative data analysis, and experience working with large datasets.
Demonstrated in-depth knowledge and experience of working in international development. Understanding of World Bank, IFC and MIGA strategies and operations, and/or of strategies and operations of other Multilateral Development Banks.
Knowledge and experience of evaluations in Fragile, Conflict and Violence affected situations would be an advantage.
Outstanding writing skills: ability to convey complex concepts through well-structured, simple, convincing messages. Outstanding aptitude for critical and structured qualitative and quantitative analysis, as evidenced by a strong track record of contributions to complex analytical and operational work.
Excellent communication, diplomatic and negotiating skills, with demonstrated strong personal maturity, balanced judgment, and a track record of building and maintaining partnerships with colleagues and clients.
Demonstrated ability to manage teams to deliver complex tasks, including high quality analytical reports, on time and within budget.
Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills, capacity to motivate and develop teams, and ability to operate collaboratively within and across organizational boundaries. Proactive, inclusive and innovative, with an open and collegial work style and ability to listen and integrate ideas from diverse points of view.
Ability to coach, mentor, develop and empower more junior staff, provide seasoned advice to more senior staff and managers, and work collaboratively with peers.
Ability and willingness to travel to developing countries. Fluent in written and spoken English. Fluent knowledge of other languag