Overview
The Lead Evaluation Officer will lead the Independent Evaluation Group's (IEG) work program on Prosperity and Country Programs and Corporate topics, and will be directly responsible for Thematic, Country Program and Corporate evaluations. The role aims to enhance accountability and learning to inform the formulation of new directions, policies and procedures for the World Bank Group.
Key Responsibilities
- Leads jointly with the unit’s Lead Economist IEG’s work program on Prosperity and Country Programs and Corporate topics.
- Directly responsible for Thematic, Country Program and Corporate evaluations.
- Advises the IEGEC manager, IEGHE director and other members of IEG leadership team on Thematic, Country Program and Corporate evaluations.
- Provides guidance to the IEGEC teams working on Tematic, Country Program and Corporate topics.
- Coordinates closely with the unit’s Lead Economist.
- Provides quality control for the validation of Implementation Completion Reports and of Country Learning Reviews.
- Leads in Country Program Evaluations and thematic evaluations on topics falling under the Prosperity Practice Group and other Practice Groups.
- Leads and contributes to IEG corporate level tasks as needed, including reviewing and commenting on other evaluation work.
- Leads – and provides technical advice to staff working on – evaluations of IEGEC and supports the IEGEC manager in supervising evaluation work.
- As TTL, leads the design, implementation and dissemination of IEGEC evaluations, including thematic evaluations and other evaluation products, such as Evaluation Insight Notes (EINs), Learning Engagements (LEs) and other IEG products.
- Provides strategic advice and technical insight on IEGEC evaluation work led by other colleagues.
- Engages on issues such as strategic directions and work program; collaboration with other units in and outside IEG and with development partners.
- Leads or participates in evaluations mapped to other IEG units.
- Provides technical and strategic advice to the IEGEC manager on thematic, Country Program and Corporate evaluations.
- Provides advice on evaluation quality, work program, and collaboration.
- Supports the strategic dialogue with World Bank Group counterparts and with development partners.
- Keeps abreast – and informs the IEGEC manager – of strategic developments which are relevant to the work of IEGEC.
- Provides technical stewardship and keeps IEGEC staff informed of WBG’s initiatives, including through presentations at IEG staff meetings on the WBG’s strategic direction in these areas and organization of Brown Bag Lunches.
- Facilitates generation and exchange of information in the department, to promote cross-unit collaboration and learning.
- Reviews and provides comments on thematic evaluations of other IEG units, on behalf of the IEGEC.
- Advises on outreach strategies for the unit’s evaluations.
- Mentors IEGEC staff by providing technical, professional and career development guidance.
- Advises IEG Extended Leadership Team (ELT) on policy developments and emerging issues, including the review of WBG corporate strategies and policy documents requiring feedback based on IEG evaluations.
Required Experience
- 12-15+ years of relevant experience.
- Prior experience, both operational and policy-related, ideally in Country Programs, Prosperity, and related sectors and substantial background in analytical work.
- Strong familiarity with World Bank, IFC and MIGA operations and ideally in-depth knowledge of Prosperity operations and Country Program products in one or two of the three institutions.
- Deep evaluation knowledge and management: awareness and experience in understanding the design and delivery of evaluations, preferably in a multilateral development bank context; or solid experience in overseeing or leading the successful preparation and effective dissemination of highly complex analytical products for maximum impact, combined with familiarity with evaluation principles, criteria and methods.
- Experience in engaging on evaluations with operational teams: strong practical understanding of how to engage with operational teams effectively in the design and delivery of evaluations, protecting independence and credibility while promoting learning and ownership from operational staff.
- Prior experience in successfully supervising a diverse group of highly skilled professionals; demonstrated capacity to motivate and develop teams.
- Ability to coach, mentor, develop and empower more junior staff, to provide seasoned advice to more senior staff and managers, and to work collaboratively with peers.
Qualifications
• Master’s or PhD degree in directly relevant area of expertise.
