IDB3207 – Senior Evaluation Specialist

Job Purpose:

This role plans and conducts project-level and macro evaluation work such as corporate, country partnership, sector, thematic, process evaluations, portfolio performance analysis, annual evaluation review etc. The role conducts thorough investigations and analysis to assess the development effectiveness of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) interventions, draws lessons from evaluation studies and participates in the dissemination of knowledge within IsDB and in the member countries to contribute to the improvement of the development effectiveness ensuring that evaluation results are taken into account in the IsDB’s policies, strategies and operations. The role requires excellent expertise in evaluation to be capable of providing high level advice on development effectiveness.

Key Accountabilities:

Strategic & Operational Planning

• Provide technical inputs in establishing strategic objectives and formulating work program of the Country, Corporate and Thematic Evaluation Division (CCTE).
• Support CCTE Manager in the allocation and utilization of resources for independent evaluations.
• Lead and coordinate planning and harmonize approaches for the joint evaluation activities with other development partners.
• Plan and monitor progress of evaluation studies to ensure adherence to schedules.
• Provide inputs for the formulation of IsDB Strategies such as MCPS, Sector, Corporate and Thematic Strategies.

Relevance, Coherence and Effectiveness of Policies, Processes & Procedures

• Participate in the development of IsDBG policies, guidelines, systems, procedures and tools related to evaluation, ensuring alignment with MDBs’ Evaluation Cooperation Group Good Practice Standards.
• Ensure compliance with quality standards and quality assurance mechanism and guidelines for evaluation related work, in line with MDBs’ Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG) Good Practice Standards (GPS).
• Participate in the design process and operationalization of the evaluation knowledge management system.
• Contribute in the formulation of a robust and comprehensive evaluation framework including evaluation guidelines, tools and templates.
• Proactively research and setup the benchmarking with other MDBs.

Evaluation Studies

• Plan and undertake project and complex macro evaluations such as country assistance, policy, strategy and corporate and thematic evaluations in conformity with evaluation guidelines, methodologies and international GPS.
• Lead/participate in the teams (including external consultants) for major evaluations.
• Ensure that evaluation work requirements are comprehensively assessed, and that all necessary data and information is collected and analyzed through desk reviews, questionnaires, etc.
• Lead, plan and undertake field missions, communicate and interact with internal and external stakeholders particularly member country government representatives, private sector, beneficiary population, development partners and carry out thorough investigations and analysis to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, output, outcome and impact of IsDB interventions and the sustainability of achieved development results.
• Peer review evaluation work products prepared by evaluation staff members and external consultants ensuring validity and precision of the content.
• Ensure timely completion of work within allocated resources.
• Share evaluation findings and lessons highlighting achievements and shortcomings of the Bank and recommend necessary actions to sharpen strategy formulation and execution of policies.
• Participate in advising the Complexes and other departments of the Bank in the implementation of recommendations based on evaluation findings to improve future development interventions and to increase the efficiency and adequacy of Bank internal processes and service delivery mechanisms.
• Monitor implementation of and adherence to IEvD’s recommendations and call for remedial action, wherever necessary.
• Prepare ToRs, manage the relationship with and review the deliverables of evaluation consultants.
• Validate Project Completion Reports (PCR) and MCPS Implementation Reviews prepared by self-evaluation.

Knowledge Sharing & Capacity Development

• Lead the generation of relevant lessons from evaluation studies and lead the preparation of synthesis of evaluation reports and papers for accountability and dissemination of knowledge within IsDB and in the MCs to contribute to the improvement of development effectiveness of IsDB interventions.
• Communicate and share information, reports and feedback with concerned IsDB departments and key stakeholders through internal and external communication channels, including publications of selected evaluation reports.
• Act as the knowledge and resource person – internally for the IsDB and externally for Member Countries (MCs) – on development evaluation issues.
• Develop and deliver training and workshops for the Member Countries’ institutions to share knowledge and contribute to capacity building in development evaluation.
• Keep abreast with the latest trends and best practices in the area of Evaluation and Results Based Management and adopt the same in IsDB.

Reporting & Communication

• Prepare evaluation-based syntheses, briefings, presentations, etc., upon management requests to inform the design of new initiatives / programs.
• Assist in preparing and presenting the evaluation findings for the BED.
• Engage, communicate and collaborate with the broader team in the Bank, including the Country Program Complex to enhance the rigor of advice on cross- cutting and sectorial issues in the MCs.
• Lead / Contribute to the preparation of Annual Evaluation Report and (AER) Annual Review of Development Effectiveness (ARDE).

Academic and Professional Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Engineering or any related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of prior relevant experience in portfolio management and implementation, operations quality and effectiveness evaluation, in a multilateral development sector.

Skills & Necessary Knowledge:

• Very good knowledge in development evaluation and effectiveness
• Very good Sector/Thematic programming skills
• Very good Corporate Management skills
• Full awareness of international development issues and economies of developing countries or organizational science
• Very good planning and organization skills
• Economic Analysis and Assessment
• Country Portfolio Assessment
• Project Management
• Policies and Procedures
• MS Office-Word, Excel, PowerPoint skills.

Languages:

• English – Mandatory
• Arabic – Preferred
• French – Preferred