IDB3377 – Lead Corporate, Country, and Thematic Evaluation Specialist

Job Purpose:

This role plans and technically leads macro-level evaluation work, including corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations. The Lead Corporate, Country, and Thematic Evaluation Specialist is responsible for conducting thorough investigations and analysis to assess the development effectiveness of the Islamic Development Bank’s (IsDB) interventions, draws lessons from evaluation studies, and leads the dissemination of knowledge within IsDB and in the member countries to contribute to the improvement of the development effectiveness and the Bank’s corporate performance, ensuring that evaluation results are taken into account in the IsDB’s policies, strategies and operations. This role is also responsible for providing high-level advice on development effectiveness and technically guiding less experienced staff members in the Division.

Key Accountabilities:

Strategic & Operational Planning:

• Provide inputs in establishing strategic objectives and formulating the work program of the department, with a specific focus on corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations as well as on knowledge dissemination
• Support CCTE Manager, and the Director IEvD in the allocation and utilization of resources for evaluations and knowledge dissemination.
• Lead the development of IsDB policies, guidelines, systems, procedures, and tools related to corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations, knowledge management, and dissemination strategy while ensuring alignment with MDBs’ Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG) Good Practice Standards (GPS).
• Work closely and in synergy with the other lead evaluation specialists to ensure coherence and consistency in policies, guidelines, systems, methods, and processes.
• Identify, plan, and lead the creation of evidence-based knowledge on development effectiveness from the evaluations undertaken in IsDB.
• Provide inputs for IsDB Strategies such as flagship Corporate Strategies, Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS), Sector / Thematic Strategies, and Special initiatives.
• Assist Manager, CCTE, in planning evaluations and monitoring progress to ensure adherence to the schedules for conducting corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations within allocated resources.
• Plan and coordinate joint evaluations with other development partners and ensure harmonization.
• Coordinate planning, preparation, and outcome of the corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluation processes, including the oversight of multi-task teams to ensure effective and efficient results.

Evaluations’ Design and Implementation:

• Plan and lead complex macro-level evaluations such as corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations, On-Demand evaluations such as formative and real-time evaluations, etc.
• Contribute to the design of complex project, program, and cluster level evaluations such as post-evaluation of selected completed projects financed under the various windows of the IsDB Group as well as completed technical and special assistance operations, projects experiencing major obstacles in implementation, cluster of TA operations.
• Set-up and lead teams (including external consultants) for major evaluations.
• Advise the Manager, CCTE and Director, IEvD on day-to-day decision making relating to corporate, country, sector, and thematic evaluations.
• Ensure that evaluation requirements are comprehensively assessed, and that adequate approach papers with rigorous methods are set to fulfil them.
• Plan, lead / undertake field missions, communicate and interact with internal and external stakeholders particularly member country governments, private sector, beneficiary population, development partners and carry out thorough data and information collection, reviews, and analysis to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, output, outcome and impact of IsDB interventions and the sustainability of achieved development results.
• Ensure compliance with quality standards and quality assurance mechanism and guidelines for the department’s evaluation related work, in line with MDBs’ Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG) Good Practices Standards (GPS) and IEvD guidelines.
• Review and clear evaluation products prepared by the department’s staff members and external consultants ensuring validity, accuracy, precision of the content and usefulness of findings and recommendations.
• Ensure planning, delivery and high-quality of validations of Member Country Partnership Strategy Completion Reviews (MCPS-CR) and Mid-term Reviews of MCPS prepared by Operations Complex.

Evaluation Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Development:

• Lead the knowledge management system related to the macro evaluations to share the lessons learned, best practices adopted, and recommendations for the use of the relevant Units and Staff of IsDB.
• Share evaluation lessons, findings highlighting achievements and shortcomings, and recommend necessary actions to sharpen strategy formulation and execution of the corporate, sector, thematic and country policies and strategies
• Act as the knowledge and resource expert – internally for the IsDB and externally for Member Countries (MCs) – on development evaluation issues in MCs.
• Advise the Bank Complexes and the Bank entities in the implementation of recommendations based on evaluation findings to improve future development interventions and to increase the efficiency and adequacy of IsDB’s internal processes and service delivery mechanisms.
• Keep abreast of the latest trends, innovations (including from academia), and best / good practice norms and standards in the areas of Evaluation and Results Based Management.
• Lead the benchmarking exercises based on other MDBs’ operations, and development effectiveness and lead / facilitate the adoption of the best / good practices in IsDB
• Plan and lead development and delivery of training workshops for staff, partners, and the Member Countries’ institutions to share knowledge and contribute to capacity building in development evaluation.

  Reporting, Learning and Outreach

• Present IEvD’s evaluations findings and discuss the lessons learned and recommendations during Department Meetings, Management Meetings, IsDB Annual Meetings, Board Meetings, and other internal stakeholders.
• Guide, mentor and support evaluators in disseminating the evaluation results, lessons and recommendations to the Executing Agencies, Line Ministries, and other stakeholders in the Member and Non-Members Countries.
• Ensure that evaluation results, lessons and recommendations are considered in the IsDB policies, strategies, and operations, in coordination with concerned IsDB departments and entities and call for remedial action wherever necessary
• Engage, communicate, and collaborate with the broader team in the Bank, including the Global Practices and Chief Economist to enhance the rigor of advice on cross- cutting and sectorial issues in MCs.
• Contribute to the preparation of the Annual Evaluation Report (AER), the Annual Development Effectiveness Report (ADER), and the Operations Achievements and Results Report
• Track and monitor the extent to which IEvD’s recommendations have been implemented by the different complexes of the Bank, through the Systematic Tracking of the Execution of Evaluation Recommendations (STEER).

People Coaching & Mentoring

• Provide motivational and inspirational thought-leadership for the evaluators and peers within the Bank on corporate, country engagement, sector, and thematic areas.
• Regularly assess the internal gaps in skills and capabilities of the Department and determine the actions needed to increase its performance.
• Plan and monitor the up-skilling and re-skilling of the evaluators in close coordination with the Managers and Directors of the Department
• Support filling in key capability gaps through capacity development and recruiting efforts, ensuring continuous upgrading of staff skills and competencies in evaluation matters
• Coach, mentor, and develop the new and current staff to achieve their highest talent potential
• Act as a role model for the Department staff in issues related to IsDB’s values and leadership competencies and provide direction and support in times of change.
• Network and advocate with counterpart departments and units in developing the Bank’s capacity in monitoring, evaluation, results-based management, and other relevant topics.

Academic and Professional Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Development Evaluation, Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, Finance, Business Administration, or any related discipline.
• A professional certification in development evaluation or in policy and strategy management is preferable.
• Minimum 10 years of prior relevant experience in development evaluation, monitoring and evaluation, country / sector / thematic portfolio management and quality, policy/strategy work in key corporate/sectors/thematic areas, and country-level strategies in a multilateral development sector, of which a minimum of 3 years of technical supervisory experience.

Skills & Necessary Knowledge:

• Expertise in development evaluation and effectiveness methods
• Advanced poverty diagnostic analysis
• Advanced country/sector/policy programming skills
• Country Portfolio Assessment
• Vast experience in economic analysis role in institutions like a development bank, central bank or a relevant ministry
• Advanced knowledge of results-based management concepts
• Advanced analytical, synthesis, writing, and editing skills
• Advanced planning and organization skills
• Economic Analysis and Assessment
• Full awareness of the latest international development issues policies and economies of developing countries
• Knowledge Management and Dissemination
• MS Office-Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills.

Languages:

• English- Mandatory
• Arabic- Preferred
• French- Preferred