Senior Evaluation Officer (Energy/Infrastructure)

Job # 120434
Job Title Senior Evaluation Officer (Energy/Infrastructure)
Job Family Other
Location Washington, DC
Appointment International Hire
Job Posted 21-Feb-2012
Closing Date 06-Mar-2012
Language Requirements English [Essential]; French [Desired]; Spanish [Desired]

Background / General description

Summary: The Public Sector Evaluation Department of the Independent Evaluation Group at the World Bank (IEGPS) is seeking a seasoned energy/infrastructure/urban specialist to undertake project, thematic and sector evaluations of World Bank engagement energy.


Background

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is an independent unit within the World Bank Group; it reports directly to the World Bank Group's Boards of Executive Directors. IEG’s mission is to improve development results through excellence in evaluation. IEG is directly responsible for assessing programs and activities; making recommendations to help improve the World Bank Group’s development effectiveness; appraising the World Bank Group’s self-evaluation and development risk management systems; cooperating with the evaluation heads of other international financial institutions and development assistance agencies; and assisting developing countries to build effective monitoring and evaluation capacities, systems and associations. IEG also aims to improving the World Bank Group’s work by identifying and disseminating the lessons learned from experience.
IEG’s strategic directions – forging stronger links with WBG directions, responding rapidly to emerging issues, and promoting greater IEG integration – have been fully endorsed by the Boards. Over the past five years, IEG has undergone significant changes to implement its strategic directions: it has ensured closer sequencing of sector and country evaluations to support the formulation and implementation of new strategies; it has initiated a program of real-time and formative evaluations to assess the WBG response to the global crisis, and leveraged evaluative knowledge through quick-turnaround notes, e.g. to inform the response to natural disasters in Haiti and Pakistan. IEG has also made important progress toward evaluating more systematically cross-cutting issues and the full span of WBG work through greater IEG integration, bringing together all IEG staff in one space and developing an integrated work program and budget.
IEG’s Public Sector Evaluation Department is responsible for leading the evaluation of World Bank projects and analytical and advisory activities as well as a large share of sector and thematic evaluations across the World Bank Group.
Specifically, the IEG Public Sector Evaluation Department is responsible for:
• Project, Program, and Analytical and Advisory Activity Evaluation: undertaking evaluations and validations of self-evaluations of investment projects, development policy operations, and analytical and advisory activities of the WBG that involve public sector clients and partners; this includes IBRD/IDA and trust fund financed projects, programs, analytical and advisory activities;
• Sector and Thematic Evaluation: evaluating the impact and effectiveness of sector and thematic strategies and programs of the WBG that have a public sector focus this includes World Bank activities as well as joint WBG activities with focus on public sector policies and instruments; and
• Impact of IEG: disseminating the results and following up the recommendations of these evaluations to help improve the impact and effectiveness of WBG strategies and activities, and to foster evaluation capacity in the WBG, the development community, and WBG’s member countries.

Energy/infrastructure/urban-related evaluations currently in the work program include an evaluation of World Bank Group support for transport (phase I) and energy (and water, phase II) with focus on sustainability, as well as performance assessments of individual projects and groups of projects and analytical work.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year renewable term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities

Under the direction of the Group Manager and as a member of IEGPS’s Infrastructure and Energy cluster, the Sr. Evaluation Officer/Energy/Infrastructure/Urban Specialist will:

• Play a leading role in undertaking ex-post evaluations of World Bank energy/infrastructure/urban projects and programs through desk based Implementation Completion Report Reviews and field based Project Performance Assessments
• Participate and at times lead large sector and thematic evaluations assessing the development effectiveness of World Bank assistance in these areas
• Liaise with Bank operational departments and other IEG units on energy/infrastructure/urban sector issues
• Develop innovative measures and methods for performance evaluation of the Bank’s lending and non-lending services in infrastructure and energy or urban development
• Contribute as appropriate to IEG-wide evaluations related to energy/infrastructure/urban development and/or country assistance evaluations
• Set and uphold high standards of quality for various evaluations as peer reviewer
• Manage consultants tasked with project evaluations
• Act as mentor to junior staff and consultants as appropriate

Selection Criteria

• Graduate degree in a core technical discipline relevant to energy sector development (e.g economics, engineering, public policy, finance), infrastructure, or urban development
• At least eight years (or PhD plus six years) of relevant professional experience with formulation, implementation and evaluation of relevant programs, policies and projects in one or more of these sectors, including experience with sector restructuring

• Extensive familiarity with issues in one or more of these sectors in various settings in developing countries, including emerging issues related to climate change and renewable energy
• Strong analytical, conceptual and problem-solving skills demonstrated through leadership of relevant research, sector studies, or similar activities
• Exposure to evaluation methodologies, with experience in quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation techniques
• Demonstrated capacity to analyze and interpret empirical evidence, and ability to deduce clear policy advice using evaluative material
• Experience with operational work in the World Bank or other development agencies in a leadership role in at least two geographic regions
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and to effectively carry out multi-disciplinary analyses
• Strong interpersonal and organization skills and the ability to form and work in teams both as team member and as team leader
• Superior communication skills, including the ability to convey complex ideas and sectoral issues to lay audiences
• Excellent English writing skills;
• French and/or Spanish highly desirable.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.