IDB2924 - Director, Independent Evaluation

JOB PURPOSE

The Director of the Independent Evaluation Department (IED) supports the IsDB’s BED in its oversight role. S/he leads the independent evaluation function to assess whether the Bank’s development interventions and corporate programs achieved their intended outputs, outcomes, and impacts and ascertain their alignment with IsDB strategy, thus holding the IsDB accountable to its stakeholders in terms of development effectiveness and proper allocation and use of resources.

Provides strategic direction, motivational leadership, and operational oversight for the evaluation team to undertake independent evaluation work at the macro level (e.g., Country, Sector, Thematic, Corporate, and Process evaluations) and project and program level covering operations in the Member Countries and Non-Member Countries.

Steers the drawing and dissemination of evidence-based lessons and recommendations to feed into future IsDB policies, strategies, and operations, thus contributing to maximizing the impact of the Bank’s interventions and its performance and development effectiveness.

Leads the development and enhancement of the evaluation policy, strategies, guidelines, and tools to be at a state-of-the-art level and ensures adherence of the IsDB’s evaluation activities to the internationally accepted principles and good practice standards for evaluating development interventions.  

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Planning & Evaluation 

• Set strategic objectives and direction for the Bank’s Independent Evaluation work, formulate Annual Work Program covering both macro-level evaluation and project-level evaluation, process and on-demand evaluations as well as Enabling, Learning, and Outreach activities.
• Independently assess the IsDB Strategies such as Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS), Sector Strategies, and Thematic Strategies and suggest measures for their enhancement.
• Plan and provide direction to an in-depth evaluation of the Bank’s operations and processes both in the MCs and Non-MCs to assess their Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Sustainability, and Impact.
• Lead the Annual Resource Planning and Annual Budget Planning exercise for the Department and manage these resources to ensure achieving the set objectives within the allocated resources and budget.
• Identify key lessons learned from the evaluation process and recommend measures for enhancing the effectiveness of IsDB’s strategies and financing operations.
• Follow up on and assess steps taken by the IsDB to implement recommendations made in evaluation reports and studies to ensure that the findings, lessons learned, and recommendations made are reflected in the future strategies and operations of the Bank.
• Validate the self-evaluation work undertaken by various organizational units of IsDB and ensure that independent evaluations and self-evaluation complement each other.
• Ensure compliance with the quality standards/quality assurance mechanism and guidelines for evaluation-related work, in line with the Good Practices Standards (GPS) of the MDBs' Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG).
• Lead the development of a comprehensive evaluation framework for carrying out evaluation work at the corporate, strategic and intervention levels.
• Oversee the preparation of reports, briefs, presentations, etc. on the evaluation findings, lessons learned, and actions taken for the IsDB Management and the BED.
• Lead, engage and communicate with the relevant Units in the Bank to enhance collaboration and effectiveness in addressing systemic, cross-cutting and sectorial issues affecting the Bank.
• Lead the preparation of the annual report on the evaluation work and share it with the IsDB Management and the BED.
• Participate and contribute to the Annual Development Effectiveness Review of the Bank

Knowledge Sharing Partnership, and Evaluation Capacity Development

• Develop a knowledge management system related to the evaluation work to share the lessons learned, practices, and recommendations for use of the relevant Units and Staff of IsDB
• Diligently seek and act on feedback from internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as a focal point and 'resource center' for all matters related to corporate and operations evaluation and development effectiveness.
• Participate in the benchmarking exercise and keep abreast of the initiatives taken by other MDB’s on enhancing evaluation and development effectiveness and adopt the best practices in IsDB.
• Engage in partnerships with the professional evaluation networks, evaluation staff of peer institutions, and the MDBs’ Evaluation Coordination Group to enhance the Bank’s evaluation capacity and support the harmonization of the evaluation standards across MDBs.
• Promote the evaluation culture – both within the IsDB Group and in IsDB member countries – to ensure that evaluation contributes towards improved learning and performance.
• Contribute to strengthening the capacity of member countries in managing for results and improving their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. Lead the dissemination of evaluation results and knowledge to all stakeholders concerned through the knowledge management systems and networks. Partner effectively with internal business units, member countries, and the international evaluation and development community at large to build evaluation capacity and share knowledge.
• Ensure that IsDB evaluation products are timely finalized and disseminated to the relevant stakeholders. Report on the IsDB evaluation activities through the various communication channels to internal and external stakeholders and to the development community at large.

Leadership and Staff Management 

• Lead the provision of advisory services and technical guidance in matters related to evaluation to all IsDB organizational units and provide motivational and inspirational leadership for the Department and communicate clear performance expectations to direct reports.
• Manage the performance and resources of the Department through delegation of authority, setting stretch objectives and providing regular feedback on results at a department level, promptly addressing areas of underperformance.
• Monitor and assess the skills and capabilities of the Department and determine the actions needed to increase the Department’s performance and support filling in key capability gaps through capacity development and recruiting efforts.
• Lead the selection of Independent Evaluation Function’s personnel as per the Bank’s human resources guidelines and administrative processes. Coach, mentor and develop the direct reports and the top talent/high potential staff. 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.
• Ensure consistent and transparent application of staff policies in all situations, and proactively manage the performance of all staff, providing clear and meaningful feedback about performance, strengths, and development areas and prioritize the building of an open and supportive environment where all staff are focused on results and motivate staff to collaborate for the achievement and sharing of departmental results.
• Consistently apply and uphold the IsDB rules and code of conduct and take prompt and consistent action to address unprofessional, improper, or unethical behavior. Act promptly to address any situations of perceived, potential, or actual conflicts of interest and maintain the confidentiality of information in accordance with the Bank’s norms
• Supervise and guide the implementation of the Independent Evaluation Function’s work program and manages the Function’s human and financial resources appropriately in line with the Bank’s rules and procedures. Ensure that the evaluation findings are credible, transparent, and useful.
• Represent IsDB in global events such as consultation meetings and conferences and participate in relevant roundtable meetings.        

Educational Qualification:

Master’s or Doctorate degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Engineering or any related discipline. Certification in evaluation is an added advantage.

Work Experience

Minimum 15 years of prior relevant experience in development evaluation or operations function of an international/ regional development institution, of which a minimum of 7 years of managerial experience.

Skills & Necessary Knowledge

• In-depth knowledge and experience in development evaluation or operations function of an international/ regional development institution.
• Advanced knowledge of theories, concepts, methodologies, approaches, and tools relevant to the evaluation and result-based management in international development settings.

• Proven professional experience in evaluation work at progressively increasing levels, at the international level.
• Proven professional experience in international development
• Excellent technical knowledge of evaluation design, and data collection, including quantitative statistical methods/methodologies, analysis, reporting, and skills needed to provide substantive guidance to staff on evaluation design, methodology, and reporting.
• Excellent knowledge of emerging global issues and evaluation trends and best practices.

• Extensive knowledge of the global development socioeconomic context of developing countries.
• General knowledge of development banking.
• Ability to adapt to changing business circumstances to maintain the effective performance of the department and direct reports.
• Able to draw actionable steps from IsDB’s overall strategy.
• High degree of confidentiality and protection of sensitive information.
• Ability to make impartial observations and decisions.
• Ability to maintain a rational and objective demeanor when faced with challenging situations.
• Ability to carry out performance evaluations at unit and direct report level.
• Ability to plan and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Ability to influence others using rational arguments, identify basis for compromise and reach an agreement.
• Able to identify risks and implement necessary mitigation measures.
• Consistently work to a high standard and look for ways to improve current working practices and processes for the benefit of the Bank.
• Excellent advocacy, negotiating and diplomatic skills.

• Demonstrated independence of thinking, high-level of professional integrity, and strong analytical skills, with earned respect of professional peers
• Proven leadership skills, ability to develop vision and strategies for evaluation,
• Ability to manage conflict and motivate and manage a team of high-level professionals, ability to manage the program and budget
• Excellent and persuasive oral and written communication skills
• Ability to interact effectively across organizational boundaries, with the Board, Management, staff, government officials, and counterparts and staff
• in other international organizations
• Proven International experience working on development issues in several developing countries