Senior Evaluation Officer, Infrastructure Job #: req33438 Organization: World Bank Sector: Infrastructure Grade: GG Term Duration:ย 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 7/31/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.ย For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions and Verticals to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.
IEGโs Role
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is responsible for the assessment of the relevance, efficacy, and efficiency of the WBG operational policies, programs and activities, and their contribution to development effectiveness. IEGโs evaluations aim to enhance accountability and learning to inform the formulation of new directions, policies and procedures, country and sector strategies, and programs for the WBGโs work.
IEG is directly responsible for:
โข Assessing whether the WBG Institutionsโ operational policies, programs and activities are producing the expected results, including global, regional, and other programs in which the Institution(s) is (are) a participant.
โข Incorporating evaluation assessments and findings into recommendations designed to help improve the development effectiveness of the WBGโs programs and activities, and their responsiveness to member countriesโ needs and concerns.
โข Appraising the Institutionsโ self-evaluations of strategies and projects and attesting to their adequacy to the Boards.
โข Reporting periodically to the Boards on actions taken by the Institution(s) in response to evaluation findings, and on the measures being taken to improve the overall operations evaluation system including dissemination and outreach activities.
โข Identifying and disseminating evaluation findings and lessons to maximize contributions to the WBGโs learning and knowledge framework and reinforce learning and accountability within the World Bank Group in service of achieving its corporate goals.
โข Encouraging and assisting developing member countries to build effective monitoring and evaluation associations, capacities and systems.
โข Working closely with development partners among donors and developing countries in order to foster international evaluation harmonization, to develop evaluation capacity in developing countries, and to encourage best practice in international development evaluation.
ย
Evaluation has an important role to play in the current evolution process of the WBG, not only in keeping the WBG accountable, but also to ensure that the way forward builds on evidence on what works and what doesnโt. This will require providing evidence both for the longer-term strategic direction but also shorter-term, real-time evidence to help the institution course correct, particularly in times of crisis. Consistent with the WBG 2016 Forward Look and subsequent discussions with stakeholders around the Evolution Roadmap, the focus will continue to be on poverty reduction and shared prosperity, while also addressing the interlinkages with global challenge programs. IEG has increasingly moved to a strategic selection process for its major evaluations to ensure greater influence of each individual evaluation, and of all of them collectively. IEG will also continue to place emphasis on (i) IEGโs value proposition as a contributor to the WBGโs development effectiveness through focused, timely, and impactful evaluative activities, (ii) IEGโs efficiency and value for money, and (iii) IEGโs effective engagement with WBG management and other stakeholders.
IEG operational departments
IEG is led by the Director General, Evaluation (DGE), who reports directly to the Board of Executive Directors through the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE). IEGโs organizational structure comprises two operational departments: Finance, Private Sector, Sustainable Development and Infrastructure (IEGSP) and Human Development and Economic Growth (IEGHE), which are responsible for leading the evaluation of WBG programs and projects, analytic and advisory products, country strategies, corporate evaluations, and sector, thematic or focused evaluations across the WBG.ย
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The IEGSP department comprises three units: IEGID, IEGPS, and IEGPL.
The IEGID unit evaluates the work of the World Bank on infrastructure and digital for the two Verticals. In these areas, the IEGID unit will be responsible for conducting both micro and macro work conducting validations of ICCRs and thematic evaluations as well as Synthesis evaluation products such as Evaluation Insight Notes, EIN; Project Performance Assessment Reviews (PPARs); and, Learning Engagements (LE), among others. The IEGPS and IEGPL units are responsible for evaluating World Bank projects in both micro and macro for the FCI GP, IFC and MIGA and for the Planet Vertical, respectively.ย
The IEGID unit delivers more than 150 ICCRs on an annual basis. Macro work or thematic evaluations, under IEGID work program are multi-level, multi-project evaluations which rely on mixed methods designs that usually combine synthetic analyses at the overall portfolio level with in-depth analyses at country, project or program levels. Within the framework of thematic evaluations, IEG employs a range of methodological approaches such as portfolio analyses, structured literature reviews, surveys and case study analyses.
Duties and Responsibilities
The IEG Infrastructure and Digital Unit (IEGID) is recruiting a Senior Evaluation Officer, Infrastructure to contribute to and take the lead on the preparation of macro thematic evaluations, micro review reports, project cluster evaluations, thematic and focused evaluations, as well as Learning Engagements for topics related to the infrastructure sectors. More specifically, under the direction of the Unit Manager, the Sr. Evaluation Officer will have the following primary responsibilities:
โข Lead, co-lead and/or participate in macro thematic evaluations in infrastructure sectors
โข Lead, co-lead micro reviews in the infrastructure sectors.ย
โข Contribute to thematic evaluations assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the World Bank Group assistance in the infrastructure and digital sectors. The selected candidate will be asked to carry out evaluations that cover all three institutions (the majority of FS evaluations cover all three institutions) or that are specifically focused on the World Bank, the IFC and/or MIGA.
โข Lead, co-lead and/or participate in the development Learning Engagements (LEs) on topics related to the sectors mentioned above.
โข As lead, co/lead or senior member of thematic evaluations and LEs, the senior staff member will oversee the work of junior staff, including by providing quality-assurance (setting and upholding high standards of quality for various evaluations) and will seek advice from the IEGSP technical leads and the manager. He/she will also advise other IEG teams on infrastructure related issues.
โข The senior staff will engage in disseminating the findings of the evaluations, EINs and LEs within the World Bank Group (internal dissemination) and with external clients (government representatives, private sector and international partner organizations). He/she will work on the dissemination plan closely with IEG Knowledge and Communication (KC) team.
โข Contribute to VPU, departmental, and cross-sectoral activities designed to help IEG pursue its mission, specifically in providing methodological advice and coaching across units, and contribute in other forms to the development of IEG products.
โข Excellent communication, diplomatic and negotiating skills, with demonstrated strong personal maturity, balanced judgment, and a track record of building and maintaining partnerships with colleagues and clients.
โข Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills, capacity to motivate and develop teams, and ability to operate collaboratively within and across organizational boundaries.
โข Proactive, inclusive and innovative, with an open and collegial work style and ability to listen and integrate ideas from diverse points of view.
โข Ability to coach, mentor, develop and empower more junior staff, provide seasoned advice to more senior staff and managers, and work collaboratively with peers.
Selection Criteria
The successful candidate is required to have the following minimum qualifications, skills, motivation, and personal attributes:
โข Advanced degree in energy, transport, urban or another infrastructure sector discipline; and/or an advanced degree in economics or evaluation methods.ย
โข Some experience and/or an aptitude for designing, conducting and leading evaluations; typically, the successful candidate will have 8+ years of relevant experience in World Bank or other IFI operations that can be applied to evaluation work.ย
โข Outstanding analytical aptitude, as evidenced by a strong track record of solid contributions to development project design, implementation and review of projects in the infrastructure, finance and/or sustainable development portfolios.ย
โข Sound knowledge and understanding of WBG operational strategies, processes, and instruments.
โข Excellent communication, diplomatic and negotiating skills, with demonstrated strong personal maturity, balanced judgment, and a track record of building and maintaining partnerships with colleagues and clients.
Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills, capacity to motivate and develop teams, and the ability to operate collaboratively across organizational boundaries.
Job-Specific Competencies:
โข A minimum of eight years of experience in operational and/or analytical work in a relevant department of the World Bank, the IFC, MIGA or another international financial institution
โข In depth knowledge of some of the key advanced quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, including for example structured literature review, portfolio analysis, development of theory of change and theory of action, comparative case studies, statistical and econometric analysis and qualitative data analysis.
โข Highly organized and able to work under competing deadlines and multitask. Driven and committed to consistently deliver high quality work.ย
โข Demonstrated ability to operate collaboratively across organizational boundaries and track record of strong teamwork, knowledge sharing, and capacity to motivate and develop teams.
โข Ability and willingness to travel to developing countries.
โข Fluent in English. Fluent knowledge of other languages is a plus.
Required GG level IEG competencies:
Lead and Motivate - Encourages and works with others to identify, incubate and implement relevant solutions. Identifies opportunities in changing circumstances and energizes others to continuously improve, using intentional strategies to boost morale, team spirit, and productivity in context of WBG's values and mission. Helps others to understand problems, client needs and the underlying context.
Deliver Results for Clients - Develops and implements solutions that show understanding of how clients and/or own work achieves results that are financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. Shares new insights based on in-depth understanding of the client and recommends solutions for current and future needs of clients. Holds self and team accountable for risk management and outcomes. Contributes to enhancing the outcome-orientation of the World Bank Group.
Innovate โ Applies evaluation expertise to develop innovative approaches that enhances the quality, credibility, rigor, and utility of IEG evaluations. Keeps abreast of the latest development in the field of development evaluations to continuously improve the rigor of evaluation within IEG.
Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across organizational boundaries, internally and externally with a sense of mutuality and respect. Consistently engages others in open dialogue, brings out any conflicting viewpoints and incorporates viewpoints into solutions, giving credit where credit is due. Leverages expertise of all team members to ensure successful outcomes. Makes choices and sets priorities with a WBG corporate perspective in mind.
Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Ensures systematic sharing of good practice and learning from lessons from across WBG, clients, and partners. Is known across WBG and beyond for his/her evaluation knowledge and is sought out by colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to knowledge products. Seeks mentoring opportunities with more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen their professional knowledge and mentors junior staff. Builds networks across the WBG and as part of external professional groups/networks.
Make Smart Decisions - Applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG's strategy. Evaluates risk and anticipates the short- and long-term implications of decisions. Commits to a decision and takes action once a decision has been reached.
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of Urgency โ Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful Risk Taking โ Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.
3. Empowerment and Accountability โ Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful results.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
Learn more about working at theย World Bankย andย IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.