Environmental Evaluation Specialists at the World Bank Group

The World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Our mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.

In 2015, the World Bank Group launched a recruitment mission to attract Sub Saharan African professionals to its work force. The initiative was the first of its kind for the institution and resulted in numerous hires into business areas such as Education, Health, Development Economics, Information Technology Systems, Social Urban/Rural & Resilience and Governance. The World Bank Group continues its commitment to hiring Sub-Saharan African professionals and announces its latest recruitment mission to again attract highly qualified Sub-Saharan African professionals who are looking for an exciting career, where their effort will contribute to the institution's goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.

Applications are invited for the position below:

Job Title: Environmental Evaluation Specialist

Location: Africa
Area: Independent Evaluation

Job Summary
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is the organizational unit in the World Bank Group providing evaluation and feedback on the development effectiveness of Bank Group activities in client countries. IEG is independent of Bank Group management and reports directly to the Boa of Executive Directors, with day-to-day oversight by the Board’s Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE).

The role and visibility of IEG has grown in recent years and is expected to expand further as the Bank Group, and the broader development community, continue to stress the importance of development effectiveness, evaluation, and monitoring for results especially in the context of the new global poverty reduction targets. The management of IEG is committed to ensuring the highest level of quality, relevance, professionalism, and integrity in IEG’s evaluation activities and to attracting top-quality staff to that end.

IEG's new Financial, Private Sector and Sustainable Development Department is responsible for the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group’s work on Financial and Private Sector Development and Sustainable Development, including work on the environment and natural resources, agriculture, social, urban, rural, and resilience, and infrastructure. The environmental evaluation specialist will be part of the cluster team that reviews Bank Group operational and policy work on environment and natural resources, agriculture, and climate change themes. Its work encompasses both large thematic evaluations related to these areas, as well as the undertaking of reviews at the project level of bank operations in these areas. IEG is also piloting systems for the evaluation of Bank AAA products.

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 term appointment.

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.

Duties and Accountabilities

• The environmental evaluation specialist will contribute directly to IEG evaluations. This work will include conducting project-level validations and evaluations (at least 50 percent of the annual work program will be dedicated to this), contributing to larger thematic, sectoral, and corporate evaluations, overseeing contributions from consultants, contributing to budget and team oversight, and commenting on the work of others.
• This work will require collaboration across departmental boundaries with colleagues in IEG’s Country, Economic Management, Corporate, and Human Development Department working on country evaluations, as well as within the Financial, Private Sector and Sustainable Development Department.

The Environmental Evaluation Officer will have the following primary responsibilities:

• Independently prepare project-level validations and evaluations, including Implementation Completion and Results Report Reviews (ICRRs) and field-based Project Performance Assessments (PPARs) as needed.
• Participate in large sector and thematic evaluations by assessing the development effectiveness of World Bank Group assistance primarily in the areas related to climate and carbon finance; environment, IFC performance standards and WB safeguards.
• Contribute to the development of robust methodologies to assess the environmental and welfare related outcomes of World Bank Group financed investments and policy operations.
• Actively engage in the generation and dissemination of new knowledge in the field of environmental evaluation by supporting BBLs blogging, attending evaluation conferences, and disseminating evaluation findings.
• Participate in and contribute to IEG comments on WBG, GEF and other papers and documents pertaining to the environment and social matters.
• Gather evidence from IEG’s desk level validations on the quality of information related to environmental and safeguard related compliance and integrate lessons into the annual flagship report.
• Assist members of other units in IEG with safeguard related work, including integrating project lessons from the ICRRs into the Country Completion Learning Reviews.
• The Environmental Evaluation Officer will report to the Manager in charge of Sustainable Development themes, with the Director of IEG’s Financial, Private Sector and Sustainable Development Department as his/her Reviewing Manager.

Selection Criteria
The successful candidate will have the following qualifications, experience, skills and personal attributes:

• Advanced degree in Environmental Science or other Environmental or Social discipline
• At least 7 years of practical experience in environmental management in government and/or international organizations
• Proven track record and expertise in environmental and social aspects of development projects with the private and public sectors
• Familiarity with environmental Policy, strategy and institutions, and regulations
• Work experience in environmental and social management in developing countries
• Strong analytical skills and understanding of the approaches, methods, and tools of development evaluation
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and team player; ability to understand and evaluate projects and programs across the public and private sectors.
• Maturity, seasoned judgment, intellectual integrity, commitment to achievement of sustainable environmental and social impacts, and passion for helping WBG improve the development
• effectiveness of its operations
• Strong communication skills with demonstrated ability to present ideas clearly and in spoken and written English.

Recruitment Timeline
End of July - September 2016 - Review applications and update application status to candidates
August - September 2016 - Contact all shortlisted candidates and conduct interviews in Washington, D.C. and locations in Africa

Application Closing Date
7th August, 2016.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Shortlisted candidates may be contacted as early as August 2016 for interviews which may be conducted in Washington, D.C. or locations in Africa. Interviews will be conducted through September 2016. Based on the availability of interviewers and candidates some interviews may be conducted virtually.
• Candidates who have previously submitted applications through the Recruitment Drive for African Nationals in 2015 must submit a new application to be considered for opportunities in this year's campaign. We apologize that we are unable to consider previously submitted applications.