Evaluation Officer, Infrastructure

World Bank Group • Washington, DC

3d

About The Position

The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions driven by a bold vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, we help solve the world’s greatest development challenges. When you join the World Bank Group, you become part of a dynamic, diverse organization with 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide. We work with public and private sector partners, invest in groundbreaking projects, and use data, research, and technology to bring tangible and transformative changes around the globe. 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.

IEG’s 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. IEG’s evaluations aim to enhance accountability and learning to inform the formulation of new directions, policies and procedures, country and sector strategies, and programs for WBG’s work.

IEG is directly responsible for:

• Assessing whether the WBG Institutions’ 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.
• Incorporating evaluation assessments and findings into recommendations designed to help improve the development effectiveness of the WBG’s programs and activities, and their responsiveness to member countries’ needs and concerns.
• Appraising the Institutions’ self-evaluations of strategies and projects and yhyhn e mjattesting to their adequacy to the Boards.
• 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.
• Identifying and disseminating evaluation findings and lessons to maximize contributions to the WBG’s learning and knowledge framework and reinforce learning and accountability within the World Bank Group in service of achieving its corporate goals.
• Encouraging and assisting developing member countries to build effective monitoring and evaluation associations, capacities and systems.
• 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.

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 doesn’t. 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. 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) IEG’s value proposition as a contributor to the WBG’s development effectiveness through focused, timely, and impactful evaluative activities, (ii) IEG’s efficiency and value for money, and (iii) IEG’s 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). IEG’s 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.

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 Cluster Evaluations and Learning Engagements (LE), among others.

The IEGID unit delivers around 200 Implementation Completion and Results Reviews (ICRRs) 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 an Evaluation Officer, Infrastructure to take the lead on the coordination and review of ICRRs and contribute to the preparation of thematic evaluations, project cluster evaluations, thematic evaluations, as well as Learning Engagements for topics related to the infrastructure and digital sectors. More specifically, under the direction of the Unit Manager, the Evaluation Officer will have the following primary responsibilities:

Requirements

• Advanced degree in economics, public policy, or evaluation methods or infrastructure-related discipline
• Extensive experience with ICRs/ICR Reviews, including in-depth familiarity with OPCS guidelines, results frameworks, ratings methodology, split evaluations, and evidence standards. Typically, the successful candidate will have 5+ years of relevant experience that can be applied directly to validation and evaluative work.
• Demonstrated aptitude for designing, conducting, and leading micro-evaluations/ validations, with a strong understanding of attribution, contribution, and evidence limitations.
• Sound knowledge of lending instruments, and business processes, including IPF, DPF, PforR, and MPA.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated ability to present complex methodological issues clearly and diplomatically, exercise balanced judgment, and engage constructively with task teams and senior counterparts.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work collaboratively across organizational boundaries, motivate and mentor staff, and contribute positively to a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team environment.
• A minimum of five 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
• In depth knowledge of micro-product reviews and quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, including for example structured literature review, portfolio analysis, development of theory of change, comparative case studies, and qualitative data analysis.
• Highly organized and able to work under competing deadlines and multitask. Driven and committed to consistently delivering high quality work.
• Demonstrated ability to operate collaboratively across organizational boundaries and track record of strong teamwork, knowledge sharing, and capacity to motivate and develop teams.
• Ability and willingness to travel to developing countries.
• Fluent in English.

Nice To Haves

• Fluent knowledge of other languages is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead micro-reviews in the infrastructure and digital sectors across all WB lending instruments.
• Serve as coordinator for ICR reviews in the infrastructure and digital sectors, overseeing the full ICR review cycle undertaken by staff and consultants, including planning, prioritization, assignment, and monitoring of the review pipeline.
• Ensure timely delivery of ICR reviews by tracking progress against agreed timelines, flagging risks early, and supporting teams to resolve bottlenecks.
• Provide quality assurance throughout the ICR review process, including guidance on evaluative focus, review of draft assessments, and clearance for Manager review, to ensure analytical rigor, consistency, and adherence to IEG standards and methodologies.
• Contribute to the design, piloting, and implementation of ongoing ICR/ICRR reforms, including new tools, templates, guidance notes, and systems.
• Mentor and coach IEG staff and consultants engaged in ICR reviews, including providing structured feedback on evaluative judgment, evidence use, ratings, and writing quality.
• Support the development and delivery of internal training and learning activities related to ICR reviews in coordination with IEG Knowledge team.
• Extract, synthesize, and disseminate lessons and emerging insights from ICR reviews and other micro-evaluations within the World Bank Group.
• Lead and support internal and external dissemination of micro-evaluation findings to operational teams.
• Co-lead/ contribute to thematic and cluster evaluations assessing the relevance and effectiveness of World Bank Group support in the infrastructure and digital sectors.
• Lead, co-lead, and/or participate in the design and delivery of Learning Engagements related to infrastructure and digital sectors.
• Contribute to VPU-level, departmental, and cross-sectoral initiatives in support of IEG’s mission, including by providing methodological advice, peer review, and coaching across units.
• Support the development, piloting, and refinement of IEG evaluation products and delivery models, particularly those related to micro-evaluations and learning-oriented approaches

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level