Evaluator General, BDEV at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50092369
Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Position Grade: EL4

The Hiring Unit

• The  Independent Development Evaluation Department’s mission is to help the African Development Bank to foster sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa through independent and pertinent evaluations. Such evaluations assess the Bank Group’s policies, procedures and operations, review performance, and report on results in order to draw useful lessons and promote accountability.
• The Independent Development Evaluation Department ensures effective communication of evaluation results to the Bank’s stakeholders. It reports to the Board of Directors chaired by the President of the African Development Bank through its Committee on Operations and Development Effectiveness (CODE).

The Position

• The role of the Evaluator General is to lead the Independent Development Evaluation Department, whose objectives are to provide a basis for accountability, to contribute to enhanced learning, and to promote an evaluation culture.
• By conducting independent evaluations and sharing good practices, the Evaluator General ensures that the Bank and its shareholders learn from past experiences and plan and deliver development activities to the highest possible standards.

The Key Functions
By reporting to the Board of Directors of the Bank through the Committee on Operations and Development Effectiveness, the Evaluator General will:

• Provide overall direction and leadership in the management of the Independent Development Evaluation Department;
• Elaborate the Independent Development Evaluation Department work objectives through the triennial work program;
• Provide intellectual leadership and technical expertise in the conduct of evaluations of Bank operations, policies, and strategies, working across projects, sectors, themes, regions and countries;
• Provide leadership to ensure that evaluations are carried out effectively and in accordance with highest international quality standards;
• Ensure appropriate coverage and balance between different types of evaluations, including, country-led and port-folio, thematic, centralised and decentralized evaluations, summative and formative evaluations;
• Promote an evaluation culture and disseminate results achieved and lessons learned across the institution and beyond;
• Monitor, compare, and exchange evaluation results and methods, particularly in the context of the Evaluation Network and Evaluation Cooperation Group of Multilateral Development Banks;
• Monitor and follow the implementation of evaluation recommendations based on management's own reports through the Management Action Registration system (MARS) and report accordingly to the Board of Directors;
• Review and provide recommendations to the Committee on Operations and Development Effectiveness regarding the Bank's Independent Evaluation Policy and Independent Evaluation Strategy, including suggestions for adjustment;
•  Ensure sound management of the Independent Development Evaluation Department’s human and financial resources;
• Monitor the implementation of the Independent Development Evaluation Department work program, including adherence to key performance indicators and timely production of evaluation reports.
• Management of relations with the Evaluator General officials and offices of the other Multilateral Development Bank (MDBs).

The Competencies (Qualifications, Experience and Knowledge)

• Master's Degree in Economics, Development Studies, International Relations, Business Administration, Social Sciences or a related field;
• A minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience, including relevant experience in international development, including at least ten (10) years at a managerial level and with an obvious increase of responsibilities;
• Strong expertise in evaluation principles, standards, processes, and methodologies, including demonstrated understanding of state-of-the-art evaluation theories and practices;
• Profound understanding of and ability to navigate the development and evaluation sectors both internationally and on the African continent;
• Good understanding and/or experience of both public and private sector investments;
• Track record of strong management and leadership skills;
• Sensitivity to the multicultural organizational environment;
• Ability to be an independent thinker, with good integrity and professional ethics recognized by peers;
• Ability to communicate effectively in English or French (written and spoken), with a working knowledge of the other language.