Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. 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, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org
About Development Impact (DIME):
A department of the World Bank’s Development Economics Vice-Presidency, DIME’s purpose is to increase the use of impact evaluation (IE) in the design and implementation of public policy and to develop institutional capacity and motivation for evidence-based policy.
DIME’s work focuses on:
•Evaluating programs at scale to answer policy-relevant questions;
•Developing innovative data systems and data analytics tools for real-time decisions;
•Using causal inference analysis to identify mechanisms to improve results;
•Building capacity to strengthen country institutions for evidence-based policymaking.
DIME aims to overcome the challenge of identifying true cause-and-effect relations in policy programs. By linking researchers to policymakers and feeding results back into policies, DIME fosters systematic use of evidence, which informs adoption, mid-course corrections, and scale-up of policies. Through workshops and clinics with operational staff and government clients, joint research teams, active field coordination, as well as research products such as seminars, papers, and policy briefs, DIME builds capacity while forming a wider community of practice.
DIME accompanies impact evaluations during their entire life cycle. It starts with assessing demand, identifying research questions, as well as supporting project implementation, high-quality data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results.
With a portfolio of more than 220 impact evaluations, DIME operates across all sectors in about 60 countries spanning the globe. The IEs test a variety of interventions and mechanisms to understand why policy succeeds or fails and how to improve policy design and implementation to obtain better results. By working proactively in collaboration with clients, DIME employs experimental methods to infer causality whenever possible (79% of the portfolio). 17% of DIME IEs utilize non-experimental methods, while 4% use a combination of the two.
DIME is structured into 4 World Bank units:
-DIME 1 “Economic Growth and Structural Transformation”
-DIME 2 “Gender, Economic Opportunity, and Fragility”
-DIME 3 “Governance and Institution Building”
-DIME 4 “Infrastructure and Climate Change”
More information can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/dime.
Roles and Responsibilities
DIME1 is seeking to hire a Research Officer with substantial experience in client-facing, policy-driven impact evaluation. The candidate will have a strong track record of working with multiple partners across diverse settings to design and execute research projects and related activities in the context of complex operations – within the government system and driven by the donor community. They will be highly adept at building and managing teams and relationships, negotiating common ground between divergent interests, and strategically communicating to various audiences to advance an agenda. The candidate will report to their unit Research Program Managers.
The Maputo-based Research Officer under DIME1 will lead DIME’s Mozambique country program and co-lead the development and delivery of DIMEs Food Security and Resilience program in East Africa. The Research Officer will be expected to manage workflows within the team and manage engagement with external stakeholders and partners. In addition, the selected candidate will be expected to contribute significantly to research design, project and IE implementation and relevant in-country and HQ dissemination. In Mozambique, the Research Officer will co-lead technical engagements with policy-makers, both on long-term research engagements and on an ad-hoc basis as they come up. The Officer will support DIME’s CMU wide engagement to identify strategic IE engagements and opportunities for DIME to support the integration of evidence into projects and sector strategies.
Specific responsibilities for the position will include:
•DIME Strategy and Management
oSupport DIME management in its strategy, portfolio, processes, and workflows
oTrain and supervise junior staff including analysts, field coordinators and research assistants to maintain the quality of DIME research at scale
oGuide newly hired economists in the operationalization of research in the context of large-scale development interventions
oContributing to internal and external DIME strategic initiatives
oRepresenting DIME in internal and external policy forums, workshops, and conferences
oContributing to training and capacity building of clients on impact evaluation and DIME’s co-production model, including through international workshops and country/client-focused training
•DIME Programs
oWork closely with the Research Program Managers and Principal Investigators (PIs) to support the development of country/region and thematic research programs and new partnerships
oCo-lead the development and delivery of DIME thematic / regional program(s), with DIME PIs and management
oLead on the building of partnerships, sustaining engagements, and promoting buy-in with WB operations, governments, and external partners
oManage team workflows
oLead on the fundraising efforts, including proposal writing and integration of IEs into operational documents and budgets
oWork closely with PIs to draft actionable policy outputs that can support project teams and clients in the delivery and design of better projects
•IEs and Outputs
oCo-leading on design and delivery of selected IEs as co-TTL, from concept development to final dissemination
oLead the operationalization of research while ensuring high-quality of implementation and analysis
oPrepare and lead in-country missions
oWork jointly with the PIs to design and deliver high-quality and relevant research outputs, including the identification of research questions that feed into project design and the unit-wide research agenda
oPromoting and disseminating DIME’s work through reports, presentations, briefs, blogs, and other dissemination channels
oPromoting policy uptake based on intermediate and final IE-related analyses and outputs
oProduce data systems through survey instruments, large-scale data collections, and alternative data sources (research, administrative, M&E, satellite imagery etc.)
oActively mentor (junior) analysts in their role of managing RAs and FCs
Selection Criteria
•MA in economics, public policy, or a related field with a minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in impact evaluation, empirical research, and development policy and program design.
•Analytical skills and relevant experience with a track record of delivering impact evaluation-related products, including in challenging settings. Demonstrated ability to develop and implement all stages of the IE cycle, including research design, fundraising, client engagement, data collection, analysis, dissemination, and capacity building of clients to incorporate knowledge outputs into policy-making.
•Demonstrated experience working across multiple countries in diverse sectors, in particular in the rural development sector.
•Strategic sense and experience in ensuring the operational and policy relevance of analytical and research work. Ability to contribute to strategy, analysis, and policy formulation and to support clients in these areas. Demonstrated experience in promoting policy uptake.
•Track record of building partnerships across and within the WBG. High degree of sensitivity and diplomatic skills.
•Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and working across sectoral and organizational boundaries.
•Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Portuguese, with ability to tailor communications appropriately for different audiences.
•Experience in leading day-to-day interactions with clients. Mentoring, coaching, and supervision of analysts and consultants.
•Knowledge of and experience with relevant WBG operational and business processes.
•Ability to work flexibly, creatively, and to multitask as the need arises. High degree of self-motivation, positive attitude, commitment, and drive.
•Willingness and ability to travel to developing countries.
Core competencies
•Lead and Innovate – Develops innovative solutions with others.
•Deliver Results for Clients – Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the client.
•Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries – Initiates collaboration across boundaries and broadly across WBG, and brings differing ideas into the forefront.
•Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – Creates, applies and shares knowledge from across and outside WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions.
•Make Smart Decisions – Recommends and takes decisive action.
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 the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.
