Research Officer

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Description

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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.
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: 

• Support DIME management in its strategy, portfolio, processes, and workflows
• Train and supervise junior staff including analysts, field coordinators and research assistants to maintain the quality of DIME research at scale
• Guide newly hired economists in the operationalization of research in the context of large-scale development interventions 
• Contributing to internal and external DIME strategic initiatives
• Representing DIME in internal and external policy forums, workshops, and conferences
• Contributing 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:

• Work closely with the Research Program Managers and Principal Investigators (PIs) to support the development of country/region and thematic research programs and new partnerships 
• Co-lead the development and delivery of DIME thematic / regional program(s), with DIME PIs and management
• Lead on the building of partnerships, sustaining engagements, and promoting buy-in with WB operations, governments, and external partners 
• Manage team workflows
• Lead on the fundraising efforts, including proposal writing and integration of IEs into operational documents and budgets
• Work 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
• Co-leading on design and delivery of selected IEs as co-TTL, from concept development to final dissemination
• Lead the operationalization of research while ensuring high-quality of implementation and analysis
• Prepare and lead in-country missions
• Work 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
• Promoting and disseminating DIME’s work through reports, presentations, briefs, blogs, and other dissemination channels
• Promoting policy uptake based on intermediate and final IE-related analyses and outputs
• Produce data systems through survey instruments, large-scale data collections, and alternative data sources (research, administrative, M&E, satellite imagery etc.)
• Actively 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.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=25930&site=1

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