Head of Evaluation – Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)

Closing Date: April 26, 2022

Type of Vacancy: /

Details of the Post

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is seeking to recruit an experienced professional to assume the role of Head of Evaluation, Office of Independent Evaluation(OIE).  The Head of Evaluation will be responsible for providing the highest level of evaluation expertise and will promote decision-making based on evaluative and reflective thinking throughout the organisation. The successful candidate will be based at CDB’s office in St. Michael, Barbados. 

OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT EVALUATION

OIE evaluates all development activities of CDB, such as loan financing, the provision of grants and technical assistance, and other development initiatives to assess their outcomes and impact on the economic and social development of the BMCs. It also has the authority to review internal CDB processes and procedures that may affect CDB’s development effectiveness, including self-evaluation systems.

The work of OIE contributes towards knowledge capture, particularly in the area of project cycle management, institutional governance and oversight, improving the performance of CDB’s operations and policies, and strengthening the external credibility of the Bank.

THE ROLE

OIE conducts independent evaluation under the direction of the Head of Evaluation, who reports functionally to the Oversight and Assurance Committee (OAC) of the Board of Directors and administratively to the President.

The Head of Evaluation is responsible for developing strategies to improve the evaluation function within CDB and setting standards for planning, conducting, and utilising the results of evaluations. The Head of Evaluation will be expected to contribute to building organisational capacity among CDB staff, and its BMCs by disseminating evaluation results and sharing knowledge and advice on improvements to existing policies and operations.

The Head of Evaluation is expected to report on a timely basis to OAC on the performance of OIE in carrying out its responsibilities and for ensuring that all OIE evaluations are of a high quality, as measured by international good practice standards.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Head of Evaluation will be required to:

  1. Lead and manage OIE as an efficient, effective and independent evaluation arm of CDB.
  1. Develop operational policies, strategies, and related tools to improve the independent evaluation function.
  1. Create an enabling environment for the delivering high-quality evaluation outputs by a team of competent professional staff and contingent consultancy resources.
  1. Conduct strategic, thematic, country strategy and programme, and corporate process evaluations.
  1. Direct the validation of Project Completion Reports to be submitted to OAC and the Board of Directors, disseminated to senior CDB staff.
  1. Provide the necessary oversight to ensure quality control, and internationally accepted standards in the delivery of the evaluation work programme.
  1. Develop and implement a five-year rolling strategic work plan, and annual detailed work plan and budget, taking into account such criteria as: level of coverage of CDB’s investments; absorptive capacity of CDB and BMCs; potential for organisational learning; and contribution to decision-making on projects, programmes, policies, strategies and other development activities.
  1. Develop and implement a dissemination strategy to share evaluative information in a timely manner to promote organisational learning, and influence the formulation of policies, strategies and operations at appropriate stages of the programme and project cycles.
  1. Maintain a repository of evaluations, management responses, and lessons and a system to track the implementation of commitments made and action plans to address the recommendations of OIE evaluations.
  1. Submit an annual report to OAC that tracks the use of OIE evaluation results across CDB; and promotes dialogue with OAC, the management of the Bank and other senior staff on evaluation issues of critical importance to CDB.
  1. Assist in identifying and mitigating risks in the execution of the responsibilities of the role.

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate must have:

  1. A postgraduate degree in Economics, Development, Development Banking or a related field.  
  1. Significant experience in evaluation work, including at least eight (8) years’ experience in the formulation, analysis and evaluation of international development projects and programmes.
  1. At least five  (5) years’ experience in leading and managing a team of professional staff to achieve demonstrable results.
  1. Extensive experience and understanding of development issues and of operational and technical issues affecting international development project/programme design, implementation and management.
  1. A successful track record in building partnerships with various stakeholders, and interacting with governing bodies of multilateral institutions or similar governance entities.

Work experience in developing countries (other than home country) in analysing and evaluating development programmes would be an asset.  

COMPETENCIES

Function-Specific Competencies

  1. The Head of Evaluation should have excellent knowledge of evaluation design, methodologies and reporting used among international development agencies for programme and project evaluation and analysis, including impact analysis.
  1. The Head of Evaluation should have the ability to strategically lead and plan various evaluations, manage staff and consult with others, and ensure that OIE work products are delivered on time and to a high standard.
  1. The Head of Evaluation should have exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with diverse audiences in a sensitively and effectively.  This individual should be able to ask the right questions, mine organisational knowledge, and recommend the best evidence-based strategies for moving forward.
  1. The Head of Evaluation will represent the Bank in regional and international evaluation working groups, and in other selected fora, and should be au fait with evaluation trends and the emerging regional and global issues in development.

Behavioural Competencies

Acting as a Champion for Change – ability to identify problems and opportunities for change, and to implement solutions where appropriate; to maintain effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work tasks or the work environment; and support people in their efforts to try new things.

Acting Decisively

Moves quickly to make decisions and commits to a clear course of action; comfortable making decisions based on partial information; willing to take risks to maintain momentum; shows a strong bias toward action.

Championing Customer Needs

Calls attention to issues that impact client satisfaction; views situations from the clients’ perspective; encourages people to think about customers when making decisions and develops and sustains productive client relationships.

Developing Talent

Invests time and resources into building the capabilities of team members; helps people define career goals and establish development plans to achieve them; gives people constructive, developmental feedback and advice.

Driving for Results

Bottom-line oriented and pushes self and others to achieve results. Keeps current on project status; makes sure people are aware of project status and what they need to do to keep things moving; redirects project resources and activities to overcome setbacks; elevates project concerns to senior levels of leadership when appropriate.

Managing Performance

Clearly defines and communicates roles and responsibilities; holds people accountable for accomplishing objectives; recognises and rewards people who achieve results and deliver on performance expectations; provides effective feedback on performance.

Managing Risk

Effectively balances risks and opportunities; thinks through potential positive and negative outcomes; looks for ways to mitigate risks.

Setting a Strategic Vision

Identifies and articulates the strategic goals and direction of the company, division, or group; establishes connections between short-term goals and long-term objectives and directions.  Communicates the vision throughout the organisation in the form of distinctive strategies, objectives and action plans that maximise competitive advantage. Inspires and motivates entire division(s) or department(s) to adopt the vision.

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

This role is a full-time position with the successful candidate being contracted on a five-year basis in the first instance, with the possibility of renewal.  The salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.  A pension plan, life and medical insurances are included in the benefits package.

Before you proceed to apply, please consider the following requirements: 

  • You must be a national of one of CDB’s member countries.
  • You will be required to produce evidence of any educational and professional qualifications to support your application if you are selected for an interview.
  • All appointments are subject to satisfactory background checks and references.


CDB fully respects the need for confidentiality of information supplied and assures you that the Bank will not discuss your background and interest with anyone including references, without your prior consent.

The deadline for submission of applications April 26, 2022 at 11:59 pm AST. 

The Caribbean Development Bank is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Bank provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities who participate in the job application or interview process. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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