Impact Evaluation Specialist

Grade: IS-3
Deadline: 13 June 2023 (11:59 PM KST)
Job Category: International
Salary: USD 104,000 net (plus attractive benefits, that include the following allowances (as appliable): Relocation, dependency, housing, education assistance and home country travel.

Introduction
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a multilateral fund created to make significant and ambitious contributions to the global efforts to combat climate change. The GCF contributes to achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. In the context of sustainable development, the GCF aims to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change, while accounting for their needs and supporting particularly those that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The GCF is governed by a Board, composed of an equal number of members from developed and developing countries. It is operated by an independent Secretariat headed by an Executive Director. The Independent Evaluation Office (IEU) of the GCF, is mandated by the GCF Board under paragraph 60 of its governing instrument inform its decision making. Specifically, the governing instrument states “… the Board will establish an operationally independent evaluation unit as part of the core structure of the Fund. The head of the unit will be selected by, and will report to, the Board. The frequency and types of evaluation to be conducted will be specified by the unit in agreement with the Board.”

The objectives of the IEU include:

1. Informing decision-making by the Board and identifying and disseminating lessons learned, contributing to guiding the GCF and stakeholders as a learning institution, providing strategic guidance;
2. Conducting periodic independent evaluations of GCF performance to objectively assess the results of the GCF and the effectiveness and efficiency of its activities; and
3. Providing evaluation reports to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement for purposes of periodic reviews of the Financial Mechanism.
    

Position Objective 
An impact evaluation specialist will be responsible for supporting the capacity building effort of the unit as well as the delivery of the Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) programme. Specifically, s/he will be taking the lead in developing the evaluation capacity building training and providing/tailoring the relevant training services to GCF's stakeholders. S/he will also be responsible for the design, implementation, analysis, report writing and dissemination of impact evaluations within the programme. S/he will collaborate with other members of the unit, partners, and stakeholders to develop capacity building materials on evaluation and  impact evaluation design that measures the causal impact of the GCF investments. In addition, s/he will conduct capacity building of GCF Accredited Entities on evaluation in general.

The role requires an excellent understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods including descriptive, experimental, and quasi-experimental, and qualitative methods.  A strong understanding and experience of running randomized controlled trials, conducting analysis using non-experimental methods including difference-in-differences, matching and other counterfactual techniques are a must. S/he will need to have extensive experience in using statistical and GIS software packages, such as STATA, R, ArcGIS Pro, and show strong skills in applying such software in evaluation contexts.

The incumbent will directly report to the Capacity Building Workstream Lead and/or the IEU Head of the office. 

Purpose

• Develop evaluation capacity building training materials and provide training services to relevant GCF stakeholders in collaboration with other members of the unit;  
• Manage a subset of the LORTA portfolio by overseeing all activities related to preparation and implementation of the impact evaluation;
• Provide econometrics and survey related advice to the team including using and reliability of different techniques and supervise the team in undertaking field-level data collection, sample size calculations and econometric estimations;
• Supervise data collection processes and data analysis, ensuring data quality and adequate drafting of data analysis results, under supervision. Ability to trouble shoot problems in data collection, analyses and reporting and be willing to deal with tasks both at headquarters and in the field;
• Provide substantial analytical and operational support for policy, evaluation, learning and synthesis papers and related products, including but not limited to, evaluation policy, evidence gap maps, thematic and strategic evaluations;

Engagement

• Engaging with GCF staff and stakeholders from accredited entities, development partners, executing entities and other GCF stakeholders to help with the implementation of the LORTA programme;
• Participate in IEU evaluations as required and also provide advice to its various evaluations on type, use and access to different kinds of quantitative data as well as quantitative methodologies;
• Engage with consultants, experts and stakeholder groups for surveys both on- and offline, (phone) interviews and other types of data collection;

Delivery

• Provide organizational and substantive support for GCF Board meetings and other events and meetings related to the functioning of the IEU, for example assisting in the preparation of relevant documentation, taking meeting minutes, preparing summaries of discussions, meeting reports, drafting agreements and other legal documentation;
• Organize LORTA-related workshops, develop teaching modules, generate knowledge products, and deliver events for disseminating the work of the IEU and for enhancing the capacity of IEU stakeholders to have credible, high-quality evidence for evaluations;
• Support any additional analytical and operational tasks as assigned by the IEU; and
• Participate in official missions as required.

Requirements (Education, experience, technical competencies required of the job)

• Ph.D. or Master's Degree in economics, public policy, applied social sciences or related fields;
• At least seven years of relevant work experience in managing and conducting impact evaluations, quantitative and qualitative evaluations, or project and thematic evaluations in the development or climate change field;
• Proven track record in the application of statistical and GIS software packages (STATA, R and GIS software such as ArcInfo and/or ArcGIS etc.) for evaluation project work;
• Proven track record in data management and analysis in relevant development and environmental projects, including field experience and experience with larger panel datasets;
• Experience in developing policy documents, conducting research analysis and articulating findings and recommendations;
• Familiarity of and work experience in multilateral climate funds, public health, project financing, and UNFCCC framework;
• Suitability to undertake the responsibilities mentioned above at the required level, with the following: (a) Proven application of expertise, knowledge within the area of evaluation and data analysis, (b) A team player with a proactive and can-do attitude.
• Ability to articulate complex issues verbally and in writing in a concise manner;
• Experience in an international setting, and ability to work independently and take initiative in response to the IEU's needs;
• Ability to support the establishment and maintaining relationships with key partners – including but not limited to the ability to represent the unit and interface effectively with stakeholders;
• Exceptional organizational skills, ability to facilitate communication between various levels of management and work independently in order to meet deadlines, ability to multi-task and pay close attention to detail;
• Willingness to cooperate with other staff in a team and contribute to a harmonious environment is essential;
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures. Proven ability to work innovatively within a team environment;
• Mature judgment and absolute commitment to confidentiality;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are essential for this position; 
• Fluency in French, Spanish or Portuguese (highly desirable).

The closing date for application is 13 June 2023. Applications submitted after the deadline may not be considered.

*The person assessed by the Selection Panel as most suitable for the position will be proposed for appointment. Selection among short-listed candidates will also take into account performance at interview, appropriate testing, and references. 

Applications from women and nationals of developing countries are strongly encouraged.