Grade: IS - 2

Deadline: 27 January 2019 (11:59 PM KST)

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 IEU has several objectives:  

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;

Conducting periodic independent evaluations of GCF performance to objectively assess the results of the GCF and the effectiveness and efficiency of its activities; and

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. 

The IEU has a mandate for both discharging an accountability function and supporting a learning function.   These are central to the GCF being a learning organization as laid out in its Governing Instrument and its initial strategic plan.  The responsibilities of the IEU are as follows:

Evaluation: The IEU will undertake independent overall, portfolio, country, thematic, programme evaluations that inform GCF strategic result areas.  In key cases, it will also support and undertake project evaluations. The IEU will use relevant and innovative methods and an independent peer-review mechanism that will provide guidance on independent evaluations. The vision, criteria and guidelines for these will be laid out in the Independent evaluation policy. The IEU is also mandated to independently peer review and attest the quality of GCF self-evaluation;

Advisory and capacity support: The IEU is required to advise the Board by synthesizing findings and lessons learned from its evaluations. These findings and lessons learned are expected to also inform the Executive Director of the Secretariat and other GCF stakeholders.  The IEU will engage closely with the independent evaluation units of intermediaries and implementing entities of the GCF, including national designated authorities (NDAs) and accredited entities (AEs). It will provide support to catalyse learning and build and strengthen NDA and AE evaluation capacity. It will also provide guidelines and support evaluation-related research that helps produce rigorous evidence in GCF result areas;

Learning: The IEU will support the GCF in its learning function by ensuring that recommendations from independent evaluations are incorporated into the Secretariat’s functioning and processes.  This includes recommending possible improvements to the GCF performance indicators and its initial results framework, after accounting for international experience and the results of evaluation;

Engagement: The IEU will actively participate in relevant evaluation networks to ensure that it is at the frontier of evaluation practice. The IEU will involve its own staff and staff from NDAs and AEs in evaluations wherever feasible and appropriate.  In addition, the IEU will support knowledge hubs of low-emission and climate-resilient pathways. 

For more information on the IEU, its mandate and publications, please see IEU website at www.ieu.greenclimate.fund.

Position description 

              The GCF IEU is seeking to recruit an Impact Evaluation Analyst. The incumbent will be responsible for helping the IEU, specifically the Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) programme and advocating for the role of theory-based impact evaluation methods and analyses in GCF investments, both internally and externally. The role requires an excellent grasp of theory-based impact evaluation techniques that use counterfactual methods (both experimental and quasi-experimental) combined with qualitative methods. The incumbent should be ready to undertake high-quality, credible impact evaluations that can help the IEU answer questions about causal attribution, using theory-based impact evaluation methods. The role requires an excellent grasp of quantitative methods including data analyses, econometrics, sample size calculations and a strong understanding of randomized control trial, difference-in-difference, and other counterfactual techniques. The candidate will need to demonstrate an exceptional understanding and mastery of data collection and management. For this, he/she will need to also show strong skills in using statistical software packages, such as STATA, R, Matlab, GIS software and other database management systems, and have extensive experience in applying such software in evaluation contexts. Applied data collection, strong econometric skills, and proficiency in applying econometric models to complex settings are a must. He/she should be able to demonstrate his/her familiarity with state-of-the-art approaches and be able to provide proof of these technical skills in his/her past work experience. As part of a strong team, they will also be responsible for supporting the IEU’s external relations strategy, in particular by supporting the development and dissemination of key messages to be conveyed to partners and stakeholders internal and external of the Green Climate Fund. The Impact Evaluation Analyst will be reporting to the Head of IEU.

Duties and responsibilities

• Engaging with GCF stakeholders and staff, as well as stakeholders from accredited entities, development partners, executing entities and other GCF stakeholders to advocate for and help with the implementation of the LORTA programme;
• Managing LORTA related database internally as well as externally with our key partners
• Suggest and apply innovative impact evaluation methodologies and processes to generate valuable evidence using a theory-based counterfactual framework;
• Provide significant econometrics and survey related support to the team including using and reliability of different techniques and supporting the team in undertaking field-level data collection, sample size calculations;
• Provide support to data collection processes and data analysis, ensuring data quality and adequate drafting of data analysis results, under supervision.  Ability to troubleshoot problems in data collection, analyses, and reporting and be willing to deal with tasks both at headquarters and in the field;
• Participate in and substantively contribute to a high-quality portfolio, thematic and strategic evaluations and apply qualitative and quantitative techniques to these;
• Prepare LORTA related workshops, teaching modules, products, and events, etc. for enhancing the capacity of IEU stakeholder to have credible, high-quality evidence for evaluation;
• Draft excellently written reports of evaluations and other output products of the IEU in the field and at headquarters;
• Support any additional analytical and operational tasks as assigned by the IEU;
• Perform other related duties and willing to travel, as required.

Required experience and qualifications*

• Master's Degree, or PhD., in economics, econometrics, applied statistics or related fields; preferably excellent understanding of quantitative analyses;
• At least four years of relevant impact evaluation related experience in a professional capacity, such as experience in the development and economic sector, within an international organization, development agency, governmental, private sector or non-profit sector;
• Deep knowledge of Theory of Change, impact evaluation methodology including measurement of causal change, evaluation designs, etc.;
• Proven track record in applying data collection and econometric skills for assessment and evaluation work. Full proficiency in applying econometric models to complex settings, beyond your formal training, is a must;
• Proven track record in the application of statistical software packages (STATA, R, Matlab, and GIS software) for data analysis for evaluation project work;
• Excellent analyses and data handling skills with the mastery of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods analysis;
• Experience in developing policy documents, conducting research analysis and articulating findings and recommendations;
• The 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 the 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;
• Ability to participate in the management and facilitative role when required
• Capacity to advocate for IEU vision at large and impact evaluation in particular
• 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;
• Familiarity with climate change topics, public health and international politics is desirable;
• Excellent communication skills and high emotional quotient;
• Strong competence and professional autonomy in the use of standard software programmes: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access;
• Proven ability to multi-task and deal with high-stress situations;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are essential for this position; knowledge of another UN language would be an advantage;

 *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.