As the largest humanitarian agency in the world, WFP is committed to generating rigorous impact evaluation evidence to better understand the needs of the people they serve and to support them in transitioning out of food insecurity.

WFP’s 2022 Evaluation Policy defines impact evaluations as measuring changes in development outcomes of interest for a target population that can be attributed to a specific programme or policy through a credible counterfactual.

Impact evaluations have already significantly altered the way the world understands poverty and the effectiveness of development interventions. But humanitarian and transitional development contexts have not yet benefitted from the same level of impact evaluation evidence. The Impact Evaluation Strategy (2019-2026) lays out WFP's vision for increasing the coverage and use of rigorous impact evaluations in humanitarian and development settings, highlighting the organization's renewed commitment to generating operationally relevant evidence of global significance.

This position will help WFP respond to growing demand from host countries, donors and policymakers for high-quality impact evaluation evidence. Impact evaluations are delivered by WFP’s Office of Evaluation (OEV) at the request of country offices. They are usually undertaken during programme implementation over a multi-year period.

Impact evaluations are delivered in line with corporate evidence priorities through impact evaluation “windows” and “workstreams”. Impact evaluation windows are portfolios of impact evaluations in specific priority evidence areas, agreed with WFP management, which will be updated over time as the organization’s evidence priorities change. Workstreams are specific evidence areas cutting across thematic windows. Current impact evaluation windows include: cash-based transfer and gender; climate and resilience; and school-based programmes, with a fourth window under discussion on nutrition. In addition, there is an optimizing humanitarian interventions workstream that cuts across the thematic windows.

This position will report to the Evaluation Officer coordinating the school-based programme impact evaluation window.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support the coordination and management of WFP’s Impact Evaluation Windows (20%):

Develop and maintain IE management tools, data banks, e-library, information, and archive systems for assigned work (including in SharePoint and Teams).
Gather documents, review literature and data as necessary for preparing activities.
Prepare notes in preparation and following meetings/events.
Conduct relevant analysis in support of key window and evaluation phases.

Support WFP to learn and use appropriate tools and methods for impact evaluation activities (10%):

Actively share lessons learned from supported impact evaluations (e.g., measurement tools, data collection protocols, analyses, etc.) with OEV, regional evaluation officers (REOs), country offices and relevant programme teams in workshops, events, meetings, newsletters, etc.

Support impact evaluations delivered through WFP windows (70%):

Support the design of the impact evaluation in accordance with best practices as well as WFP Process Guide. Impact evaluations should use context appropriate methods of analysis and data collection tools and innovate accordingly whenever necessary.
Support or contribute to the procurement of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals.
Support the procurement of data collection firms and support data collection activities in a manner that is best suited for the impact evaluation and has the potential for meeting other WFP monitoring and evaluation needs.
Support the development of indicators and guidance on data collection, ensuring the alignment with WFP monitoring and evaluation requirements and research priorities.
Assist in the design, revision, and support the programming of survey questionnaires.
Support data analysis in accordance with agreed impact evaluation designs and within timeframes that maximise the opportunity for evidence to be used in WFP and other partners decision-making processes.
Support the day-to-day engagement with field coordinators and other stakeholders at country and regional offices.
Produce or review detailed reports that outline impact evaluation activities and findings at the inception, mid-line(s), and end line of each impact evaluation, in accordance with WFP guidance and templates.
Support the quality assurance and peer review processes for impact evaluation reports.
Support the design and dissemination workshops and undertake field visits as required to support impact evaluation related activities.

Any other duties assigned by the Head of Impact Evaluation Unit.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

Record of active support and CO engagement for WFP’s impact evaluation windows.
Well organized and accurate impact evaluation coordination and planning tools.
Complete library of well-organized evaluation products, databases, and process as per OEV standard procedures.
Clear step-by-step documentation of the impact evaluation process for supported IEs.
Portfolio of easily accessible impact evaluation outputs (e.g., data collection and analysis tools, reports and other communication products).

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Masters or doctoral degree in academic disciplines relevant to assignment (economics, political science, public health, development studies, gender studies, evaluation, geography, etc.).

Experience:
Either a master’s degree with 3 years professional experience, or completed doctoral degree in relevant field. Experience supporting the delivery of impact evaluations or conducting research in countries where WFP is operational.

Knowledge & Skills:
Solid knowledge of quantitative methods used for identifying and measuring outcomes on health and nutrition, human capital, gender, social protection.
- Experience in conducting econometric analysis.
- Previous experience conducting impact evaluations.
- Proficiency in using statistical software packages (Stata, R, etc.).
- Fully computer-literate with excellent skills in Word, Excel, Power Point and database management.
- Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively and sensitively in diverse teams. Experience working with government partners is desirable.
- Excellent communication skills, written, verbal and visual. Experience effectively translating between academics and practitioners is highly desirable.
- Strong organisational and planning skills, and high attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently.
- Well organised and systematic.
Languages:
Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language is required.