Terms of Reference

Structure and accountabilities

IEO will be independent of Fund management and staff and will operate at arm's-length from the Fund's Executive Board. Its structure and modalities of operation must protect its operational independence - both actual and perceived.

The Director will be appointed by the Executive Board for a non-renewable term of six years. In exceptional circumstances, the term may be extended by the Executive Board by no more than one year. The Director will be an official of the Fund, but not a staff member. The Director's appointment may be terminated at any time with the approval of the Executive Board. At the end of the term of service, the Director will not be eligible for appointment or reappointment to the regular staff of the Fund. The Director will be responsible for the selection of IEO personnel (including external consultants) on terms and conditions to be determined by the Board, with a view to ensuring that the office is staffed with independent and highly-qualified personnel. The majority of full-time IEO personnel will come from outside the Fund.

Responsibilities

The Director of IEO will be responsible for the preparation of the Work Program. The content of the Work Program should focus on issues of importance to the Fund's membership and of relevance to the mandate of the Fund. It should take into account current institutional priorities, and be prepared in light of consultations with Executive Directors and management, as well as with informed and interested parties outside the Fund. The Director will present IEO's Work Program to the Executive Board for its review.

IEO, through its Director, will report regularly to the Executive Board, including through the preparation of an Annual Report. It is also expected that the IMFC will receive regular reports on the activities and findings of IEO.

With respect to individual evaluations, staff, management and-when appropriate-the relevant country authorities, will be given an opportunity to comment on the assessments being presented to the Executive Board.

The Director of IEO, in consultation with Executive Directors, will prepare a budget proposal for IEO for consideration and approval by the Executive Board. Its preparation will be independent of the budgetary process over which management and the Office of Budget and Planning have authority, but its implementation will be subject to the Fund's budgeting and expenditure control procedures. IEO's budget will be appended to that of the Executive Board within the Fund's Administrative Budget.

If requested by the Executive Board, IEO will provide technical and administrative support for any external evaluations launched directly by the Executive Board.

Consultation, publication, and external relations

In carrying out its mandate, including in the preparation of its Work Program, IEO will be free to consult with whomever and whichever groups it deems necessary, both within and outside the Fund.

IEO will have sole responsibility for drafting IEO evaluations, Annual Reports, press releases and other IEO documents or public statements.

IEO's Work Program will be made public and there will be a strong presumption that IEO reports will be published promptly (within the constraints imposed by the need to respect the confidentiality of information provided to the Fund by its members), unless, in exceptional circumstances, the Executive Board were to decide otherwise.

Publication of evaluations will be accompanied by comments from management, staff, and others, including relevant country authorities, where appropriate, along with the conclusions reached by the Board in considering the evaluation report.

Relations with Fund staff and management

In conducting its work, IEO should avoid interfering with operational activities, including current programs.

Review of experience with IEO

Within three years of the launch of IEO operations, the Executive Board should initiate an external evaluation of IEO to assess its effectiveness and to consider possible improvements to its structure, mandate, operational modalities, or Terms of Reference. Without prejudging how that review would be conducted, it should be understood that the review would include the solicitation of broad-based input from outside the official community.

2. The Director will be responsible for the management of the budget of the IEO and has the authority to commit resources from IEO’s budget. The budget for the IEO will be prepared and monitored in a manner that is consistent with the way that the Fund’s Administrative Budget is prepared and monitored. The budget will be submitted within the time required so that it can be incorporated in and approved by the Executive Board along with the Fund’s Administrative Budget.

3. The Director will be responsible for the management of the personnel of the IEO, in consultation with the Human Resources Department (HRD). The Director will organize and supervise the personnel and determine individual responsibilities.

(A) The Director will select the persons to fill noncontractual positions and will inform the Executive Board at least two weeks in advance of any action to appoint, promote or dismiss IEO employees at the equivalent of Grade B1 or above. The Director will approve IEO employees’ term of service; establish performance plans; conduct performance assessments; approve classifications of positions and decide upon salary adjustments within the Fund’s structure of staff grades and salaries; approve changes in titles or levels; and approve training for IEO employees. In these matters, the same rules and procedures applicable to staff members will be applied by the Director to the IEO employees. In the event that the special status of the IEO makes it necessary to alter these rules and procedures, the Director, IEO, after consultation with the Director, HRD, and the Executive Board, may adapt these rules and procedures to the same extent as may be authorized by the Managing Director with respect to staff. In particular, appointments and promotions of IEO employees do not require approval by Fund staff or review by the Review Committee or the Senior Review Committee. The Director, IEO will inform the Executive Board and the Director, HRD of such adaptations of the rules and procedures. The Director will, subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and technical competence, pay due regard to the importance of diversity, particularly international diversity, in recruiting IEO personnel. The Director will sign the initial appointment letters of employees for terms of up to four years, and he or she may approve extensions of those appointments and may decide to terminate such appointments. The actions referred to in this paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of individuals’ terms of appointment and consistent with the attached “Terms and Conditions of Appointment of Non-contractual Employees of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)”. The Director will comply with the dispute resolution provisions of IEO employees’ terms of appointment.

(B) For contractual services, the Director may execute agreements as he or she considers appropriate for the conduct of the functions of the IEO on terms and conditions that are consistent with the policies and procedures applicable to employment or procurement contracts of the Fund.

4. The Director will comply with financial control policies, regulations, and procedures that apply in the Fund.

5. The Director will submit an annual report to the Executive Board of the IEO’s activities which will contain an overview of its activities and of the evaluations conducted. In addition, the Director will provide the Executive Board with reports of the IEO’s activities on a regular periodic basis and upon request.

6. The Director will adopt, in consultation with Executive Board, standard rules for the publication of evaluation reports and other documents produced by the IEO.

7. The Director, in consultation with the Executive Board, will identify the criteria that will be used in evaluations conducted by the IEO.

Accountability

8. In the conduct of the activities of the IEO, the Director will take into account the Executive Board’s reactions to its reports and assessments of the performance of the IEO. The Director and personnel of the IEO will cooperate with the conduct of assessments of IEO’s effectiveness that are undertaken by the Executive Board.

Independent Judgment

9. Actions taken by the Director will be taken on the basis of his or her independent judgment.

Relationship with Executive Directors

10. The Director may consult with Executive Directors in groups or individually on matters relating to the activities of the IEO. Information provided to any Executive Director will be made available to other Executive Directors. The Director will ensure that IEO personnel honor these guidelines.

11. The Director, and IEO personnel, will respect the confidentiality of information or views provided on a confidential basis by any Executive Director; such information or views may be taken into consideration, but the identity of the source will not be disclosed.

Relationship with Fund Management and Staff

12. The Director may consult with and shall have the right to obtain information from members of Management and staff to carry out the work program of the IEO, except to the extent that the information requested is subject to the attorney-client privilege. The Director will respect the confidentiality of views expressed in confidence by Management or staff; if such views are included in any reports or other documents, the identity of the source will not be disclosed. Information obtained from Management or staff that was provided by officials of a member (or other source) on a confidential basis will not be disclosed by the Director or IEO personnel without the consent of the member (or other source). When the source of the information obtained from Management or staff is an official of a member of the Fund, such official, or another official representing the member, will be notified of the information obtained and will be given an opportunity to comment upon the matter.

Relationship with External Persons and Organizations

13. The Director will consult with and provide information to external persons, organizations, and the public about the IEO’s activities and the findings and conclusions reached in its evaluations, in so far that disclosures are consistent with the obligations regarding confidentiality and the Terms of Reference of the IEO.

3. Non-contractual employees of the IEO, excluding support level employees, shall be appointed as follows:

(a) Non-contractual employees of the IEO will initially be appointed for a period of up to three years, which may be extended by decision of the Director, IEO. Each extension will be limited to a maximum of three years. Where the Director, IEO considers it necessary to extend a non-contractual employee beyond 12 years of service, the Director, IEO will do so based on an assessment of the employee’s exceptional performance, progression, and value added to the IEO, and will balance against the IEO’s need for new staff with fresh perspectives. In no case will any extension be granted for more than two years beyond the tenure of the IEO Director’s own appointment.

(b) Non-contractual employees of the IEO who were employed by the Fund as a staff member on the working day before their employment with IEO commenced shall have the right to return to staff employment at the conclusion of their IEO appointment, as long as this appointment lasted six years or less, as set out in Paragraph 11 below.

(c) Non-contractual employees of the IEO who are hired from outside the Fund staff will be required to serve a minimum of three years in IEO before being eligible for recruitment by the Fund. 

4. IEO employees at the support level¹ shall be appointed as follows:

(a) IEO employees at the support level will initially be appointed for a period of up to three years, which may be extended by decision of the Director, IEO. Each extension will be limited to a maximum of three years and in no case will extend for more than two years beyond the tenure of the IEO Director’s own appointment.

(b) IEO employees at the support level who were employed by the Fund as a staff member on the working day before their employment with IEO commenced and who separate from IEO within a period of up to six years shall have the right to return to staff employment at the conclusion of their IEO appointment as set out in Paragraph 11
below.

(c) IEO employees at the support level who separate from IEO after having served more than six years in IEO will be entitled to the following rights to employment on the staff of the Fund:

(i)  If such employees were employed by the Fund as a staff member on the working day before their employment with IEO commenced, they shall be entitled to resume open-ended employment status as a staff member on the same terms and conditions that apply to Administrative and Staff Assistants² to Executive Directors who resume regular employment status with the Fund as a staff member.³

(ii)  If such employees were initially appointed to IEO from outside the Fund staff, they shall be entitled to an open-ended staff appointment on the same terms and conditions that apply to Administrative and Staff Assistants to Executive Directors who, on the basis of having completed six years of service in the Office of an Executive Director, are entitled to an open-ended staff appointment.⁴

5. Appointment letters for IEO employees will be executed by the Director, IEO and shall include the title of the position, net of tax salary, and other terms and conditions of employment.

6. The Director will select the persons to fill noncontractual positions and will inform the Executive Board at least two weeks in advance of any action to appoint, promote, or dismiss IEO employees who will have managerial responsibilities. The Director will approve IEO employees’ term of service; establish performance plans; conduct performance assessments; approve classifications of positions and decide upon salary adjustments within the Fund’s structure of staff grades and salaries; and approve changes in titles or levels. In these matters, the same rules and procedures applicable to staff members will be applied by the Director to the IEO employees. In the event that the special status of the IEO makes it necessary to alter these rules and procedures, the Director, IEO, after consultation with the Director, HRD, and the Executive Board, may adapt these rules and procedures to the same extent as may be authorized by the Managing Director with respect to the staff. In particular, appointments and promotions of IEO employees do not require approval by Fund staff or review by the Review Committee or the Senior Review Committee. The Director of IEO will inform the Executive Board and the Director, HRD of such adaptations of the rules and procedures.

7. IEO employees will receive the same benefits and travel allowances (for benefits and official travel) as Fund staff members with term appointments, subject to the eligibility criteria that apply to Fund staff with term appointments and pursuant to the GAOs and rules applicable from time to time to Fund’ staff. Such benefits and travel allowances will be administered in the same way, and by the same officials, that they are administered for staff on term appointments, except that disputes, which exist following a review and decision by the Director, HRD, will be finally resolved by arbitration, as referred to in paragraph 14, below. Such benefits include, but are not limited to the following:

(a) Annual, sick, and personal leave provided under prescribed circumstances;

(b) Expatriate allowance, childcare allowance, education allowances and other applicable allowances where eligible;

(c) Medical and life insurance;⁵

(d) Spouse and Child allowances;

(e) Recruitment travel;

(f) Relocation and Separation grants and allowances;

(g) Financial Assistance through Salary Advances;

(h) Tax allowances (US citizens);

(i) Estate tax safety net; and

(j) Workers’ Compensation coverage;

(k) Support services including counseling assistance for spouses and domestic partners.

8. IEO employees will have the option to either:

(a) participate, or continue participation, in the Fund’s Staff Retirement Plan, provided that they fulfill any applicable requirements of the Plan; or

(b) continue participation in the pension plan of their former employer, provided that they were not employed by the Fund immediately before appointment to IEO, with the Fund reimbursing the employer’s contributions, subject to a maximum of 14 percent of gross remuneration; or

(c) eligible staff members have the option to elect to participate in the Enhanced Voluntary Savings component of the Voluntary Savings Plan (VSP) in lieu of the SRP.

9. The Director, IEO may approve training for IEO employees when, in their discretionary judgment, the training is consistent with the employees’ job functions and the work requirements of the IEO.

10. IEO employees who were previously employed by the Fund as a staff member, employee in an Executive Director’s office, or contractual employee, with no break in service, will continue to accrue time in service credits and will continue to be eligible for benefits for which they were eligible, on the same basis that would have applied if they had continued in their prior employment status. Accrued leave balances, credit for time in service, and other benefits that have not been liquidated at the time that the person ceased to be a staff member, employee in an Executive Director’s office, or contractual employee will be carried forward to the IEO employee’s credit. The period of service in IEO will count towards the inter-departmental mobility requirements for certain Fund staff promotions and, if two years or longer, will meet the mandatory mobility requirement applicable to some economist staff. Time in service credits for accrued benefits will be carried forward when an IEO employee resumes their former employment as a Fund staff member or other employee. Fund staff on term appointments who apply to IEO are subject to the Fund’s interdepartmental assignment eligibility criteria assessment that applies to all Fund term staff.⁶ The running of the time period of a term appointment will be suspended for the period of their service with the IEO and will resume upon their return to their previous employment. A returning staff member or other employee who applies and is selected for a position other than the one they held before commencing work with IEO will receive a salary within the range and the grade applicable to such position.

11. IEO employees who were employed by the Fund as a staff member on the working day before their employment with IEO commenced and who separate from IEO within a period of up to six years will have the right to return to their former positions, or to an equivalent position, in the department or office where they had been working as a staff member, except when their employment is terminated for unsatisfactory performance or misconduct as provided in paragraph 14, below. Whenever such IEO employees resume their former or equivalent positions, they will resume the grade level they had before working in IEO; their salaries will continue at the same amount, unless it exceeds the maximum of the range for the applicable grade level, in which case the salary will be adjusted to the maximum of the range. However, if the person’s grade increased to A06, A07, A08 (for support employees), A10, A11, A12, A13, or A14 (for professional employees) while working in IEO, the staff member’s home department will absorb the returning employee at the higher grade or the max grade of the grade band the person was hired from into the IEO.⁷ If the person’s grade increased to A15, the home department will identify a suitable position at grade A15 for a transition period of one year, during which time the staff member would hold responsibilities appropriate to this grade level and may compete for a permanent position at grade A15 across the Fund. If the person’s grade increased to B1 while working in IEO, and s/he had been included on the Review Committee (RC) list prior to being recruited to the IEO, the home department together with HRD will identify a suitable position in the home department (with temporary budget, if necessary) for a transitional period of one year, during which time the staff member would hold responsibilities appropriate to this grade level and could compete for a permanent B-level position across the Fund. If the staff member had not been on the RC list at the time of recruitment to IEO, s/he would revert immediately to the grade they had held prior to joining IEO.

12. IEO employees will be subject to the same terms of service and rules of conduct, including the N-Rules, the GAOs, and the financial certification and disclosure requirements as staff members (referred to in the Code of Conduct applicable to staff members). In the application of those terms and rules to IEO employees, the Director, IEO will exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Managing Director. The Ethics Committee established under the “Code of Conduct for the Members of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund” and the Compliance Officer appointed for Executive Directors shall have the authority to act in matters involving IEO employees.

13. The Director, IEO may, when in their judgment there is a reasonable basis for doing so related to either the activities or management of the IEO or the employee’s performance, terminate the appointment of an IEO employee before the expiration of the term of the appointment. For IEO employees who were initially hired from outside the Fund staff and do have not a right to a staff appointment at the conclusion of their IEO service, the employee will be entitled to written notice of the lesser of 90 days or the period until the expiration of the employee’s appointment. In lieu of all or part of the notice period, the Director may decide that the employee will be paid a lump sum for the applicable time period. For other IEO employees who have the right to resume or take up staff employment at the conclusion of their IEO service, the Director will endeavor to provide sufficient notice of the termination of their IEO service for planning purposes.

14. In the case of an IEO employee who would otherwise have the right of return to their former employment status as a Fund staff member, but whose appointment to IEO is terminated by the Director, IEO for unsatisfactory performance or for misconduct, the Director, IEO will provide all relevant information concerning the termination to the Managing Director or the Director, Human Resources Department (HRD) for a determination about such person’s eligibility to resume their former Fund employment as a staff member. Following a review of the matter, the Managing Director or the Director, HRD shall determine whether or not, in the interest of the Fund, the individual shall be eligible to resume their former Fund employment as a staff member. Similar procedures shall apply when disciplinary measures short of termination are imposed by the Director, IEO on an IEO employee with the right to return to the Fund staff. In such cases, the Managing Director or the Director, HRD, will determine whether or not the disciplinary measures will be maintained on return to staff status.

15. Any dispute that arises in connection with an IEO employee’s terms and conditions of appointment as an employee of IEO, including those relating to career or benefits matters, based upon the decision of either the Director, IEO or the Director, HRD in their respective areas of responsibility, that is not resolved within six months from the time the dispute arose, by mutual agreement may, at the request of the IEO employee, be submitted to final and binding arbitration. The arbitration shall be conducted by one arbitrator selected by the Executive Board. Such arbitration will be conducted according to the relevant rules for arbitration of employment disputes of the American Arbitration Association then in effect. The arbitral case will be decided according to the terms and conditions of appointment applicable to the employee and according to commonly accepted legal principles applicable to international civil servants and international organizations, particularly the Fund. Unless the arbitral award provides otherwise, the Fund and the employee shall pay their own costs, including attorney’s fees, in the preparation and presentation of the claims or responses in the arbitral proceedings. The Fund will pay the arbitrator’s fees and provide the facilities for the conduct of the proceedings. The arbitral award shall be rendered within thirty (30) days of the final hearing on the dispute. Such award shall be in writing and in duplicate, one copy delivered to each party. The arbitral award shall be considered final and binding upon the parties. Agreement to arbitration of disputes does not constitute a waiver of the Fund’s immunities. IEO employees will not have access to the Fund’s Grievance Committee or, except with respect to the Staff Retirement Plan, the Administrative Tribunal.

16. These terms and conditions of appointment as Fund employees are not applicable to persons or entities with which the IEO or the Fund enters into a contractual agreement for professional or other services.

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¹ Support level encompasses: Lead Administrative and Administrative Coordinators, Research Analysts, and all SCS Analysts.

² Outside of Executive Director Offices, the current titles for Administrative staff are Administrative Coordinator and Lead Administrative Coordinator.

³ Such treatment is currently set out in Part III-B, Section 2(e) of the Handbook on Executive Board Administrative Matters.

⁴ Such treatment is currently set out in Part III-B, Sections 2(f) and 2(g) of the Handbook on Executive Board Administrative Matters.

⁵ The medical and life insurance plans have been amended to include IEO employees as eligible participants.

⁶ The Staff Handbook rules and procedures on interdepartmental assignments (Chapter 3.01, Section 5.3) apply to Fund staff who apply to the IEO.

⁷ This provision will be applied to IEO employees who are to join after this update is approved by the Executive Board. In any case, all promotions should be coordinated with the home department that will reabsorb the staff member.