Ms. Sophie Sirtaine, a Belgian national, was the Director of Strategy and Operations at IEG until January of 2022. She was responsible for shaping IEG’s strategic priorities and work program, providing significant direction to resource management, and leading IEG’s Evaluation Capacity Development (ECD) initiatives around the world. After joining IEG in 2016, Ms. Sirtaine led the IEG’s work program formulation process so that it strategically aligned with the priorities of the World Bank Group, continuously updated IEG’s Theory of Change and Results Framework and various internal protocol principles, and guided strategic staffing of IEG to reflect its evolving needs and capabilities in the field of evaluation. She led the formation and establishment of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI), an inclusive global partnership committed to developing country-owned, sustainable monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks and capacities to promote the use of evidence in public decision-making, enhance accountability, and achieve better results.

With over twenty years of experience in the World Bank, Ms. Sirtaine has held various positions including as a country director for the Latin America and the Caribbean from 2013-2016. She also worked in South Asia, and Europe and Central Asia regions; the Corporate Secretariat, and Operations, Policy and Country Services. During this period, she led the World Bank’s banking sector crisis response in several EU countries during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

Ms. Sirtaine also worked in London in investment banking at JP Morgan and as an infrastructure economist for Halcrow Fox and Associates prior to joining the World Bank.