Senior Economist

The World Bank
Washington, DC - United States
S: Competitive

Background / General description:

The Poverty Global Practice of the World Bank Group (WBG) is looking for a Senior Economist (Poverty) to be based in Washington, DC.
The Poverty Global Practice is a family of integratively-oriented and versatile empirical microeconomists with expertise in household surveys and poverty measurement, and broad experience in using household and other "micro" data to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs. We work with government and external partners, at the country-level and globally, in ensuring that their efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity are enhanced by integrative empirically-grounded analyses of household welfare. Internally, we work with country, regional and global teams across all practices to operationalize the twin goals of the WBG—to reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity—by providing a more robust evidence base and analytics using micro data.
The country-level work of the poverty global practice typically falls under one or more of the following three streams:

● Laying the foundations for evidence-based policy by strengthening data on household welfare: this is the foundational work, mostly delivered through Technical Assistance and occasionally through statistical capacity-building investment operations, to support the design and implementation of household surveys, provide advice on best-practice methodologies for estimating household welfare, poverty, and shared prosperity, and build capacity and strengthen country systems for collecting data on and monitoring household welfare.

● Defining the agenda through integrative analysis and dialogue: this stream of work has focused on using the household-level data, wherever available, to undertake integrative analyses to inform the policy dialogue and advance the poverty reduction and shared prosperity agenda and priorities at the regional, national and occasionally sub-national levels.

● Delivering operational solutions: this stream of work focuses on collaborating with internal and external partners to translate the upstream analytics into concrete implementable measures and support the implementation of particular interventions aimed at reducing poverty.

The Poverty Global Practice is organized by both region and thematic Line, with regions managed by a Practice Manager. The development and flow of global knowledge within the practice is facilitated through four cross-cutting thematic lines, each of which is led by a thematic Lead Economist. These are: (1) poverty monitoring and statistical capacity building; (2) markets and institutions for poverty reduction and shared prosperity; (3) fiscal and social policy for poverty reduction and shared prosperity; and (4) managing risks for poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Every member of the practice is affiliated with and participates in and contributes to the work of at least one of the thematic lines. In addition, the practice takes the lead in two corporate priority areas: (a) Data for Goals; and (b) Systematic Country Diagnostics.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The selected candidate will be based in Washington, DC, and will support poverty programs in selected countries in the ECA region, as well as to provide selected support to strategic tasks focusing on the distributional impacts of fiscal and social policies outside the region. Like all members of the poverty global practice, he/she will also be expected to contribute to the global knowledge base of the practice, focusing on the distributional impact of fiscal and social policies.
The selected candidate will be expected to:
• Oversee the design and delivery of the poverty program in the selected countries and serve as the poverty global practice's country focal point for the country in terms of both poverty monitoring and poverty-related policy and programmatic interactions with internal (the CMU, in particular the Program Leaders overseeing the poverty programs, and other practices within the country team) and external country-level partners.
• Engage with task teams from other practices working in the selected countries to support the operationalization of the WBG's twin goals by identifying opportunities to enhance the poverty reduction impact of specific operations through more granular analyses using micro data.
• Mentor and guide junior members of the teams working on various poverty programs.
• Contribute to the global knowledge base of the poverty practice by participating in and contributing to the work of the thematic line on fiscal and social policy for poverty reduction and shared prosperity.

Selection Criteria:

We are looking for an imaginative and innovative micro economist with a record of sound analytical work, good judgment, demonstrated experience in tailoring analysis and conveying advice in weak capacity contexts, strong client engagement skills and effectiveness in working collaboratively with teams from multiple practices.
Minimum Education/Experience:
• Master's degree (PhD preferred) with a minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
Required Competencies:
• Demonstrated strength in each of the three streams of work around which the poverty global practice's country-level programs are structured
• General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Possesses cross-country knowledge in economic specialty and demonstrates ability to link the macro, institutional, and micro-level behaviors; able to support findings/policy recommendations with credible analysis and tools.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level. Experience working in middle-income setting is a plus.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Technical and Quantitative Skills as an Applied Development Microeconomist - Able to lead/participate in projects related to poverty and inequality reduction, poverty and welfare measurement, national development strategies, ex-ante simulation analysis of distributional impacts of fiscal and social policies and alternative reform scenarios, monitoring, information and evaluation systems, impact evaluation, and related areas.
• Written and Verbal Communication - Demonstrates the ability to influence and persuade others to accept ideas and suggestions (such as counterparts in government, international partner organizations, academia, and Bank colleagues, senior staff and managers)
• Lead and Innovate - Develops innovative solutions with others.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the client.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiates collaboration across boundaries and broadly across WBG, and brings differing ideas into the forefront.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Creates, applies and shares knowledge from across and outside WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions.
• Make Smart Decisions - Recommends and takes decisive action.
• Demonstrates ability to coordinate, participate in, and act as a catalyst for, strategic cross-practice dialogues within country teams, promoting integrated evidence-based development solutions.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidentiality.

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