Senior Economist

The World Bank
Washington DC - United States
S: Competitive

THE WORLD BANK GROUP

Established in 1944, the World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). IBRD and IDA are commonly known as the World Bank, which is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions, and – as of July 1, 2014 – has introduced fourteen Global Practices (GPs) as well as five Cross-Cutting Solution Areas (CCSAs) to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients. The WBG provides loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses. The WBG also has a strong portfolio of reimbursable advisory services (RAS) paid for by individual member countries, especially among those whose income per capita is above the borrowing threshold. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.

The 14 GPs are: Agriculture; Education; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets; Governance; Health, Nutrition and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management; Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and ICT; and Water. The 5 CCSAs are: Climate Change; Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Gender; Jobs; and Public-Private Partnerships. The new operating model is part of a broader internal reform aimed at delivering the best of the World Bank Group to our clients, so that together we can achieve the twin goals of (1) ending extreme poverty by 2030, and (2) promote shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population in every developing country.

GLOBAL PRACTICE FOR MACROECONOMICS AND FISCAL MANAGEMENT


The Global Practice for Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management (MFM) comprises about 313 staff working across more than 100 countries. The Practice houses the Bank's country economists as well as professional staff with expertise in macroeconomics, fiscal policy, growth, and statistics. About fifty percent of MFM professional staff is decentralized to the field working very closely with the CMUs and in proximity to clients. MFM professionals most often work across sectors helping carry out key integrative functions. In this context MFM professionals are responsible for the preparation and delivery of the majority of the Bank's Development Policy Operations using both IDA and IBRD resources. MFM professionals also lead or participate in a wide variety of AAA and client advisory work requiring integrative functions that add to the core MFM expertise. As such MFM staff often lead or participate in the preparation of Strategic Country Diagnostics, Country Economic Memorandums and cross sector Public Expenditure Reviews. An important additional element of engagement in macroeconomic and fiscal policies is carried through work on debt management supported by the Debt Management Facility. Knowledge and learning is a central part of MFM with work focused on 5 thematic areas: (a) macroeconomics; (b) fiscal policy; (c) growth; (d) economic management in resource rich environments; and (e) macroeconomic modelling & statistics

REGIONAL AND COUNTRY CONTEXT

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of about USD 700 and significant human challenges. While the main issue Afghanistan is facing is the on-going conflict, fiscal and economic challenges are very pronounced and represent an important source of fragility for the country.

The World Bank' engagement in Afghanistan is significant. The World Bank provides roughly USD 900 million in grants to the government each year through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), one of the largest multi-donor trust funds managed by the World Bank. In addition, IDA assistance amounts to US$ 200 million annually. Operations are fully decentralized and are largely managed by TTLs based either in the Kabul office (with about 90 staff) or in Dubai (about 15 staff). The first CPF for Afghanistan was just approved in late October 2016 and lays out an ambitious program for the next four years, aligned with the 2017-2020 Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework.

Within the Afghanistan program, the MFM team carries a heavy load with a work program that includes two important cross-sectoral policy based operations, capacity building, major analytical and advisory work, and non-lending TA. In FY 18, the team's flagship activities will include the preparation of the phase of the Incentive Program (an innovative budget support operation), new analytical work on the interlinkages between security and development as well as the delivery of outputs under the programmatic Fiscal Management and Policy PA. The partnership with government is strong, and the MFM team plays a critical role through its advisory services in the on-going policy dialogue with the Afghan authorities but also in discussions within the international community. Analytical publications by MFM typically receive very large attention from public entities, international organizations, bilateral partners, research institutions, civil society and media from within and outside the country.
The selected candidate will report to the MFM Practice Manager covering South Asia.

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 Senior Economist will:

• Lead or significantly contribute to the preparation of knowledge products, including country-specific and regional knowledge, as well as to convening services.

• Lead or significantly contribute to the preparation and/or supervision of operations.

• Initiate and carry out analysis to inform the Bank's policy dialogue in macroeconomic areas and supervise just-in-time technical and policy work.

• Work closely with the MFM Lead Economist and Program Leaders as well as the Country Director as needed to ensure collaborative and seamless delivery of Bank support.

• Actively promote dialogue and close working relationships with the main development partners as well as with the private sector, academia, think tanks and civil society. Liaise with the IMF on the macroeconomic framework and debt sustainability analysis.

• Carry out the work program in a way that contributes to client capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation.

• Ensure high standards of quality of tasks managed by self and help enhance quality of other tasks.

• Participate actively in MFM Global Practice-wide activities including by providing support to programs outside the MENA Region and by being active in at least one thematic area.

Selection Criteria:

• Master's or PhD degree in economics with at least eight (8) years of relevant professional and research experience including a track record of delivery of high quality lending and analytical and advisory products.
• Demonstrated experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility.
• Strong analytical skills in macroeconomic and fiscal management and proven ability to conduct policy dialogue and policy-relevant research.
• Deep technical knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: macroeconomics, macroeconomic forecasting, growth analytics, fiscal analysis and management, subnational fiscal frameworks, debt management and contingent liabilities, government finance and quality of government expenditures, management of natural resource rents.
• Track record in leading or contributing to successful Bank operations and high impact ASAs.
• Integrative capacity including the ability to link sectoral issues within a broader development framework.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present complicated analyses to non-specialist audiences.
• Ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments and adjust to a variety of complex evolving tasks to meet deadlines.

Competencies:

• 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.
• 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.
• Macroeconomic skills and country economics experience – Able to translate technical analyses of macroeconomic, debt, trade, fiscal policy, and growth linkages into policy recommendations and cross-country lessons.
• 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.

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