Economic Adviser

Economic Adviser

Job #:

req21575

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Economics

Grade:

GH

Term Duration:

4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:

International Recruitment

Location:

Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):

English

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:

3/12/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region of the World Bank comprises a set of highly diverse countries, with a population of nearly 500 million people, which represent all income levels and wide differences in resource endowments, human capital, and institutional capacity. Although 10 of these clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or lending services. Country Partnership Frameworks (CPFs) reflect the diversity of countries in the region including the variation in the deployment of Bank instruments. ECA region has a strong lending pipeline as well as a large portfolio of Reimbursable Advisory Services. Knowledge and partnership are critical to the Bank's value proposition to client countries in the ECA region in both lending and advisory services.

A predominantly middle- and high-income region, ECA continues to be at the forefront in confronting the numerous challenges in the evolving global economy. The region is at the vanguard of building regional connectivity while having to manage the changing structure of the labor market. At the same time, digital technologies are changing the nature of work, populations are aging, and large migration flows have generated social tensions that have contributed to increased political polarization. These emerging trends threaten to reverse the region's achievements in regional integration, poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Many parts of the region continue to struggle with multiple structural weaknesses, including high public debt burdens, tight fiscal space, low investment, lack of contestable markets, and financial sector vulnerabilities.

The ECA region is also one of the most vulnerable to climate change. It has a large potential to strengthen climate change resilience and improve energy efficiency, thereby reducing its contribution to climate change. Other important challenges affecting parts of the region include frozen conflicts and domestic political instability.

Finally, fragility and conflict are on the rise in the region. Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to have devastating social and economic impacts on Ukraine, in the broader ECA region and beyond. A number of long-running territorial conflicts, such as the confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, have also recently flared up.

In view of these challenges, the ECA regional strategy focuses on helping countries to boost human capital, enable markets, facilitate green transitions, and build and strengthen institutions.

For more information about the region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca.

Duties and Accountabilities

The successful applicant will become a member of the ECAVP Front Office and will report to the Director of Strategy and Operations (DSO) of the Region.

In his/her position as ROC secretary, the successful candidate will:

• Play a lead role in reviewing operations or policy/strategy documents for ROC review; advising the Chair of the ROC review, setting the agenda for the meetings; working with the teams and TTLs to prepare Decision Notes for the meetings, and supporting the RVP and DSO in managing the meetings.

• Advise on operations policy and procedures and provide guidance on the full range of lending and strategy products of the region, providing formal and informal advice to country teams, working closely with Management.

• Liaise and work closely with relevant OPCS teams/managers and other units across DFI, credit risk etc., as well as with IFC and MIGA.

• Provide advice on economic policy analysis required for DPF operations, Country Engagement products, and other corporate reports - such as macroeconomic analysis, economics of reforms, and analytic underpinnings of growth, structural reforms, fiscal and debt policy, and fiduciary aspects - and supporting task teams and country teams in grounding these deliverables in a sound analytical and economic framework.

In addition, the successful candidate will:

• Support teams as they prepare for Operational Committee review and Board presentations.

• Take a leadership role in the preparation of the ECA WBG regional strategy updates to the Board.

• Conduct analysis, research and outreach on issues related to the work of the VPU, as needed.

• Work with CMUs and GPs in supporting the delivery of important regional priorities, from private capital mobilization through IDA Performance and Policy Actions.

• Support the review process of the VPU.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced degree in economics; PhD preferred.

• Sustained record of achieving high-quality substantive results over an extended period (typically at least 12 years of Bank and/or external experience).

• Excellent technical skills, and established track record of leadership and excellence in significant analytical and operational work.

• Extensive country economic work, including on macroeconomic and structural issues.

• Experience as a Task Team Leader (TTL) of DPF operations and/or as TTL of Country Engagement products.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Able to represent the region with internal and external partners.

• Demonstrated maturity and sound judgment, attention to detail, and ability to convey complex messages succinctly and diplomatically. Ability to interact effectively with Senior Management.

• Broad understanding of cross-sectoral issues; proven ability to identify and articulate policy issues, tradeoffs and priorities; and to provide technically and strategically sound policy advice.

• Ability to juggle tight deadlines, be proactive, and work collaboratively in teams

• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation as well as effective teamwork skills.

• Proven ability to lead the production of high-quality reports or policy papers in a highly demanding environment.

Required Professional 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).

This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.