Economist

Economist

Job #:

req22772

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Economics

Grade:

GF

Term Duration:

1 year 0 months

Recruitment Type:

International Recruitment

Location:

Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):

English

Preferred Language(s):

Spanish

Closing Date:

6/1/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Background & General Description:

The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) is the World Bank's flagship household survey program focused on strengthening household survey systems in client countries and on improving the quality of microdata to better inform development policies. The LSMS is housed within the World Bank Development Data Group, as part of the Data Production and Methods Unit, with staff members based at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC and at the World Bank Center for Development Data (C4D2) in Rome, Italy. Through the LSMS program, the World Bank generates high-quality data, improves survey methods, and builds household survey capacity in countries around the world. The goal of the LSMS is to facilitate the use of household survey data for evidence-based policymaking.

Since 2008, the LSMS program has been focused on the provision of financial and technical assistance to multi-topic, nationally representative longitudinal household surveys in low- and middle-income countries. The work thus far has taken place under the Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) project in support of 8 national statistical offices (NSOs) across Sub-Saharan Africa. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LSMS program has also spearheaded the efforts for implementing high-frequency phone surveys, which have also been designed and implemented as longitudinal surveys, with direct links to the face-to-face longitudinal surveys that the program had been supporting prior to the pandemic. Looking forward, the LSMS program plans to support mix-mode longitudinal household survey programs - leveraging existing partnerships with NSOs in Africa and establishing new partnerships with NSOs in different low- and middle-income countries.

Through its Methodology and Tools program, the LSMS supports the development of innovative survey methods and tools through rigorous methodological research based on randomized survey experiments and analysis of existing survey data; the use of technology and development and validation of objective measurement approaches for improving the quality, timeliness and policy relevance of survey data; and the development of analytical tools to increase the efficiency and quality of survey design, implementation and analysis.

Furthermore, the LSMS provides advisory services to client countries to develop institutional and technical capacity and efficiency in the implementation of national household surveys and is home to the C4D2 Training Initiative, which aims to improve and harmonize the curricula of regional statistical training centers, facilitate the uptake of global standards and best practices in household survey design, create a network of household survey experts at the regional level, and promote harmonization across countries.

The selected candidate will primarily be contributing to the activities under the LSMS Methodology and Tools programs, specifically the line of work on data imputation and survey quality assurance, with specific roles and responsibilities defined below.

Roles & Responsibilities

-Contribute to the on-going research and the development of operational guidelines on imputation of poverty metrics, including through survey-to-survey imputation and synthetic panel data construction, in contexts where household consumption/income data are either unavailable or of low quality or where there is interest in deriving cost-effective and reliable predictions in "light" household surveys that are commissioned intentionally without consumption data collection and with the objective of relying on validated imputation models to derive the requisite predictions.

-Contribute to the development and execution of a methodological research agenda on data imputation to improve accuracy and cost-effectiveness of household survey data. In particular, the candidate is expected to contribute to a program on the use of imputation methods in combination with objective measurements collected through household surveys and other data sources to improve on the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of self-reported survey data. Initial priority areas are outcomes of interest include agricultural productivity, agricultural labor, and soil health.

-Independently manage methodological research projects and apply knowledge from the latest developments in data imputation techniques to provide methodological guidance and oversight of survey imputation work implemented or supported by the World Bank. Identify novel solutions to challenges that arise in data imputation, where established theories, techniques, or frames have not been identified or where established procedures are not feasible.

-Contribute to the production of methodological guidelines on the latest standards and practices in household survey data imputation.

-Contribute to the ongoing research on the use of machine learning for prediction models and on integrating household survey data with other data sources (such as Big Data, mobile and remote sensing technologies, citizen science, and administrative data) to derive reliable imputed estimates.

-Provide advice and lead research on the application of imputation methods to mixed-mode data collection, such as phone surveys and web surveys.

-Carry out other LSMS-related activities, including technical assistance to other World bank units. This may include reviewing survey modules under development, checking other data sets, and missions to other client countries to provide technical assistance, trainings, and field supervision for ongoing field activities.

-Perform any other related assignment, as requested by the supervisor.

Selection Criteria

-Ph.D. or Masters' degree in economics, statistics, international development, or another relevant field, plus at least 5 years of relevant work experience.

-Track record of research and publications on data imputation, particularly using survey-to-survey poverty imputation and synthetic panel techniques, and poverty and inequality analysis.

-Experience with applying cutting-edge data imputation methods to solve practical challenges for Bank operations.

-Experience with working with Global Practices, Chief Economist's Offices, country teams, and staff from other international organizations is a plus.

-Experience in contributing to high-profile multi-country analysis.

-Demonstrated ability to work with experts in academia, major donors, and research institutes that can help promote the data imputation work program.

-Experience with working with survey data from different regions and countries. Familiarity with LSMS data and survey operations is a plus.

-Experience in capacity building and training, including of National Statistical Office staff and researchers with local universities or research centers in client countries. Experience in supervising junior staff members, including post-docs and consultants, and/ or with teaching is a plus.

-Demonstrated ability to work independently in a multi-cultural environment.

-Strong skills in either Stata and/or R are required.

-Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Fluency with another major UN languages such as French or Russian is a plus.

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.

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