Senior Economist, Nairobi, Kenya at World Bank 97 views0 applications

Background / General description

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 304 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 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 ASA 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-GP Public Expenditure Reviews. An important additional element of engagement in macroeconomic and fiscal policies is carried through the 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.

COUNTRY CONTEXT

The Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management (MFM) Global Practice is looking for a Senior Economist (GG) (local hire) to work with the MFM Kenya teams based in Nairobi and Washington, DC. The Macroeconomic and Fiscal Management (MFM) team for Kenya undertakes a wide range of activities from leading and contributing to lending operations, managing complex technical assistance and analytical activities, and maintaining day-to-day policy dialogue with the government. The team also supports the Kenya Country Team across all global practices providing World Bank assistance to Kenya. Key areas of MFM support to the government include operational and advisory activities on devolution, fiscal policy, and macro-financial issues – all in collaboration with other Global Practices in the Bank. The MFM team also maintains a constant dialogue with experts and researchers in academia, the private sector, media, and development partners.

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 World Bank’s support to Kenya’s devolution program.
• Contribute to MFM lending operations in Kenya, including Development Policy Financing.
• Lead or significantly contribute to the preparation of major analytical reports.
• Collaborate with the MFM team on the preparation of just-in-time technical notes on a wide range of macroeconomic and structural reform issues.
• Facilitate the Bank’s policy dialogue with the authorities.
• Work closely with other global practices to provide integrated diagnostics and development solutions.
• Disseminate new ideas, creative approaches, and successful international experience; disseminate successful experiences from Kenya to the rest of the world.
• Work closely and provide regular support and advice to the Country Director based in Nairobi and engage with the broader country team to enhance the rigor of advice on cross-cutting and sectoral issues in support of the growth and shared prosperity agenda.
• Actively promote dialogue and close working relationships with the main development partners working on Kenya as well as with the private sector, academia, think tanks and civil society. Liaise with the IMF on the macroeconomic framework and in the preparation of joint World Bank-IMF debt sustainability analysis, when needed.
• Carry out the work program in a way that contributes to client capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation at national and county levels.
• 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 in other countries in the same Country Management Unit (Uganda and Rwanda).

Selection Criteria

Required 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 – Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and takes a leading role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
• Integrative Skills – Had an integrated view of all facets of national accounts and macroeconomics.
• Macroeconomic Skills and Country Economics Experience – Have a strong understanding of macroeconomic relationships, and the use of national accounts and balance of payments data systems from a data-consumer point of view.
• Written and Verbal Communication – Delivers information effectively in support of team or workgroup
• Lead and Innovate- Develops innovative solutions.
• Deliver Results for Clients- Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries- Collaborates across boundaries, listens well to the views of collaborators and remains open-minded. Develops consensual solutions that bring diverse partners together.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge- Creates, shared and disseminated knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions- Has a pro-active solution oriented that brings together a wide range of information to develop, implement and monitor solutions.

Other Selection Criteria

• Minimum of a Master’s degree in economics, with eight years of experience.
• Strong technical skills on macro-fiscal and growth issues and a proven track record in delivering high quality and technically sophisticated analytical work.
• Experience in working with planning units, providing policy advice to government officials, and a track record of conducting effective policy dialogue with country counterparts.
• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation, and leadership qualities, as well as effective teamwork skills;
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to speak persuasively and to present ideas clearly and concisely with senior policy officials.
• Strong integrative capacities; i.e., ability to situate IDA activities within a coherent strategic framework.6. Excellent communication and presentation skills — both verbal and written. Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly on complex topics to a wide variety of audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiations skills and ability to work flexibly, creatively and to multitask as the need arises.
• A high degree of self-motivation, positive attitude and drive.
• Strong commitment towards team work and knowledge sharing, especially across the World Bank Group.