Job Details

Economist

 Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region

We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs.

Yet, these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades.

In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water, and sanitation—all to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87 percent of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved.

Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID. 
For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Poverty & Equity Global Practice

The Poverty and Equity Global Practice, part of the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions vice-presidency, plays a key role in supporting the World Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. It generates knowledge and dialogue and supports operational solutions, focusing on poverty monitoring and statistical capacity building, markets and institutions, fiscal and social policy, and resilience to shocks and sustainability. The practice is organized into seven regionally-oriented units—EAP, ECA, LAC, MNA, SAR and two in AFR—each managed by a Practice Manager.

The Western and Central Africa Poverty unit (EAWPV) covers 22 countries facing a broad range of challenges and opportunities, but they all share the common goal of eliminating extreme poverty and reducing inequality. For almost 25 years, extreme poverty was steadily declining. Now, for the first time in a generation, the quest to end poverty has suffered its worst setback. In 2020, global extreme poverty incidence increased for the first time in over 20 years as the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing poverty reduction progress. There is no silver bullet to ending poverty, and strategies to reach the least well-off must be tailored to each country’s context, informed by the latest data and analysis and the needs of the people. How the world responds to these major challenges today will have a direct bearing on whether the current reversals in global poverty reduction can be turned around. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty.

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) data for policy analysis;

(2) markets and institutions for poverty reduction and shared prosperity;

(3) fiscal and social policy for poverty reduction and shared prosperity; and

(4) welfare implications of climate change, fragility and conflict risks. Every member of the practice is affiliated with, participates in and contributes to the work of at least one of the thematic lines.

Duties and Accountabilities:

We are looking for a locally recruited Economist/Statistician to join our team, based in Dakar, Senegal to support the poverty program in Senegal as well as other countries in the region, including Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Mauritania and WAEMU member states. Like all members of the poverty global practice, he/she will also be expected to contribute to the global knowledge base of the practice.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Work in and lead/co-lead teams to deliver Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) including Poverty Assessments, applied microeconomic diagnostics (e.g., gender, labor market mobility, vulnerability, multi-dimensional poverty), and quantifying the distributional impact of fiscal, social and other sector policies and investments.

• Work in and lead/co-lead teams responsible for preparing and/or implementing lending operations supporting statistical capacity building in client countries.

• Work in and co-lead teams to prepare Country Engagement products including Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD) and Country Partnership Frameworks (CPF).

• Provide poverty and equity diagnostics and guidance to CMU, the country and sectoral teams to inform ASA, the policy dialogue, and the preparation, implementation and assessment of lending operations.

• Apply and develop innovative data-driven approaches and technologies to measure and monitor poverty, equity and gender trends aimed at building a stronger evidence base to inform the policy dialogue.

• Contribute to the global knowledge base of the poverty practice by participating in and contributing to the work of at least one of the four thematic lines.

Selection Criteria

We are looking for an imaginative and innovative applied micro-economist with a demonstrated track record of sound analytical work, excellent judgment, and experience in working closely with clients to tailor analytical and/or statistical advisory services. Experience working with national statistical agencies and, in coordination with other development partners, in providing technical support and/or lending operations to build statistical capacity will be required. Candidates with strong client engagement skills, demonstrated effectiveness in working collaboratively with teams from multiple practices, with prior experience of successful engagement in weak capacity contexts.

Minimum Education/Experience

• A master’s degree (PhD preferred) in Economics or other related field, with a strong quantitative background and at least five (5) years of relevant professional experience.
  
  Other Selection Criteria:

• Advanced proficiency in Stata and/or R

• Advanced proficiency in econometrics, including experience of working with panel data and experience in welfare measurement and analytics.

• Demonstrated experience analyzing household survey microdata.

• Demonstrated experience working on quality monitoring of household survey implementation both during and after data collection in the field.

• Demonstrated experience working on capacity building activities for national statistical office staff working on household surveys.

• Strong French and English writing skills, including the ability to draft policy briefs and analytical research products autonomously.

• Ability to work independently, within a team, and across multiple teams.

• Self-driven and motivated.
  

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.