Job Title: Lead Economist (Poverty)
Location: Jakarta
Closing Date: 16-Jul-2015
Background / General description:
THE WORLD BANK GROUP
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2014, the WBG committed $65.6 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $22.2 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.
The World Bank Group (WBG) twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity reflect a new global landscape: one in which developing countries have an unprecedented opportunity to end extreme poverty within a generation. The Poverty Global Practice plays a central role in the achievement of this goal.
THE POVERTY GLOBAL PRACTICE
The Poverty GP a family of integratively-oriented and versatile empirical microeconomists with deep expertise in household surveys and poverty measurement, and broad experience in using household and other “micro” data to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs to reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity. We work with government and external partners, at the country-level and globally, in ensuring that their efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity are enhanced by integrative empirically-grounded analyses of household welfare. Internally, we work with country, regional and global teams across all practices to operationalize the twin goals of the WBG—to reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity—by providing a more robust evidence base and analytics using micro data.
The country-level work of the poverty global practice typically falls under one or more of the following three streams:
THE POVERTY GLOBAL PRACTICE IN INDONESIA
The World Bank’s Indonesia program is one of its largest in the world with activities that include an active program of engagement with central economic ministries, community driven development, education and infrastructure. Lending is currently around US$2 billion a year distributed over a broad mix of program, sector and investment loans. In addition there are a large number of Trust Funds to support work in a range of sectors including education, investment, poverty and social protection. To support the Government policy agenda the mission also has a very large program of analytical and advisory activities (AAA) that is integrated into lending and technical assistance activities.
The World Bank is helping to strengthen national efforts to reduce poverty and vulnerability by supporting the Government of Indonesia in making informed and evidence-based policy and program decisions. Support focuses on: i) providing research and analytical services on issues related to poverty and inequality, as well as the policy areas related to job creation and social assistance, and; ii) supporting the government translating analytical findings into actions concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of poverty reduction programs, social assistance, labor market reforms, and other policies that serve to reduce poverty and inequality.
Two programs have been established to support this agenda: the “Partnership for Knowledge-based Poverty Reduction,” and “Delivering Work Opportunities for All Indonesians: An Engagement Program.” Both programs are financed by a multi-donor programmatic trust fund for Indonesia.
We are looking for a Lead Economist (Poverty) to provide strategic and intellectual leadership for the Poverty GP in Indonesia, and working alongside other GPs engaging on the thematic issues of poverty, inequality, job creation, and social assistance.
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 Lead Economist (Poverty) will take a prominent role in establishing the Bank’s reputation for excellence and topical global knowledge concerning developments in the following areas:
a. Strategic Leadership • Advise the country team on how to address poverty, equity, labor market, fiscal and social issues in country assistance strategies, policy loans, operations, advisory services to client countries, and other country and regional analytic products. • Work with other GPs to help align Bank lending and analytic work to the twin goals.• Provide guidance through peer reviews of poverty assessments, SCDs, regional flagship reports, key policy operations, and other major analytic products.
b. Research and Analytical Services • Lead in the design and implementation of research projects on poverty, equity and shared prosperity, that provide policy relevance guidance. • Supporting Statistics Indonesia to better monitor poverty and other critical social indicators.• Examining how markets and institutions work for poverty reduction, with a focus on:i) Improving opportunities and mobility for the poor and the near poor.ii) Using fiscal and social policies as an instrument to promote greater gender equity, equality of opportunities, poverty reduction and reduce vulnerability.iii) Understanding risk management policies and tools to reduce vulnerability and build resilience.• Manage requests for “rapid response” analytical services from the Government of Indonesia. • Ensuring the implementation of quality assurance systems for all research and analytical activities.
c Policy Action • Oversee the design and delivery of technical assistance to support the government in the reform of policy and programs designed to reduce poverty and inequality. • Promote innovations in Bank development policies, project design, organization and management to improve Bank project and sector work.• Provide intellectual and strategic leadership in developing and disseminating effective approaches for addressing national and sub-national challenges in poverty reduction programs and shared prosperity.
d. Client Engagement • Understand clients’ needs and development challenges, identify entry points for Bank assistance and generate demand for the Bank’s engagement in the above mentioned areas. • Serves as focal point or spokesperson on issues related to poverty, inequality, jobs to clients and other external constituencies and expert economic groups.• Develops and builds client relations at senior levels and plays a promotional role in generation new business for the Bank.
e. Program and Team Management • Manage assigned programmatic approaches and discrete activities. • Manage parents and child trust fund to support program activities.• Establish strategic partnerships with other development organizations and bilateral aid agencies and facilitate access to international experiences to clients in the Region. Suppport strategic fundraising.• Day-to-day team management of a team of approximately 20-25 staff and core consultants. • Mentor staff in their work and disseminate good practice.
Selection Criteria:• A personal commitment to develop, to fight poverty and boost shared prosperity at all levels;• PhD and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience;• Excellent quantitative and analytical background with a proven record of high quality analytical work in the areas outline above, including publications in peer reviewed journals; • Experience on the ground in developing and/or middle-income countries, working successfully with constituencies in both the public and private sectors to promote poverty reduction, gender equity and results based management. • Recognized and respected by peers; demonstrated ability to interact effectively at senior levels in different parts of the Bank, other organizations, client governments and civil society. • Track record of innovation, leadership, and integrity in managing operational programs, analytical work; experience leading and designing capacity building activities is desirable;• Ability to listen and integrate ideas from varied sources, create partnerships, and communicate to diverse constituencies inside and outside the Bank, and an ability to work in teams and across organizational boundaries, respecting the views of others; • Ability to deliver high-quality policy relevant analytic and advisory products within tight deadlines and budgets;• Superb interpersonal skills, proven team orientation and leadership qualities; ability to collaborate effectively with multi-disciplinary teams, governments, NGOs and donors, while being diplomatic and sensitive to cultural, political and gender issues; • Ability to work with staff from all levels and to mentor, coach and motivate junior staff. • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complicated analyses to non-specialist audiences.
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES• General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Possesses a track record of intellectual leadership and ability to integrate economic-specific knowledge and specific micro/sector fields of expertise; provides quality assurance and assesses technical soundness of work/reports.• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Influences the design and execution of major policy and/or research initiatives; conceives and promotes innovations in development policies, project design, organization and management to improve operational and sector work.• Policy Dialogue Skills - Has a track record of conducting effective policy dialogue with country counterparts; communicates and defends difficult issues and positions to senior bank management and government officials.• Integrative Skills - Possesses in-depth understanding of Bank resources in all areas of work in the network, and proven fungibility.• Technical and Quantitative Skills as an Applied Development Microeconomist - Able to participate in high level poverty-related policy discussions related to poverty and inequality reduction, poverty and welfare measurement, national development strategies, monitoring, information and evaluation systems and related areas. • Written and Verbal Communication - Demonstrates a strong command of all forms of communication and delivers messages in a consistently effective, timely and engaging manner• Lead and Innovate - Inspires and influences others to drive innovation.• Deliver Results for Clients - Acts as a trusted, strategic advisor, partnering with clients to deliver results.• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Leads collaboration across WBG and with partners drawing on robust professional networks.• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Establishes an environment where knowledge is created, applied and shared.• Make Smart Decisions - Makes timely decisions that have a broad impact.• Tasks and Workflow Management - Has excellent workflow management and task organization skills; able to take responsibility for all aspects of coordination of the workflow of assigned responsibilities.• Team Leadership - Demonstrates inspirational leadership combined with practical delivery of large-scale Bank initiatives; sought out to mentor other team leaders.• ESW/TA Policy, Strategic and Technical Analysis for Country/Sector Issues - Leads through AAA work the analysis of key development issues; demonstrated ability to draw policy options underpinned by solid analytic basis and that are attuned to specific country circumstances.• Communicating and Sharing Findings, Knowledge & Expertise in Monitoring and/or Evaluation - Makes high impact, results-oriented presentations & speeches to appropriate decision-makers & influencers. Uses communication opportunities to raise awareness & promote transparency of evaluation processes, build participation & ownership of findings.
The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Location: Jakarta
Closing Date: 16-Jul-2015
Background / General description:
THE WORLD BANK GROUP
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2014, the WBG committed $65.6 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $22.2 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.
The World Bank Group (WBG) twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity reflect a new global landscape: one in which developing countries have an unprecedented opportunity to end extreme poverty within a generation. The Poverty Global Practice plays a central role in the achievement of this goal.
THE POVERTY GLOBAL PRACTICE
The Poverty GP a family of integratively-oriented and versatile empirical microeconomists with deep expertise in household surveys and poverty measurement, and broad experience in using household and other “micro” data to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs to reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity. We work with government and external partners, at the country-level and globally, in ensuring that their efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity are enhanced by integrative empirically-grounded analyses of household welfare. Internally, we work with country, regional and global teams across all practices to operationalize the twin goals of the WBG—to reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity—by providing a more robust evidence base and analytics using micro data.
The country-level work of the poverty global practice typically falls under one or more of the following three streams:
- Laying the foundations for evidence-based policy by strengthening data on household welfare: this is the foundational work, mostly delivered through TA and occasionally through statistical capacity-building investment operations, to support the design and implementation of household surveys, provide advice on best-practice methodologies for estimating household welfare, poverty, and shared prosperity, and build capacity and strengthen country systems for collecting data on and monitoring household welfare.
- Defining the agenda through integrative analysis and dialogue: this stream of work has focused on using the household-level data, wherever available, to undertake integrative analyses and at times, DPOs, to inform the policy dialogue and advance the poverty reduction and shared prosperity agenda and priorities at the regional, national and occasionally sub-national levels.
- Delivering operational solutions: this stream of work focuses on collaborating with internal and external partners to translate the upstream analytics into concrete implementable measures and support the implementation of particular interventions aimed at reducing poverty.
THE POVERTY GLOBAL PRACTICE IN INDONESIA
The World Bank’s Indonesia program is one of its largest in the world with activities that include an active program of engagement with central economic ministries, community driven development, education and infrastructure. Lending is currently around US$2 billion a year distributed over a broad mix of program, sector and investment loans. In addition there are a large number of Trust Funds to support work in a range of sectors including education, investment, poverty and social protection. To support the Government policy agenda the mission also has a very large program of analytical and advisory activities (AAA) that is integrated into lending and technical assistance activities.
The World Bank is helping to strengthen national efforts to reduce poverty and vulnerability by supporting the Government of Indonesia in making informed and evidence-based policy and program decisions. Support focuses on: i) providing research and analytical services on issues related to poverty and inequality, as well as the policy areas related to job creation and social assistance, and; ii) supporting the government translating analytical findings into actions concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of poverty reduction programs, social assistance, labor market reforms, and other policies that serve to reduce poverty and inequality.
Two programs have been established to support this agenda: the “Partnership for Knowledge-based Poverty Reduction,” and “Delivering Work Opportunities for All Indonesians: An Engagement Program.” Both programs are financed by a multi-donor programmatic trust fund for Indonesia.
We are looking for a Lead Economist (Poverty) to provide strategic and intellectual leadership for the Poverty GP in Indonesia, and working alongside other GPs engaging on the thematic issues of poverty, inequality, job creation, and social assistance.
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 Lead Economist (Poverty) will take a prominent role in establishing the Bank’s reputation for excellence and topical global knowledge concerning developments in the following areas:
a. Strategic Leadership • Advise the country team on how to address poverty, equity, labor market, fiscal and social issues in country assistance strategies, policy loans, operations, advisory services to client countries, and other country and regional analytic products. • Work with other GPs to help align Bank lending and analytic work to the twin goals.• Provide guidance through peer reviews of poverty assessments, SCDs, regional flagship reports, key policy operations, and other major analytic products.
b. Research and Analytical Services • Lead in the design and implementation of research projects on poverty, equity and shared prosperity, that provide policy relevance guidance. • Supporting Statistics Indonesia to better monitor poverty and other critical social indicators.• Examining how markets and institutions work for poverty reduction, with a focus on:i) Improving opportunities and mobility for the poor and the near poor.ii) Using fiscal and social policies as an instrument to promote greater gender equity, equality of opportunities, poverty reduction and reduce vulnerability.iii) Understanding risk management policies and tools to reduce vulnerability and build resilience.• Manage requests for “rapid response” analytical services from the Government of Indonesia. • Ensuring the implementation of quality assurance systems for all research and analytical activities.
c Policy Action • Oversee the design and delivery of technical assistance to support the government in the reform of policy and programs designed to reduce poverty and inequality. • Promote innovations in Bank development policies, project design, organization and management to improve Bank project and sector work.• Provide intellectual and strategic leadership in developing and disseminating effective approaches for addressing national and sub-national challenges in poverty reduction programs and shared prosperity.
d. Client Engagement • Understand clients’ needs and development challenges, identify entry points for Bank assistance and generate demand for the Bank’s engagement in the above mentioned areas. • Serves as focal point or spokesperson on issues related to poverty, inequality, jobs to clients and other external constituencies and expert economic groups.• Develops and builds client relations at senior levels and plays a promotional role in generation new business for the Bank.
e. Program and Team Management • Manage assigned programmatic approaches and discrete activities. • Manage parents and child trust fund to support program activities.• Establish strategic partnerships with other development organizations and bilateral aid agencies and facilitate access to international experiences to clients in the Region. Suppport strategic fundraising.• Day-to-day team management of a team of approximately 20-25 staff and core consultants. • Mentor staff in their work and disseminate good practice.
Selection Criteria:• A personal commitment to develop, to fight poverty and boost shared prosperity at all levels;• PhD and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience;• Excellent quantitative and analytical background with a proven record of high quality analytical work in the areas outline above, including publications in peer reviewed journals; • Experience on the ground in developing and/or middle-income countries, working successfully with constituencies in both the public and private sectors to promote poverty reduction, gender equity and results based management. • Recognized and respected by peers; demonstrated ability to interact effectively at senior levels in different parts of the Bank, other organizations, client governments and civil society. • Track record of innovation, leadership, and integrity in managing operational programs, analytical work; experience leading and designing capacity building activities is desirable;• Ability to listen and integrate ideas from varied sources, create partnerships, and communicate to diverse constituencies inside and outside the Bank, and an ability to work in teams and across organizational boundaries, respecting the views of others; • Ability to deliver high-quality policy relevant analytic and advisory products within tight deadlines and budgets;• Superb interpersonal skills, proven team orientation and leadership qualities; ability to collaborate effectively with multi-disciplinary teams, governments, NGOs and donors, while being diplomatic and sensitive to cultural, political and gender issues; • Ability to work with staff from all levels and to mentor, coach and motivate junior staff. • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complicated analyses to non-specialist audiences.
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES• General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Possesses a track record of intellectual leadership and ability to integrate economic-specific knowledge and specific micro/sector fields of expertise; provides quality assurance and assesses technical soundness of work/reports.• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Influences the design and execution of major policy and/or research initiatives; conceives and promotes innovations in development policies, project design, organization and management to improve operational and sector work.• Policy Dialogue Skills - Has a track record of conducting effective policy dialogue with country counterparts; communicates and defends difficult issues and positions to senior bank management and government officials.• Integrative Skills - Possesses in-depth understanding of Bank resources in all areas of work in the network, and proven fungibility.• Technical and Quantitative Skills as an Applied Development Microeconomist - Able to participate in high level poverty-related policy discussions related to poverty and inequality reduction, poverty and welfare measurement, national development strategies, monitoring, information and evaluation systems and related areas. • Written and Verbal Communication - Demonstrates a strong command of all forms of communication and delivers messages in a consistently effective, timely and engaging manner• Lead and Innovate - Inspires and influences others to drive innovation.• Deliver Results for Clients - Acts as a trusted, strategic advisor, partnering with clients to deliver results.• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Leads collaboration across WBG and with partners drawing on robust professional networks.• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Establishes an environment where knowledge is created, applied and shared.• Make Smart Decisions - Makes timely decisions that have a broad impact.• Tasks and Workflow Management - Has excellent workflow management and task organization skills; able to take responsibility for all aspects of coordination of the workflow of assigned responsibilities.• Team Leadership - Demonstrates inspirational leadership combined with practical delivery of large-scale Bank initiatives; sought out to mentor other team leaders.• ESW/TA Policy, Strategic and Technical Analysis for Country/Sector Issues - Leads through AAA work the analysis of key development issues; demonstrated ability to draw policy options underpinned by solid analytic basis and that are attuned to specific country circumstances.• Communicating and Sharing Findings, Knowledge & Expertise in Monitoring and/or Evaluation - Makes high impact, results-oriented presentations & speeches to appropriate decision-makers & influencers. Uses communication opportunities to raise awareness & promote transparency of evaluation processes, build participation & ownership of findings.
The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
