World Bank Recruitment In Kenya : Poverty Economist

World Bank Recruitment In Kenya : Poverty Economist
Location: Kenya
Description:
Job # 102249
Job Title POVERTY ECONOMIST (RWANDA)
Job Family Poverty Reduction
Location Kigali, Rwanda
Appointment Local Hire
Closing Date 29-Nov-2010
Language Requirements English [Essential]; French [Desired]
Appointment Type

Background / General description
   1. The World Bank is seeking applications for co-terminous Poverty Economist position. The position will be located in Rwanda country office, and will be remunerated according to the local salary scale. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) have become the main instrument for country-led development strategies in low income countries. As noted in the recently concluded UN Summit of September 2010, progress has been achieved in several areas, including a clearer focus on results (especially with respect to the Millennium Development Goals) and a better alignment of external assistance. On the other hand, many PRSPs are not explicit enough in terms of the key priorities and tradeoffs involved in policy making and budgetary allocations. Some of the main areas for strengthening the PRSPs include more attention to public expenditure management (i.e., better linkages of the PRSP to the budget) a more systematic use of poverty and social impact analysis as a tool for assessing the distributional impacts of policies, and wider participation in program formulation, monitoring and evaluation by various segments of society including civil society organizations. To support the PRS preparations, the Belgian and Luxemburg Governments, through their respective development cooperation agencies, established Belgian and Luxemburg Partnership for Poverty Reduction (BPRP and LPRP) Trust Funds. The BPRP and LPRP are Trust Funds managed by the World Bank to support preparation and implementation of PRSPs in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Niger, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. The key priorities of these Trust Funds (TFs) are: to achieve a closer collaboration on the ground between the World Bank and the Government units designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction policies and programs in the partner countries and at the sub-regional level;
   2. to scale-up the analytical work funded by the TFs in order to better inform the PRSPs and their implementation, with a focus on improving poverty diagnostic work, conducting poverty and social impact analysis (PSIAs) of major reforms and policies, and reinforcing the links between the PRSPs and the budget (including work on Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks within the context of the Millennium Development Goals);
   3. and to scale-up capacity building initiatives for Government staff and Ministries, and where necessary other stakeholders such as civil society NGOs and parliaments, with again a focus on poverty diagnostic work, PSIAs, and the analysis of the links between PRSPs and the budget. The emphasis on capacity building and close collaboration with Government planning units connected with the implementation of PRSPs will be especially important for the position. In addition, the ability of the poverty economist to work well in teams and contribute to the broader PREM and Country team program in the country will also be essential.
  
  Duties and Accountabilities
      The precise work program of the candidates will be discussed with the World Bank’s Lead Poverty Economist for the relevant country in coordination with Country and Sector Managers, and the Government units in charge of the PRSPs in these countries. It is expected that there will be two main areas of work: – Economic analysis of growth and poverty reduction: The candidates will perform or supervise high quality analytical work using household and firm surveys in order to analyze household behavior and choices as they relate to poverty and the Millenium Development Goals. This implies using advanced quantitative methods to measure poverty, analyze its determinants, and assess the relationships between poverty and other basic indicators of well-being (e.g., assessing the determinants of education, health, and basic infrastructure indicators) but could also involve qualitative work. The work will include the analysis of the impact of interventions and policy reforms on poverty (Poverty and Social Impact Analysis), the impact of public expenditures on poverty reduction as well as the design of improved data systems for poverty monitoring. – Implementation of PRSPs: All partner countries have a completed PRSP, and some are in the process of preparing a new poverty and growth strategy. Depending on their abilities, skills and background, the candidates may be called upon to advise on ways to advocate for and facilitate the implementation of poverty reducing policies, and ensure a better interaction between academia, civil society and implementing agencies such as Ministries. Overall, while strong quantitative skills are a requirement for the work of the poverty economist, an ability to also supervise and/or integrate qualitative work/findings into the analysis is an advantage. An ability to work with and contribute to broader World Bank country teams in order to identify key bottlenecks for PRSP implementation to collaborate with colleagues working on public expenditure reviews and translate analytical findings into practical policy suggestions is important. The work areas outlined above require close collaboration with World Bank staff on the one hand, especially the PREM team for each country, but also other teams including civil society organizations and others non-state actors, and with Government staff on the other hand, especially those working in the Government’s PRSP units and National Statistical Offices. Depending on the candidacies received for the positions, a mix of candidates with different skills may be selected, so that the candidates would complement one another in terms of expertise and could (depending on needs) provide support to PRSP units in more than one of the partner countries as well as to the broader Bank country teams in their specific areas of expertise.

      Selection Criteria
      - Personal commitment to fight poverty – MA or preferably PhD in Economics, with at least 8 years of relevant professional experience if the candidate is hired at the equivalent of a Senior Economist level (at least 5 years of experience for an economist level position, in case no appropriate candidate is found at the senior economist level). – Ability to work well in teams, and willingness to contribute to the success of the broader PREM and country team program in the country in relationship with PRSP preparation and implementation – Demonstrated capacity and potential to conceptualize, innovate, and analyze issues related to poverty reduction, willingness to take part in operational tasks, including support to capacity building activities and demonstrated track record of policy dialogue with senior government officials and the task management of economic and sector reports. – Extensive experience in the design of household surveys and analysis of household survey-based analysis of poverty, including poverty measurement, the evaluation of poverty reduction policies, work on income distribution and labor markets, and work on the relationships between poverty and outcomes in the areas of education, health, and basic infrastructure. Experience with related social and gender issues is a plus. – Experience in the analysis of the macroeconomic aspects of poverty reduction, especially the link between PRSPs and the budget through Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks. Experience in fiscal and debt sustainability and in the costing of Poverty Reduction Strategies is a plus. Experience in micro-macro simulation techniques, and/or in the analysis of the sources of growth, is also a plus.