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Job: Economist

, , , , 04:15
Location: Washington 
Deadline: Thursday, 24 October 2013 

 Description
Background / General description:
DECIE is seeking to recruit impact evaluation economist(s). We seek candidates with interests in empirical field research in developing countries; strong technical skills in the area of impact evaluation and micro-econometrics, and the interest and ability to communicate technical knowledge and expertise in a policy environment.
Background
Development Impact Evaluation (DECIE) is a unit of the World Bank's Development Research Group, which houses DIME, a crosscutting program of the World Bank. DIME's purpose is to increase the use of impact evaluation (IE) in the design and implementation of public policy and to develop institutional capacity and motivation for evidence-based policy.
DECIE's work focuses on three areas:
  • Evaluating programs at scale to answer policy-relevant questions;
  • Building capacity to strengthen country institutions for evidence-based policymaking;
  • Building theory on mechanisms in strategic development areas based on high-quality evidence. 
    DECIE aims to overcome the challenge to identify true cause-and-effect relations in policy programs. By linking researchers to policymakers and feeding results back into policies, DECIE fosters systematic use of evidence, which informs adoption, mid-course corrections, and scale-up of policies. Through workshops and clinics with operational staff and government clients, joint research teams, active field coordination, as well as research products such as seminars, papers, and policy briefs, DECIE builds capacity while forming a wider community practice.
     
    DECIE accompanies impact evaluations during their entire life-cycle. It starts with assessing demand, identifying research questions, defining the best identification strategy, as well as supporting project implementation, high quality data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results.
     
    With a portfolio of more than 150 impact evaluations, DECIE operates across all sectors in 47 countries spanning the globe. The IEs test a variety of delivery and behavioral mechanisms, to understand why policy succeeds or fail and how to improve policy design and implementation to obtain better results. By working prospectively in collaboration with the clients, DIME employs experimental methods to infer causality whenever possible (79% of the portfolio). 17% of DIME IEs utilize non-experimental methods, while 4% use a combination of the two. From 2009 to 2013 DIME organized 19 IE workshops, training 1,774 people in 231 teams consisting of Bank staff, government clients, donors and academics. This effort resulted in 231 initial concept notes of which 84% are implementing an impact evaluation. More information can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/dime
     
    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 5 year term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The Economist [(s) You mentioned before you are looking for economist(s)] will be reporting to the manager of DECIE in the Bank's Research Group, and contribute to the expanding IE agenda in the Bank, carrying out the following specific responsibilities:
  • Engaging and working with government counterparts, and country and project teams in the development of impact evaluation products;
  • Coordinating support to and development of major impact evaluation sector and country programs, working in partnership with the operational departments, DEC researchers, external academics, and donors;
  • Providing intellectual guidance and advice on the use of impact evaluation techniques to define appropriate evaluation questions, and identification and data generation strategies;
  • Conducting and leading analytical work;
  • Supporting impact evaluation implementation and quality assurance of data collection;
  • Championing innovation in client capacity to develop and implement programs on impact evaluation;
  • Producing dissemination products including policy notes and papers, and conducting policy discussions on the Bank-wide agenda on impact evaluation;
  • Disseminating results among clients, Bank's staff, and global communities of practice;
  • Preparing progress reports to management and donors.
Selection Criteria:
  • Candidates must meet the generic criteria for international level GF;
  • An MA or PhD in economics (or equivalent) and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in development economics; impact evaluation and economic analysis; microeconomic data; development policies, projects and programs, and analytical work;
  • Ability to think strategically and integrate strategies and policies into programs and projects on the ground, and successfully develop operationally relevant analytical products;
  • In depth understanding and experience of impact evaluation as an analytical and policymaking tool;
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and implement complex tasks, including a track record of building partnerships and collaborations across institutional boundaries;
  • Excellent analytical and quantitative skills;
  • Behavioral competencies that facilitate dialogue with country partners and country teams, including listening skills, training and capacity development skills, and ability to adapt advice to the local institutional realities;
  • Knowledge of the World Bank's operations and business processes highly desirable;
  • Good mentoring and coaching skills;
  • Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and ability to influence across organizational boundaries;
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are essential; knowledge of French, Spanish and/or Portuguese is an advantage.
Competencies:
  • General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Possesses a demonstrated track record of working with economic and sectoral data and analytical tools and models to conduct economic analyses and produce user-friendly written outputs; understands underlying statistical concepts.
  • 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 plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
  • Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector.
  • Macroeconomic Skills and Country Economics Experience - Demonstrates basic macroeconomic modeling skills and knowledge; understands how different accounts in an economy fit together and links among real, monetary, trade, debt and balance of payments accounts.
  • Written and Verbal Communication - Delivers information effectively in support of team or workgroup
  • Client Orientation - Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
  • Drive for Results - Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so.
  • Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
  • Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner.
  • Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work.
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