Job: Lead Economist

Location: Washington 
Deadline: Tuesday, 15 October 2013 

Description

Background / General description:

Africa's economic development has traditionally been marked by substantial economic volatility. As with any other region, a careful monitoring of trends and fluctuations in output and employment levels, consumer prices, fiscal balances, and current account balances is essential to good economic management. The need for monitoring and understanding macroeconomic fluctuations is made even more important in a context where significant natural resource discoveries are changing production and export patterns in many countries, at a time when commodity prices and international capital flows are volatile.

Against this background the Africa Chief Economist Office (AFRCE) is seeking to recruit a highly qualified candidate for the position of Lead Economist, with a focus on open economy macroeconomics, based in Washington, DC. The Africa Chief Economist Office plays a key role in monitoring Africa's economic progress, and promoting sound economic analysis of its development challenges. It builds on and seeks to contribute to knowledge and understanding of African economies, so as to inform the debate on sound economic policies that will accelerate poverty reduction and boost shared prosperity in client countries.

The successful candidate will be mapped to the Africa Region's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) and report to Francisco H.G. Ferreira, Sr. Advisor in AFRCE.

The Lead Economist will be responsible for building and overseeing a systematic process of macroeconomic monitoring for the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The process will include the building of a database of country-level macroeconomic variables, as well as advanced economic analysis of trends and fluctuations in those key variables. This analysis will build into regular bi-annual summary reports, as well as more in-depth analytical pieces linked to the Regional Studies Program

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 will:

• Lead AFRCE efforts to monitor and analyze macroeconomic trends and fluctuations in African economies;
• Build a database of time-series variables on output, employment, prices, fiscal balances, current and capital account flows, exchange rate movements and financial variables, to inform the above analysis
• Collaborate with other team members in the production of the bi-annual Africa Pulse publication
• Lead high-quality analytical work on important macroeconomic issues affecting Africa's development, with a view to publication in regional studies, or externally refereed publications.

Selection Criteria:

In addition to the bank-wide criteria listed below, we are seeking a solid track record of experience and skills in the following areas:

• A PhD in Economics plus 12 years of directly related experience.
• A solid track record of publications in refereed journals in Economics,
• A proven record of intellectual leadership in the areas of open economy macroeconomics and/or international economics
• Experience with an array of developing countries (preferably including some exposure to Africa) spanning low and middle income and levels of institutional capacity;
• High energy and results orientation;
• Proven track record of teamwork and leadership;
• Proven strong interpersonal and client skills.

COMPETENCIES

• Strong 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.
• Deep 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.
• Integrative Skills - Possesses in-depth understanding of Bank resources in various areas of work in macroeconomics.
• Team Leadership - Demonstrates inspirational leadership combined with practical delivery of large-scale Bank initiatives; sought out to mentor other team leaders.
• Drive for Results - Ensures successful implementation and delivery of key programs and projects, ensuring that outputs positively impact results.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Creates a team climate of practical and innovative action, facilitating collaboration between competing interests and stakeholders.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Demonstrates command of all forms of communication and presents in a clear, objective and engaging manner in high-level settings; ensures knowledge is captured and shared in a variety of ways.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Serves as a trusted advisor to others on their decisions, ensuring alignment across units and optimal impact on the organization as a whole.

More Info and Application