Job: Economist

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Closing Date: Sunday, 08 December 2013

Background / General description:

1. Background

Indonesia has enjoyed robust economic growth of around six percent and has the potential to accelerate performance further. The ratio of investment over GDP in 2012 reached 33 percent, higher than before the 1998 crisis. Growth in consumption remained strong, contributing nearly 40 percent of total economic growth. While exports have recently weakened, net foreign direct investment (FDI) flows achieved a record high of $23 billion in 2012. Exporting $200 billion of goods in 2011, Indonesia is also a major exporter and ranked in the top 25 of global exporters. A large domestic market, the availability of natural resources, an emerging middle class, and a large young labor force provide Indonesia the ingredients to accelerated economic growth and the transition toward an upper-middle income country.

Progress on structural reforms, including that of strengthening trade and investment competitiveness, will have a significant impact on growth outlook and development outcome of Indonesia. To the extent that the economy is currently adjusting to external and macroeconomic pressures, reforms to strengthen competitiveness will help the economy to respond to emerging opportunities. Bottlenecks in logistics and uncertainties in regulatory regime have prevented Indonesia to attract more FDI inflow and slowed down the process of moving up the value chain in exports which is highly exposed to commodity price swing. Similar challenges are also hindering Indonesia's from creating more jobs that maximize its demographic dividend. Meanwhile, reform process have become more complex due to fragmented institutional set up and increased political participation.

At the request of the Government of Indonesia (GoI), the World Bank has established a program to support efforts to strengthen reform to improve trade and investment competitiveness. The Competitiveness Cluster at the World Bank office in Indonesia is engaged in undertaking analytical work and policy dialogue on three major areas that are influencing trade and investment competitiveness in Indonesia:

(i) business environment,

(ii) connectivity and trade logistics, and

(iii) managing economic integration. Under these engagements the Cluster seeks to promote partnership with Indonesian institutions, fill in the knowledge gap with high-quality analytical pieces, and support implementation of policy reforms. Through the production of analytical pieces, the team seeks to engage in policy dialogue with relevant stakeholders to help clients advance their trade and investment reform agenda to improve economic competitiveness.

Several key development partners have been providing support for the Bank to implement program to address competitiveness issue. The Multi-Partner Facility on Trade and Investment Climate (MPFTIC) is the primary resources to support activities of the Competitiveness Cluster. The Netherlands, SECO, and USAID are development partners that have committed to provide USD 7.7 million to support engagement on competitiveness that rests on the above major three areas.

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 2 year term appointment. Note: A potential candidate has been identified and intends to apply for this position. However, this remains a competitive process and interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

Duties and Accountabilities:

2. Job Description

The Competitive Cluster of the World Bank office in Indonesia is seeking to recruit an Economist to work on cross-cutting theme on trade and investment competitiveness as well as to provide lead support in managing the Cluster.

The primary objectives of the Economist are to

(i) provide substantive analytical input on policy issues pertaining to economic competitiveness,

(ii) lead some of the key engagements, and

(iii) provide substantive input on the management of the Cluster. The Economist is expected to engage frequently with government counterparts, private sector organizations, think-tank/universities, and development partners to advance policy dialogue over reforms that have an impact on competitiveness.

The Economist will report to a World Bank Senior Economist who is leading the Competitive Cluster and supervised by World Bank Lead Economist for the Indonesia country office.

3. Main Duties and Responsibilities

Analytical Input

• Provide a lead support on the design and implementation of analytical researches on policy issues surrounding reforms to strengthen trade and investment competitiveness
• Lead development and implementation of analytical work on policy issues on managing economic integration. This includes, among others, topics such as regional economic integration, international economic fora, regulatory reform, and general trade policies
• Provide substantive inputs on the findings and interpretation of analytical work
• Translate findings of analytical work into clear key messages that are useful for policy dialogue with the government and/or communication with broader stakeholders

Policy Dialogue and Engagement

• Provide substantive input on the design and implementation of policy dialogue on trade and investment competitiveness with relevant stakeholders
• Lead in providing inputs to government counterparts to develop and implement strategy for coordinating and internalizing their international economic engagement into domestic reform agenda.
• Provide lead support in the organization of dialogue forums and workshops

Management of Competitive Cluster

• Provide a lead support to the Cluster leader in strategic management of Competitive Cluster
• Provide lead support for communication and engagement with development partners through MPFTIC Secretariat

Other Tasks

• Assist in building capacity in government and non-government institutions
• Coach and mentor junior team members;
• Prepare and conduct internal training and presentations on selected topics;
• Represent the World Bank, as needed, at public forums and meetings;
• Contribute to Cluster planning, budgeting and reporting;
• Other tasks as requested by the Cluster Lead.

Selection Criteria:

4. Selection Criteria

The successful applicant for the Economist position will meet the following qualifications:

• Personal commitment to issues of poverty reduction, shared prosperity and competitive environment;
• Graduate degree in Economics, Public Policies or related subjects and at least 5 years of relevant work experience (e.g. policy research, public dialogue, program management); or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Strong analytical skills in macroeconomics and public policy issues;
• Familiarity with standard econometric/statistics software packages (such as Excel and STATA/Eviews);
• Full proficiency in English speaking and writing with effective verbal and written communication skills;
• Previous experience working with the government, preferably in conjunction with World Bank projects;
• Highly effective communication skills; able to persuasively communicate in English; demonstrated high quality of written and verbal communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills, with the capacity to influence across organizational and multicultural boundaries;
• Demonstrated commitment to teamwork and knowledge sharing, and working with multidisciplinary teams;
• Knowledge of political economy of reform in Indonesia is an asset.
• 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.

5. Contract Details

The successful Economist will be offered a GF local term contract.

The duration of the contract will be for two years, with the possibility of a further extension, depending on performance assessments and availability of financing.

The Economist will be based in Jakarta.

More Info and Application