Senior Country Economist

The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org  

The Global Practice for Economic Policy (EP):

The Economic Policy Global Practice leads the World Bank Group’s dialogue and engagement with clients in macroeconomics, economic growth, fiscal policy, and trade. EP links the macroeconomic dialogue with programs focused on expanding the role of the private sector in economic development and job creation. In our day-to-day engagement with countries, we support Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, as well as Ministers of Economy, Planning, Trade, and Production in their pursuit of reform agendas conducive to faster, more inclusive, and resilient growth.

Economic Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa:

We are looking for a skilled and energetic Senior Country Economist based in Washington, D.C., who is passionate about tackling complex development challenges, comfortable working in a fluid operating environment, has technical breadth and depth, strong results and integrative orientation, and effective policy dialogue skills.

The Senior Country Economist will report to the EP Practice Manager for the EAEM2 unit. The EAEM2 unit comprises 14 countries over three Country Management Units: AECS1 (South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia), AECS2 (Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros), and AECE3 (Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan).

The selected candidate will lead and contribute to operations, analytical work, and advisory services. The unit has recently seen a significant increase in the work program, including through Development Policy Operations (DPOs) and advisory services in countries that had previously not been borrowing. The work program promotes structural reforms for economic transformation, job creation, and prudent macro-fiscal policies.

As a Senior Country Economist for EAEM2, you will contribute to the policy dialogue on development, focusing on economic growth and macro-fiscal issues in selected countries. You will engage in policy dialogue, lead analytical work, and contribute to lending operations, working closely with the Country Director and the Country Management Unit. 

• Lead the macro-fiscal, growth, and structural reform dialogue, in close coordination with government counterparts, the IMF, development partners, and country stakeholders;
  
• Contribute to EP core deliverables including Development Policy Operations (DPOs) and other lending operations, core advisory services and analytics (ASAs), including Country Growth and Jobs Reports (CGJRs), Public Finance Reviews (PFRs), Economic Updates, Regional Flagships, and policy notes on a wide range of issues such as fiscal efficiency and sustainability, productivity, revenue mobilization, public spending quality, and economic transformation for jobs.
  
• Provide analytical inputs to advise the Country Management Unit (CMU) on country strategic engagement and economic policy issues, including through active participation in key review meetings; 
  
• Contribute to developing state-of-the-art approaches in applied economic analysis relevant to operations and analytical work.
  
• Supports the Practice Manager and the Prosperity Management Team on strategic engagements through corporate briefs, presentations, and policy notes.