Senior Trade Economist

Jakarta

Organization: World Bank Group
Location: Jakarta
Grade: Level not specified - Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
- Economics
- Sustainable trade and development
Closing Date: 2025-08-04

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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 and promoting shared prosperity. 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.

Regional context

We need the greatest talent focused on our region in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. The East Asia and the Pacific Region (EAP) has made the fastest progress in economic growth and poverty reduction of any region in the last quarter-century!

Despite this progress, the EAP region still faces huge development challenges. A large portion of the region’s population remains vulnerable to income shocks, including from a global economic slowdown, changing global and regional value-chains, and climate-related risks.

EAP was the first region to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic which has provoked both an unprecedented health crisis and a severe economic shock in the region. Poverty in our region is expected to rise for the first time in over 4 decades.

Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID!

East Asia and the Pacific Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap

Roles and Responsibilities

We are seeking to recruit a highly qualified candidate for the position of Senior Trade Economist for Indonesia and Timor-Leste. The Indonesia MTI team is the largest in the Bank with 12 staff members based in Jakarta and several consultants. The work program is substantial and comprises of 4 pillars, including (1) Macro; (2) Fiscal; (3) Trade and Competitiveness and (4) Climate. The Timor-Leste program consists of a Senior Country Economist and a Research Analyst.

You would report to the MTI Practice Manager, in coordination with the Lead Economist, leading the oversees the trade, competitiveness, and logistics program in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, as part of the broader structural reform agenda. The Indonesia trade program is extensive and dynamic, including substantive and constructive engagement with government and non-government stakeholders. There is extensive dialogue with the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of National Development Planning, and the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs. Recent priority areas have been non-tariff measures, services competitiveness, industrial policies, logistics performance, and green competitiveness. In FY26, there will be opportunities to reframe the engagement in line with the priorities of the new administration that took office in October 2024. The counterpart is keen on policy reform to boost exports and enhance trade's role in achieving high-income status. Promising reform areas relate to logistics performance and greening trade policies, which could be supported by potential DPO operations in the pipeline. You would also lead/add value to other MTI Pillars, DPOs and ASAs, depending on business need. In Timor-Leste, there are opportunities to advance the post-WTO accession and ASEAN membership agenda, leveraging the team's recent work in the CEM and TA for WTO accession.

This is a high-profile position within the Indonesia country team. The Senior Economist engages regularly with other GPs on substantive topics. They build and maintain networks across key economic agencies. The Senior Economist works and leads on cutting edge policy issues in one of the largest emerging market economies in the world. MTI Indonesia’s work has great visibility within the region and across the Bank.

We do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.

Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.

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