Economist

Job Title:Economist
Job Family:Economic Policy
Location:Gaza, West Bank and Gaza
Appointment:Local Hire
Closing Date:04-Jul-2011
Language Requirements    Arabic [Essential]; English [Essential]
   
Background / General description

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. Only applicants selected for interview will be contacted.  The Bank attaches particular importance to creating a supportive work environment, based on the values of teamwork, transparency, trust, client service and professional excellence. Staff is expected to be guided by these values as well as to possess the following attributes:
-Collegiality, creativeness, resourcefulness;
-Good listening and communications skills;
-Intellectual and personal integrity and competence;
-Willingness and ability to work in teams;
-Commitment to clients.

The Social and Economic Development Group of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNSED) has responsibility for economic policy, trade, poverty, public sector and governance, gender, private sector development and finance. MNSED comprises two units: public sector and governance, and poverty reduction and economic monitoring (MNSPR). The work program --consisting of lending operations and a large AAA portfolio -- and the approximately 70 staff and consultants located in headquarters and country offices are managed by two Sector Managers under the guidance of a Sector Director.

MNSPR is seeking a local economist based in the World Bank Jerusalem Office to contribute to carrying out the West Bank and Gaza PREM work program. S/he will have analytical responsibilities and provide support for a variety of economic tasks on West Bank and Gaza and the Middle East and North Africa (e.g., economic analyses, participation in economic policy dialogue and outreach).  The Economist will be part of the World Bank’s Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction group for the Middle East and North Africa (MNSPR), and report to the MNSPR Sector Manager. The successful candidate will work within our Jerusalem based economic team, led by a Lead Economist. This is a GF level, local term appointment for a 2 year period.

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 renewable term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities :

-Prepare briefs and analytical notes, and draft some sections of analytical reports.
-Contribute to technical reports and help conduct economic research on macroeconomic related issues, particularly on the Palestinian Authority budget.
-Contribute to the preparation and monitoring of Development Policy Grants and to the monitoring of reforms related to the PRDP multi-donor Trust Fund.
-Analyze general data of macroeconomic and sectoral trends.
-Update and review the World Bank West Bank and Gaza data files.
-Contribute to the preparation of Economic and Sector Work (ESW).
-Contribute to a bi-annual Economic Monitoring Report

Selection Criteria :

In addition to these Bank-wide criteria, the successful candidate for this position should have demonstrated experience in interacting with senior Palestinian government officials or private sector representatives.  The selected candidate should possess superior technical skills on macroeconomic analysis and excellent integrative skills across sectors. 
Other selection criteria include:

-Advanced degree in Economics or related fields with two to three years of relevant professional experience.
-Proven sense of initiative, results orientation as well as effective teamwork skills.
-Strong communication skills, including the ability to write clearly on economic subjects in English. 
-Knowledge and ability to work with sources of economic data for West Bank and Gaza, including the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian Monetary Authority and the International Monetary Fund.
-Familiarity with EXCEL and econometric software such as SPSS or Stata.
-Familiarity with World Bank databases is highly desirable.
-Fluency in English and written Arabic is required.  Knowledge of Hebrew is desirable.
-A deep knowledge of the unique Palestinian context is essential.
-Willingness to visit and work in Gaza.

Qualified candidates are invited to apply online. Only shortlisted applicants will be
notified. The closing date of the job announcement is July 4, 2011.

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