Job Vacancies The World Bank, May 2012

Job Vacancies The World Bank
Position: Public finance specialist
Location: United States of America ( The ), Washington
Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Background / General description
Regional Context The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region comprises of 30 extremely diverse clients, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Four of our clients are IDA only and another 5 are IDA blend countries. The remaining 21 are IBRD credit-worthy though not all have active lending programs. Although 10 of our clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or lending services. CASs/CPSs reflect this diversity with substantial variation in lending prospects, but strong demand for Bank technical services is present across the board. Over the last 20 years of transition, ECA countries have integrated into the global economy across many dimensions such as trade, finance, and labor flows. GDP in the Region grew by two-thirds from 2000 to 2008. However, ECA was hit the hardest by the global economic crisis compared to the other regions in the Bank. Growth in the Region, which had peaked at about 7 percent in 2007, fell to a negative 6 percent in 2009. The financial and economic crisis led to a substantial increase in Bank lending and knowledge activities in all ECA countries, including in several EU members states. The crisis helped serve as a powerful reminder of the relevance of the Bank both as an attractive source of funding and a reliable provider of timely and quality advice. It is projected that ECA is going to be the slowest region to recover from the crisis. Growth in 2010 reached about 4 percent, and prospects for 2011– 13 are only slightly better. Based on this changing context, the new ECA strategy is focused on developing a new growth model for the region through: 1. Increasing competitiveness to achieve faster growth. 2. Pursuing social sector reforms and fiscal adjustment to achieve more inclusive growth. 3. Supporting climate action to achieve more sustainable growth. Even while declining from the heights of the crisis, we expect demand for our lending and advisory services post-crisis to remain strong. But we are constrained in our capacity to respond given budget constraints and a limited IDA and IBRD resource environment. This requires an increased results focus to help direct our resources to where they will have the greatest impact, along with continued emphasis on leveraging partnerships and expanding our fee for services activities in MICs, building on the successful experience in Russia. Background The Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit (ECSPE) in the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) handles the Region’s work on economic policy, governance and public sector management, poverty, and gender. It is composed of approximately 98 staff of which about 40 are located in country offices. ECSPE carries out a large and diverse work program of lending and analytic work for the Region. The Department comprises three macroeconomic groups and two thematic groups on poverty and gender, and public sector management. There are four sector managers with one sector manager having responsibility for public sector management and political economy and governance issues. The advertised position is with the Public Sector and Institutional Reform group which consists of around 25 public sector specialists. The group is responsible for public sector, governance and political economy issues for the entire ECA region, and has active business lines covering political economy, governance, public administration and civil service, public financial management, legal and judicial reform, tax and customs administration, and decentralization. The challenge of public sector reform and governance lies at the heart of the development agenda for the client countries. High-quality analytical, lending and technical assistance to clients in the Europe and Central Asia region in public sector reforms therefore remains one of the highest regional priorities. The demand for Bank services on public sector management and governance in the region is significant. PSIR clients range from IDA countries to middle income countries and EU member states. Public finance management (PFM) is an important reform priority for countries in the Europe and Central Asia Region. This is reflected both in country partnership strategies, where public finance management features prominently, and in the large volume and diversity of PFM activities in the Region. This includes analytical and advisory work such as public expenditure reviews, PEFA assessments and functional reviews, capacity building using multi-donor trust funds and technical assistance loans and policy and institutional reforms supported by development policy lending. Projects cover a wide range of issues including revenue reform, budget formulation, treasury management, budget execution, procurement, accounting and financial reporting, audit, oversight, transparency, fiscal decentralization, e-Governance and management of SOEs. There is a substantial demand from partner countries for PFM expertise and knowledge, and especially the OECD countries experience. The volume of PFM analytical and advisory work is expected to increase from 2012 with the introduction of a multi-donor Trust Fund for PFM reform in the region. Production of quality knowledge products and effective knowledge sharing are critical to the success of the PFM Trust Fund. The ECA region has active client oriented and internal communities of practice for knowledge sharing on PFM reform, supported via knowledge sharing events and web-based information sharing. Additional trust fund resources should provide opportunities to generate relevant knowledge and enhance the use of web-based knowledge sharing.

Duties and Accountabilities
Objectives and scope of work:
The purpose of the assignment will be to support implementation of PFM activities in the ECA region. The principle tasks to be undertaken are:
Research and analysis of PFM issues in ECA countries,
Support/leadership of, PFM investment operations in ECA countries,
Support/leadership of country level analytical and advisory work and capacity building activities
Knowledge management and dissemination of PFM good practices. Timing and reporting arrangements: This appointment will be for a period of two years, starting in July 2012. The appointee will report to the Sector Manager, ECSP4, or his designated representative.

Selection Criteria
Experience and Qualifications:
- A master’s degree in economics, finance, public administration or other relevant discipline and a minimum of 5 years relevant work experience.
- Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement major projects or to produce major/complex reports or studies.
- Excellent writing abilities, persuasive oral communication skills and ability to foster long term productive client relationships.
- Strong inter-personal skills, proven team orientation and ability to work across unit boundaries.
- A proven track record of analytical and operational work on public finance issues.
- Ability to work as part of a high-performing multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary team, often operating under tight deadlines and timetables, with the capacity to act independently when required.
- Proficiency in the English language is essential.
- Previous experience of working at the World Bank or in a similar multi-national organization would be an advantage. Prior Government Experience in the public sector finance/treasury function is highly desirable. 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.

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