Economist at World Bank Group

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support the macroeconomic monitoring of Somalia, manage and update the World Bank’s macro and fiscal model (MFMod), and the preparation of the Macro and Poverty Outlook (MPO);
• Support and coordinate the dialogue on macroeconomic policy and economic growth issues with the Somalia authorities, with the IMF and economic departments of other development agencies and non-government stakeholders;
• Work with other Global Practices (GPs), analyze challenges to economic growth/productivity and integrates structural, sectoral and macroeconomic issues;
• Serve as the external focal point on macroeconomic and economic growth issues, working closely with sector specialists;
• Support core country diagnostics such as Country Economic Memorandums (CEM) and other growth diagnostics, and Public Expenditure Reviews (PER)/Public Finance Reviews (PFR);
• Support Development Policy Operations or other types of lending operations focused on economic reforms;
• Support the policy dialogue on debt sustainability and debt transparency, including the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Financing Policy, preparation of Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA);
• Coordinate within the country team the preparation of the annual Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) exercise;
• Where relevant, advise sector teams and government authorities on the macroeconomic implications of sector policies and investment decisions, including in the selection and execution of public investments;
• Provide analytical inputs for and advise the Country Management Unit (CMU) on country strategic engagement and economic policy issues, including through active participation in key review meetings;
• Support the analytical work program of the CMU, including the preparation of Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCDs), Country Partnership Frameworks (CPFs);
• Support the Practice Manager and the GP with corporate demands, quality control of deliverables, and the preparation of ad-hoc briefs.

Selection Criteria

• Minimum of a Master’s degree in economics, with eight (8) years of relevant experience.
• Fluency in English.
• Understanding of the Somalia economies and a strong grasp of the developmental issues facing a resource-rich and oil-dependent economy and a small island development country.
• Knowledge and Experience in the Development Arena – Understands policy-making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Identifies and assesses policy issues and takes a leading role in the dialogue with the government and other stakeholders.
• Macroeconomic Skills and Country Economics Experience - Has a strong understanding of macroeconomic relationships, and the use of national accounts, balance of payments, fiscal and debt data systems from a data-consumer point of view.
• Strong communication, writing and presentation skills, in English, including the ability to speak persuasively and to present ideas clearly and concisely with senior policy officials and a wide variety of audiences in both languages.
• Strong integrative capacities; i.e., ability to identify development challenges and prioritize policy options within a coherent strategic framework.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiations skills and ability to work flexibly, creatively and to multitask as the need arises.
• Strong commitment towards teamwork and knowledge sharing, especially across the WBG!
• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation, and leadership/coaching qualities.
• Familiarity with econometric software such as E-Views, STATA or other statistical packages and MS Office programs, including Excel.