Economist- Istanbul, Turkey

Job #:	121756
Title:	Economist
Job Stream:	Technical Assistance & Advisory Services
Location:	Istanbul, Turkey
Closing Date:	09/05/2012
Background / General description:
[This is a two-year term appointment. However, staff currently on open-ended contracts are encouraged to apply and if selected, will retain their appointment status.] The World Bank Group’s Investment Climate Department (CIC) assists governments of developing countries and transition economies in reforming their business environments, with support focused on reforms that strengthen business environments and the investment climate (IC) at economy-wide as well as industry/sector level. The department collaborates extensively with other teams across the World Bank Group in the design and delivery of advisory services and other operational work related to investment climate reform, and develops IC knowledge products for staff and clients. Serving as the global backbone of the Bank Group’s IC activities; CIC: (i) anchors the Investment Climate Business Line (one of IFC's four Advisory Services Business Lines), and handles the global dimension of its work; (ii) anchors the Investment Climate Global Practice of the Bank's Financial and Private Sector Development Network (which covers six Practices); (iii) implements MIGA’s technical assistance mandate, and (iv) manages the multi-donor Facility for Investment Climate Advisory Services (FIAS), a global funding and partnership platform for IC reform. In addition, CIC also manages the following programs for IFC: (v) the Health in Africa (HiA) initiative (in collaboration with AFTHD), (vi) the Water Resources Group (WRG) (in collaboration with CNGWA and other WBG units), (vii) a new program on private participation in infrastructure (in collaboration with C3P and other WBG units), (viii) and the coordination function for IFC’s work on fragile and conflict-affected countries (jointly with CTGDR). CIC is organized into four main units, reflecting four global service or product lines: Business Regulation, International Trade and Investment, Investment Climate for Industry, and Private Participation in Infrastructure and Social Sectors, as well as a unit dedicated to Africa (CIC is co-managing IFC’s IC work program in Sub-Saharan Africa), an Operational Support unit, and a unit supporting FPD’s Global IC Practice. About the Position: CIC is seeking a highly motivated, creative micro-economist with strong analytical skills, a very good knowledge of investment climate policy issues, a keen sense of policy and strategy, and strong writing and presentation skills. The economist will report to the CICBR manager.
Duties and Accountabilities:
Key responsibilities include: - Work closely with the Indicator-Based Reform advisory team to deliver to client governments policy advice in the investment climate area. He or she will take the lead in delivering policy-oriented reform memoranda for client countries, lead missions to engage client governments on IC policy issues and supervise the delivery of advisory work that follows the diagnostics provided to governments; - Coordinate and provide key inputs to review Business regulation advisory projects, in particular to provide a country-wide view on priority IC issues. - Develop and maintain active engagement with the Bank FPD regions, PREM regions and IFC advisory services regional teams to coordinate work in the investment climate area in the countries he or she will cover. - Lead and coordinate the delivery of Investment Climate reform memoranda in one to two regions (most likely MENA, West Africa)
Selection Criteria:
• Advanced degree in economics, public policy, investment climate or equivalent. • At least 5 years of experience in research or policy advice, preferable in the area of private sector development and the investment climate (or two years of experience if candidate holds a Ph.D.). • Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement policy advisory services and to produce complex analytical notes and reports. • Strong analytical and research skills and experience pertaining to investment climate issues; demonstrated understanding and experience of substantive issues in international development, with emphasis on regulatory and institutional economics related to the investment climate area. • Demonstrated experience and ability to translate policy recommendations into implementation; advising the public sector on policy / investment climate reform. • Strong integrative skills and demonstrated ability for sharing knowledge and applying knowledge to different economic areas. In particular, demonstrated ability to integrate and apply microeconomic and institutional concepts to other economic areas, like the investment climate area. • Well-developed interpersonal and teamwork skills; ability to reach out to different parts of the World Bank Group and to interact with different levels of the organization and diverse profiles (Bank FPD teams, IFC advisory teams, research department, management, etc.); • Ability to deal sensitively in multicultural environments and to build effective working relations with local and international partners in the private sector, in the academic community, civil society and with client governments; • Fluent in English, with excellent interpersonal, verbal communication and writing skills. Demonstrated experience in writing effective reports and communicating in public; • Fluency in French is a plus; • Willingness to travel internationally.
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