Senior Private Sector Specialists (Trade and Competitiveness) at the World Bank

The World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Our mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.

The World Bank Group is launching a recruitment drive aimed at increasing the number of Sub Saharan Africans in its work force. This commitment to hire Sub Saharan Africans reflects the Bank Group’s senior leadership commitment for a diverse workforce in which African nationals can play a key role in fighting poverty and increasing shared prosperity. Employment opportunities will be in various technical areas and professional streams for talented and diverse young professionals and mid-career level professionals to contribute and grow their skills in a career in international development.

A career with the World Bank Group offers a unique opportunity for exceptionally talented individuals with a passion for international development to contribute to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. Bank staff work with governments, civil society groups, the private sector, and others in developing countries around the world, assisting people in all areas of development, from policy and strategic advice to the identification, preparation, appraisal, and supervision of development projects.

We are recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title Senior Private Sector Specialist

Location: Africa
Area: Trade and Competitiveness

Description
With 90 percent of jobs created by the private sector, new solutions to support firm growth, higher productivity, innovation, and competitiveness are critical. The practice partners with governments, the private sector, donor agencies, and civil society to improve the business and trade environment, promote competitiveness across key industries, and encourage productive and responsible investments.

Specific Role
The specific roles and responsibilities are:

• Providing intellectual leadership on topics of at one of the core areas of the T&C agenda (Trade, Investment Climate, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Competitive Sectors).
• Leading the policy dialogue with senior government officials on complex economic issues concerning the T&C areas of expertise.
• Overseeing the design and delivery of the T&C program in selected countries in terms of both policy and programmatic interactions with internal (the CMU, in particular the Program Leaders overseeing the T&C programs, and other practices within the country team) and external country-level partner.
• Engaging with task teams from other practices working in the respective countries to support the operationalization of the WBG’s twin goals by identifying opportunities to enhance the private sector development impact of specific operations through more granular analyses using micro data.
• Mentoring and guiding junior members of the teams working on various T&C programs.
• Working actively on knowledge generation and dissemination of relevant good practices and lessons learned across countries.
• Providing quality control of projects, recruiting and supervise consultants and managing program implementation, monitoring the budget and spent on each program, and reporting on progress, activities, outputs and outcomes.
• Contributing to country and sector strategy; and making recommendations on strategies and policy options for member countries.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced Degree (Masters or PhD) in a relevant field; ideally Economics, Business Administration, Trade, Industrial Organization, or a related discipline, and with a focus on competitiveness or private sector development.
• Candidate must have at least 8 years work experience.
• Expertise in one or more of the following areas in the public or private sector (government, international organization, private company, non-government organization): trade, investment climate, competitive industries, innovation and entrepreneurship, competitiveness diagnostics, value chain analysis, diversification, etc.
• Good command of microeconomics, industrial organization, or related fields is strongly preferred, as are econometric skills. International experience is an advantage.
• Ideal candidates for this position must have a demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking, the ability to conduct dialogue on relevant development policies and priorities, and be fluent in English with very good writing and communication skills.

Application Closing Date
31st August, 2015.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

If you are interested in this position, please click the link above to submit your application. You will be prompted to log in to the "Member Center" or "Create a New Account". Please fill in all fields, answer the screening questions if any, attach your resume or CV, and submit your Statement of Interest (no more than 700 words).

Note

• A select number of candidates will be interviewed in September and October 2015 in Washington, D.C. and locations in Africa and Europe.
• Those applications that were not selected for interview during this campaign will be kept on file for up to one year and may be considered for future opportunities.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.