Senior Economist ( Health ) at World Bank

The Africa Health, Nutrition, and Population Unit (AFTHW) is seeking a Senior Health Economist to be part of the health team. The position will be based in Abuja, Nigeria and the candidate will report to the AFTHW Sector Manager.

World Bank  is currently recruiting to fill the below position of:

Job Title: Senior Economist ( Health )
Job Code: 122729

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Background / General description:
Nigeria has made limited progress in delivering critical health services. There appears to have been improvement in the under-5 mortality rate (from 217 per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 171 in 2008) but overall progress is not sufficient to achieve MDG4. Government through its National Strategic Health Development Framework and Plan (NHSDP) has recognized the importance of focusing on results to make significant progress, which requires greater accountability and more attention to governance. Furthermore, health financing issues such as high out of pocket (OOP) expenditure, little fiscal space for operational expense and weak oversight of state and local government authority (LGA) budgets have been critical issues in improving accountability and governance.

With Nigeria trailing on the Health MDGs, health has been an important part of the Bank’s portfolio. The Africa Strategy– Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s Support to it – is founded on strengthening governance and public sector capacity. It recognizes that critical services are too often delivered poorly due to weak management of public funds. The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Nigeria focuses on improving governance and promoting human development. The CPS notes that the World Bank will invest in health MDGs by improving access to quality health services, vaccination coverage and maternal care services. The Bank has been supporting Nigeria over the last decade through both efforts at health system strengthening and “vertical” disease control programs, focused on HIV/AIDS, Polio and Malaria, and Maternal and Child Health.

As an initiative to strengthen governance and accountability and improve value for money, the World Bank has initiated the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), a US$ 170 million results-based financing (RBF) operation that aims at improving the delivery of high impact primary health care services. The project provides performance bonuses to health facilities based on their utilization and quality of services. It also provides finance to states and LGAs based on their achievement of a set of disbursement linked indicators (DLIs) that clarify responsibilities of each administration. These pilot innovations will be evaluated using rigorous impact evaluation methodologies.

In addition, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the World Bank is preparing for quality assessment and resource tracking surveys at health facilities to: 1) identify predictors of success in quality and current gaps; and 2) assess the efficiency of budget allocation and execution and implement effective resource tracking in selected states. This aims to help the government measure quality and resource use for continuous improvement.

Further, the Bank administers the Governance Partnership Facility (GPF) in Nigeria that intends to improve the development impact of public finances through initiatives that improve sector governance, increase accountability and effectiveness and enhanced citizen voice and participation in service delivery in key areas. Components of the GPF activities include governance of service delivery in key sectors such as health and education, public financial management transparency, accountability, effectiveness and sustainability, and engagement with citizens.

To support the overall development and work portfolio of the Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) work in Nigeria including above initiatives and to deliver on the Africa strategy that uses governance as the principal measure to strengthening service delivery, the Bank seeks a Senior Health Economist. The Senior Health Economist based in Abuja is expected to strengthen the Bank’s analytical and operational activities in Nigeria by mainstreaming governance, fiscal accountability and value for money in its health portfolio.

Duties and Accountabilities:
The Senior Health Economist will:

• Support the analysis and operations of quality assessment and resource tracking surveys with the BMGF including procurement and supervision of research agencies.
• Work with the TTL, government counterparts and consultants to develop and implement a customized and health facility-based version of Public Expenditure Tracking (PET) study that works in Nigerian context where standardized process to track finance does not exist.
• Support the process of developing and customizing the service delivery indicators (SDIs) to measure the quality of health services (including knowledge and practice of health workers, availability of resources) across states.
• Support the analysis and reforms of budgeting and financial management in the participating states in the NSHIP – the work can include the detailed analysis of budget allocations to states and LGAs and non-salary recurrent expenses, and development of a prototype allocation methodologies and cash budgeting and management tools.
• Work on the GPF activities including the governance of service delivery in human development sectors (health, education, social protection), public financial management transparency, accountability, effectiveness and sustainability, and engagement with citizens.
• Support the development of  the knowledge base on results based financing – including analyzing monitoring and operational information for refining strategies; engaging with colleagues responsible for specific implementation supervision of the RBF and health facility surveys including impact evaluations, information systems strengthening, etc.
• Carry out tasks that support the HNP team in Nigeria and the unit as requested by the sector manager.
• Conduct cross-sectoral support in governance, financing and financial management.

Requirements
The selected candidate will have:

General competencies

• General and Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills – Has advanced economic and financing qualifications gained through advanced (graduate level) academic training.  Has excellent quantitative skills and demonstrated track record of working with economic and sectoral data and analytical tools and models to conduct economic and financing analyses and synthesize complex results into user-friendly written outputs for team or stand-alone work. 
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making process and role of the health sector in that process. Able to find relevant information and examine similar policy questions in multiple regions and to distill operationally relevant recommendations and lessons from the analysis for clients.
• Problem Solving Capabilities – Identifies, structures and prioritizes issues effectively in complicated contexts of Nigeria, acts quickly to attain evidence-base for decision making and facilitates stakeholders effectively to solve problems.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and communicates findings/points of view verbally and through reports and papers.  Plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders as part of Bank teams.
• Client Orientation – Proactively addresses client needs. Takes personal responsibility for timely response to client queries, requests or needs. Anticipates client needs and responds based on clear understanding of needs and concerns. Asks probing questions to understand the client’s underlying needs and offers possible solutions.
• Drive for Results – Accepts accountability for work tasks. Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed results and has the personal organization to do so. Follows up for completion, coordinates with others, and ensures that others with whom he or she is working deliver on time and to quality standards.
• Teamwork and Inclusion – Values working in collaboration and respecting views of others. Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team’s work and output. Contributes as required to the work of others in the department. Works collaboratively and effectively within the Bank culture as well as within own and others’ cultures.

Specific knowledge and skills

• Advanced degree in Health Economics and/or Financing, Economics or Business Administration (Finance-focus) and at least 8 years of relevant experiences in the health and governance sectors;
• Knowledge and experiences in financial resource tracking in the health sector such as PET studies and public expenditure reviews (PERs), and/or in health facility surveys such as quality assessment and impact evaluation;
• Knowledge and experiences in improving social accountability and citizens’ participation and working with civil society organizations;
• Knowledge and understanding of the Nigerian HNP issues, the political economy and  institutional and governance context of Nigeria;
• Experience in international development and experience in operations in a multilateral institution.
• Proven analytical skills, writing ability, and written and oral communications skills in English.

Application Closing Date
4th December, 2012

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online