Lead Agriculture Economist at World Bank - Abuja

World Bank - The leading multilateral institution in global economics development, is  seeking applications from suitably qualified candidates for the below position of:
    
Job Title: Lead Agriculture Economist
Job No: 130125

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Job Description
The Africa Region is committed to working with Africans and their development partners to make faster progress toward the MDGs, particularly cutting poverty levels in half by 2015.  With a wide-ranging work program that covers the environment, agriculture and rural development, social and post conflict, water, urban, energy, and transport sectors, the Region's Sustainable Development (SD) Department is critical to the delivery of the region’s goals for sustainable development in the region.  The department has 320 staff and an overall portfolio (including IDA/IBRD, GU, large RE TF, and GEF) of about 250 projects with net commitments totaling about $30 bn.

The Africa Agriculture Program has been growing rapidly and is centered around four pillars, including: (i) land and water management; (ii) market access; (iii) food security and vulnerability; and (iv) agricultural technology.  There is active collaboration with PSD and IFC to facilitate private sector investments in African agriculture.  Nutrition and resilience to climate change are new areas of attention.  The agriculture portfolio comprises of about 65 projects with net commitments exceeding US$ 4 billion. New lending is expected to exceed US$ 1 billion annually in the coming years.

The Africa agriculture sector grouping consists of three units (AFTA1 for West-Africa, AFTA2 for Central and Southern Africa and AFTA 3 for Eastern Africa). Each of the three units is managed by a Sector Manager. Each Sector Manager is also responsible for a number of relevant cross-cutting themes.  The three units together have about 90 staffs of which 60% are based in country offices.

The Government of Nigeria, which came to office in 2011, has launched a major Agricultural Transformation Agenda which combines needed policy and institutional reforms with key public investments aimed at connecting markets and supporting the expansion of the private sector and productivity growth in prioritized value chains.  To support implementation of this Agenda, as requested by the Government, the Bank is scaling-up its already substantive engagement in Nigerian agriculture even further. The current portfolio consists of projects focusing on agricultural research, livelihoods development, and commercial agriculture.  Looking forward, these will be scaled-up through additional financing, while a new irrigation project, as well as a programmatic sector budget support operation will be added to the portfolio.  In view of this AFTA1 seeks a seasoned Lead Agriculture Economist to lead its strategic, advisory, and operational work in Nigeria.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.) The Lead Agriculture Economist will assist the AFTA 1 Sector Manager in delivery of the unit’s work program, assurance of quality, interaction with internal and external clients, including the private sector, staff development and partnerships.

2.) The primary responsibility of the Lead Agriculture Economist will be to provide technical and strategic leadership to the development and implementation of the AFTA 1 program in Nigeria. In particular, the Lead Agricultural Economist will:

• Lead complex operations as Task Team Leader (TTL), both in agriculture and multi-sectoral operations, assuring quality in all stages of the project cycle;
• Serve as an advisor to colleagues who are themselves TTLs of demanding operations, providing them with mentoring, advice and support;
• Work with the  Sector Leaders based in the Nigeria  CMU  and especially the SD Sector Leader  to identify opportunities to address agricultural issues in the Nigeria country partnership strategy, country policy dialogue, budget support operations, and other multi-sectoral projects.  Assure a strategic approach to support agricultural growth and effectively communicate that to the country team;
• Identify innovative new opportunities or ways to address existing needs in the agricultural sector, by bringing in experience from other regions and with a wide range of instruments;
• Remain current with relevant major pieces of analytical work in the profession.  Lead or participate in major analytical activities in Nigeria , and work  with AFTA1 colleagues engaged in analytical work;
• Represent the Bank in fora involving the community of development partners.  Provide leadership, either explicit or implicit, in the work of the development partners in the sector;
• As necessary, represent the Bank and AFTA1 management at events with sectoral focus that take place in the field;
• Develop strong client relations and partnership, including with IFC, on operational matters and policy dialogue;
• Work with other units in the department and more broadly in the region, e.g. with PSD, and with the ARD Anchor in representation of Nigeria specific issues in regional and corporate strategies;
• Initiate and maintain a high level and quality of engagement and dialogue with key stakeholders, including government, civil society, private sector and research/academic community on strategic and policy issues concerning agriculture, irrigation and natural resources in Nigeria.

Selection Criteria

Competencies

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Influences the design and execution of major policy and/or research initiatives; conceives and promotes innovations in development policies, project design, organization and management to improve operational and sector work.  
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Has a track record of conducting effective policy dialogue with country counterparts; communicates and defends difficult issues and positions to senior bank management and government officials.  
• Integrative Skills - Possesses in-depth understanding of Bank resources in all areas of work in the network, and proven fungibility.  
• Rural Policy, Strategy and Institutions - Comprehensive understanding of rural policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.  
• Rural Development - Deep experience applying knowledge (community-driven development, local government and civil society organizations, trade and access to rural markets, rural finance, etc.) to policy-related decisions and advice.  
• Sector/Network Representation - Demonstrates ability to coordinate, participate in, and act as a catalyst for, strategic cross-sector dialogues within the network, across the country, among Bank colleagues and other development institutions, government, and other organizations.  
• Client Orientation - Translates insight into practice across disciplines, hierarchies, geographies and organizational units in service of clients.  
• Drive for Results - Ensures successful implementation and delivery of key programs and projects, ensuring that outputs positively impact results.  
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Creates a team climate of practical and innovative action, facilitating collaboration between competing interests and stakeholders.  
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Demonstrates command of all forms of communication and presents in a clear, objective and engaging manner in high-level settings; ensures knowledge is captured and shared in a variety of ways.  
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Serves as a trusted advisor to others on their decisions, ensuring alignment across units and optimal impact on the organization as a whole.  

Qualification
Other Selection Criteria:

• Masters or PhD in Agricultural Economics or related discipline
• Advanced degree in Agricultural Economics or related discipline with substantive professional experience (a minimum of at least 12 years in the case of a PhD or 15 years in the case of a Master’s degree) in areas relevant to agricultural development in more than one world region.
• Deep agricultural sector subject matter skills and analytical expertise.
• Outstanding skills in managing complex operations with excellent knowledge of and experience in Banks operations.
• Country office experience.
• Demonstrated track record in leading/coaching teams to achieve results, build strong teams across the matrix and develop, nurture and mentor junior staffs.
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, and team skills with ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced, pragmatic and implementable solutions.
• Excellent writing skills and proven capacity to present complex issues in accessible fashion.
• High degree of discretion, ethics, tact and sensitivity in handling confidential and sensitive information;
• Ability to work under pressure while retaining perspective and a sense of humor.
• Very high level of energy, initiative and self-motivation, coupled with willingness to travel extensively and work under challenging conditions;
• Fluency in English required; fluency in French desirable

Application Closing Date
10th February, 2013

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

Note: When the page comes up. Select Location-Abuja, then Click on Search, Then Click Lead Agriculture Economist to apply