Senior Agriculture Economist

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Description

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Description

Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The WBG is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

• The vision and mission of the WBG is to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet. Delivery of this vision relies on a three-pronged strategy that includes maximizing development impact by engaging country clients in identifying and tackling the most difficult development challenges; promoting scaled-up partnerships that are strategically aligned with the goals; and crowding in public and private resources, expertise and ideas. The architecture underpinning the strategy is the establishment of 14 Global Practices or GPs (organized into four Practice Groups) and five cross-cutting Solution Areas that, in concert with WBG Regions, design and deliver solutions that address clients’ most pressing developmental challenges, and ultimately, enable the World Bank Group to accomplish its mission to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet. 
• The Agriculture and Food Global Practice (AGF GP) of the WBG, supports a Global Vision for Agriculture and Food with agriculture able to feed every person, every day, in every country with a safe, nutritious, and affordable diet, and where jobs and income gains in the food system are sufficient to meet poverty reduction targets.
• The Agriculture and Food team in the Africa West and Central (AFW) Region (SAWA4) is organized under the umbrella of AFW Sustainable Development that currently also incorporates water, environment, social, urban, disaster resilience and land teams. SAWA4’s work program covers Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, and Guinea and is led by a Practice Manager.  The focus of the team’s work going forward is on food security as well as the future of agri-food systems, including green and resilient transitions, inclusiveness, diversification of economies, jobs, agricultural value-chains development, and competitiveness, one health, leveraging the private sector, climate-smart agriculture, digital agriculture, financial innovation, fragility and conflict, and regional and cross-GP collaboration.
• The selected candidate will report to our SAWA4 Practice Manager, based in Washington, DC under the day-to-day oversight and guidance of the Country Management Leadership. S/he will coordinate closely with Sustainable Development Program Leader (PL) for AFCF2, the AGF senior staff based in Conakry.

Job duties and responsibilities 

Internal and External

• The primary responsibility of the Senior Agriculture Economist/Specialist will be to provide technical and strategic support to the development and implementation of SAWA4’s work program in Guinea and other countries of the Country Management Units, including possibly Benin, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.

In particular, the Senior Agriculture Economist/Specialist will:

• Serve as a team member and as required lead activities as Task Team Leader, 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 Task Team Leaders of demanding operations, providing them with advice and support.
• Work with the relevant Program Leader and staff of the Agriculture and Food Global Practice to identify opportunities for addressing agricultural and food system issues in Guinea as part of the World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR), Country Partnership Framework (CPF), country policy dialogue, sector investment operations, budget support operations, and other multi-sectoral projects;
• Promote a strategic approach to support food system transformation and effectively communicate that to the country team.
• Identify innovative opportunities or ways to address food insecurity in general and improve food crisis preparedness in Guinea, including bringing in experience from within the country and from other countries within Africa or elsewhere.
• Remain current with relevant major pieces of analytical work in the profession. Lead or participate in analytical activities in Guinea or on a sub-regional level, and work with teams engaged in analytical work relevant to SAWA4’s work program in Guinea;
• Represent the World Bank in fora involving the community of development partners. Provide support, either explicit or implicit, to the work of the development partners in the sector;
• As necessary, represent the World Bank and AGF management at events with sectoral focus that take place in Guinea and in the region.
• Develop strong client relations and partnership, including with the International Finance       Corporation, on operational matters and policy dialogue.
• Work with other Global Practices in representing Guinea 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 and food security in Guinea.

Selection Criteria

• Masters, MBA or PhD in Agricultural and Foods Sciences, Agricultural Economics, or in a relevant  discipline.
• At least eight years of experience on agricultural development and food systems related issues.
• Strong technical and analytical skills in the range of issue of relevance to agriculture and food systems.
• Recognized substantive leadership in one or more of the strategic/ technical areas noted above.
• Familiarity with the institutional context of Guinea and African agricultural development.
• Demonstrate considerable experience of undertaking field-based activities and missions.
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving and team skills with ability to find balanced, pragmatic, and implementable solutions also in a multi-disciplinary context.
• High level of energy, ability to work under pressure, and willingness to travel extensively and work under challenging conditions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and French, including the ability to present complex issues to World Bank management and senior Government representatives, as well as to non-specialist audiences.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=29172&site=1

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