Background:

Regional integration in West Africa has been on the drawing board for at least three decades. Though substantial advances have been made, progress has been limited on a number of critical issues. Excluding Nigeria, countries in the region are too small to benefit from specialization and reaping economies of scale, with an average economic size of approximately USD 6.7 billion and population of 9.8 million in 2008. Integrating into global and regional supply chains can help increase productivity, foster growth and poverty reduction.
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Duties and Accountabilities
The Senior Economist will be responsible for:

(i) Supporting the program Steering Committee to ensure regional priorities are adequately reflected in the research agenda and that the program is effectively implemented;

(ii) Promoting a dialogue with governments and regional institutions on issues of regional integration, identifying demand for analytical work in the area of regional integration, and helping transfer this demand into actual proposals for research that can be undertaken by the program;

(iii) Identifying researchers inside and outside the region who can conduct the research, and setting up procedures to evaluate their proposals and review their work;

(iv) Developing key indicators, including establishing benchmarks, to monitor progress of the regional integration process in West Africa. This activity will be undertaken in close collaboration with the African Development Bank;

(v) Working together with the steering committee, ECOWAS, UEMOA, and the AfDB to establish regional knowledge platforms on key policy issues, as well as establishing a network of researchers and think tanks in the region;

(vi) Developing, in cooperation with regional and national partners, innovative research outputs accessible to a broad audience of West African citizens by simplifying the complexity of analytical writing. Develop and implement innovative dissemination methods in terms of the selection of participants, methods of delivery, feed-back, and subsequent follow up to assess effectiveness of transferring knowledge;

(vii) Ensuring that World Bank quality assurance procedures are followed for work that is actually being led by World Bank teams; and provide quality advice on other research led by other institutions working with the steering committee;

(viii) Working in collaboration with Bank staff from FPD, PREM, SD, DECRD and WBI to ensure the project and its key research results link up with and inform other Bank activities;

(ix) Handling the overall administrative and financial management of the program, including the preparation of research grants, annual reports, etc.

Selection Criteria

Advanced degree in economics and at least 10 years of relevant experience in trade policy and regional integration.
• Superior analytical skills demonstrated through a strong track record of major economic reports or other published work relating to economic policy and trade analysis. Ability to conduct innovative work in challenging environments is also required.
• Experience working in research capacity building and in policy dialogue with governments.
• Knowledge of West Africa preferable.
• Strong interpersonal skills and client focus.
• Ability to operate effectively both as team leader and team member.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French.
• Commitment to and experience with knowledge sharing.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Closing Date: 10th May,2011

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