Senior Regional Economist

Job Purpose

Play a supporting role in the assessment of economic development of assigned Countries/Region and conduct strategy analysis related to IsDBG Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) and Country Engagement Framework (CEF), operational strategies and programs.

Participate in the conduct of policy dialogue with the Governments, multilateral institutions and NGOs to promote and facilitate implementation of IsDB policies, strategies and programs.

Support the Coordination of inputs related to engagement and strategy perspectives from the Country Economists in the Regional Hubs in order to develop MCPS & CEF, special projects and programs. Contribute to the quality and alignment of MCPS and CEF in terms of its feasibility, processing and administration.

Coordinate and support the development of Midterm Reviews (MTR) and Completion Reviews (CR) for MCPS and CEF. Support programming activities for MCPS and CEF, including coordination with Group Entities, participating in missions and setting up program implementation mechanisms.

Support the management of the Division on tasks which are generally non-routine, within clearly defined standards.

Act as the knowledge and resource center both internally for the IsDB Group and externally for Member Countries (MCs) for their economic and development solutions, by creating structural transformation narratives, policy guidance, and providing high-level advisory service.

Note: This position offers the flexibility to be performed both on-site and remotely.

Key Accountabilities

Policy And Strategy Planning And Inputs

• Support the preparation of MCPS and CEF across IsDB MCs, in coordination with Regional Hubs and relevant multi-task teams including Group Entities to ensure effective formulation and implementation of the MCPS and CEF.
• Provide inputs and participate in Programming, Economic Sector Work (ESW) and economic evaluation of large-scale complex projects if required.
• Coordinate and support the development of Midterm Reviews (MTR) and Completion Reviews (CR) for MCPS and CEF. Support programming activities for MCPS and CEF, including participating in missions and set up for program implementation mechanisms.
• Contribute to the review and ensure prioritization and strategic alignment of the annual and three-year Work Program of the Country Programs Complex.
• Lead multi-stakeholder teams for dialogue with the MCs on IsDBG MCPS/CEF work for the region, policy engagements, underlying diagnostic and analytical work.
• Support the preparation of the CSED Annual Work plan, programs, budgets and activities for the respective region in particular, and the Division as a whole
• Support the critical role in the development of the templates and framework for Integrated Strategic Programming Framework tasks, MCPS/CEF Guidelines and Business Processes, MCPS/CEF mid-term reviews and completion reports.
• As part of every new MCPS/CEF in the respective Region, filter and prepare structural transformation narratives, development challenges, pillars of MCPS/CEF and ensure their validation at the field through Country Economists from the MCs.
• Contribute to the compliance of all MCPSs/CEFs produced by the Regional Hubs in the respective region with the guidelines and their alignment with priority development needs of Member Countries.
• Contribute to the final review for all MCPSs/CEFs in the respective region.
  
  

Knowledge Sharing And Dissemination

• Monitor and assess emerging challenges and trends in MCs/Regions, disseminate the findings to concerned internal & external parties in the context of specific issues of relevance to the Country Programs Complex and provide policy advice on timely IsDB responses.
• Contribute to the knowledge transfer of Division’s programs & tools to other employees within IsDB Group and externally to respective region to ensure awareness.
• Support and coordinate annual and periodic events conducted by the Division, such as: Seminars, Regional Workshops, NGOs seminars, and capacity building workshops.
  
  

Reporting

• Act as an advocate and referee/reviewer on all economic reports related to the regional MCs in the Division and IsDBG.
• Engage, communicate and collaborate with the inter-disciplinary teams in the Bank to enhance the rigor as well as advice on cross-cutting and thematic issues in MCs.
• Support the preparation of regular internal status reports of all activities of the respective region within the IsDB Group and highlight any concern areas and success stories.
• Coordinate with other stakeholders to present the reports and publication related to performance of Division’s programs.
• Promote robust feedback system for gaining feedback from various internal and external stakeholders on the operations of the Division.
• Contribute to the engagement of the Bank with BED and its sub-Committees, government officials at ministerial level and equivalent contacts in other international organizations, partner entities, media and other external constituencies and expert groups.
• Conduct peer-review, provide feedback on all economic reports/data prepared by peers in the Division.
  
  

Research And Sector Works

• Demonstrated policy, sector research and diagnostic outputs.
• Knowledge of best practices and latest developments and work with other Multilateral Development Banks (MDB).
  
  

Academic And Professional Qualifications

• Bachelors /preferably Masters degree in Economics, International Development or related field.
• Minimum 8/6 years of experience as an Economist in the development sector, of which 3 years in a multilateral development bank, development of country strategies, or relevant experience at the Ministry of Finance/ Economic Planning/ Central Bank, etc.
  
  

Skills & Necessary Knowledge

• Advanced Analytical Thinking
• Advanced Statistical Theory Knowledge
• Proficiency in R, Python, Stata or similar statistical tool
• Advanced Knowledge of Emerging Economies’ Issues
• Advanced Economic Modeling Skills
• Advanced Econometric Modeling Skills
• Advanced Multidimensional Indicator Development Skills
• Advanced Operational Modeling Skills
  
  

Languages

• English - Mandatory
• Arabic - Preferred
• French - Preferred
  
  

About Application Process

If you meet the criteria and you are enthusiastic about the role, we would welcome your application. To complete the application you would need the following document(s):

• Resume/CV
• Copy of passport
• Academic certificate