Associate Economist

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet.

The IFC 3.0 strategy aims to stimulate more investment activity across emerging markets, especially in Low Income Countries (LICs) and Fragile and Conflict affected States (FCS). Our goal is to create, deepen, and expand markets and design and develop impactful investment projects. This strategy is, in part, premised on improved country/sector diagnostic, strategic, and public sector engagement capabilities, which seek to: 1) resolve obstacles to private sector growth via diagnostic and strategic work that informs both IFC operations and relevant IBRD/IDA policy operations; and 2) overcome the shortage of investable projects in priority markets by proactively improving the private sector ecosystem at the country and regional level. The IFC’s Western Balkans engagement supports efforts aimed at fostering private sector investments aimed at accelerating sustainable economic growth, the green and digital transition, regional integration, and the convergence with the EU living standards.

The IFC’s Country Advisory and Economics unit for Europe (CEUAE) is seeking to recruit an Associate Economist to be based in Belgrade, and reporting to its manager – based in Paris.

The CEUAE team is responsible for:

• Producing both regional and country-level economic assessments to support IFC’s strategy and operations;
• Leading/Collaborating with World Bank Group (WBG) colleagues to produce analytical products such as Country Private Sector Diagnostics (CPSDs) and IFC Country Strategies;
• Significantly contributing to WBG country engagement, including analytical and strategic products such as Country Partnership Framework (CPF), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD), Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDR), as well as IBRD/IDA lending operations; and
• Putting IFC’s country strategy and diagnostic recommendations into practice through Advisory projects that engage with governments, regulators, civil society, development partners and other relevant stakeholders to reform markets and sectors and address key bottlenecks to private sector development.

Duties and responsibilities:

The associate economist is expected to contribute to all three primary functions of CEUAE, namely: strategic and economic analysis, operational delivery, and operational support. She/he will be responsible for: 

• Contributing to the operationalization of key strategic and diagnostic recommendations through the design and implementation of client-facing Advisory Services projects that support reform implementation and investment facilitation in line with IFC’s strategic priorities.
• Contributing to IFC’s engagement collaborating with other IFC and World Bank teams to help advance select private sector reform priorities through IFC’s upstream and advisory work and the World Bank operations (including policy-based lending and investment lending)
• Contributing to select WBG analytical work, including CCDRs and CPSDs.
• Contributing to regional work on formulating country and regional strategies to maximize IFC’s impact and address development challenges.

Selection Criteria:

• Advanced degree in Economics, with at least 6 years of relevant professional experience
• Knowledge of the WBG country engagement process and experience of leading the WBG analytical work such as Country Economic Memorandum (CEM), SCD, Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), CPSDs, and CCDRs is desirable.
• Ability to translate economic and policy analysis into country and sector strategies / programs.
• Experience with policy dialogue and delivering programs and solutions to the clients.
• Strong communication skills, including ability to interact with internal stakeholders within the WBG, policy makers in IFC’s client countries, and participate in policy development initiatives in collaboration with the WB / MIGA / external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, proven ability to work effectively as a team member, build and maintain relationships with colleagues, and maintain collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
• A proven ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments, adjust to changes in schedule and priorities, and juggle concurrent tasks effectively and efficiently.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=28283&site=1