Specialists - Health, Nutrition and Population at World Bank

The central contribution of the HNP Global Practice to the World Bank’s twin goals is to enable the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in which all people are effectively covered by essential health services, and nobody suffers undue financial hardship as a result of illnesses. In the quest for UHC, the HNP Global Practice is building on progress made in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals, an array of analytical and advisory services, strategic partnerships with partner institutions and other financing agencies, and an active lending portfolio. The HNP Global Practice includes staff members in Washington, D.C. and many country offices.

The HNP Global Practice is led by a Senior Director, who has overall responsibility for the GP. The Senior Director is assisted by the Director, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Practice. The HNP Global Practice Leadership Team, which is the group that leads and manages the HNP GP, consists of the Senior Director, the Director, eight HNP Practice Managers and six Global Leads for technical domains of the Global Practice. The HNP Global Practice works with and across multiple sectors, in recognition of the fact that HNP outcomes often depend on actions that lie outside the HNP sector. Accordingly, a capacity to work across GP boundaries, forge coalitions and influence multi-practice solutions is essential for achieving the major objectives of improving HNP outcomes.

DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Senior Health Economist / Health Economist will have the following main responsibilities:

• Support and ensure the technical rigor of complex sectoral (or multi-sectoral) analytical and advisory services.
• Earn credibility with clients on the basis of intellectual rigor, a capacity to apply principles to specific challenges with tact, and willingness to learn and adapt in each context.
• Initiate and lead high-impact publications, including just-in-time briefs and reports to meet client demand, and new ideas to stimulate new ways of meeting long-standing challenges in HNP in Africa.
• Lead sectoral or multi-sectoral teams in business development, program formulation, preparation and supervision of lending operations.
• Initiate innovations in HNP services and products, and lead teams that incubate new services and products.
• Cultivate and maintain effective relationships with country officials, partner agencies and multi-partner fora
• Develop and improve effective relationships with Country Management Units, technical specialists within and outside the Human Development Global Practice Group.
• Contribute to knowledge generation and sharing across countries and across units.

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) and global health systems.
  
  • Senior Specialist/Economists – at least 8 years + advanced degree
  • Specialist/Economists – at least 5 years + advanced degree
• Advanced Degree (Masters or PhD) in a relevant field; ideally public health, epidemiology, health economics, health financing, or health management, health services administration, epidemiology, demography, sociology, business administration, etc.

The successful candidate is expected to demonstrate the following:

• Track record of technical excellence and operational leadership in health economics, financing, health services. A record of peer reviewed publications is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and function within and across teams in operational and analytical work.
• Track record of influencing policies, brokering informed consensus, and managing complex bargains among institutions or stakeholders with divergent interests.
• Prior experience in the at least one of the regions (in which the World Bank Group operates) is advantageous but not essential.
• Prior experience in an international development institution (public, NGO, or private) is preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
• Ability to inspire, coach and mentor less experienced colleagues.
• Strong writing skills in English.
• Fluency in spoken English is essential. Strong working knowledge of French or Portuguese is advantageous.

In addition to the above, the successful candidate is expected to demonstrate the following competencies:

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena—Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills—Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Integrative Skills—Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Health, Nutrition and Population Knowledge and Experience—Possesses strong expertise in: Health systems, public health, nutrition and/or population. Has experience assisting clients, in partnership with other stakeholders, in developing flexible and creative approaches to HNP reform and implementation.
• Client Orientation—Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results—Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion—Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication—Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making—Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.

If you are interested in this area, please click the position(s) below to submit your application. To apply, click the relevant link. You will be prompted to log in to the Member Center or create a new account. Please fill in all fields, answer the screening questions if any, attach your resume or CV, and submit your Statement of Interest (no more than 700 words).

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