Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

REGIONAL CONTEXT

The World Bank Group serves 30 client countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR). Clients range from large rapidly growing sophisticated middle-income clients to IDA countries to small Caribbean states to one fragile state. Despite immense resources, dynamic societies, and an average annual per capita income of nearly $9,000, deep inequalities persist in most LCR countries, with nearly a quarter of the Region’s people living in poverty. The Bank’s strategy in LCR is focused on five pillars: (a) stimulating growth and improving competitiveness; (b) reducing poverty and inequality; (c) making governments and institutions work for people; (d) providing a platform for tackling global issues (climate change, trade, disease, migration), and (e) reducing risk, whether from extreme weather events, climate change, crime and violence or other.

UNIT CONTEXT

The Office of the Chief Economist for the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the World Bank (LCRCE) is seeking to hire a research assistant with strong analytical and research skills. Depending on personal initiative, successful candidates will have opportunities to develop their own research program as well as to participate in policy-oriented work conducted by the office. The position is for one year. However, candidates are not precluded from applying to other positions outside LCRCE.

Roles & Responsibility:

The selected candidate will provide support to the Chief Economist Office with its program in industrial and fiscal policy in preparation of their respective regional studies.

Responsibilities include:

– Assist the staff of the Chief Economist Office with analytical work such as collection of data, revision of literature, development of econometric estimates, programming of macroeconomic models, and preparation of background notes for Regional Studies as well as other tasks undertaken by the Office.

– Identification, compilation, and organization of databases suitable for the study of relevant topics.

– Conduct econometric analysis to the extent that it helps clarify and reinforce a point in a presentation, especially time series.

– Review of academic literature on particular topics and on their respective empirical developments as applied to developing countries, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

– Programming dynamic stochastic general equilibrium macroeconomic models to evaluate the effectiveness of industrial and fiscal policies.

– Help with analytical work and other tasks conducted by the Macro Team of the Office, such as quality enhancement comments as well as more research-oriented studies.

Selection Criteria

Candidates applying for the positions would be evaluated on the following criteria:

* Undergraduate’s level degree in Economics

* A strong quantitative background in Economics.

* At least 2 years of experience in applied research at a recognized university, research center, or multilateral organization.

* Strong skills in statistical and modelling programs such as Stata, Matlab, Julia or Python.

* Strong research and analytical skills with demonstrated ability to deliver high caliber analytical work will be a distinct advantage.

* The candidate must have direct experience in at least one of the following areas: fiscal policy, industrial policy, recursive programming.

* Excellent written and oral communication skills in English is required and a good command of written and oral communication in Spanish or Portuguese is desirable.

* Initiative in research and the ability and desire to collaborate in research teams.

Competencies:

– Strong analytical and conceptual skills;

– Evaluation Approaches and Methods – Understands and applies the approaches, methods, and tools of theoretical economics and statistical analysis;

– Data Collection and Management – Ensures data relevance and quality through appropriate selection of data sources and sound collection and management. Develops appropriate strategies for dealing with data quality issues. Effectively uses software and systems in support of work;

– Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in transforming economic analysis into issues for discussion with governments and/or key stakeholders;

– Strong interpersonal skills – Behavioral competencies that facilitate dialogue with internal and external counterparts, including listening skills, training and capacity development skills, and ability to adapt advice to the local institutional realities;

– Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and ability to influence across organizational boundaries. Creates a team climate of practical and innovative action, facilitating collaboration between stakeholders.

– Lead and innovate – Brings new and different insights.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET appointment of three years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.