Job Abstract

Senior Economist, Health

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

VPU context (GP, Region):

The Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Global Practice

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, DC, and many country offices.

The HNP Global Practice is led by a Global Director, who has overall responsibility for the GP. 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 are essential for achieving the major objectives of improving HNP outcomes.

Unit context (Department /Country):

Global Financing Facility Context

The global community has made considerable progress over the past 25 years in improving the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents. Rates of preventable death have dropped significantly in many countries and improvements have been seen across a range of key measures of health and well-being. But the progress has not been enough: too many women, children, and adolescents have been left behind, dying and suffering from preventable conditions, in considerable part because of a large financing gap, estimated at US$33 billion annually.

The Global Financing Facility (GFF) embodies the world’s commitment to ensuring that all women, children and adolescents can survive and thrive. Launched in 2015, the GFF is squarely focused on prioritizing and scaling up evidence-driven investments to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition in the world’s most vulnerable countries through targeted strengthening of service delivery systems—to save lives and as a critical step toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The GFF has pioneered a country-driven, collaborative model for global health linked to sustainable financing and results. At the core of GFF’s model is the development and implementation of a government-led, prioritized and costed national investment case that lays out the pathway to scaling up universal access to a basic package of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services along with critical health financing and system reforms to accelerate progress toward UHC. By facilitating multistakeholder country platforms, the GFF supports its partner governments to mobilize and align both domestic and external funding behind national investment case priorities.

The GFF approach also enables other global health partners to achieve more by working better together and by empowering countries to lead. The GFF responds to developing countries’ long-lasting call for global partners to align once and for all behind their national health plans and priorities—fostering a permanent shift in the global health and development assistance paradigm.

The GFF partnership is led by the GFF Director; the day-to-day management of the GFF team is the responsibility of the GFF Practice Manager. The GFF secretariat, which is based at the World Bank and is situated in the HNP Global Practice, works to deliver on the GFF objectives. This includes working with countries to develop quality investment cases, managing the GFF Trust Fund, technical assistance to regional teams, and support to the GFF Investors Group, the governance mechanism for the GFF.

POSITION & CANDIDATE’ REQUIREMENTS:

Position introduction:

The position advertised will work within the GFF’s Health Financing team, which supports countries as they ensure the adequacy of financing for PHC to increase equitable access to quality RMNCAH-N services. Key elements of the health financing team’s work include supporting countries in: 1) more and better generation and utilization of budget and expenditure data to improve prioritization, alignment and accountability around their National Health Plans/Health Financing Strategies through resource mapping and expenditure tracking (RMET); 2) analysis of the drivers of health equity related to access, to coverage of quality services, and to financial protection; 3) strengthening domestic resource utilization and mobilization.

Duties & Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will provide technical support within the GFF Secretariat on health financing issues as per GFF health financing objectives. This includes:
• Supporting GFF focal points, World Bank task teams and countries in identifying the potential value add of the GFF in the health financing agenda as it relates to RMNCAH-N, ensuring resources are provided appropriately to support implementation of this agenda, and providing or facilitating provision of technical assistance where necessary;
• Providing leadership on use of health financing data across the GFF Secretariat and within GFF countries. This includes summary and analysis of macroeconomic and health financing data including financial protection data to support cross-country analysis as well as to inform country dialogue on health financing reforms and population targeting;
• Contributing to GFF health financing strategy preparation and implementation;
• Leading GFF health financing knowledge products; and participating in international fora as appropriate;
• Contributing to the preparations of World Bank/GFF operations to ensure the relevant health financing for RMNCAH-N agenda is integrated into IDA operations;
• Engaging with other relevant World Bank practices on health financing issues related to the areas of macrofiscal, social protection, governance and public financial management.

Selection Criteria

• Minimum Education/Work Experience: Master in economics, health financing, or other relevant discipline (Phd is preferred) and at least 10 years of relevant experience in supporting large scale development programs, especially related to RMNCAH-N, in low and low-middle income countries;
• Demonstration of very strong writing skills and experience in leading analytical products and associated dissemination efforts;
• Demonstration of very strong quantitative analysis skills including the use of EXCEL, SPSS, STATA, R or other similar software packages and ability to translate data analytics for use in country policy decision-making;
• Experience working in preparing Bank operations in more than one country is preferred;
• Extensive field experience in working with national government (i.e. Ministries of Health, Ministries of finance, insurance agencies, etc.) and other partners at national and sub-national level in policy formulation as well as experience in supporting implementation of programs;
• Experience having developed and/or facilitated complex partnerships, including between NGOs, CSOs, multi-lateral institutions and governments; strong relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills preferred;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English (knowledge of other languages relevant to GFF countries is an asset – especially French);
• Capacity to work simultaneously on a variety of issues and tasks, independently adjusting to priorities and achieving results with agreed objectives and deliver against ambitious deadlines.
• Strong client focus including good interpersonal, diplomatic and team building skills required for building and maintaining collaborative relationships;
• Commitment to the GFF mission.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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