Background / General description
The South Asia Region’s Governance and Public Sector Management Sector Group (SASGP), part of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department (SAR PREM), is seeking to recruit a qualified Public Sector Management Specialist to support the design and implementation of its program in India and other South Asian countries. Region Context The South Asia Region (SAR) spans eight countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) ranging in population from India (over 1 billion) to Maldives (0.3 million). The Region has a diverse work program encompassing
significant lending operations of about $8 – 10 billion a year, a diverse program of analytical work, and a portfolio under supervision amounting to about $30 billion in 180 operations, including donor-funded operations. South Asia’s decade-long rapid economic growth, declining poverty, and progress in human development have raised the possibility that the region with the largest concentration of poor people could end poverty in a generation. The region has over $150 million in administrative and reimbursable budgets and over $30 million of Bank executed trust funds. There are over 800 full-time staff working in the Region, of which 68% are based in SAR country offices. The Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department (SAR PREM) assists its member countries in developing and implementing strategies to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development through lending, advice and analytical work. The Governance and Public Sector Management Sector Group (SASGP) is one of the two sector groups in SAR PREM, and is responsible for work including public finance; legal and judicial reform; civil service and public administration reform; and helping implement SAR governance, anti-corruption and e-government strategies. SASGP is highly decentralized with almost all of its staff, including the Sector Manager, in country offices in the South Asia Region (SAR).
Duties and Accountabilities
SASGP has recently revised its business plan and will in its operations in the coming three years focus on the following critical issues:
• Providing high quality advisory services on governance issues to internal and external clients.
• Develop an innovative client support program through lending and technical assistance, focusing on governance trends in the region, including reforms based on enhanced accountability, open government, using technology to improve service delivery and performance management and strengthening domestic revenue mobilization.
• Supporting institution building in fragile and conflict affected states and sub-national entities within states.
• Issuing cutting edge analytical studies on governance issues affecting the region. The unit currently manages operational and advisory programs in six states, both at national and sub-national level and has a team of 22 staff. In the implementation of its program, the unit works in close collaboration with the Economic Policy and Poverty Sector Group (SASEP) to bring an integrated vision on growth and governance to the region. The public sector specialist would play a critical role in the development and implementation support of the unit’s India program, which is being developed around a central level engagement on performance management, public grievance management and e-service delivery, and a number of level engagements supporting implementation of reforms at the level of states, with an emphasis on lagging states. The public sector specialist would also be called upon to support similar operations in Pakistan and possibly other countries in the region.
Tasks would include:
• Producing high level analytical work on public sector management reforms, around themes central to reforms in South Asia, including ‘open government’, accountability, technology driven reforms of service delivery systems, performance management and domestic revenue mobilization.
• Contributing in the design of lending and advisory operations on governance and public sector management, and leadership of individual components of such programs. This includes engagement in fragile state contexts.
• Maintaining close relations with Global Expert Teams to bring global knowledge to the South Asia Program and feed innovations into global discussions on governance and public sector management.
• Work on the operationalization of the Bank’s new PSM strategy, including the development and tracking of an implementation plan for the region.
Selection Criteria
— A master’s degree in economics, political science, finance, public administration, management sciences or related fields and with 5 or more years’ relevant work experience.
— Experience in applying the principles and practical processes of PSM and PFM.
— Ability to analyze well-defined PSM/PFM issues, draft components of major reports, articulate issues and recommend solutions.
— Strong experience in participating in multi-disciplinary teams in a multi-cultural context.
— Strong internal and external communication skills.
— A proven record of ability to deliver under tight time constraints.
— A record of working in fragile and conflicted affected environments would be an advantage.
— Ability to interact confidently with people from a variety of social, ethnic and political backgrounds.
— Written and spoken English to a professional standard; and strong computer skills.
The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Closing Date: Wednesday, 08 February 2012
