Job Family
Education
Sector
Education
Term Duration
4 years 0 months
Recruitment Type
Local Recruitment
Required Language(s)
English / French / Malagasy
Specific responsibilities include:
• Operations: Lead/support the design and supervision operations, both as task team leader and as member of team, in the education sector or multi-sectoral operations. Provide implementation support for the on-going portfolio. Provide timely advice and support to clients in implementing projects and help to build capacity of Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to implement its program.
• Policy Dialogue and Building Client Capacity: Contribute to sectoral policy dialogue with clients, on a range of complex issues at different levels of education. Identify and nurture opportunities for participating in the broader policy dialogue in the country especially in so far as they impact on education or where the education sector can contribute. Help strengthen client capacity to use findings of policy research/ analytical work for developing new policies.
• Technical Advice on key issues in the sector and strategic directions for the country’s education development: Bring relevant international experience and research to assist in developing local solutions, on issues such as strategies to improve teacher quality, basic education, secondary education/TVET, quality improvement and financing of higher education, early childhood education and use of ICT in education and public private partnerships.
• Analytical work and Non-Lending Services: Lead/contribute to the preparation of “cutting edge” technical products that respond to critical policy questions identified by the client and which have an impact on policy and operational design. Produce “just in time” notes of high quality as well as lead longer analytical reports. Work on cross-sectoral teams to contribute to products such as public expenditure reviews and implementation of decentralization. Contribute to the country diagnostics and other core analytic work. Contribute to the unit’s analytical work by generating “think pieces” and synthesis papers.
• Leadership: Work closely with the Practice Manager and education team and the CMU and other GPs to identify new business, including innovative financial products, technical advisory services and other services, as required.
• Partnership: Work constructively with partners, including bilateral and multi-lateral donors, UN agencies, NGOs and partners from the South, and private sector partners. Contribute to alignment and coordination around country led priorities.
Duties and Accountabilities:
• Contribution to education sector analytical work: Participate in analytical work and provide high quality customized analytical and advisory services linked to country circumstances (including relevant lessons from international experience) on wide range of issues and policies related to education. Skillfully manipulate large datasets, such as school census and national learning assessment data, summarizing findings clearly and drawing out policy recommendations. Contribute to activities such as impact evaluations, economic analysis of education operations, public expenditure reviews, and other education analytical work.
• Support of operations: In consultation with the TTLs, handle operational matters on a day-to-day basis. In this context, she/he would participate in the full cycle of project preparation, implementation support, and evaluation. She/he will support mission preparation and contribute to mission objectives, including inputs to mission aides-memoire and implementation status reports (ISRs). She/he will support monitoring and evaluation of project development objectives and implementation progress, intermediate outcomes, and results-based financing/disbursement linked indicators. The main objective is to help ensure the effectiveness and timely implementation of projects, including close follow-up on project implementation progress and alleviation of bottlenecks.
• Support to human development (HD) and other country analytical work: Provide education sector input to regular Bank products and outputs, e.g. HD-wide analytical tasks, CMU tasks. Liaise with HD staff on integrated HD inputs and activities.
• Support to ad hoc requests and briefings: Respond to ad-hoc information requests on education from internal and external parties. Draft briefings for management on education sector in general and specific topics as required.
Selection Criteria
• A minimum of a Master’s Degree (preferably PhD) in economics, education (economics of education, education policy, etc.), public policy, or a related field;
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in the education sector;
• Strong analytical and technical skills, including an understanding of the core education data sets, indicators, tools for analysis of these data, and the use of evidence for education policy;
• Strong client orientation and proven ability to work with government agencies, and with partner organizations;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to work in a team and intercultural environment with minimal supervision;
• High levels of energy, initiative and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements. Ability to juggle numerous competing demands and priorities, respond quickly to internal and external client requests, and set priorities for self and others;
• Relevant experience with policies and interventions in the education sector, familiarity with World Bank’s operations and business processes will be a plus;
• Excellent communication (oral and written) skills to convey complex technical ideas to a non-specialist audience, and lead substantive policy dialogue with clients and stakeholders;
• Fluency in written and spoken English, French and Malagasy;
• Willingness to travel, as required by the different tasks.
Key Competencies:
• Integrative Skills: Demonstrates strong integrative thinking and ability to support project teams in developing an integrated point of view around development challenges;
• Policy Dialogue Skills: Possesses political judgment, diplomatic acumen, and negotiating skills; applies cross-country development knowledge to discussions with clients and development partners; anticipates needs and requests in the field and develops/offers relevant tools to clients;
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena: Understands policy making process and the role of own sector of expertise in that process; finds relevant information/data and examines similar policy questions in multiple regions;
• Client Orientation: Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success;
• Drive for Results: Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization skills to do so;
• Teamwork: Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team’s work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view;
• Knowledge, Learning, and Communication: Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner; and
• Education Sector Knowledge and Experience: Possesses strong analytical and technical skills, including an understanding of the core education data sets, indicators, tools for analysis of these data, and the use of evidence for education policy.
