Investment Policy and Promotion Specialist – Employing foreign workers(STC)

Job Description

Investing Across Borders Project

Terms of Reference

Summary of the job description:

The World Bank Group’s Investment Climate Advisory Service is looking for a professional with a legal background to join the Investing Across Borders (IAB) indicators project team to develop the Employing Foreign Workers topic. This will include leading the day to day tasks associated with the production of the indicators.

An ideal candidate will have academic and professional experience in legal systems of various countries, specialized in employment and immigration law, be fluent in several languages and have experience in managing projects. Ideally, the candidate should have a primary law degree and a graduate law degree (LL.M.) from different jurisdictions. Further qualifications are detailed below.

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to Ms. Tania Ghossein () as soon as possible. Early applications are strongly encouraged. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Project Overview:

The Investing Across Borders project is a global benchmarking initiative for measuring the ease of establishing and operating a foreign-owned business in countries across the world. The project has been designed in collaboration with the Doing Business initiative of the World Bank Group, and focuses on areas of regulation relevant for foreign direct investors. The IAB indicators aim to stimulate investment policy reforms by comparing the quality of investment climates worldwide, identify good practices in investment policy design and implementation, and provide annual cross-country data for research and analysis.

Duties and Accountabilities:

Principal duties will include:

• Leading the development of the draft survey instrument for the Employing Foreign Workers topic and providing substantive guidance on its content;
• Expanding the current coverage of the topic;
• Performing research and analysis (including revision of past survey responses) of foreign specific issues (policies and regulations) related to employment of foreign workers which could be considered as focus for next IAB report;
• Drafting policy and research papers on the topic;
• Assisting with the recruitment of project contributors and survey respondents from around the world.

Additional duties and responsibilities will include:

• Researching countries’ laws, regulations and international investment agreements pertaining to additional investment climate topics covered by the Employing Foreign Workers topic;
• Revising standardized questionnaire and scoring methodology;
• Engaging group of leading experts from across the world to review survey questionnaire and results;
• Cross-supporting other topic teams within IAB as needed;
• Establishing communication channels with concerned stakeholders: law firms, international consultancies, chambers of commerce, government agencies, World Bank/IFC offices and media;
• Contributing to the day-to-day aspects of working with new IAB project database, including data entry and coding;
• Participating in project dissemination activities around the world;
• Providing general support to Investment Climate Advisory Services Department on IAB-related matters and other associated tasks, as required.

Qualifications and Selection Criteria:

• Law degree (JD, LLM or equivalent) with focus on employment and immigration law;
• Comparative law experience is a must;
• Minimum of five years of experience in the field of legal practice or research. Preference will be given to candidates with in-house counsel and law firm experience in the subject-matter;
• Familiarity with private sector development and investment climate issues;
• Familiarity with the Doing Business project, its indicators and methodology is a plus ();
• Strong data collection and analysis skills, including knowledge of relevant database management tools and use of online resources;
• Proven ability and experience in report writing and conducting top quality research;
• Comfortable dealing with the media making presentations and conducting live interviews;
• Strong communication skills and high comfort level with leading video- and tele-conferences;
• Ability to multitask and work effectively in multidisciplinary teams;
• High degree of self-motivation and proven ability to work independently under limited supervision;
• Ability to strategize and adapt work program based on changing and evolving priorities;
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a capacity to deliver high-quality outputs and results under tight deadlines;
• Preference will be given to candidates fluent in Arabic, French, Russian and/or Spanish.

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.

The consultant will be hired under a short term consultant (STC) to work with the rest of the project team on a full-time basis. The initial contract will be for a 30-day probation period. At the end of this period the consultant’s performance will be evaluated by the Project Manager, and if deemed satisfactory, extended by additional working days until the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2011). (Note that all STC contracts at the World Bank Group have a maximum duration of 150 days per fiscal year). The Investment Climate Department reserves the right to terminate the contract due to unforeseen circumstances which might affect the viability and sustainability of the project. Note that STC contracts are based on a daily fee and do not include any benefits (i.e., paid vacation days, medical insurance, social security, etc.). Candidates are expected to secure their own health insurance.