Governance Specialist at World Bank Group in Abuja

Job Title:Governance Specialist, Abuja, Nigeria
Closing Date:30 Nov 2012

Background / General description:


The Global Partnership Facility (GPF), through a contribution by DFID in Nigeria, has made possible the establishment of a trust fund to support Improving Economic Governance in Nigeria. The trust fund provides support in six areas:

Accountability and transparency of the financial reporting in the oil and gas sectors;
Improved governance of service delivery - mainly in primary education;
Improved PFM transparency, accountability, effectiveness and sustainability primarily at state level;
Increased engagement of citizens in the development process in the Niger Delta states of Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta;
Increased citizen voice and inclusion to strengthen voice and inclusion and social accountability; and
Provision of just-in-time governance advice, knowledge, dissemination, mainstreaming, and program management on the governance agenda in Bank operations.

Each of the six areas are managed by World Bank Task Team Leaders.

The trust fund activities are in the main tied to ongoing and planned World Bank operations and associated government counterparts. The trust fund is set up to be implemented in two phases. The first phase running from October 2011 to February 2014 will serve to test areas of engagement, solidify counterpart engagement and achieve preliminary results. As second phase, envisioned the period from February 2014 to December 2017 will constitute the implementation phase.

Through all components, the trust fund will support the implementation of a "Strengthened Governance Approach" in the World Bank in Nigeria. The concept note for the approach is attached to these terms of references. The World Bank is looking to recruit a one year term staff specialized in broad governance issues with a focus on political economy, open government and demand side issues, to facilitate the joint implementation of the approach and trust fund.

The position will be based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 1 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:


The selected candidate will report to the AFTP3 Sector Manager in Washington and will work closely with the task team leaders and decentralized Cluster Leader (CL) based in Abuja. S/he will be expected to carry out the following duties:

Support the day to day implementation of the Programmatic Approach to Governance in Nigeria.
Function as a Secretariat to GPF trust fund Management Committee
Support the day to day implementation of the GPF Trust Fund for Strengthening Economic Governance in Nigeria
In doing the above, S/he will:

a) Support World Bank task teams in using political economy and governance analytical tools throughout the operational and analytical project cycles with a view to improving their development effectiveness,

b) Function as a Secretariat to the multi sectoral Governance Filter team, supporting task teams ahead of concept note and decision meeting reviews, brief the CD and providing follow up, as needed to sector teams,

c) Improve the linkage of supply and demand side interventions throughout the Bank portfolio,

d) Work with sector colleagues and, in particular, EXT colleagues to find new ways to engage external stakeholders disseminate Bank products with a view to improving the environment for information and transparency.

Selection Criteria:


COMPETENCIES

Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
Policy Dialogue Skills - Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector.
General Governance and Public Sector Knowledge and Experience - Has demonstrated analytic and operational skills in the area of public sector, and has practical experience working on production of projects and/or studies on areas key to public sector.
Written and Verbal Communication - Delivers information effectively in support of team or workgroup
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 to do so.
Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - 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.
Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work

OTHER SELECTION CRITERIA
Master's degree with at least five years of experience in public administration, economics, social science, political science, or other related field;
Excellent analytical skills and direct experience in undertaking political economy and governance analysis;
Excellent people skills and a proven track record of working with and for non state actors.
Extensive experience in demand-side governance activities, including work with civil society and local communities and familiarity with instruments such as access to information, grievance redress, media development, citizens' score-cards, participatory budgeting etc.
Working knowledge of World Bank instruments for improving development effectiveness through governance and public sector management entry points.
Strong client skills, including a demonstrated capacity to work with government counterparts around transparency and accountability interventions, in poor governance contexts.
Demonstrated track-record of being a self starter, delivering tasks in time and quality ;
Ability to work under tight deadlines and ability to juggle multiple tasks;
Strong organizational, research, and oral presentation skills;
Demonstrated skills and experience in project management;
Proven ability to work in a team and intercultural environment, with minimal supervision; including strong client engagement

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