Sudan has experienced dramatic changes in the last 10 years, including the advent of significant oil exports beginning in 1999 and a cessation of the country’s long-running civil war in 2005 through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Sudan’s economy has grown at a spectacular rate in the 2000s, owing to the advent of oil and resulting investments on infrastructure and utilities. Since 1999 when Sudan started exporting oil in significant amounts, the size of Sudan’s economy has grown more than fivefold—from $10 billion in 1999 to over $53 billion in 2009. Per capita income, a summary measure of the living standard of average citizens, has increased from $334 to $532 (constant 2000 USD) over the same time period.
In spite of Sudan rising to lower middle income status in the last decade due to oil wealth, the country is marked by deep poverty and inequality. Poverty estimates set the average rate of poverty incidence at 46.5 per cent (2009 National Baseline Household Survey), indicating that some 15 million people are poor. Sudan’s economic development process has historically been unbalanced and disproportionately concentrated in Khartoum and surrounding states. Thus, the poverty rate is significantly higher in rural areas (58 per cent) than in urban areas (26 per cent), and varies markedly across states, from 26 per cent in Khartoum state to above 60 per cent in peripheral states such as North Darfur, South Kordofan, and Red Sea. This polarization and vast divergence in economic fortunes in Sudan is at least in part shaped by widespread conflicts and civil war, particularly between North and South, until it ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. The legacy of persistent spatial disparities not only presents challenges to growth and shared prosperity but also remains a source for conflict and political instability.
Duties and Accountabilities:
• Engage and lead the dialogue with key representatives of Government, academia, NGOs, and development partners on poverty reduction and social protection policy.
• Provide guidance and technical assistance to the Government, particularly the MoWSS, on improvements to the implementation of the Social Protection program, particularly related to Cash Transfers, Health Insurance, and Productive Safety Net approaches. This would include technical areas such as targeting, payments, and communication and social accountability. Contribute to the design and development of program specific Monitoring & Evaluation tools, providing support for the implementation of M&E systems.
• Advise the Government on the harmonization of Social Protection instruments and programs including those implemented by development partners. Strengthen the Government’s capacity to lead the Social Protection agenda, including with development partners, and provide guidance and support for training and capacity building.
• Lead and contribute to economic analytical work in support of the Poverty and Social Protection work program in Sudan, contributing to poverty analysis, public expenditure analysis, and other economic and sector work. To this end, analyze and interpret data from the census, household surveys, and other data with a particular focus on the social protection & labor sector.
• Elaborate, review and contribute to technical and advisory documents produced for improving the mentioned social protection programs.
• Guide the development of the Social Protection and Poverty evaluation agenda, including impact evaluation of programs, beneficiary assessments etc.
• Work across the Global Practices of Poverty and SP&L, as well as relevant others practices (e.g. Financial Sector, Agriculture) and actively participate in regional social protection practice group activities, facilitate and participate knowledge sharing across countries and with other regions.
Desired Skills and Experience
• Advanced degree in economics, social sciences, public sector or other relevant degrees; PhD would be an advantage,
• Minimum of ten years of experience in the design and implementation of social protection programs, social insurance, and/or labor market programs with incremental experience in a leading position.
• Strong quantitative skills and familiarity with statistical techniques. Experience in applied microeconomic work in the areas of poverty, safety nets, social insurance and labor markets;
• Experience in conducting policy dialogue and providing high quality technical advisory services essential;
• Experience with fiscal analysis, and evaluation frameworks including design of impact evaluation for social protection or other human development programs.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, Arabic would be an asset;
• Strong organizational, integrative and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to work in a complex and multi-cultural environment and ability to work in a team with minimal supervision.
• Interpersonal and diplomatic skills: Capacity to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders within and outside the Bank.
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to development work. Willingness to travel to other countries in and outside the region.
• Excellent general computer skills, including Microsoft Office package (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Time Management: A record of prioritizing and managing time to deliver high priority and top quality products. This ability must be coupled with a tolerance of and capability to manage significant uncertainties in the work program and to undertake a range of tasks simultaneously.
For further details and to apply, please go to www.worldbank.org/careers and under “current job openings” seek vacancy number 141586. Deadline for applications is January 12, 2015.
