Senior Economist ( Health ) at World Bank

The Africa Health, Nutrition, and Population Unit (AFTHW) is seeking a Senior
Health Economist to be part of the health team. The position will be based in
Abuja, Nigeria and the candidate will report to the AFTHW Sector Manager.
World Bank is currently recruiting to fill the below position of:
Job Title: Senior Economist ( Health )
Job Code: 122729
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Background / General description:
Nigeria has made limited progress in delivering critical health services. There
appears to have been improvement in the under-5 mortality rate (from 217 per
1,000 live births in 2003 to 171 in 2008) but overall progress is not sufficient
to achieve MDG4. Government through its National Strategic Health Development
Framework and Plan (NHSDP) has recognized the importance of focusing on results
to make significant progress, which requires greater accountability and more
attention to governance. Furthermore, health financing issues such as high out
of pocket (OOP) expenditure, little fiscal space for operational expense and
weak oversight of state and local government authority (LGA) budgets have been
critical issues in improving accountability and governance.
With Nigeria trailing on the Health MDGs, health has been an important part of
the Bank’s portfolio. The Africa Strategy– Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s
Support to it – is founded on strengthening governance and public sector
capacity. It recognizes that critical services are too often delivered poorly
due to weak management of public funds. The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS)
for Nigeria focuses on improving governance and promoting human development. The
CPS notes that the World Bank will invest in health MDGs by improving access to
quality health services, vaccination coverage and maternal care services. The
Bank has been supporting Nigeria over the last decade through both efforts at
health system strengthening and “vertical” disease control programs, focused on
HIV/AIDS, Polio and Malaria, and Maternal and Child Health.
As an initiative to strengthen governance and accountability and improve value
for money, the World Bank has initiated the Nigeria State Health Investment
Project (NSHIP), a US$ 170 million results-based financing (RBF) operation that
aims at improving the delivery of high impact primary health care services. The
project provides performance bonuses to health facilities based on their
utilization and quality of services. It also provides finance to states and LGAs
based on their achievement of a set of disbursement linked indicators (DLIs)
that clarify responsibilities of each administration. These pilot innovations
will be evaluated using rigorous impact evaluation methodologies.
In addition, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF), the World Bank is preparing for quality assessment and
resource tracking surveys at health facilities to: 1) identify predictors of
success in quality and current gaps; and 2) assess the efficiency of budget
allocation and execution and implement effective resource tracking in selected
states. This aims to help the government measure quality and resource use for
continuous improvement.
Further, the Bank administers the Governance Partnership Facility (GPF) in
Nigeria that intends to improve the development impact of public finances
through initiatives that improve sector governance, increase accountability and
effectiveness and enhanced citizen voice and participation in service delivery
in key areas. Components of the GPF activities include governance of service
delivery in key sectors such as health and education, public financial
management transparency, accountability, effectiveness and sustainability, and
engagement with citizens.
To support the overall development and work portfolio of the Health, Nutrition
and Population (HNP) work in Nigeria including above initiatives and to deliver
on the Africa strategy that uses governance as the principal measure to
strengthening service delivery, the Bank seeks a Senior Health Economist. The
Senior Health Economist based in Abuja is expected to strengthen the Bank’s
analytical and operational activities in Nigeria by mainstreaming governance,
fiscal accountability and value for money in its health portfolio.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The Senior Health Economist will:
Support the analysis and operations of quality assessment and resource
tracking surveys with the BMGF including procurement and supervision of
research agencies.
Work with the TTL, government counterparts and consultants to develop and
implement a customized and health facility-based version of Public Expenditure
Tracking (PET) study that works in Nigerian context where standardized process
to track finance does not exist.
Support the process of developing and customizing the service delivery
indicators (SDIs) to measure the quality of health services (including
knowledge and practice of health workers, availability of resources) across
states.
Support the analysis and reforms of budgeting and financial management in the
participating states in the NSHIP – the work can include the detailed analysis
of budget allocations to states and LGAs and non-salary recurrent expenses,
and development of a prototype allocation methodologies and cash budgeting and
management tools.
Work on the GPF activities including the governance of service delivery in
human development sectors (health, education, social protection), public
financial management transparency, accountability, effectiveness and
sustainability, and engagement with citizens.
Support the development of the knowledge base on results based financing –
including analyzing monitoring and operational information for refining
strategies; engaging with colleagues responsible for specific implementation
supervision of the RBF and health facility surveys including impact
evaluations, information systems strengthening, etc.
Carry out tasks that support the HNP team in Nigeria and the unit as requested
by the sector manager.
Conduct cross-sectoral support in governance, financing and financial
management.
Requirements
The selected candidate will have:
General competencies
General and Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills – Has advanced economic
and financing qualifications gained through advanced (graduate level) academic
training. Has excellent quantitative skills and demonstrated track record of
working with economic and sectoral data and analytical tools and models to
conduct economic and financing analyses and synthesize complex results into
user-friendly written outputs for team or stand-alone work.
Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making
process and role of the health sector in that process. Able to find relevant
information and examine similar policy questions in multiple regions and to
distill operationally relevant recommendations and lessons from the analysis
for clients.
Problem Solving Capabilities – Identifies, structures and prioritizes issues
effectively in complicated contexts of Nigeria, acts quickly to attain
evidence-base for decision making and facilitates stakeholders effectively to
solve problems.
Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and
communicates findings/points of view verbally and through reports and papers.
Plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other
stakeholders as part of Bank teams.
Client Orientation – Proactively addresses client needs. Takes personal
responsibility for timely response to client queries, requests or needs.
Anticipates client needs and responds based on clear understanding of needs
and concerns. Asks probing questions to understand the client’s underlying
needs and offers possible solutions.
Drive for Results – Accepts accountability for work tasks. Takes personal
ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed results and
has the personal organization to do so. Follows up for completion, coordinates
with others, and ensures that others with whom he or she is working deliver on
time and to quality standards.
Teamwork and Inclusion – Values working in collaboration and respecting views
of others. Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively
to the team’s work and output. Contributes as required to the work of others
in the department. Works collaboratively and effectively within the Bank
culture as well as within own and others’ cultures.
Specific knowledge and skills
Advanced degree in Health Economics and/or Financing, Economics or Business
Administration (Finance-focus) and at least 8 years of relevant experiences in
the health and governance sectors;
Knowledge and experiences in financial resource tracking in the health sector
such as PET studies and public expenditure reviews (PERs), and/or in health
facility surveys such as quality assessment and impact evaluation;
Knowledge and experiences in improving social accountability and citizens’
participation and working with civil society organizations;
Knowledge and understanding of the Nigerian HNP issues, the political economy
and institutional and governance context of Nigeria;
Experience in international development and experience in operations in a
multilateral institution.
Proven analytical skills, writing ability, and written and oral communications
skills in English.
Application Closing Date
4th December, 2012
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
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