Associate Economist

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. 

The Development Impact Measurement Department (CDI) within the Economics and Private Sector Vice Presidency (CEDVP) analyzes economic sectors with a view to identifying opportunities and solutions for private sector development and works closely with IFC Operations. It provides technical support to operations related to structuring, appraising, and monitoring investment and advisory projects and is responsible for reporting on IFC’s impact. The department is in charge of implementing the ex-ante project assessment framework (Anticipated Impact Measurement and Monitoring- AIMM) for investment and advisory projects throughout the project cycle, help ensure high-quality economic support for IFC operations teams on strategies and projects and developing sector economic analyses with a focus on solutions for private sector development.

CDI staff comprise mainly sector economists and results measurement specialists assigned to units organized along IFC industry groupings.  These include units for Financial Institutions (CDIFI), Infrastructure (CDIIN), Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services (CDIMA), and Funds and Disruptive Technology team (CDIDF). The department also includes staff working on economic modeling, results measurement, corporate reporting, and sustainability that support all industry groups. In short, the department offers “end-to-end” support and impact assessments for IFC investments and advisory services, engaging upstream and downstream throughout the project cycle.

The Financial Institution Group team (CDIFI) is in charge of implementing CDI mandates and deliverables described above in relation to products, including investment and advisory to Financial Institutions, supporting microfinance, insurance, loans to small and medium enterprises and women-owned businesses, and affordable housing loans, among other areas. This includes fully developing and implementing the ex-ante project assessment framework for investment and advisory projects throughout the project cycle, monitoring and evaluating the impact of both investments and advisory projects, helping to ensure high-quality economic support for IFC Financial Institutions Group (FIG) teams on strategies and projects, and developing sector economic analyses with a focus on solutions for private sector development.  These activities will support operations done by FIG teams to deliver investments that support growing enterprises across emerging markets. Financial sector operations comprise a significant portion (approximately 40%) of IFC’s investment operations and make important contributions to financial sector development in client countries. These operations span commercial banking, including specialized product areas such as SME banking, insurance, microfinance, housing finance, trade finance, distressed assets, and capital markets development.  

The Department is looking for an Economist based in Washington D.C. to provide, on an ongoing basis, expert advice and operational support to Investment and Advisory operational FIG teams and management, perform economic analysis to assess the development impact of FIG operations while ensuring consistent application of standard impact measurement and monitoring frameworks, help generate relevant lessons learned and support staff to incorporate such lessons into project design, provide technical support and program quality leadership to donor-funded facilities, and contribute to evaluative work beyond the project lifecycle. S/he will work in close collaboration with the Investment and Advisory Staff of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), responsible for designing and structuring IFC’s financial sector operations, under the supervision of the CDI Manager for FIG.

Role & Responsibilities:

• Work with FIG investment and advisory teams to ensure their consistent understanding and application of standard impact measurement and monitoring frameworks and methods throughout the project lifecycle.
• Work in close collaboration with FIG teams on Board submissions to ensure well-articulated and evidence-based analysis of the developmental impacts of FIG’s engagements in support of private sector development. This includes referencing established economic theories, empirical evidence, and peer-reviewed research that supports recommended interventions.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of an ex-ante project assessment framework for investment and advisory projects, incorporating generally accepted findings from economic literature and up-to-date firm, sector, and macroeconomic databases.
• Collect and analyze project data with IFC’s investment and advisory officers, applying the appropriate sector frameworks to evaluate impact and rate projects at different phases of the project cycle. Create economic narratives grounded in qualitative and quantitative research at the project and market levels.
• Contribute to implementing the monitoring system for investments and advisory projects and better reporting on project development outcomes in the FIG lines of business. Analyze the development of relevant markets post-IFC interventions.
• Undertake rigorous macroeconomic and financial sector analysis, focusing on trends, risks, and opportunities at the global, regional, and country levels. Produce reports that highlight key challenges and priorities concerning reforms needed to address market distortions and failures and support private sector growth, market creation, and financial sector development.
• Design, commission, and execute evaluations using accepted econometric techniques (e.g., difference-in-difference, randomized control trials, regression discontinuity) to strengthen the measurement of impact.  Use findings to inform continuous improvements in the design of FIG operations and contribute to knowledge dissemination across CDI and FIG Industry Departments.
• Train regional management and staff on results measurement and development impact assessment techniques applied to financial sector operations, ensuring adherence to data quality assurance frameworks and reporting of results in line with corporate guidelines and standard impact measurement and monitoring frameworks.
• Perform additional tasks as requested by CDI management, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and operational needs.

Selection Criteria

• A master’s degree in economics/finance/business/public policy or other relevant graduate degree from a reputable university. PhD in economics/finance is a plus.
• At least 6-8 years of experience demonstrating analytical skills in applied economic analysis, with a focus on impact measurement, particularly within the financial sector.
• Prior work experience focusing on the financial sector in a Development Finance Institution (DFI) or the private sector, and track record of working on financial sector strategies and policy-related aspects.
• Expertise in analyzing topics relevant to financial markets and evaluating the economic and development impact of projects in areas such as SME banking, microfinance, digital financial services, sustainable energy finance, women in banking, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to apply economic theories and emerging economic literature to analyze the development impact of investments and policy reforms affecting financial markets. Ability to translate academic and industry research into practical insights for IFC financial sector interventions.
• Familiarity with relevant economic databases covering firms (e.g., Enterprise Surveys, Orbis) and sector/macro (e.g., World Bank, IMF, Bloomberg, BIS) and analytical tools for macroeconomic and sectoral analysis. Expertise in econometric modeling and statistical analysis using a statistical package (e.g. R, STATA) is a plus.
• Experience applying standard evaluation methods to assess the development impact of private sector investments and the provision of advisory services to private firms, both ex-ante and ex-post. Knowledge of IFC’s Anticipated Measurement and Monitoring (AIMM) system and of DFIs’ additionality frameworks is a plus.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills. Proven capability to handle complex assignments (e.g. project-related or analytical tasks with operational relevance) and produce analytical work to a high professional standard, under tight deadlines and with minimum supervision.
• Proven ability to work in teams and capability to work in multi-cultural environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate effectively with different stakeholders. Knowledge of other official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish) is preferred.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=30292&site=1