Job Vacancies at World Bank Group, Nigeria

Job #: req12028
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade: GG
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Health/Nutrition/Population
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Required Language(s): English

Description

• The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions - providing loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses.
• The vision of the World Bank Group (WBG) is the eradication of extreme poverty and the promotion of shared prosperity by fostering income growth of the bottom 40 percent in each country.
• To achieve its vision, the WBG leverages the combined strength of its institutions and their ability to partner with the public and private sectors to deliver customized development solutions backed by finance, world class knowledge and convening services.

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Health, Nutrition And Population Global Practice Context:

• The central contribution of the HNP Global Practice to the World Bank’s twin goals is to enable the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in which all people are effectively covered by essential health services, and nobody suffers undue financial hardship because of illnesses.
• The HNP Global Practice includes staff members in Washington, DC and many country offices. The HNP Global Practice works with and across multiple sectors, in recognition of the fact that HNP outcomes often depend on actions that lie outside the HNP sector.
• The HNP Global Practice supports country and regional efforts to: (i) improve health outcomes, especially for the poor and most vulnerable; (ii) expand access to high-quality HNP services, interventions and technologies that give the most value for money; (iii) strengthen health systems for results; (iv) establish and improve health financing mechanisms that promote efficiency, equity and sustainability of investments; (v) strengthen heath-relevant institutions within and outside the health sector; (vi) harness multisectoral policies and investments for better health outcomes; and (vii) develop and learn from rigorous impact evaluations.

Africa Region Context:

• Africa has registered strong economic growth in recent years that has helped to reduce poverty levels in the continent. Yet, as Africa’s population expands, the region faces a critical challenge of creating the foundations for long-term inclusive growth.
• Many countries still contend with high levels of child and maternal mortality, malnutrition is far too common, and most health systems are not able to deal effectively with epidemics and the growing burden of chronic diseases.
• These challenges call for renewed commitments and accelerated progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC)—the principle that everyone receives needed health services without financial hardship.
• Most African countries have integrated UHC as a goal in their national health strategies. Yet, progress in translating commitments to UHC into expanded domestic resources for health, effective development assistance, and ultimately, equitable and quality health services, and increased financial protection has been slow.
• To accelerate progress toward UHC in Africa, the countries will require political leadership and a clear strategic vision to achieve their UHC targets and to be able to eliminate preventable maternal and child deaths, strengthen resilience to public health emergencies, reduce financial hardship linked to illness, and strengthen the foundations for long-term economic growth.

Nigeria HNP Country Context:

• • Despite some notable progress in Polio and malaria control, Nigeria is far behind in Human Capital and Especially Child Survival. Nigeria is ranked 152nd out of 157 on the Human Capital Index (HCI) (154th on child survival) and has the highest under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of any lower-middle income country (LMIC).
  • Nigeria now accounts for about 13% of under-five deaths in the world and 25% of those in Africa.
  • U5MR in 2023 is going to be at least 17% higher than the AFR strategy goal. Almost 87% of U5MR in Nigeria, excluding neonatal mortality, is due to malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and three other vaccine-preventable diseases.
  • Nigeria’s total fertility rate (TFR) of 5.3 children per woman in 2018 has changed little since 1990 when it was 6.0.
  • The TFR is highest in North West (6.6 children per woman) and lowest in South West (3.9 children per woman) and also appears to be increasing among the poor and the uneducated.  Persistently high fertility rates have created a worker-to-dependent ratio of 1.1, less than half of the ratio in East Asian economies.
  • Nigeria’s U5MR is stagnating at high levels (132 per 1,000 live births in 2018) although progress was made from 2003 to 2013. It is also inequitable. Some recent progress has been made on immunization with coverage (DPT3) of 50% in 2018.
  • Skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, and contraceptive prevalence have largely remained the same since 1990.
  • Recent Bank investments have achieved impressive results.
  • Nigeria has recently been certified wild Polio virus free.   Use LLINs has increased by 71 percentage points and decreased severe anemia by 10 percentage points.
  • The Government of Nigeria’s spending on health is low. In 2017, government health spending was 0.5% as a share of GDP or just $US10 per capita resulting in limited resources available to pay for basic preventive and promotive health services that could have outsized impact; high levels of out-of-pocket payments at the point of delivery which reduce the use of services and act as a barrier to care, especially for the poor; and dependence on the largesse of development partners.
  • External financing may decrease, as donors such as Gavi and GFATM reduce their commitments in line with Nigeria’s high per capita GNI.
  • This will leave large gaps in key services unless there is greater domestic resource mobilization.
  • On the positive side, the Government of Nigeria has joined the Human Capital Project, and taken ownership of the Human Capital Agenda at the highest level through launching a call for action for strengthening the country’s human capital.
  • The Government has further noted its strong focus on making dramatic improvements in child survival as one of the key pillars in addressing the human capital crisis in the country.
  • Earlier in 2014, the national assembly passed the NHAct that provides for the establishment of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) funded amongst other sources from the Federal Government's share of the consolidated revenue fund that will enable the Government to use its own resources to purchase services; buy services from both public and private providers; establishes a system of accreditation to improve quality of care; finance a rigorous system of verification to ensure value for money;  (v) creates robust electronic payment systems to providers to reduce the chance of corruption; and demonstrates long-term Government commitment to using public funds to subsidize the cost of services for the poor.

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• Finally, in 2018, an investment case was developed to provide a country framework for alignment of sector stakeholders around a set of prioritized and phased RMNCAH + N interventions to accelerate progress towards better maternal and child health outcomes.

Nigeria World Bank HNP Program:

• The World Bank has been involved in the health sector since its reengagement in 2001 and now has an ambitious and complex engagement that encompasses several operations and programs of analytic work.
• To strengthen the World Bank’s health team for Nigeria, the World Bank is recruiting a Senior Health Specialist / Economist based in Abuja.
• The candidates’ work program will focus on supporting the Bank’s health engagement in Nigeria. In addition, within the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, the successful candidates might contribute to selected regional/global health engagement and solutions areas based on his/her expertise and interest.

Duties and Accountabilities

• The World Bank is hiring a Senior Health Specialist / Economist in the country office in Nigeria.
• The Senior Health Specialist / Economist will work as part of the broader HNP team to provide support and leadership on the World Bank’s technical and operational engagement at federal and state level.
• He/she will be expected to work across multiple areas, including health financing, primary health care, health security preparedness, COVID-19, as well as multisectoral agendas such as nutrition and women and girls’ empowerment.

Specific responsibilities will depend on the technical profile of the candidate, but will include:

• Lead, co-lead or contribute to policy dialogue, technical assistance and other support to government and other stakeholders in Nigeria (and possibly other countries in the region) across the areas of the Bank’s HNP engagement in Nigeria.
• Lead, co-lead or contribute to implementation support of the Bank’s HNP operational portfolio, as well as the preparation of selected national and/or regional operations.
• This will include leading, co-leading or contributing to technical discussions and monitoring of the Bank portfolio on a day-to-day basis in close collaboration with the relevant government agencies and development partners.
• It will also include participation in missions of the health team at federal and/or state level.
• Contribute to cross-GP agendas and activities, including both analytic and operational.
• Prepare or contribute to sector-specific or cross-sectoral inputs for various operational products/outputs (e.g. sector/country briefings, background reports, portfolio performance reviews, etc.).
• Respond to ad hoc information requests from internal and external parties.
• The work will be substantive in nature, requiring frequent interactions with senior external and internal counterparts.
• The Senior Health Specialist / Economist will report to the Practice Manager (Health Nutrition and Population) for HAWH2.  For day-to-day operational work, the Senior Health Specialist / Economist may serve as Task Team Leader on assigned tasks and work closely with other Task Team Leaders, the Human Development Program Leader, and staff from other Global Practices.
• The Senior Health Specialist / Economist will be subject to all World Bank regulations and guidelines applicable to staff in the Country Office which is their duty station.

Selection Criteria:

• • Advanced degree in Medicine, Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Economics or equivalent with at least 8 years of relevant experience.
  • Extensive experience working in technical and policy issues that are at the core of the World Bank’s engagement, including health system strengthening, health economics and financing, health security and preparedness, and multisectoral agenda.
  • Experience from outside Nigeria is an advantage.

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• A track record of working effectively with government officials, high level stakeholders, and international partners such as WHO, UNICEF, GAVI, USAID, CDC, West African Health Organization etc. Experience working with stakeholders at both federal and state level is an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills and demonstrated ability to exercise technical and operational judgement in complex contexts and client relationships.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues / team members, including from other sectors, and to contribute productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
• Experience working on WBG funded projects and familiarity with WBG operations, policies, and procedures is an advantage.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English is essential.

In addition to the above, the selected candidate is expected to demonstrate the following WBG core competencies:

• Integrative Skills: Understands core issues and knows where to get additional expertise when needed.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena: Understands policy making process and role of the health sector in that process.
• Can find relevant information and examine similar policy questions in multiple regions and to distill operationally relevant recommendations and lessons from this analysis for clients.
• Policy Dialogue Skills  Identifies and assesses policy issues and communicates findings/points of view verbally and through economic reports and papers.
• Plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders as part of Bank teams.
• Client Orientation Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results: Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion: Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.

Application Closing Date
7th June, 2021 at 11:59pm UTC.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Job #: req10159
Location: Abidjan,Cote d'Ivoire or Nigeria
Organization: IFC
Sector: Gender
Grade: GF
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Background

• The Gender and Economic Inclusion Group at IFC works toward a private and public sector that provides all genders and underserved communities with equal opportunities as leaders, employees, entrepreneurs, consumers, and community members to participate in and benefit from the economy and to improve their quality of life.
• We develop research and evidence on what works to reduce gender and other exclusionary gaps; support mobilization through impact investing and social bond principles; work with IFC funds and clients to identify and promote best practices; and provide operational and policy solutions that create socioeconomic opportunities and development for all.
• The Group sets a strategic agenda, develops common targets, improves knowledge, develops practical gender approaches, measures results, and forges key partnerships that strengthen the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development solutions.
• The team is now seeking a passionate, energetic and experienced private sector gender expert based in either Cote d’Ivoire or Nigeria who works as part of the team to innovate solutions and roll out programs that help close gaps between men and women in the private sector and with IFC’s clients.

Duties and Accountabilities

• IFC is now recruiting an experienced individual in the area of private sector development and gender to support IFC’s gender work in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Private Sector Gender Specialist will report to and work with the Regional Gender Lead in SSA in engaging the private sector and providing direct client services in this area.
• For this work, the Private Sector Gender Specialist will support business development, project design and support day-to-day delivery of advisory services to clients as well as knowledge management, communications and research.
• In addition, the specialist will serve as a resource for various project teams in the Africa Region, with flexibility to travel across the region.
• The operations officer (Private Sector Gender Specialist) is expected to travel as necessary to countries within the region and undertake tasks as assigned by the Regional Gender Lead.

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Scope of Work
Specific duties and accountabilities include, but are not limited to:

Program Design and Delivery:

• Design and manage the delivery of gender projects in women’s access to jobs and assets across various sectors and countries;
• Design firm-level gender advisory services in closing gaps for women in jobs and assets;
• Serve as a technical expert and resource to investment and advisory teams where gender opportunities can be defined early on in project design;
• Support business development with clients through research and proposal development especially in fragile contexts as defined by IFC;
• Develop key project documents including preparatory research work, pre-read briefs etc, needed for scoping missions related to the area of women’s employment and gender-inclusive agricultural value chains;
• Structure and prepare project work plan with timelines and deliverables across all project components
• Closely collaborate with IFC colleagues (i.e. client relationship managers, project/country teams, global specialists and the results measurement team);
• Customize gender approaches to fragile contexts i.e. including mental health approaches, different dimensions of gender-based violence etc.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships Development:

• Identify and establish strategic partnerships for the implementation of IFC’s gender work;
• Represent IFC to stakeholders at multiple levels including companies, NGOs, government, private sector associations;
• Manage day-to-day stakeholder relationships at project level.

Communications and Reporting:

• Draft company case studies on gender, contribute to research and strategy documents including country SCDs/CPFs among others;
• Draft project communications and stakeholder engagement strategies as well as project reports as required by IFC, clients and development partners according to IFC standards and guidelines;
• Support the organization of major events and conferences;
• Develop tools such as blogs, events, partnerships etc. for raising the profile of IFC’s gender work in the region in collaborations with communications colleagues;
• Solicit opportunities to externally profile IFC’s gender work in SSA.

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Knowledge Management:

• Conceptualize and implement research projects with specific deliverable of bridging private sector specific gender data gaps in Africa;
• Develop specific reference, learning materials, case studies and training initiatives in response to internal/external demand;
• Systematically consolidate and analyze lessons learned from project implementation experience and share with team members and colleagues across the region;
• Document results and lessons learned and support their dissemination;
• Provide cross-support to other projects and make inputs into gender flag, AIMMS, strategy docs

Project Governance:

• Leading project governance using IFC’s systems;
• Procurement and contracting of consulting firm(s) to deliver gender advisory services and/or research projects;
• Manage consultants as and when required.

Results Measurement:

• Support the Regional Gender Lead in monitoring, measuring and reporting on gender including tracking the integration of gender into advisory and investment projects.

Selection Criteria

• Master's Degree in Economics, Finance, Business or other relevant discipline required;
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in fields relevant to private sector development; experience working with gender and private sector necessary;
• Work experience in an emerging market environment strongly preferred, experience in SSA especially Anglophone and Francophone West Africa desired;
• Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement client engagements and to produce comprehensive analytical reports for clients;
• Strong project management skills with proven ability to support execution of projects, management of resources and delivery against timelines;
• Fluent in English and French;
• Excellent team building and relationship management skills across different stakeholders
• Thorough understanding of international development frameworks such as Sustainable Development Goals etc. desirable.

Required Language(s):

• English, French.

Application Closing Date
26th May, 2021.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

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