Senior Financial Sector Specialist – Tunisia

About the World Bank Group:

Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally. 

THE ROLE OF THE GLOBAL PRACTICE FOR FINANCE, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION (FCI) IN THE WBG

As of January 1, 2018, EFI created the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice, bringing together Finance and Markets (F&M) and Trade and Competitiveness’ (T&C’s) private sector development specialists. Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation is comprised of about 700 staff working across more than 120 countries. FCI works toward creating an enabling environment in which financial stability, efficiency and firm-level solutions are provided in an integrated way to crowd in the private sector, support the creation of markets, and accelerate equitable growth. About one third of FCI professional staff are decentralized to the field working in proximity to clients. 

To assist with Tunisia’s growing and complex FCI work program, the World Bank Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice (FCI GP) seeks to hire an experienced and highly motivated professional to join its team of professionals based in Tunis. The person will be part of the Tunis Country Team and will be expected to represent FCI GP in country with the rest of the team. You will be involved in /responsible for the following tasks and projects:

• Lead or contribute to the preparation and implementation of lending, technical assistance and analytical projects, or components of them. You will be requested to take responsibility on overall tasks of advisory and analytical work and/or lending activities, as well as on specific components, in the lead or under the supervision of other projects Team Leaders.
• Work on financial sector development issues in Tunisia. Initially, the focus will be on SME finance/access to finance and financial inclusion finance, but the work program is expected to evolve over time (including working in other countries in MENA).
• Lead and/or support the implementation of ongoing/proposed FCI financing/lending projects and advisory services and analytics (ASAs) and contribute to developing a work program of future financing and ASAs to meet the country’s needs in line with country and GP priorities. Integrate lessons learned in other countries (such as Morocco) and work in synergy with teams designing or implementing other projects which bring complementarities.
• Engage in country strategic dialogue with clients on the design of policies to promote sound, efficient and inclusive financial sectors, as well as in consultations with various stakeholders including donors, development partners, civil society and beneficiaries.
• Provide inputs to other Global Practices on financial sector related policies; develop and maintain relationships with clients in government and the financial sector as well as other development partners.
• Interact predominantly with counterparts at the working level in national governments, supervisory authorities or other businesses and organizations, as well as acts as liaison between team members in headquarters and Country Offices and with public sector counterparts.
• Support the design of new lending operations and ASA activities to foster financial and private sector development in Tunisia as well as help monitor the implementation and impact of the existing lending and ASA projects.
• Work in collaboration with the IBRD and IFC country management units, the FCI MENA West Practice Manager, the IFC Practice Manager responsible for Tunisia, and other team members to support and develop the FCI program in Tunisia.
• Collect relevant financial sector data, conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of financial sector issues, and collaborate in the production of technical notes on financial / private sector developments in Tunisia; and help with the dissemination of analytical work.
• Contribute to a variety of written products and communications, including components of major reports (Briefs, Analytical Notes, Back to Office Reports, Aide Memoires, Project Concept Notes, and Project Documents), as well as drafts other technical working papers for wider circulation.
• Work closely with other FCI staff in Tunisia and beyond and staff from other global practices; contribute to briefings for WBG country management; and support the integration of relevant financial / private sector issues in the WBG country strategy, systematic country diagnostics, Country Partnership Frameworks and work programs; he/she is expected to work closely with Program Leaders and other FCI country staff/task leaders

Requirements:

• A Master’s degree (MA/MS) in economics, public policy, finance, business administration, law, social science, engineering or other relevant discipline.
• Fluency in English and French (required). Knowledge of Arabic would be a strong plus.
• 8 years of relevant experience in financial sector development policy. Experience in legal reforms in these fields would be a plus. This experience could include government-facing work, including central bank, work in the private sector or work with a government entity or a donor agency in the areas above.
• Deep understanding of financial sector institutions and regulatory frameworks with a specific focus on SME access to finance and financial inclusion Strong knowledge of private sector development issues, one or more sectors, such investment climate, industries including understanding of their investment and competitiveness policies, and global value chain integration would be a plus;
• Strong experience working in Tunisia – notably exposure to financial sector development issues and knowledge of the institutional and political context. Strong understanding of Tunisia’s socio-economic context and salient development agenda.
• Ability to independently research, understand and analyze complex problems and develop innovative approaches and solutions. Ability to translate broad policy objectives into concrete development proposals, and to integrate divergent viewpoints of multiple external and internal stakeholders into a coherent project/program/strategy.
• Client orientation and capacity to contribute to and influence policy discussions at the senior government level. You should demonstrate the ability to lead technical dialogue with client at senior level and build high level of trust and collaboration, to identify and evaluate emerging opportunities in aligned with WBG strategy, and to mobilize others to deliver beyond client expectations
• Ability to work across sectors – You are expected to work within or lead multi-sector teams and you should be able to understand, conceptualize, and operationalize linkage between different policies and/or programs. Capacity to Facilitate and organize intra and inter- sectoral teams, international experts debate and exchange of ideas on key issues.
• Effective project management skills, in particular government-facing projects. Ability to contribute significantly to the preparation, execution and supervision of multiple and complex projects including: contributing to project supervision and completion reports, overseeing result and impact measurement activities, contributing to the production of technical notes, etc. Ability to operate effectively in a complex environment, with superior level of resourcefulness; ability to work with autonomy, manage and complete multiple projects/ tasks simultaneously and to meet deadlines under pressure.

– Interpersonal skills and Communication – Excellent interpersonal, diplomatic and partnership skills required for building and maintaining collaborative relationships with internal and external partners and stakeholders. Ability to communicate and liaise effectively with clients and colleagues. Demonstrates a strong command of all forms of communication and delivers messages in a consistently effective, timely and engaging manner. Ability to communicate and defend orally and in writing difficult issues and positions to senior bank management and government officials. 

– Collaboration – Ability to gain the trust and respect of country counterparts and colleagues; Ability to work collaboratively with other sectors teams, regions and WBG entities such as the IFC.

The World Bank Group values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of World Bank Group member countries to apply, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. Sub-Saharan African nationals, Caribbean nationals, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.