E T Consultant 11.12.2018

Description

Established in 1944, the World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff globally.

The vision of the WBG is the eradication of extreme poverty by reducing the number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day to 3 percent by 2030, and the promotion of shared prosperity by fostering income growth of the bottom 40 percent in each country. To achieve that vision, in 2013 the WBG Board of Governors approved a strategy for the organization. The strategy leverages the combined strength of the WBG 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. On July 1, 2014, the WBG launched the architecture underpinning the strategy and instrumental to its success: the new fourteen Global Practices and five Cross-Cutting Solution Areas that, in concert with the WBG regions, will design solutions to address clients’ most pressing developmental challenges, and ultimately, enable the WBG to meet its twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The Global Practices perform the following functions:

• Defining Strategic Direction;
• Developing and Deploying Expertise Globally;
• Delivering Integrated Solutions; and
• Capturing and Leveraging Knowledge Effectively.

Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) 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 as a result 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. Accordingly, a capacity to work across GP boundaries, forge coalitions and influence multi-practice solutions is essential for achieving the major objectives of improving HNP outcomes. The HNP Global Practice in the South Asia Region is responsible for the development of lending operations, supervision of the existing portfolio, preparation of analytical work, and delivery of policy advice and technical assistance.

HNP Country Context:

Bangladesh has made impressive progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to HNP outcomes. Between 2000 and 2015, infant, under-five and maternal mortality all decreased by over 50 percent. The Total Fertility Rate has almost reached replacement level. Although Bangladesh has also made good progress addressing malnutrition, the proportions of both underweight and stunting among children remain high at about one-third. The immunization program has achieved sustained coverage of all children (aged 6-59 months) immunized with all basic vaccinations above 80 percent. Institutional deliveries rose from 12 to 37 percent from 2004 to 2014, but this level is still low and insufficient to ensure quality of care. Despite recent achievements, significant development challenges remain in the health sector. These include human resource capacity shortages (both medical and managerial), a weak health financing environment, and high fiduciary risks.

The Bank has a long history of partnership with the Government and development partners in the HNP sector. Currently, the Health Sector Support Project (HSSP) is being implemented. HSSP includes US$550 million IDA credit, US$15 million grant from the Global Financing Facility, and US$116 million grant commitment of four development partners. The HSSP supports achievement of a set of results, measured by 16 disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs), the verified achievement of which triggers disbursement to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh. There are three broad sets of analytical work being implemented and planned, including products which are looking into health financing, fiduciary systems, and cross-cutting issues such as urban health, non-communicable diseases, and climate change.

The Extended Term Consultant will report to the HNP Practice Manager (based in Washington DC) and support the World Bank’s health and nutrition portfolio in Bangladesh, including the ongoing policy dialogue with Governments and partners, preparation of analytical products, and the preparation of additional financial engagements in the sector.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The selected candidate will be based in Dhaka and will be expected to:

• Be an integral part of the HNP team working on Bangladesh with a focus on providing strategic, technical and operational support to the Bank’s portfolio.
• Contribute to the analytical work of the HNP team, particularly to the work on fiduciary systems, and take a lead on specific deliverables.
• Work closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in monitoring HSSP DLIs and ensuring verification is completed in a timely manner.
• Support coordination between the Government and the Development Partners.
• Consolidate data and information for analytical products, conduct literature searches, and provide input to the sector analytical pieces.
• Provide support to technical specialists, including attending meetings and dissemination events, providing input on the local context, and helping to understanding the political economy of recommendations emerging from the analytical pieces.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health or a relevant discipline (public policy, international development, economics, or a related field).
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in the areas of public health, development, health system management, or health economics.
• Demonstrated expertise in policy dialogue and the ability to interact effectively with Government officials and a range of stakeholders at various levels.
• Experience of working with bilateral and/or multilateral donors and/or World Bank financed public sector projects would be advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of development, political, social and cultural issues in Bangladesh.
• Experience and knowledge of government policies and procedures.
• Experience of public sector budget, health sector procurement, supply chain management or similar would have a preference.
• Fluency (excellent oral and written communication skills) in English is essential with ability to prepare documents on complex subjects, speak and write persuasively, and present ideas clearly and concisely.
• Ability to function well independently and handle multiple tasks, meet changing priorities and deliver high-quality analysis and work on-time.
• Experience in successfully working as a member of a multi-professional and multi-cultural team.

Competencies:

• Lead and Innovate: Encourages and works with others to identify and implement relevant solutions. Identifies opportunities in changing circumstances and energizes others to continuously improve, using intentional strategies to boost morale, team spirit, and productivity in context of WBG's values and mission. Helps others to understand problems, client needs and the underlying context. Ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Deliver Results for Clients: Develops and implements solutions that show understanding of how clients and/or own work achieves results that are financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. Shares new insights based on in-depth understanding of the client and recommends solutions for current and future needs of clients. Holds self and team accountable for risk management and outcomes. Maintain client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries: Collaborates across organizational boundaries, internally and externally with a sense of mutuality and respect. Consistently engages others in open dialogue, brings out any conflicting viewpoints and incorporates viewpoints into solutions, giving credit where credit is due. Leverages expertise of all team members to ensure successful outcomes. Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge: Ensures systematic sharing of good practice and learning from lessons from across WBG, clients, and partners. Is known across WBG in their subject area and is sought out by WBG colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to knowledge products of others. Seeks mentoring opportunities with more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen their professional knowledge and mentors junior staff. Leads in the sharing of best practice, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Make Smart Decisions: Applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG's strategy. Evaluates risk and anticipates the short and long-term implications of decisions.

Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable for an additional one year, at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET Appointment of two years.

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.