Senior Water Economist

Senior Water Economist

Job #: req28288 Organization: World Bank Sector: Water/Sanitation Grade: GG Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: New Delhi,India Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Hindi Closing Date: 8/2/2024 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit  South Asia Region  In the South Asia Region (SAR), the World Bank Group serves eight client countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), home to nearly 1.8 billion people. Clients range from large, rapidly growing, sophisticated middle-income countries to low-income (IDA) countries to fragile and small island and landlocked states. In FY24, the region delivered $10 billion in financing for client countries and a wide range of Advisory and Analytical Services (ASAs). For more information on SAR see: /en/region/sar  The Sustainable Development (Planet) Practice Group  The Sustainable Development (SD) or Planet Practice Group (PG) helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy, Social Sustainability and Inclusion, and Water.  Water in the Global Development Context Water touches every aspect of development, and it links to nearly every Sustainable Development Goal. In its positive aspects, it drives economic growth, supports healthy ecosystems, and is essential for life itself. Water availability and the quality of water management impact whether poor girls are educated, whether cities are livable places, and whether growing industries or poor villages can withstand the impacts of floods or droughts. But water resources globally are under unprecedented and increasing pressures, driven by population and economic growth, urbanization, land-use changes, declining quantities and qualities of ground and surface waters, and greater climate variability. With cross-cutting impacts on agriculture, education, energy, health, gender equity, and livelihood, water is at the center of economic and social development. Climate change impacts often manifest themselves through water, and sound water management lies at the heart of the resilience agenda. Successful water management requires accurate knowledge of the resource availability and an assessment of competing demands for its usage. Making optimal use of available water resources requires complex and sensitive economic, environmental and socio-political trade-offs. The need to plan for a more uncertain and more water-constrained future only increases the challenge of sustainable development of water resources. The world will not be able to meet the great development challenges of the 21st century - human development, livable cities, climate change, food security, energy security, and universal access to services – unless we ensure a water-secure world for all.  The Water Program in SAR and SSAW1 The SAR water program is delivered through two units, each led by a Practice Manager (PM). The two units, teams and PMs work closely together to deliver on the Water agenda in SAR; this includes deployment of staff across unit boundaries. SAR Water Unit 1 (SSAW1), the hiring unit, has a 30-member team and covers the Water program in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and India. SSAW1’s operations consist of an active portfolio of 15 projects with $3.08 billion in WB financing and a strong pipeline to be delivered in FY25 and FY 26. The water strategy in SAR aligns with the World Bank’s proposed Global Challenge Program on “Fast Tracking Water Security and Climate Adaptation.” Accordingly, the SAR Water Program includes national as well as state programs in three major thematic pillars: i) universal access to safely managed water supply and sanitation; ii) climate-resilient irrigation and agriculture modernization; and iii) healthy rivers and water resource management for resilience. India is the Bank’s biggest IBRD client. The water program in India is the among Bank’s largest country-level water programs globally. The current India water portfolio consists of 11 projects with commitments of $2.5 billion and a strong pipeline (of about $ 2 bill) for FY25 and FY26. The India program includes support for ambitious national level projects and programs such the National Groundwater Program, Dam Safety Improvement Program, the National Hydrology Project, and the Namami Gange Programme. It also includes State level projects on: a) urban and rural WSS (eg. Shimla utility reform, Uttarakhand peri-urban service delivery, Karnataka 24x7 urban water) and a Chennai City Partnership Program; b) irrigation (eg. major and minor irrigation projects in states such as West Bengal; and c) and flood and river basin management projects (in states such as Assam and Karnataka). Bangladesh is and has been the Bank’s biggest IDA client for several years; it is poised for graduation to IBRD. The Bank’s water program is the Bangladesh is important and growing. The current Bangladesh water portfolio consists of three WSS projects and one WRM project, with commitments of $570 million. The FY25-27 pipeline includes three urban WSS projects with commitments of $900 million. In addition to WSS, the portfolio and pipeline include important multi-sectoral initiatives on managing the Jamuna River, transforming Dhaka City and its rivers, and supporting climate-smart irrigation and agriculture. The pipeline projects will strengthen water security and WSS services in the country and support implementation of Bangladesh’s ambitious Delta 2100 Plan.  Duties and Accountabilities: The senior economist is expected to provide intellectual and technical leadership in water economics and help articulate the role of water in the economy, poverty reduction, and climate change. Key goals of the research or Advisory Services and Analytical (ASA) work undertaken by the Senior Economist (and other unit staff) will be to inform policy dialogue and design of programs and interventions. She/he will report the Practice Manager of the unit (SSAW1) and will work closely with the broader SSAW1 team to deliver results. Areas of research and analysis will be determined in consultation with the Practice Manager and will depend on both the skill sets of the selected candidate and the work program in the unit. Potential research areas and topics include: documenting and analyzing changes in access to services such as water supply, sanitation, and irrigation; impacts of differential access to services; institutional analyses; economic analysis of water programs and projects; valuation and pricing of water; economic regulation; poverty targeting; distributive effects of interventions and subsidies, and water-related data generation and management. Tasks of the Senior Economist are likely to include some combination of the following: • Provide intellectual and technical leadership through conceptualization and delivery of ASA work that will directly inform policy dialogue and water projects and bring innovation and new information to the internal and external client discourse.• Develop and lead analytical work (including selected high-profile/flagship studies) at country and regional level, working closely with technical specialists in the Water GP and colleagues in other parts of the Bank. • Identify critical knowledge gaps and recommend new ASA products to address these. Create and share technical knowledge in priority areas.• Help position, together with the Practice Manager and the rest of the team, the water agenda in internal and external products and spaces, including through: a) contributions to Bank reports and documents (eg. country briefings, strategy papers, global studies, policy notes and products such Systematic Country Diagnostics, Climate Change Diagnostic Reports); b) participation in regional events and conferences; and c) publications. • Support and/or participate in policy dialogue, especially on water economics, with government clients. • Participate as a team member in design and implementation of selected projects and programs. • Support strategy development and articulation for the SSAW1 water team and for selected clients. • Develop strategic partnerships with leading organizations and individuals with expertise in (water) economics and development policy. • Lead, contribute to and/or guide project economic and financial analysis for SSAW1 lending operations and, as appropriate, in related lending operations in other units. • Guide and/or assist SSAW1 team members in bringing an economic lens in the analytical work that they are conducting in the areas of water resources, irrigation, and water supply and sanitation. • Mentor staff in SSAW1 on analytical and operational work on economics in the water sector. • Contribute to economic work related to water security in SAR, the SAR Chief Economist’s office, the Global Water Practice, and the Sustainable Development Practice Group.The duties and accountabilities will be refined at the outset of employment and annually thereafter.

Selection Criteria

Overall, this Delhi-based position requires an experienced, high performing, creative, and self-motivated economist with demonstrated out-of-the box thinking, dependability, and dedication to teamwork. She/he should have demonstrated ability to: a) lead innovative, high-quality and high-impact analytical work; b) leverage analytical work to inform policy dialogue and design of programs; c) support dialogue with sophisticated government clients at the Utility, State, and National levels; and d) effectively lead and work in teams that are diverse, large and often multi-sectoral. Specific criteria are outlined below. • Master's or doctoral degree in economics or related fields (eg. political science, development economics, urban planning/economics, infrastructure economics, environmental/natural resource economics, agricultural economics, water economics). • At least 8 years of relevant professional experience. Analytical and technical skills• An established track record of leading high-quality research and a strong portfolio of publications. Prior experience with leading policy-relevant flagship reports is highly desirable. • Proven ability to conceptualize, design and supervise the implementation of major ASAs and TA activities and contribute to policy-related analysis and related dialogue. • Strong technical and analytical skills in a range of issues of relevance to water security.• Strong data, econometric, and data visualization skills, with ability to work independently and innovatively when dealing with empirical and econometric issues.• Experience with managing official data from India (Union and/or state-level).• Prior experience in and knowledge of the water sector is highly desirable.• Technical skills/ expertise in water supply and sanitation, and/or water resources management, and/or irrigation and drainage would be a plus.Operational and policy dialogue skills• Ability to translate technical analyses into practical recommendations for policies and design and implementation of water programs.• Prior experience with and ability to contribute to implementation of major projects (especially, Bank-supported projects) is highly desirable.• For internal Bank candidates: a) strong knowledge of Bank policies, procedures, guidelines, and results agenda is expected; b) DPO TTL accreditation or experience is desirable; and c) experience with policy dialogue and Bank operations is highly desirable.Interpersonal, client, team, and communication skills• Ability to lead teams, provide intellectual guidance, and mentor staff. • Demonstrated client-orientation and ability to find innovative yet practical solutions to meet client needs.• Superior inter-personal and team skills, with proven ability to work cooperatively and collegially in teams and with different levels of staff, managers, and clients. • High level of energy, initiative, self-motivation, and flexibility in quickly adjusting to new challenges or changing work program requirements.• Outstanding written and oral communication skills in English, including the ability to write quickly and concisely on a variety of topics in a well-structured manner.

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

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