Senior Economist

Job #:
req38325

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Economics

Grade:
GG

Term Duration:
Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP)

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):
English

Preferred Language(s):
Arabic

Closing Date:
9/30/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Regional context

Countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region confront a vast array of development challenges, from an uncertain and uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to the implications of decelerating global economy, deepening geopolitical divisions, protracted regional conflicts, and climate change. These overlapping crises are amplified by longstanding structural relating to economic governance that contribute to an outsized presence of the state in the economy, high unemployment rates among women and youth, and limited intraregional trade and investment.

Overcoming these challenges will allow MENA countries to realize their vast development potential, endowed as the region is with a rapidly growing and highly educated population, geo-strategic location, and abundance of renewable energy potential. To unlock this potential, the World Bank is advancing inclusive, sustainable, and resilient development through a two-pronged strategy that seeks to respond to sudden and severe crises while supporting reforms that spur structural transformation and job creation, advance gender equity, strengthen regional cooperation, and accelerate green transitions. This strategy is operationalized through a differentiated approach that reflects the distinct circumstances of the World Bank's clients in the region, comprising 20 countries that range from active IBRD borrowers and IDA recipients to recipients of reimbursable advisory services and non-active countries with whom the Bank maintains a policy dialogue. For more on the World Bank in MENA, visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd.

This Senior Economist position will initially be based in Washington, DC but is expected to be moved to Amman, Jordan within the first year, subject to management approval. The work program will focus primarily on leading and delivering the Economic Policy program in Lebanon, supporting macroeconomic monitoring and policy analysis for Iran, and contributing to additional high-priority analytical, operational, and corporate tasks across the EMAE1 unit. The position will be part of the Economic Policy team covering the Mashreq and will require strong macro-fiscal expertise, operational judgment, client orientation, and the ability to work across country teams, Global Practices, the Country Management Unit, and external partners in fragile and rapidly evolving contexts.

Duties and Accountabilities

The Senior Economist will report to the EMAE1 Practice Manager, who is based in Rabat, Morocco. As part of the Economic Policy team, the Senior Economist's responsibilities will include the following:
• Lead the Economic Policy work program in Lebanon in collaboration with the Beirut-based team, including macroeconomic and fiscal monitoring, policy dialogue, analytical and advisory services, and operational support in close coordination with the Country Management Unit, the Country Office, and relevant Global Practices.
• Lead or contribute to Development Policy Financing, Public Finance Reviews, Country Partnership Framework inputs, Systematic Country Diagnostics or successor strategic products, Macro Poverty Outlooks, Economic Monitors, and other core and non-core analytical products for Lebanon.
• Maintain an informed and evidence-based policy dialogue with government counterparts, the IMF, development partners, and other stakeholders on macroeconomic management, fiscal policy, debt sustainability, structural reforms, growth, jobs, and private sector development.
• Lead macroeconomic monitoring and policy analysis for Iran, including tracking macroeconomic, fiscal, external, financial, and structural developments; maintaining updated country databases; preparing concise briefs; and contributing to internal and corporate reporting.
• Provide high-quality and timely inputs to corporate deliverables, management briefs, country briefs, regional updates, crisis-monitoring notes, and due diligence on macroeconomic issues for Lebanon, Iran, and other EMAE1 priorities as needed.
• Ensure technical quality, consistency, and relevance of economic analysis, forecasts, policy recommendations, and macroeconomic narratives across assigned products, including by integrating poverty, jobs, climate, gender, governance, and private sector dimensions where relevant.
• Work closely with other Global Practices, IFC, MIGA, and regional and global teams to support integrated country engagement and to bring global knowledge, tools, and experience to bear on client demand and policy challenges.
• Identify and develop opportunities for high-impact analytical, advisory, operational, and knowledge work aligned with country priorities, regional strategy, and the EMAE1 work program.
• Mentor and support economists, analysts, consultants, and team members contributing to Lebanon, Iran, and other EMAE1 work streams, providing guidance on analytical quality, task delivery, and professional development.
• Participate actively in the Economic Policy Global Practice and EMAE1 unit, including knowledge sharing, quality assurance, peer review, corporate initiatives, and cross-country learning.
• Support the Practice Manager and the unit with high-priority tasks, corporate demands, quality control of deliverables, resource mobilization, business planning, and acting or coordination assignments as needed.

Selection Criteria
• Minimum of a Master's degree in economics; Ph.D. preferred. At least eight (8) years of relevant professional experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, with a strong track record of delivering high-quality analytical, advisory, and operational work.
• Strong technical expertise in macroeconomics, fiscal policy, debt sustainability, growth, external sector analysis, and structural reforms, with demonstrated ability to produce policy-relevant analysis under tight deadlines.
• Proven experience as a country economist or in a comparable macro-fiscal role, including economic monitoring, forecasting, preparation of economic updates or similar products, macroeconomic due diligence, and support to country strategies and operations.
• Experience with World Bank operational instruments, especially Development Policy Financing, and familiarity with analytical products such as Public Finance Reviews, Country Economic Memoranda, Systematic Country Diagnostics, Country Partnership Frameworks, Macro Poverty Outlooks, and Economic Monitors.
• Demonstrated ability to lead or substantially contribute to policy dialogue with senior government officials, central banks, international financial institutions, development partners, and internal stakeholders in complex or sensitive country contexts.
• Strong integrative capacity, including the ability to connect macroeconomic, fiscal, poverty, jobs, climate, governance, financial sector, and private sector issues into a coherent policy and country engagement framework.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, including the ability to draft concise briefs, reports, talking points, and presentations and to explain complex analysis to non-specialist audiences. Arabic, French, or Persian language skills would be an advantage.
• Strong client orientation, sound judgment, diplomatic skills, and ability to combine candor and courage of opinion with constructive engagement.
• Ability to work flexibly across a range of assignments, manage multiple priorities, mentor junior staff, collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams, and deliver high-quality outputs in a fast-moving environment.

Required Competencies
• Macroeconomic Skills - Strong macroeconomic and quantitative skills, including the ability to analyze growth, inflation, fiscal balances, debt dynamics, external accounts, financial sector linkages, and structural reform issues. Published or high-quality institutional work on macroeconomic, fiscal, growth, and structural policies is a strong advantage.
• General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Proven ability to produce rigorous, policy-relevant analysis; integrate macroeconomic, fiscal, sectoral, poverty, jobs, and private sector perspectives; and ensure the technical quality and consistency of analytical outputs.
• Knowledge and Experience in the Development Arena - Demonstrated understanding of World Bank country engagement, advisory and analytical services, and operational instruments, with ability to contribute to major policy and reform programs in complex country environments.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Ability to identify policy issues, formulate practical recommendations, and engage effectively with government counterparts, the IMF, development partners, country management, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Operational and Task Management Skills - Ability to lead or contribute to complex tasks, manage deliverables and teams, coordinate across units, and deliver high-quality outputs on time while adapting to changing priorities.

Note: This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.