World Bank Senior Economist/Sr Agricultural Specialist (Capacity Transfer) Job Vacancy in Washington

Background / General description Risk and uncertainty are inherent in agriculture and commodity supply chains. Given the pervasiveness of risks, farmers, agro-enterprises, international agencies, and governments are increasingly seeking effective and sustainable strategies and approaches to mitigate, transfer, or cope with these inherent risks. Using the full range of risk management strategies and tools, the Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) of the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) department of the World Bank provides clients with technical assistance and capacity building services to assist them to manage their risks. Additionally, ARMT collaborates with other departments and units within the World Bank to provide comprehensive solutions. ARMT is promoting the agenda of holistic risk management and attempting to mainstream agricultural risk management into the wider World Bank’s operations. ARMT’s current work program involves: • Agriculture sector risk reviews and risk management frameworks. • Supply chain risk assessments. • Weather risk assessment . • Price risk assessment . • Capacity building and training. • Forum for Agricultural Risk Management in Development (FARMD). • Enhancing risk management capacity within sustainable production initiatives.

Duties and Accountabilities

ARMT is presently comprised of several full-time staff and a cohesive team of short and longer-term consultants. The Team’s work is supported by several donor trust funds . To support ARMT’s risk management mainstreaming program and to contribute to other areas of ARD’s work, the services of an experienced professional are being sought with the following duties and responsibilities: • Manage ARMT’s efforts in developing and implementing agricultural risk management capacity building programs for micro, meso and macro level clients in developing countries . This will involve identifying suitable risk management topics; development of risk management training materials for delivery to clients, both directly and through the contracting of expert resources; forging partnerships with key institutions in developing countries ; developing multiple-channel delivery mechanisms to maximize impact and reach; coordinating the delivery of ARMT’s training programs both directly and via partnerships; recruiting expert trainers, as required, to deliver expert training to audiences. Further work will also be required to identify training opportunities for internal World Bank staff and deliver such training in an effective and coordinated manner. • Work closely with international commodity organizations to promote the agricultural risk management agenda. Such work will include providing guidance on risk management issues, working to educate such organizations and their members, collaborating with these organizations to raise awareness and promote effective agricultural risk management amongst their stakeholders and networks. • Proactively collaborate with the sustainable agricultural certification initiatives, building their awareness of agricultural risk management issues and providing support for them in building the capacity of their agricultural producer partners. • Conduct analytical work and provide operational advice governments and other supply chain stakeholders on risk and risk management in agricultural commodity supply chains, especially in relation to traditional export sectors and those for staple food crops . • Provide technical guidance to WB staff and external clients on alternative approaches, institutional arrangements, and prevailing ‘good practices’ in relation to selected themes in agricultural supply chain development and agricultural risk management. • Lead/participate in field missions, involving some combination of risk assessment , intervention design, and/or supervision/evaluation activity in specific countries and regions. • Work closely with other staff to identify and implement partnerships with internal WB units or external organizations to pursue joint work in agricultural risk assessment , risk management capacity building, and related areas. External linkages might be with agribusiness entities, NGOs, foundations, practitioner networks, and other development agencies. • Handle selected administrative tasks associated with ARMT’s work and its relationship with key donors. • Contribute to other aspects of ARMT’s program of technical assistance and knowledge management as demand for its services evolves.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced degree in (agricultural) economics, business, public administration , anthropology, development studies or suitable other discipline. • At least eight years of pertinent professional experience is required. • Previous experience of developing and delivering practical agricultural risk management training courses for use in developing countries by government (macro) and agricultural enterprises and other stakeholders (meso and micro). • Experience of developing partnerships with institutions in developing countries for the delivery of agricultural risk management training. • Direct experience of developing and delivering training to a variety of audiences in a variety of countries. • Proven capacity to analyze complex issues and to communicate results in a clear and effective manner for various types of stakeholders. • Clear understanding of all types of agricultural risk management solutions, not merely financial ones. • Experience with the agricultural due diligence / risk assessment related to financing of agricultural enterprises preferred. • Prior work experience in developing countries is essential. • Understanding of the structure and modalities of the World Bank. • Excellent team building and communication skills; ability to work within multi-disciplinary teams. • Fluency in English required. The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. Click Here to Apply Closing Date: Sunday, 15 January 2012