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Home > Jobs > Employment Opportuni... > Professional/Technical

The East Asia Human Development Department is responsible for undertaking analytical and operational work related to the Human Development (HD) agenda for the countries in the East Asia and Pacific Region.  The advertised position is with the Social Protection Unit (EASHS) in the World Bank Office in Manila.  The social protection unit is responsible for operational and lending work as well as analytical work in the area of social protection and safety nets, as well as related work on poverty.  It also undertakes work on labor, migration and remittances.  These themes are central to the World Bank’s new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the Philippines.  The CAS is focused on enhancing inclusive development and reducing poverty.  Key Strategic Objectives to address this objective include (i) improving service delivery as well as (ii) reducing vulnerability, which are the main areas of focus for this position.

The selected candidate would work closely with and report directly to the Social Protection Lead Specialist and Human Development Sector Coordinator in the Philippines, as well as to the Sector Manager for EASHS.  

The position will be based in Manila, Philippines, for a two-year term appointment subject to one year probationary period. 

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year renewable term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities

The candidate’s main responsibility would be to work on the growing and challenging poverty and social protection agenda in the Philippines.  In recent years, despite an acceleration of growth in the Philippines, poverty and inequality appear to have increased.  In addition, the recent food, fuel, and financial crises have increased the Government’s interest in addressing issues related to poverty, vulnerability, and social protection.  The 2010-2012 World Bank Country Assistance Strategy for the Philippines thus places increased focus of the World Bank’s program for the next 3 years on addressing social protection issues with a view to fostering more inclusive growth and poverty reduction.  The Country Office in Manila is focused on the exciting work-program on this agenda.  The qualified candidate would play a key role in working with the Social Protection Lead Specialist and HD Country Sector Coordinator to deliver on both the analytical and operational work-programs focused on this central country agenda.

In this regard, the position would entail the following responsibilities:

• Undertaking analytical work (in the form of policy notes, report chapters, background papers, etc.) on the core issues related to poverty reduction and growth, as well as vulnerability and social protection with a view to providing policy recommendations to Government.  The successful candidate would work on the Bank’s analytical and advisory program on social protection.  The Analyst will undertake research on these core issues using household level data and, based on results of such analyses, also contribute to the formulation of new areas/topics for research on the work-programs related to the Strategic Objectives of improved service delivery and reduced vulnerabilities. The successful candidate will serve as the main resource of the HD team as well as the Country team on data pertinent to social protection and poverty analysis. An important area of analysis would be analytical work linked to the operational aspects of the Bank’s social program, including support to the targeting and CCT programs.  Analytical work would cover data analysis, institutional analysis and other analytical products that would be the basis of the Bank’s engagement in this policy area.

• Assisting in the strategic and tactical analytical agenda, related to evolving issues faced by the Government, that would inform our policy dialogue and recommendations.  The selected candidate will work with the Social Protection Lead Specialist and HD Sector Coordinator and other members of the team to help formulate the World Bank’s policy engagement with the incoming administration. They would monitor and engage with ongoing policy reform agenda and the dialogue around it.  Support to the team in engaging with the broader Philippine Development Forum and related policy agenda will be a part of the work-program. Based on analysis, the successful candidate will also assist the team to provide just-in-time policy advice to the Government on current and emerging issues related to social protection. The work will require interaction with other donors, academics, and civil society agencies.  This engagement will support program development as well.

• Contributing to the technical and advisory work related to the roll-out and consolidation of the Philippine’s new Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and a National Household Targeting System, both of which are supported by a World Bank project. The ultimate objective is to establish a household targeting system that is used for most national social protection programs, rationalizing such programs, and ensuring the establishment of a functional CCT program. This will require operational work, including in the field, to assist in supervising these programs and assist in addressing issues that arise. In particular, the successful candidate would be part of the World Bank project and supervision team for the Social Welfare and Development Reform Project and would provide operational support.  This will also entail assisting the HD team in preparing required project documents, as well as providing technical support to the Government in specific aspects of project administration from time to time. 

• The selected candidate will assist the Social Protection Lead Specialist and HD Sector Coordinator in other operational and administrative duties related to successfully running the HD program in the Philippines and participate in other cross-sectoral and coordination activities related to HD’s work-program.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in Economics, Statistics, or other Social Science; with at least five years of experience in development economics, particularly in the social sectors; 
• Technical experience in household survey analysis is essential.  Previous experience in poverty estimation and analysis and knowledge of household survey methods in the Philippines will be highly considered.  Previous analytical/operational experience in the area of social protection is desirable, and previous knowledge and exposure to Conditional Cash Transfer operations would be a definite plus;
• Strong organizational, research, and oral presentation skills;
• Proven ability to work in a team and intercultural environment, with minimal supervision;
• Hands-on and action-oriented approach;
• Computer skills (particularly with Excel and STATA/SPSS);
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to development work;
• Willing to travel to field sites within the Philippines;
• Field experience in developing countries a plus.

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