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

Job #	092010
Job Title	Program Coordinator
Job Family	Agriculture & Rural Development
Location	Washington, DC
Appointment	International Hire
Job Posted	09-Nov-2009
Closing Date	24-Nov-2009
Language Requirements	English [Essential]; French [Essential]; Portuguese [Desired]
Appointment Type	Term (Duration: 3 yrs)

Background / General description

The Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank has recently signed an agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to undertake an action research project designed to formulate and test a manageable yet robust set of proxy indicators that best explain the competitiveness of agro-based enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).   

General areas of interest include the economic and enabling environment, rural conditions (broadly defined), the ease of doing both investment and commercial transactions, and evident agricultural development strategies.  Specific topics to be examined include the business climate, the agricultural policy environment, the state of hard and soft infrastructure, the functioning of input and output markets. the extent of value system integration and coordination, the efficiency of targeted supply chains, and pathways to productivity enhancement.  
The underlying development hypotheses of this action research are that: (1) key success factors for selected agricultural commodity subsystems can be identified, measured and improved; (2) for any given commodity subsystem such factors persist over time and across development domains; and (3) the conventional “Doing Business” approach of the World Bank Group can usefully be adapted to provide meaningful findings and results at the commodity subsystem level for a single sector even when the locus of economic activity is rural rather than urban. If these hypotheses are borne out, scale-up possibilities include repetition over time, coverage of additional commodities, and/or geographic expansion within and across developing countries. 
Just begun, the pilot effort will span a three-year period in order to capture two full agricultural years.  Six target countries will be selected from among IDA countries in Sub-saharan Africa, and another two non-IDA African countries will be selected as comparators.  Initially three types of commodity system (one cash crop, one staple grain crop, and one high value crop category) will be studied.  Commodity and crop selection will occur during the start-up phase, i.e. in parallel with recruitment of the project team.  The core team will consist of three full-time professionals based in Washington, DC:  the Program Coordinator, an Operations Officer, and a Survey Research Specialist.  Field work will be largely carried out by researchers from host or third-countries.     
Although the ARD anchor unit will manage this pilot, the initial choices of country, commodity subsystem, and indicators to be trialed will be informed by a peer review process supported by subject matter specialists drawn from other WBG units and external centers of excellence.   Survey research design and implementation will also benefit from lessons learned and guidance provided by staff from the Global Indicators Analysis Department of the joint Bank/IFC Finance and Private Sector Development Vice-Presidency.

Duties and Accountabilities

The vision for success of this pilot has been defined as: “Guidelines promulgated for achieving more productive, competitive, and inclusive agroenterprise sector in Sub-saharan Africa through a public/private policy dialogue, policy change, and investment process built on the foundation of a proven methodology for assessing key indicators on doing business in agriculture”.

Toward that vision, the main result expected of the Program Coordinator will be successful completion of the work plan presented to Gates Foundation within the original grant application.  Success will be judged on: (a) effective and efficient conduct of the intended survey research design jointly with GIA staff, then fieldwork, assessment, analysis and dissemination, which should result in (b) findings that will inform changes in policy, regulations and support services to agro-enterprise that make a positive difference in terms of volume and value of output sold as well as net returns to producers; plus (c) proof of concept of a modified “doing business” methodology, and lastly, (d) actionable expressions of interest and potential financial support from other agencies or donors arising during the third year of implementation. 

The anticipated length of assignment for the Program Coordinator is 33 months (i.e. three years for the project itself less 3 months for the start-up phase during which recruitment is occurring).  
Specific tasks for the Program Coordinator will include, but not be limited to the following: 

1.	Assuming operational control of the ‘Doing AgriBusiness’ (DAB) effort and effectively transitioning from the start-up to execution phase 
2.	Converting preliminary choices and discussions with respect to target countries into ratified agreements on which (survey research and ensuing policy dialogue) action can be taken
3.	Overseeing the creation, launch and maintenance of a DAB project website 
4.	Finalizing the survey design and methodology, field testing it, making adjustments as necessary, and then carrying out first and second year surveys in eight countries
5.	Overseeing the timely formulation and dissemination of findings among relevant development shareholders 
6.	Catalyzing and supporting a policy dialogue process in each of the target countries
7.	Formulating and disseminating widely a summary report for each target country on findings, recommendations, and actions resulting
8.	Identify and describe lessons learned with respect to methodology
9.	Assess the usefulness of findings obtained, for host countries, donors and intended beneficiaries
10.	Formulate and disseminate guidelines for future DAB efforts
11. 	Devise an action plan for scaling up
12.	Explore and secure potential future funding to extend, expand or replicate
13.	Completing and submitting in a timely manner progress, financial and administrative reports required by the Bank and the Gates Foundation
14.	To the extent resources and time allow, effectively represent the project in relevant public fora, including BBLs, workshops, and conferences
15.	Supervise the other members of the project team, including short term consultants hired as necessary.

Selection Criteria

Recognized technical leadership in agricultural and rural development, broadly defined and  Ph.D. in economics, agricultural economics, or socioeconomics

Graduate-level courses in, and working familiarity with econometrics, statistics and survey research  

Minimum of 8 years of relevant research, consulting or operational experience in international agricultural and rural development, including a least 3 years of relevant experience in Africa

Working familiarity with cereal, high value and cash crops in Africa 

Demonstrable capacity to lead and manage large-scale, multi-country survey research

Working familiarity with value/supply chain approaches to agricultural development 

Demonstrable capacity to effectively assess and interpret complex development challenges involving many different drivers, contributing factors, and constraining circumstances

Strong verbal communications skills, including presentations to development peers and policy-makers

Demonstrable track record in writing, contributing substantively to, and finally producing development publications of high quality

Proven capacity to satisfy demanding client agencies while remaining focused on outcomes and impacts on beneficiaries 

Proven understanding of the challenges relating to assessing and improving the investment climate in developing countries

Demonstrable ability to adhere to deadlines for major deliverables

Significant work experience relating to agriculture in non-IDA countries is desirable 

Familiarity with Bank operational procedures and policies for trust funded operations is desirable


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.

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