Description
Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region
We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs.
Yet, these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades.
In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio of 387 projects totaling more than $44.1 billion in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water and sanitation- all to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87% of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved.
Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa
CMU Context
The AWCW1 Country Management Unit (CMU) comprises Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The Country Director (CD) is based in a decentralized office in Accra, Ghana. The CMU oversees a wide range of Bank activities, including long-standing engagements with Governments in multiple sectors and a strong program of innovative knowledge, analytics, and technical assistance. FY22 lending commitments for the CMU totaled US$1.2 billion (17 projects). The portfolio has grown rapidly, doubling in size over the last five years. To date, the AWCW1 portfolio has 67 projects amounting to US$5.0 billion in net commitments, on top of a number of regional integration projects.
Ghana
Ghana, a resource-rich country on the west coast of Africa, has achieved considerable economic and social progress in the past 30 years. The country achieved middle-income status in 2011 accompanied with improved human development indicators such as average life expectancy, primary and secondary school enrolment, stunting, and under-5 mortality. A strong, sustained economic growth averaging over 5 percent since the early 1990s was underpinned by a stable democracy and driven largely by gold and cocoa exports and the development of substantial oil and gas reserves. Ghana achieved the first Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty from 52.7 percent (1993) to 23.4 percent (2016). Notwithstanding these impressive gains, the pace of poverty reduction has slowed in recent years, spatial inequalities persist, and vulnerabilities are increasing. Unsustainable natural resource exploitation and Ghana’s high susceptibility to climate change could increase the share of the population living below the poverty line by 2 to 6 percent by 2030.
While Ghana weathered the COVID-19 shock relatively well – growth slowed in 2020 but remained positive – significant macroeconomic imbalances resulted from highly accommodating fiscal policy. Ghana’s mounting debt stock and related financing needs are cause for concern with public debt-to-GDP consistently in excess of 70 percent since 2020. Fiscal consolidation has been slower than expected and the country has lost market access, with rating agencies downgrading its sovereign debt. A domestic debt swap program has been completed and discussions are ongoing in the context of the Common Framework for a restructuring of internal debt. Inflationary pressures have been pronounced. In July 2022 inflation reached an 18-year high, 31.7 percent while the currency depreciated by 30 percent against the US$ this year. Growth is expected to slow to 3.5 percent in 2022; and to decelerate further in 2023 as macroeconomic instability and corrective policy measures dampen aggregate demand. High inflation and elevated interest rates will keep private consumption and investment growth below pre-pandemic levels. The Government has engaged with the IMF for an IMF Supported program which could be in place in mid 2023.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has an advantageous geography and abundant mineral, agricultural and blue resources, yet the country’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is almost the same as it was after independence. The country has among the largest iron ore and rutile deposits globally, is within one of the world’s most abundant marine ecosystems, hosts the deepest natural harbor in Africa, and has fertile agricultural land and the second highest rainfall in Africa. Yet, it performs poorly on most measures of development . The population of 7.8 million has the fifth lowest life expectancy globally (51 years). High fertility (4.2 children), adolescent pregnancy and child marriage perpetuate the vicious cycle of poverty and gender inequality.
Sustainable and inclusive growth in Sierra Leone has been constrained by (i) exposure to multi-dimensional exogenous shocks (economic, epidemic, climactic [1] ); (ii) pervasive governance weaknesses and dated policies; and (iii) limited fiscal space and fiscal risks, which inhibit the ability to promote pro-poor growth through public investment. A nascent recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 in 2021 has been disrupted in 2022 by a net negative terms-of-trade shock caused by the war in Ukraine and the rise in global food and fuel prices. Back-to-back economic shocks have aggravated fiscal pressures and risks to debt sustainability. Slower growth and higher food inflation have intensified food insecurity and slowed the pace of poverty reduction and presented risks to social and political stability. GDP growth is projected at 3.6 percent during 2022, down from 5 percent projected at the end of 2021. It will be supported by: (i) resumption of iron-ore mining; and (ii) a gradual recovery in consumption demand.Over the medium-term, GDP growth is projected to average 4 percent, but remain below the long-term average of 4.3 percent, reflecting economic scarring from repeated shocks. Inflation will remain elevated, averaging 22 percent in 2022 and moderate gradually to 18 percent in 2024 in line with global projections for commodity prices and a pick-up in domestic food production
Liberia
Liberia’s economy is still recovering from years of poor economic and social performance. Owing in part to repeated exogenous shocks, including the Ebola outbreak, the collapse of iron ore and rubber prices, the drawdown of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy contracted by an average of 0.4 percent per year between 2014 and 2020, and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 12.3 percent cumulatively. The poverty rate is projected to have risen to 51 percent in 2021, wiping out nearly half of the gains made post-conflict, when the poverty rate declined from 64 percent to 42 percent between 2007 and 2014. The COVID-19 pandemic alone is projected to have worsened poverty by 2.3 percentage points.
Liberia’s economy experienced strong growth in 2021. After contracting by 3.0 percent in 2020, growth recovered to 5.0 percent in 2021. The rebound was driven by improved external demand, higher prices for Liberia’s main exports, and the resumption of normal domestic activity. Meanwhile, growth slowed in the first half of 2022, even as mining and construction continued to perform well. In agriculture, rubber and cocoa production dipped by 13.5 percent and 27 percent, year-on-year, respectively. In the industrial sector, iron ore, gold, and cement production all increased, reflecting firmer international prices and an uptick in construction activity.Growth is expected to slow to 3.7 percent in 2022, reflecting increased global uncertainties and commodity price shocks, but reach an average of 5.2 percent over 2023-24. Beyond 2022, growth is underpinned by significant tailwinds for mining, the government’s planned scale-up of public investment, and the implementation of structural reforms including in key enabling sectors (such as energy, trade, transportation, and financial services). Inflation is projected to remain low and stable, averaging 7.2 percent per year in 2022-24. As long as inflation is stable, Liberian households will retain their purchasing power and it is projected that by 2023 poverty rates will slightly decrease. The fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 4.3 percent in 2022 but improve in the medium term with reforms aimed at improving domestic resource mobilization and consolidating expenditures. The lingering effects of the war in Ukraine and the 2023 elections could pose significant risks to the outlook.
Duties And Responsibilities
The Country Director is accountable for performing the responsibilities, modeling the behaviors and maintaining the technical competencies, as a member of the Regional Management Team. Accountability means being answerable for managing quality, risks, results, institutional initiatives and compliance with Bank policies and procedures.
Business Management Responsibilities
- Manages the day-to-day operations of the country office.
- Provides guidance and support on local political, social, economic, and other relevant developments to country team members and others.
- Manages the day-to-day dialogue with the Government on a broad range of policy and implementation issues.
- Serves as the Bank’s focal point for all communications with country authorities.
- Develops and implements the SCD and CPF, focusing on transformative non-lending and lending interventions at the sub-regional, country, sectoral and program levels that produce practical, visible and sustainable development results.
- Leads or supports the coordination and delivery of the Bank’s strategy and related work program.
- Supervises the implementation of high-quality work programs, based on the CPFs and attuned to client demand and country context.
- Provides oversight on portfolio management and quality issues, working with clients and teams to provide timely and effective implementation support.
People/ Talent Management Responsibilities
- Leads and motivates country teams with a focus on client orientation, development outcomes, cross-sectoral coordination and problem solving, and takes ownership for achieving and communicating these outcomes to operational staff, and management.
- Manages the CMU and models integrity and inclusion, and offers mentoring and development opportunities for staff.
Resource Management Responsibilities
- Ensures that CMU budget utilization is consistent with regional and corporate priorities.
- Sets priorities and allocates budget within and across countries, in line with institutional priorities and a view to improving the impact beneficial to the Bank's activities.
- Ensures that deployment of CMU resources is consistent with RM rules, policies, and internal controls.
Relationship Management Responsibilities (Internal And External)
- Maintains positive partnerships with the governments concerned, development partners, civil society, media, the private sector, and other partners. Exercises courageous and transformative leadership in dialogue.
- Appreciates the complexities and relevance of political economy considerations on the Bank’s development efficiency in the region. Collaborates appropriately with other CDs, regional and sub-regional institutions and partners to improve such efficiency.
- Leads and strengthens the relationship and policy dialogue on a broad range of economic and other technical issues with the Government and key partners.
- Works proactively with IFC and MIGA to leverage World Bank financial and technical support, including with the private sector.
Knowledge Management Responsibilities
- Embraces good corporate citizenship, including contributing to the development, implementation and communication of corporate policies, strategies and priorities (including ongoing reforms in investment lending, knowledge management, HR policies, and the “Global Bank”).
- Champions corporate and regional management initiatives.
Security Responsibilities
- Represents the Bank in the country-level UN Security Management System.
- In accordance with the Framework of Accountability for the WBG Security Management System (WBG Directive), acts as Head of Security for the Duty Station and Duty Station Area responsible and accountable for resident Staff, business and benefit travelers, Registered Dependents and Bank Group property.
[1] the Ebola epidemic (2014-16), the collapse in global commodity prices (2015-16), a major mudslide in Freetown (2018), the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-), global spillovers from the war in Ukraine (2022 onwards).
Selection Criteria
Selection Criteria
- Proven capacity to influence and mobilize support across institutional boundaries.
- Prior work experience in achieving results in more than one region.
- Ability to establish and maintain a substantive high-level dialogue with sophisticated counterparts and flexibility to adjust to fluid political environments.
- Demonstrated results in lending and non-lending products, portfolio management, and implementation support.
- Sound operational experience, including extensive knowledge of Bank Group policies, programs, products, and procedures, and exposure to economic and sector work, as well as strategic work in CPSs and other strategy activities.
- Advanced degree level in relevant field and substantial professional experience, with a minimum of 15 years of experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility.
- Strong strategic orientation in order to link macro and sector strategies within a consistent development framework, and to anchor and integrate the overall economic and sector policy dialogue.
WBG Core Competencies
WBG Managerial Competencies
The World Bank Group values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of World Bank Group member countries to apply, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. Sub-Saharan African nationals, Caribbean nationals, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
