The South Asia Region comprises eight countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) that range in size from India (with a population of over 1 billion) to Maldives (with 0.3 million people). The region has experienced a long period of robust economic growth, averaging 6% a year over the past 20 years. It was the second-fastest growing region in the world in the aftermath of the global crisis. This strong growth has translated into declining poverty and impressive improvements. The percentage of people living below the poverty line fell in South Asia from 56% to 16% between 1981 and 2013. Still, the region remains home to a third of the world’s poorest, with 216 million people living below $1.9/day.
The South Asia Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar 

Sustainable Development Practice Group

The Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (GP) supports the WBG’s twin goals by focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth. It consists of five Global Practices and one Global Theme. The Global Practices (GPs) that belong to the SD PG are: Agriculture and Food; Environment, Natural Resources and the Blue Economy; Urban, Resilience and Land; Social Sustainability and Inclusion; and Water. The Climate Change Group forms SD PG’s single Global Theme. In addition, SD is the Bank-wide steward for the Environment and Social Framework (ESF).

SD’s leadership team includes Regional Directors (RDs) responsible for delivery of SD’s regional and country programs, and Global Directors (GDs) who have a primary role in setting GP strategy, global engagements, promoting the flow of global knowledge, talent management and strategic staffing. The SD PG has four objectives: (i) deliver basic needs; (ii) ensure sustainability; (iii) build social inclusion/cohesion; and, (iv) lead on long term issues.

Agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and feed a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050. Visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture.  The Agriculture and Food Global Practice (GFADR) of the World Bank Group consists of around 260 staff globally, of which about a third are located in country offices. In South Asia Region (SAR), the Agriculture and Food Unit, SSAA2, serves India and Afghanistan. SSAA2 operates as part of the South Asia Region (SAR) Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (PG), which helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy, Environmental and Social Framework, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience & Land, Social Sustainability and Inclusion, and Water. The SSAA2 Agriculture and Food Unit has a large portfolio across the two countries it serves and it includes a range of investments and analytical products supporting food system transformation.  In India, this covers over 10 states through central and state-led investments (currently 15 investment projects in the amount of over US$3 billion) and a range of policy and analytical engagements which are addressing reforms, policy development and implementation capacities.  The Unit is led by a Practice Manager based in New Delhi and the team consists of over 20 staff, over half of which are based in Country Offices. 

The Agriculture and Food GP team in SSAA1 includes staff based mainly in the Colombo, Dhaka and Kathmandu and Washington DC Offices, covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It is headed by a Practice Manager based in Washington DC.  SSAA1 plays the lead role in developing and implementing the World Bank agriculture and rural strategy in these countries, including supervising the pipeline and active portfolio.

Duties & Accountabilities:

We are seeking an Agriculture Economist to support our operational work in the Nepal agriculture, food and rural transformation portfolio. 

The Agricultural Economist will be part of the Nepal Agriculture and Food Team with a primary responsibility to provide implementation support, policy dialogue, technical assistance and knowledge management related to the agriculture program and investments. In particular, the Agricultural Economist will:

(i) Provide implementation support to existing agriculture operations in Nepal, such as (but not limited to) projects on agriculture, agribusiness, climate smart agriculture, agriculture transformation and integrated water, agriculture and forestry;

(ii) Lead and contribute to analytical, advisory and technical assistance activities in collaboration with clients in the agriculture, food and rural sectors with a focus on issues related to economic analysis, community/farmer institutions, producer aggregation, access to markets, digital technology and enterprise development;

(iii) Proactively contribute to  economic reviews and analysis of the agricultural and rural transformation agenda in collaboration with colleagues within and across the Global Practices covering other sectors;

(iv) Lead and contribute to the mobilization of and implementation of additional trust funds for building the agriculture and food program in Nepal and across the South Asia Region, including to promote the regional integration agenda

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience in agriculture, rural development and other disciplines related to food systems;

• Excellent technical skills and working knowledge in various areas outlined above; among these, knowledge and experience in agribusiness and policy analysis in the context of the rural development and agriculture sectors is required;

• Proven ability to conceptualize, design and supervise the implementation of major projects, analytical and sector analysis/studies and technical assistance activities (agribusiness development, value chain development, climate smart/resilient agriculture, access to markets, rural finance, etc.), and to contribute to policy-related analysis and related dialogue;

• Experience with managing official data from Nepal, with strong statistical and analytical skills and data visualization tools;

• Ability to think innovatively and strategically in dealing with policy issues to draw meaningful and practical recommendations for policy and investment priorities;

• Track record of commitment to team work and ability to interact effectively and collegially with peers at all levels;

• Excellent interpersonal and team skills with ability to work independently and innovatively when dealing with empirical and econometric issues;

• High degree of discretion, ethics, tact and sensitivity in handling confidential and sensitive information;

• Ability to work under pressure while retaining perspective and a sense of humor;

• Very high level of energy, initiative and self-motivation, coupled with willingness to travel extensively and work under challenging conditions;

• Strong written and oral communication skills in English essential.

Competencies:

• Agriculture and Rural Development Policy, Strategy and Institutions – Solid understanding of agriculture policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.

• Policy Dialogue Skills – Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.

• Client Orientation – Understands the nuances of the socio-political context of Nepal and provides evidence-based recommendations and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.

• Drive for Results – Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.

• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion – Shows initiative in ensuring timely delivery, ensures the  team stays organized and focused, is receptive to advice and inputs, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.