ICD Resident Macroeconomic Frameworks Advisor for Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRITAC East)
Work for the IMF. Work for the World.
The IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development (ICD) is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a position of Resident Macroeconomic Frameworks Advisor to cover Sub-Saharan Africa. The Advisor will provide technical assistance (TA) in macroeconomic frameworks to Sub-Saharan African countries. The successful candidate will be based at the East Africa Regional Capacity Development Center (AFE) in Dar es Salaam. AFE is one of the five Regional Capacity Development Centers (the AFRITACs) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) operating in Africa and the advisor will focus primarily on AFE’s member countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The aim of macroeconomic frameworks TA is to help recipient countries improve the macroeconomic forecasting and policy analysis capabilities of government institutions in support of their policy decision-making process. Depending on country needs and capacity, TA projects may entail assisting country officials in building, maintaining, documenting, operating, and interpreting a range of macroeconomic forecasting tools, from Excel-based, sectoral-relationship frameworks with supporting economic projection equations, to semi-structural gap models or even structural DSGE models of national economies. In view of the capacity constraints and limited resources of these countries, the work agenda may also include assistance with the implementation of basic elements of macroeconomic diagnostics, such as the analysis of equilibrium exchange rates, output gaps, and the basics of debt sustainability analysis.
The ICD-backstopped Macroeconomic Frameworks Advisor will undertake these activities through TA missions, TA-related training engagements, and peer-to-peer learning activities, either alone or together with IMF staff and/or specialized short-term experts (STX) employed by the IMF. She/he will coordinate closely with ICD’s capacity development (CD) delivery divisions, the African department (AFR) and the IMF−African Training Institute (ATI) to ensure consistency with other IMF CD activities in the region. She/he will also coordinate with other IMF Resident Advisors working on related topics in AFE and the region at large. Among the main tasks, the Macroeconomic Frameworks Advisor will:
- Deliver, oversee, and coordinate TA and related training on developing macroeconomic frameworks to support forecasting and policy analysis and decision-making processes in central banks, ministries of finance and relevant government agencies, under the guidance of ICD CD-delivery divisions’ backstopping and in close cooperation with IMF-AFR country teams, the AFR country resident representative, other AFE resident advisors and, where applicable, other CD providers.
- Prepare, under the supervision of ICD Resource Management division and in close coordination with the AFE Director, medium-term workplans based on demand from country authorities, prioritization by AFR country teams, and technical direction from ICD CD delivery divisions.
- Manage the STX certification and contracting process, by preparing the STX’s draft terms of reference, submitting them to Headquarters (HQ) for final approval, and acting as back-stopper of the STX’s work.
- Prepare required TA and training documents (e.g., pre-mission briefs, BTOs, Aide-Memoires, TA reports) for ICD’s internal review and approval, including through CDMAP; maintain existing projects updated in CDMAP, including oversee budget expenses and Results-Based Management (RBM) reporting (logical frameworks).
- Contribute, as required by the AFE Director, to the AFE corporate work (e.g., steering committee meetings, annual report, quarterly newsletters, outreach efforts, preparation of conferences/seminars and other activities of the center). Contribute to prepare reporting and assessment reports related to internal funding processes and other inputs, as requested by ICD’s RM division internal funding processes, as requested by ICD’s RM division.
The selected candidate will work under the guidance of ICD macroeconomic-frameworks TA back-stoppers based in HQ. She/he will coordinate with the AFE Director on day-to-day administrative and logistic support issues.
The IMF offers a competitive compensation and benefits package commensurate with the successful candidate’s skills and experience. The selected candidate should be prepared to take up the position in Dar es Salaam as soon as possible. The initial appointment will be for a period of 1 year with the possibility for extension contingent on performance and ongoing budget/business needs.
Qualifications
The successful candidate should have: (i) a post-graduate degree in Economics; (ii) at least five years of relevant professional experience, with practical knowledge of the IMF’s financial programming framework—experience as an IMF country desk economist and/or delivering IMF’s technical assistance would be a plus; (iii) excellent data management and analytical skills, including the use of MS Excel and econometric applications; (iv) Extensive practical experience in the development of macro-modeling tools, including in developing countries with limited statistical capacities and in in using relevant software—knowledge of EViews, Matlab, Dynare, and Iris would be a plus; (v) Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, with proficiency in French desirable, but not required; and (vi) exceptional organizational, interpersonal, and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to work well in teams.
Preference will be given to candidates who have practical experience in a senior or advisory position within a ministry of finance, central bank, or international financial institution, and who can additionally show experience in managing and overseeing TA work in macroeconomic frameworks or related areas, familiarity with the RBM and CDMAP, and coordinating with donors. Experience in organizing and conducting training courses and workshops would be an advantage.
The IMF is committed to achieving a diverse staff, including gender, nationality, culture, and educational background.
Department:
ICDRM Institute for Capacity Development Resource Management and Delivery Policy Division
Hiring For: A12, A13, A14
The IMF is committed to achieving a diverse staff, including age, creed, culture, disability, educational background, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, nationality, race, religion and beliefs, and sexual orientation. We welcome requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities during the selection process.