Senior Agriculture Economist

Job Summary

The Senior Agriculture Economist drives sector strategy, analyzes macroeconomic agricultural data, and serves as Task Team Leader (TTL) for complex lending operations. By integrating agriculture into country diagnostics and country partnership frameworks, the role shapes high-level policy dialogue with the Government of Rwanda and fosters shared public-private investments with the IFC and MIGA.

Key Roles & Operational Responsibilities

1. Project Operations, Lending & Task Team Leadership (TTL)

• Lead the design, analytical preparation, appraisal, and day-to-day implementation supervision of complex sector investment projects as Task Team Leader.
• Utilize and manage diverse World Bank financing instruments, including Investment Project Financing (IPF), Program-for-Results (P4R), Development Policy Lending (DPL), and designated global trust funds.
• Provide quality assurance, portfolio tracking, and operational oversight for Rwanda's active $244 million agricultural portfolio, ensuring alignment with disbursement benchmarks.
• Head the operationalization of the pipeline project to activate the AgriConnect Compact in Rwanda, targeting formal delivery in FY27.

2. Strategic Policy Reform & High-Level Advisory Analytics

• Drive high-priority structural policy dialogues with ministerial partners, positioning structural agricultural reforms directly within national development policy lending operations.
• Formulate, publish, and manage strategic Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) and Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) regarding food system economics.
• Collaborate closely with the Country Management Unit (CMU) to integrate rural development, land resilience, and irrigation economics into core analytical documents, including Country Partnership Frameworks (CPF), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD), Country Economic Memoranda (CEM), and Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDR).

3. Joint-Ventures, Planet Solutions & Portfolio Cross-Integration

• Coordinate with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to leverage private sector investments and de-risk agricultural value chains.
• Partner across the Planet Department to fuse multi-disciplinary solutions—incorporating water resource extraction, sustainable land management, and agricultural emission reductions—into country programs.
• Represent the Agriculture and Food Global Practice at international forums and diplomatic events to deepen strategic partnerships.
• Mentor, guide, and provide quality control support to mid-level and junior technical staff within the Rwanda country office.

Foundational Capabilities & Prerequisites

Required Technical Profile & Experience

• Academic Foundation: Minimum of a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agribusiness, Economics, or an equivalently rigorous quantitative development discipline.
• Professional Experience: At least eight (8) years of progressive, relevant professional experience focusing on food system economics, agribusiness value chains, or agrarian structural reform.
• Multilateral Leadership: Demonstrated track record serving as an institutional country focal point or Task Team Leader (TTL) managing large-scale project operations within an international financial institution or major development agency.
• Lending Instruments: Comprehensive operational command over sovereign lending design mechanisms ($IPF$, $P4R$, $DPL$) and institutional co-financing models.
• Language Proficiency: Complete native-level written and verbal command of English, with a proven history of authoring high-quality economic briefs for executive audiences.

Desired Attributes

• Language Value-Add: Working proficiency or fluency in French is preferred.
• Analytical Credentialing: Peer-recognized expertise in designing community irrigation financing frameworks, agricultural insurance models, and smallholder commercialization strategies within Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Diplomatic Prowess: High level of political judgment, negotiating skill, and emotional intelligence when presenting complex macroeconomic positions to senior government ministers and executive management.

Compensation, Benefits & Corporate Culture

• Grade Classification: Recruited under the international World Bank Group Grade GG bracket.
• Benefits Suite: Comprehensive international package including a robust global retirement plan, extensive medical/life/disability insurance, generous paid parental leave provisions, and relocation mobility allowances.
• Institutional Culture: Values an active sense of urgency, thoughtful risk-taking, workplace empowerment, and strict result accountability.

Skills Required:

• Agricultural / Studies