World Bank Enterprise Surveys – Part-time job opening for PhD students

Background/General Description
The Development Economics Vice-Presidency (DEC) of the World Bank Group seeks to increase
understanding of development policies and programs by providing intellectual leadership and
analytical services to the World Bank Group and the overall development community. Within this
Vice Presidency, the Enterprise Analysis Unit (DECEA) is responsible for the Enterprise Surveys
(ES), a unique source of firm-level data which link conditions of the business environment with
firm performance. Several aspects of the business environment are measured. Some are external
to the firm (physical infrastructure, regulations, taxes, finance, corruption, crime, informality,
competition), and some are internal (labor force composition, skills, innovation, investment,
management practices, training). DECEA has collected firm-level data on more than 135,000
establishments in 139 countries (www.enterprisesurveys.org).
DECEA is in a position to expand its design, implementation and monitoring of the Enterprise
Surveys. It is also strengthening its capacity to conduct in-house research, using ES data to analyze
issues of firm performance and the business environment. The Unit is looking to hire a highly
motivated Short Term Consultant (STC) who will help fulfill this mission of fieldwork preparation
and supervision, data management, analysis and dissemination.
Ideally, the candidate will be a current graduate student in Economics or a related field. Secondor third-year Ph.D. students are preferred. Candidates are expected to work on a regular basis (2-
3 days a week) in the Washington, D.C. office.
Duties and Accountabilities
The consultant will:
• Assist with data collection and preparation work, including tasks related to survey design,
sampling, and survey weighting;
• Assist in the Enterprise Surveys fieldwork supervision and data management, including
cleaning and standardization of datasets and data quality control;
• Contribute to the content of standard country documents that summarize Enterprise Survey
data into graphs, bar charts, and other visual methods to display data;
• Contribute to the management and development of website statistics and indicators based
on Enterprise Surveys;
• Conduct analytical research as required by the DECEA’s work program. In particular,
contribute to the DECEA’s existing knowledge products and help design new knowledge
products for the Unit.
Reporting
The consultant will report to Jorge Luis Rodriguez Meza, Program Manager and administratively
to Rose Gachina, Senior Program Assistant.
Expected start and location
The consultant is expected to start as soon as possible, though this schedule is flexible. The
consultant will work primarily in Washington, D.C., on a regular schedule, and is expected to be
present in the office a minimum of 2 days per week.
Initial duration and schedule can be negotiated. Typically, DECEA consultants are PhD students
who work 20 hours per week with an initial short-term appointment that can be extended for 1-2
years.
Candidates should be aware of the visa requirements to be able to work for the World Bank.
In case a G4 visa is required, candidates should keep in mind that registration with the State
Department is only possible for appointments of at least 90 calendar days and with a full time
schedule (at least 35 hours of work per week). Registration allows the G4 visa holder to obtain
local driver’s licenses, obtain work authorization cards for eligible dependents, and renew the G4
visa inside the U.S. Without registration, the G4 visa holder cannot reside in the U.S. beyond 90
consecutive calendar days.
Selection Criteria
• Advanced degree in Economics, Statistics, or a related discipline;
• Demonstrated analytical skills and experience;
• Experience working with large datasets, particularly with firm-level data, as well as panel data,
experience working with the datasets produced under the Global Indicators and Analysis
department (such as Enterprise Surveys and Doing Business) is a plus;
• Excellent working knowledge of Stata and other statistical software, and strong skills in Excel;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (fluency in Arabic, Russian, Spanish,
Portuguese, and/or French is highly preferred); and
• Well-developed interpersonal and team working skills; ability to operate effectively as a unit
team member; initiative, persistence and positive attitude.
How to apply
Interested candidates should send their CV to Valeria Perotti (vperotti@worldbank.org) and David
Francis (dfrancis@worldbank.org).