Health Specialist, Bangkok

Closing Date: Sunday, 13 October 2013Background / General description:
Background
The China-World Bank collaboration in health goes back 30 years. The World Bank has helped to finance a number of health projects with more than US$1 billion, and has continuously contributed to and collaborated on health policy research and dialogue. The collaboration has evolved over time from support to basic health services infrastructure and capacity building; to responding to important public health problems (such as tuberculosis, avian and human influenza); to collaborating on the design and implementation of recent health reforms to strengthen key components of China's health system. The current World Bank health portfolio comprises three active projects: China Rural Health Project supporting health system reform innovations; the Chongqing Urban Rural Integration Project II-Health supporting improved access to essential hospital services for the rural population; the Emerging Infectious Disease Control Project; as well as health activities in the Wenchuan & Gansu Earthquake Reconstruction Project; Technical Cooperation Credit V Project and Chongqing Urban Rural Integration Project I. In the policy research and engagement area, the current collaboration addresses China's hospital reform and financing, coordinated care, evaluation of health reform innovations, etc. The World Bank is also supporting the China-Africa International Health Cooperation Program.
The World Bank is seeking to recruit a Health Specialist or Economist to the World Bank Office, Beijing. The successful candidate will join the dynamic World Bank China human development team and will contribute to and help to manage the World Bank China health sector program comprising analytical work, policy engagement and the health project portfolio. The term of appointment is 2 years and is subject for renewal based on performance and continued business need.
Note:
This is a 2 year Term Appointment. If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a regular or open-ended appointment, s/he will retain her/his regular or open-ended appointment. All others will be offered 2 year term appointment.
Note:
If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities
The successful candidate will:
(i) participate and over time take leadership in providing implementation support to the ongoing health operations and health components of cross-sectoral operations;
(ii) participate and take leadership in policy research and engagement with the China government counterparts as well as with other development partners in China;
(iii) contribute to the development and updates of World Bank human development engagement strategy in China;
(iv) act as the key liaison contact with the key Government counterparts in the health sector, academia and development partners;
(v) work together with the World Bank human development team and China counterparts at central and provincial level to identify needs and project opportunities;
(vi) participate and contribute to health development dialogue in the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region as well as globally.
Selection Criteria:
Qualifications and competencies

• Graduate academic degree in medicine, public health, health economics, public administration, or equivalent.
• Knowledge and experience with the China health reform initiatives would be highly desirable.
• At least 5 years of work experience in public health, health system research, management or administration of health programs, or equivalent.
• Experience in working with and/or liaising with Government health institutions, academia, and health development partners in China would be a plus.
• Excellent spoken and written Chinese and English.

Competencies Requirements

• 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.
• Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Knowledge and Experience - Possesses strong expertise in: health systems, public health, nutrition and/or population. Has experience assisting clients, in partnership with other stakeholders, in developing flexible and creative approaches to HNP reform and implementation.
• Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice 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 leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.