(Offre en anglais) Chemonics lance un appel à candidatures pour le recrutement d’un(e) “Senior local expert on economic simulations and econometrics” عودة إلى الفرص

Title: Senior local expert on economic simulations and econometrics

 Length of Assignment: Short-Term

 Reports to: Team Leader for JOBS Business Enabling Environment Objective, and Deputy Chief of Party

BACKGROUND

The USAID/Tunisia Jobs, Opportunities & Business Success (JOBS) project, managed by Chemonics International, seeks to create 70,000 jobs over the five-year life of the project. The three-year project (with an additional two-year option period) will work through multiple pathways to reach this ambitious goal, including i) increasing the competitiveness of client firms; ii) matching labor market demand with skills that meet the needs; iii) improving the business enabling environment; and iv) improving youths’ attitudes towards private sector employment.

Accordingly, Tunisia’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index has fallen from 40 in 2010 to 80 in 2018. Tunisia’s Economic Analysis Council and GOT Office of the Presidency has expressed strong commitment to improve Tunisia’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business indicators from its current ranking of 80 to 65 in 2019 to its goal of ranking in the top 50 by 2020, according to Tunisia’s Economic Development Plan 2016-2020. This commitment is also strongly supported by the private sector.

Under Component 3, JOBS will help forge a more competitive business enabling environment by working with businesses to identify policy and regulatory constraints to their ability to grow, then working with the government of Tunisia, and private sector organizations to address these constraints. Included in this component is the policy area related to market access for investors, specifically improving Tunisia’s Doing Business Indicators (DBIs), which will lead to reduced bottlenecks for SMEs. As part of its Year One work plan, JOBS has agreed with the GOT to provide focused technical assistance for two indicators: Starting a Business (SAB) and Trading Across Borders (TAB).

A senior local economist will be teamed with an international consultant (proposed separately) for this assignment.

OBJECTIVES

 The local consultant will work closely with an international consultant to develop a methodology for estimating impact of DBI on GDP from the total annual monetized benefits from JOBS-supported DBI reforms, using a multiplier model, and then prioritize regulatory and policy reforms for all sub-indicators of the 11 DBI indicators. This proposal will be based on impacts on scoring, speed of implementation, and likely economic effect on competitiveness and job creation.

The key objective of this assignment is to ensure that (1) all of JOBS’ DBI activities are contextually appropriate to the Government’s vision and that (2) local capacity is available to sustain momentum after departure of the international consultant.

 DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES

The detailed responsibilities are outlined below:

• Collect and provide the international consultant updated economic indicators related to Tunisia’s ranking in Doing Business.
• Provide statistics and useful economic data for the international expert in order to identify key constraints that limit improving Tunisia’s DBI ranking. The local consultant will co-facilitate with the international consultant targeted meetings and workshops with stakeholders in the public and private sector to share the results of economic simulations and monetized benefits of reform.
• Propose value-added propositions and recommendations with expected results in in short, medium, and long-term that could be included in the strategy for improving Tunisia’s DBI ranking.

DELIVERABLES:

Specific deliverables will be prepared in close collaboration with the international expert, which are described below:

• Action plan for two specific DBIs (SAB and TAB) to be implemented in calendar year 2020 for DB2021.
• Strategy for improving Tunisia’s ranking in DBIs. The strategy will be based on simulation of impacts on job creation and other economic indicators and will be validated by the MDICI.

All written deliverables will be prepared using standard USAID/Tunisia JOBS templates and appropriate branding and marking.

REPORTING:

The consultants will report to USAID/JOBS Business Enabling Environment team leader, and Deputy Chief of Party

 WORKING CONDITIONS/SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The local consultant is expected to work six days per week for the duration of the assignment. The assignment will take place in Tunis with potential travel outside of Tunis to relevant regions. The travel outside of Tunis will be determined during the assignment in discussions with the JOBS team.

LEVEL OF EFFORT AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

This position is a short-term assignment with up to 25 days of LOE, preparing data for review and discussion with the international consultant prior to his arrival in Tunisia and providing continuity between the first and second visits of the international consultant. The assignment will start April 15 until May 1 and then June 7 -17, 2019. The first assignment will focus primarily on DB activities, which will serve as an input for the strategy development activities, which will be the primary focus of the second trip.