Senior Public Sector/Governance Specialist , Nairobi, Kenya

The World Bank’s Africa Region Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Department is looking to recruit a Senior Public Sector/Governance Specialist on an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) appointment to be based in Nairobi, Kenya, to manage a program of support to central and county governments to improve public sector management and governance support institutional reforms and capacity building to achieve development results.

The Africa Region Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Group (AFR PREM) plays a leading role in implementing the Governance and Anti-Corruption (GAC) strategy.  It has particularly significant responsibilities in strengthening efforts to build sustainable and effective institutions that can help bring about shared growth and poverty reduction in the countries of the region.  The Sector Management Unit of PREM in East Africa (AFTP2) covers seven countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Rwanda.

The Government of Kenya has a long term development strategy - VISION 2030 - with its goal of making Kenya a middle income country by 2030. The strategy is supported by  the World Bank's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS(), which aims at contributing to achieving more inclusive growth by supporting activities aiming to (i) unleash Kenya’s growth potential; (ii) reduce inequality and social exclusion; and (iii) address resource constraints and environmental challenges. Strengthening public sector management and improving governance, especially at the sub-national level is an integral part of the CPS Pillar One, while governance is also cross-cutting issue and mainstreamed across the Bank’s portfolio in Kenya. The new Constitution of Kenya provides the opportunity to improve governance but also brings challenges in implementation of the various aspects of devolution and public sector reforms to enhance service delivery at both national and sub-national levels.   There is an urgent need to strengthen core public financial and human resource management systems and tools in counties, particularly since at least 15 percent of national revenues are to be transferred to the counties.  Key areas of support will include, inter alia, budget and planning, procurement, accounting and reporting, human resource management, leadership development and setting and improving basic service standards in few priority sectors.

To support the Government of Kenya, a joint World Bank and Department for International Development (DFID) Governance Partnership program was recently approved in July 2012. The two-and-a-half year program consists of three components aimed at jointly providing support to the establishment of supply and demand side systems: (i) Devolution and service delivery, (ii)Open data, social accountability, monitoring & evaluation, and data production; and (iii) Public financial management and public sector reforms. Support provided under the programme includes technical assistance to establish devolved systems, formulate guidelines and standards, develop capacity, expand access to information, enhance involvement of stakeholders, and improve coordination of donor support. While building on ongoing governance initiatives, the program supports both the supply and demand side of the governance in implementation of the new Constitution. Specifically, the aim of the grant is to support accountability of services to be devolved to citizens and within government, as well as to selectively support implementation of selected key public sector governance measures outlined under Kenya's new Constitution.
The Governance Partnership grant aims to achieve this objective by supporting the roll-out of critical governance and decentralization reforms emerging from Kenya’s new Constitution, via integrated support to demand- and supply-side governance reforms, including public financial management and public sector reform.
The Senior Public Sector /Governance Specialist will work closely with the Lead Public Sector Management and Governance Cluster Leader, based in the World Bank office in Nairobi, to support the Government of Kenya to implement the public sector and public financial management component of the above joint World Bank-DFID support program.
PREM/AFTP2 staff work in country teams together with other sectors, the World Bank Institute (WBI), and Network Anchors.  They also work closely with government and private sector counterparts, development partners and civil society organizations in country.  

The selected candidate will be based in the World Bank’s Country Office in Nairobi, Kenya, for a period of one year on an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) appointment, subject to renewal for an additional one year.  S/he will have the responsibility for providing substantive support on governance and public sector reform in Kenya, working directly with key national and county level governments and non-government entities and coordinating with other development partners.


The selected candidate will report to the Sector Manager in HQ, to the Country Director (CD) based in Nairobi, as well as to the Governance Cluster Leader (CL) located in Nairobi.   S/he will be expected to carry out the following duties:

• Contribute in managing the preparation and implementation of support in public sector management and governance to national and county governments to achieve the development objectives of the program
• Work with the CL in the preparation of analytical work relevant for the Country Partnership Strategy and policy dialogue on public sector reform and governance in Kenya
• In partnership with the CL, participate in supervising the quality and timeliness of work program deliverables for the Kenya program.
• Contribute to the preparation of concise public sector/governance strategy papers for Kenya, drawing on inputs from relevant country team members, and ensuring appropriate support to multi-sector operations in implementing strategies.
• Generate, apply, and exchange thematic knowledge relating to concepts, techniques, and lessons of experience pertaining to governance, public sector reform, and capacity building.
• Lead efforts to strengthen capacity development in counties and related national institutions
• Provide advisory support on governance and public sector management for Bank-supported operations and participate and/or lead supervision missions as required.
• Undertake any other relevant tasks assigned.

Apply Now