Sub-Saharan African researchers and professionals

• Ph.D. students from Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly women, are eligible to apply for the World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program

• World Bank Group Fellows will spend a minimum of six months getting hands-on experience at World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C., or country offices

• Fellows will work on economic policy, technical assistance to countries, and lending for eliminating poverty and increasing shared prosperity

The Africa Region of the World Bank Group (WBG) is relaunching its fellowship program for Ph.D. students who are Sub-Saharan nationals. The program will increase the diverse workforce that is a priority for the Bank and its clients.

Started in 2013 by World Bank Africa Vice President Makhtar Diop, the World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program aims to build a pipeline of Sub-Saharan African researchers and professionals, particularly women, who are interested in working in the development field at home or abroad, and in starting careers with the WBG. From the first class of fellows, several have joined the World Bank Group, and others have gone on to pursue promising development careers.

Requirements:

Sub-Saharan nationals who are recent Ph.D. graduates, or current doctoral students within one or two years of completing or graduating from a Ph.D. program in the following fields: Economics, Demography, Applied Statistics and Econometrics, Impact Evaluation, Education, Health, Energy, Agriculture, and Infrastructure. Candidates must:

• Be a recent graduate or be enrolled in an academic institution and returning to university after the fellowship
• Be 32 years of age or below
• Have an excellent command of English, both written and verbal
• Possess strong quantitative and analytical skills

The Fellowship

• Fellows will spend a minimum of six months at the World Bank offices in Washington, D.C. or in a Sub-Saharan country, getting hands-on experience in development work. This includes knowledge generation and dissemination, design of global and country policies and the building of institutions to achieve inclusive growth in developing countries. While benefitting from research and innovation in multiple sectors, fellows will also work on economic policy, technical assistance, and lending for eliminating poverty and increasing shared prosperity.
• Special attention will be given to work with Fragile and Conflict-Affected States.
• Fellows will be expected to complete a research project and prepare a research paper to present to staff. High-standard papers may be published internally.

Specifically, selected participants will:

• Gain a better understanding of the World Bank Group’s mission and operations
• Access quality data for their research work
• Interact with seasoned experts in their field of development
• Contribute to the World Bank Group’s mission

Benefits

• Selected candidates will then be notified and, upon acceptance, will be hired as short-term consultants for a minimum of six months.
• Fellows will receive consultant fees, round-trip economy class air travel to Washington, D.C. or a WBG country office from their university, and worker’s compensation insurance.