MNA Fellow

The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of financing and knowledge for developing countries. Its mission is to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. The Governance Global Department supports countries in strengthening public sector institutions, improving government effectiveness, and enhancing the transparency, efficiency, and accountability of public resource management.

Public Financial Management (PFM) is central to these objectives. Effective PFM systems help governments translate policy priorities into credible budgets, allocate public resources efficiently, strengthen fiscal discipline, and improve public service delivery. The World Bank's Global PFM Program (P514821) supports countries in strengthening their PFM systems through analytical work, technical assistance, knowledge development, and operational support.

The program covers nine interconnected workstreams: budgeting; treasury and cash management; fiscal risks; fiscal transparency; audit and oversight; accounting and reporting; public investment and asset management; digital PFM; and procurement. Within this framework, the Budgeting Workstream focuses on strengthening the institutions, processes, and tools that support effective budget preparation, strategic resource allocation, and expenditure prioritization.

Its main areas of engagement include

• Medium-term budgeting and expenditure frameworks: Strengthening the linkages between fiscal strategies, policy priorities, annual budgets, and medium-term expenditure planning.
• Program-based and performance-based budgeting: Supporting governments in organizing budgets around programs, defining performance objectives and indicators, and using performance information to inform budget decisions.
• Spending reviews: Developing methodologies and supporting country-level spending reviews to identify expenditure savings, improve spending efficiency, and create fiscal space for strategic priorities.
• Budget preparation and expenditure prioritization: Strengthening budget formulation processes, budget negotiations, expenditure analysis, and the integration of strategic priorities into resource allocation decisions.
• Budget institutions and reform implementation: Supporting ministries of finance in strengthening budget directorates, budget procedures, and institutional capacities to design and implement sustainable reforms. The Global PFM Team works closely with World Bank regional and country teams, other Global Departments, ministries of finance, and international partners to provide practical, demand-driven support. Under the MNA Fellowship Program, the World Bank is seeking an Extended-Term Consultant with practical experience in public budgeting, ideally acquired within a Ministry of Finance Budget Directorate, to contribute to the implementation of the Global PFM Program, with particular emphasis on the Budgeting Workstream. The assignment will offer the Fellow an opportunity to combine experience in government budget management with international exposure to PFM reforms, analytical work, and World Bank country operations. Duties and Responsibilities
• The selected Fellow will work under the guidance of the Global PFM TTL and contribute to analytical activities, technical assistance, knowledge products, and country engagements related to public budgeting and expenditure management, with a particular focus on the following areas:
• Budget Preparation and Medium-Term Budgeting: Support analytical and advisory work on budget formulation, expenditure planning, and the development and implementation of Medium-Term Expenditure and Budget Frameworks, strengthening the alignment between fiscal strategies, policy priorities, and budget allocations.
• Program-Based and Performance-Based Budgeting: Contribute to the design, implementation, and assessment of program-based and performance-based budgeting reforms, including program structures, performance indicators, and the integration of performance information into budget preparation and resource allocation decisions.
• Spending Reviews and Expenditure Prioritization: Support the development of spending review methodologies and country-level exercises, including expenditure analysis, identification of efficiency gains and fiscal savings, and recommendations to improve spending effectiveness and inform budget decisions.
• Green Budgeting: Contribute to the design and implementation of green budgeting reforms, including budget tagging.
• Country Engagements and Technical Assistance: Provide technical and analytical support to World Bank country teams, participate in missions and policy dialogue with ministries of finance, and contribute to reform roadmaps, technical workshops, and capacity-building activities.
• Knowledge Development and Global PFM Program Support: Contribute to analytical reports, operational guidance, surveys, comparative studies, and knowledge products.
• Specific deliverables and timelines will be agreed with the supervising team at the beginning of the assignment.