Table 7.1
World Bank Staff in the Liberia Office during FY2011
Title
Sector Mapping
Years in Bank
Transport Engineer
SDN - TRAN
4.2
Economist
PREM - PREM
9.3
Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist
SDN - ARD
9.3
Procurement Specialist
-
0.8
Operations Officer
-
5.4
Financial Management Specialist
OPCS - FM
1.8
Junior Professional Officer
-
0.9
Senior Economist
PREM - EPOL
9.8
Junior Professional Officer
SDN - ARD
0.3
Senior Operations Officer
OPCS - CSP
6.8
Public Sector Specialist
PREM - PSM
1.2
Country Manager
OPCS - CSP
26.4
Communications Associate
-
0.4
Source: World Bank Human Resources database. Note: ARD = Agriculture and Rural Development; CSP = Country Services Panel; EPOL = Economic Policy; OPCS = Operations Policy and Country Services; PREM = Poverty Reduction and Economic Management; PSM = Public Sector Management; SDN = Social Development Network; TRAN = Transport.
post rest and relaxation entitlements have now been discontinued. A third aspect has to do with the reportedly unreasonable workloads and travel schedules of Washington- or hub-based sector staff, especially those known for the high quality of their work. Anecdotes abound of staff handling inordinate workloads, such as managing or supporting projects in Liberia as well as in several other countries, and stretched to the limit by travel schedules. And finally, turnover among key staff in the country team—perhaps in part owing to the demands of the work—has been high, affecting task team or cluster leaders for infrastructure, land tenure, forest development, education, health, and agriculture. Managerial oversight. Just as importantly, the Liberia program appears to face stiff competition for management attention. In sector units, where project management is typically lodged, the large span of control of sector managers means that, besides the dearth of attention that sector staff can devote to activities in Liberia, management oversight of their work is also lacking. On the country side of the matrix, the dedicated Country Manager notwithstanding, the Country Director position covers three countries (the other two being Ghana and Sierra Leone). In an evaluation of Bank support to fragile states, IEG noted “the uneven attention of country directors, especially if they are also covering a larger, more “successful”, or higher profile country.” (Independent Evaluation Group 2006) In the best of circumstances, the Country Director’s attention to Liberia faces competition from Ghana (where the Country Director resides), a high-profile country that requires
Strengthening Program Implementation
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