The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Technical assistance (TA) and training are core activities for the IMF in its areas of expertise. In conjunction with its network of Regional Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) and Regional Training Centers:
The Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) provides TA in fiscal policy and management (including, macro-fiscal policy; tax and customs policy and administration; budget formulation and management, accounting, reporting, and cash and debt management; short-term expenditure rationalization, social security reform, and design of social safety nets).
The Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM) provides TA in central banking and financial system stability (monetary and foreign exchange policies and operations; financial markets, instruments and infrastructure; financial system regulation and supervision; public asset and liability management (including management of reserves, debt management and debt markets, and sovereign wealth funds); and systemic issues and crisis management).
The Legal Department (LEG) provides TA in financial and fiscal sector legislation, regulations and guidelines with particular emphasis on central banking, financial regulation, fiscal law (tax and budget), insolvency law, anti money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, and foreign exchange law.
The Statistics Department (STA) provides TA in compilation, management, dissemination, and improvement of statistical data.
The Institute for Capacity Development (ICD) provides training that builds capacity in areas essential to effective macroeconomic management, namely the analysis of macroeconomic conditions, the diagnosis of problems, and the design and implementation of macroeconomic policies. Some courses have an economy-wide focus, others address particular areas of macroeconomic management, such as the public finances, monetary and exchange rate policy, and the financial sector, with the consideration of issues in these topic areas set in their broader macroeconomic context. The course catalog can be found at http://www.imf.org/external/np/ins/english/news.asp.
About 80 percent of IMF TA goes to low- and lower-middle income countries. In addition to the immediate benefit to beneficiary countries, by helping countries design and implement better policies thus reducing their vulnerabilities, TA contributes to a more robust and stable global economy. For more about IMF TA go here.
To help IMF staff to deliver this program of TA and training, the IMF draws on an extensive and carefully vetted roster of subject matter experts from around the world to undertake short-term assignments in its member countries. The Fund is constantly seeking to add to this roster of experienced senior professionals.
Types of assignments
IMF short-term TA assignments usually involve participation in headquarters-led diagnostic missions of one to two weeks, or standalone short-term assignments of up to one month to provide hands on advisory assistance to country authorities. Occasionally, experts are sought for longer-term assignments in a country.
IMF training is mainly delivered through the IMF Institute in Washington, D.C., or at one of its seven regional training centers.
General qualifications required
For inclusion on the IMF experts roster, individuals should have extensive operational or policy making experience in one of the subject areas; usually stemming from senior government positions or academic life. In some instances, a mix of public and private sector expertise could be beneficial. International exposure and familiarity with “best international practice” are key assets. Experts should have good analytical skills, well-developed oral and written communication, and fluency in English. The ability to conduct technical discussions and to write reports in English to a high standard and under tight deadlines is essential. Additional language skills frequently needed are: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic or Russian. Experts must have excellent interpersonal skills; and have the ability to work as part of a team, to maintain effective and cooperative relations with national authorities and other TA providers and donors, and to handle sensitive issues with discretion in a multicultural environment.
Specific qualifications required and where to submit a CV
To learn more about the detailed expertise needed to participate in delivering TA please click on the following links:
Experienced professionals with the pre-requisite senior level skills in one of these specialized areas are invited to email their CV to the relevant TA department. When received, CV’s will be evaluated against the general qualifications and subject expertise criteria needed for inclusion on the IMF experts roster. In some cases, the person might be contacted for further information. If included on the IMF expert roster, the expert will be informed. Should a suitable assignment arise matching skills of expert on the roster, the person will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Duties of experts during TA assignments
The expert who participates in a diagnostic mission will be expected to: prepare for the mission by reading relevant documents prior to the mission, and in some instances through a pre-briefing at IMF headquarters for 2-3 days, depending upon the location of the expert and the mission site; participate fully in discussions with national authorities in his/her area of expertise; write sections of the draft TA report that is prepared and submitted to the authorities while the TA mission is in the field; and contribute to the team effort as directed by the mission head. Duties after the mission are usually not extensive, but the expert would be expected to respond to e-mails that may request certain limited follow-up work from the expert’s home.
An expert undertaking a standalone TA assignment, will be expected to advise and assist the country authorities in specific areas of their special expertise as provided in a detailed terms of reference. While working directly with the authorities, the expert will be required to consult IMF staff at headquarters on substantial developments and issues, and coordinate with and report regularly to IMF headquarters.
Availability of experts
Experts who are full-time civil servants must be released by their authorities for the full duration of a mission (usually for about 2 weeks in a given country), and be provided with adequate time to prepare for the mission and to travel to/from the mission site. Advance notice of the need for a specific expert for an IMF TA mission generally falls in the range of 6 to 8 weeks, though circumstances on occasion result in somewhat shorter or longer planning periods.
Stand-alone short-term expert assignments are normally 2 to 4 weeks and require usually more than one visit to the country.
Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD)
For its roster of experts, FAD is interested in identifying experts in the areas of expenditure policy, public financial management, tax policy and revenue administration that—in addition to the general requirements for IMF experts—meet the following subject area qualifications. Suitably qualified individuals are invited to send their CV to FADEXPERTS@imf.org. Should a suitable assignment arise, they will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Subject matter experts
Expenditure policy
Experts must have extensive experience on expenditure policy issues with specific expertise in one or more of the following areas: short-term expenditure rationalization, expenditure efficiency, poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA), and policy reforms in the areas of pensions, health, education, government wages and employment, government subsidies, and fiscal risk assessments for public investment and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Public financial management (PFM)
Experts should preferably have a minimum of 10 years of practical experience in a senior line or advisory position within a ministry of finance, or a related budgetary institution, international consultancy and/or academia, with relevant experience in design and implementation of PFM reforms in one or more of the following PFM fields: budget formulation, including medium-term fiscal and expenditure frameworks, and program budgeting; budget execution, including accounting and reporting; treasury systems and cash-flow management; the legislative framework for budgeting; internal control and internal audit; and inter-governmental fiscal relations.
Tax policy
Experts should have extensive experience either: in senior positions in the ministry responsible for tax policy analysis or formulation (typically the Ministry of Finance) of their country, or a comparable advisory position; from research and teaching experience in tax policy from a reputable academic institution; and/or from consulting work against a background of exposure to policy issues. Experience with/knowledge of tax systems in addition to that of the expert’s home country is highly preferred. Most FAD experts in this area have a professional background in economics. In some cases, the expert’s primary professional qualification may be in law, provided that he/she has the requisite policy related/academic experience. For natural resource taxation, knowledge of the commercial arrangements in the resource industries is needed.
A solid understanding of the basic economic and structural principles of tax policy is a requirement. Specialized expertise in one or more of the following tax policy areas is desirable: corporate taxation (including, for example, experience in: the use of tax incentives for investment; alternative corporate tax systems; international taxation); personal income taxation (including, for example, recent developments in the use of flat taxes and dual income taxation; taxation of small businesses); value-added taxes (including, for example, best international practices in designing the VAT; the use of VATs at multiple levels of government; VAT treatment of small businesses); real property taxes and their design; natural resource taxation (covering the design of fiscal regimes for petroleum and minerals, encompassing all of royalties, taxation, production sharing, state participation, and pricing mechanisms), tariff policy and customs unions; revenue forecasting techniques and practice; taxation of the financial sector; tax issues typically arising in developing countries.
Revenue administration
Experts should have extensive experience in senior positions in the headquarters office of the tax and/or customs department of their country. In addition, exposure to tax systems outside the expert’s home country is a highly-valued asset.
Experience in managing major reform and modernization projects, as well as a sound understanding of tax and customs policies and procedures, is a requirement. Specialized expertise in one or more of the following tax administration areas would be desirable: tax collection and payment systems, audit, compliance and enforcement, taxpayer services, and taxpayer appeals systems. In customs administration: import/export processing procedures, post-release verification and audit, and enforcement. Candidates should be familiar with best international practices in tax and/or customs administration, and be able to provide guidance on the legislative aspects of revenue administration, as well as on strategic planning and organizational and management issues. A good understanding of the effective use of information technology in modern tax and customs administrations is also important, although it is not expected that FAD’s revenue administration experts will be IT experts.
Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM)
MCM hires experts in the areas of: monetary and foreign exchange policies and operations; financial markets, instruments and infrastructure; financial system regulation and supervision; public asset and liability management; and systemic issues and crisis. These experts need to have significant current or recent experience with a national central bank, regulatory agency, ministry of finance, debt management office or sovereign wealth fund. Suitably qualified individuals are invited to send their CV to MCMEXPERTS@imf.org. However, as the pool of financial sector experts on the roster is currently quite large and deep, MCM is presently seeking to add experts only in a few specific areas. Should a suitable assignment arise, an individual will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Subject matter experts
Monetary and foreign exchange policies and operations
Experts must have extensive experience with one or more of the core areas of central bank policy or operations, including: monetary policy operations and instruments, inflation targeting, foreign exchange operations, exchange rate regimes, and foreign exchange regulations and capital controls.
Financial markets, instruments and infrastructure
Experts must have extensive experience with the development or regulation of money, securities and foreign exchange markets from the perspective of a central bank, ministry of finance, or market regulator. Ideally, experts will have experience of these issues in different countries at different levels of financial market development and the sequencing of market development.
Financial system regulation and supervision
Experts should have extensive experience in a supervisory agency with off-site and/or on-site supervision, in one of the following core areas: banking, insurance and capital markets; or in the latest analytical techniques and models for assessing systemic risk in financial systems. Supervisory experts should be familiar with relevant international financial sector standards and codes of good practice. For banking supervisors, experience with/knowledge of issues relating to capital adequacy in different countries in light of the recent financial crisis, notably, in implementing Basel II with a focus on improving compliance with the Basel Core Principles and adopting risk-based supervision, is also desirable.
Public asset and liability management
Experts must have extensive experience with one or more of the core areas of public asset and liability management: organizational arrangements for sovereign asset and/or liability management, development of medium-term debt management strategies, formulation of strategic asset allocation framework for reserves and sovereign wealth funds, portfolio risk management, debt restructuring and liability management operations in normal and crises cases, and linkages with capital market operations and debt market development. Consequently, experts are likely to have worked at senior levels within a ministry of finance, central bank, debt management office or sovereign wealth fund. In some instances, a combination of public sector experience and (past) debt capital markets experience in the private sector would be particularly advantageous; however, experts would not be recruited while still in full time employment in the private sector.
Systemic issues and crisis management
MCM looks for experts who have substantial practical experience in a senior line or advisory position within a central bank or regulatory agency, to put in place infrastructure to help avoid or minimize the impact of financial systems crises. This could include such things as the design of deposit insurance schemes and contingency plans. In addition, MCM looks for experts with extensive experience in resolving those crises which do occur, including through financial institution restructuring and resolution.
Legal Department (LEG)
For its roster of experts, LEG is interested in identifying experts with five or more years of experience in the areas of: Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) issues; banking law legislation; fiscal and tax law legislation; insolvency legislation; and foreign exchange law legislation; Suitably qualified individuals are invited to send their CV to LEGEXPERTS@imf.org. Should a suitable assignment arise, they will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Subject matter experts
AML/CFT
Experts should have extensive experience in senior positions in the ministry or agency responsible for AML/CFT policy formulation or technical assistance delivery or a comparable advisory position; from research experience in AML/CFT policy from a reputable academic institution; and/or from consulting work against a background of exposure to both policy and operational AML/CFT issues. Extensive experience in the private sector particularly the compliance division of financial institutions is also favorably considered. Demonstrated experience with and/or knowledge of the international standards on AML/CFT and the conduct or review of assessments and evaluations under the standard is highly desirable. The expert’s primary professional qualification can be in law, business, international relations, economics or financial affairs. Knowledge of the challenges of TA delivery in low income low capacity and emerging market countries is desirable.
Specialized expertise in one or more of the following AML/CFT practice areas is desirable: supervision/regulation of financial institutions; legal drafting and/or legal review of AML/CFT laws, regulations and other enforceable means; the operation of financial intelligence units; compliance issues in designated non financial business and professions; the conduct of risk assessments in AML/CFT; best practices in domestic and international cooperation in AML/CFT including extradition, mutual legal assistance and other intelligence and information sharing modalities.
Banking law
We invite expressions of interest from experts with university degrees in law in the private, public, or academic sectors with extensive professional legal experience in the areas of Banking Supervision and Regulation; Central Banking; Financial Institutions Insolvency and Resolution Frameworks; and Payments and Security Settlement Systems. Experts will have provided legal advice and drafted legal instruments in the above mentioned areas in light of international standards and best practices. Experience advising on these matters from a public policy perspective is especially appreciated. Experts should also be adept with engaging with high level officials and with organizing training and seminars for professionals such as judges and lawyers from governments, central banks and financial supervisors. Multi-lingual proficiency as well as knowledge of IMF supported programs and initiatives, such as ROSC’s and FSAP’s is also highly desirable.
Fiscal and tax law
In the fiscal area, experts should have substantial experience with budget law or public debt law; for tax law, the Legal department typically hires experts with 10 or more years of experience, generally with substantial publications (books and law review articles), preferably with extensive experience in drafting tax legislation in developing countries, and knowledge of comparative tax law. Fluency in Arabic (especially), Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, or French is desirable. Working knowledge of English is required.
Insolvency law
Experts should have extensive experience with the design of corporate and/or household insolvency law and in-depth understanding of international best practices in this area. The expert’s knowledge of cross-country experience and the challenges of TA delivery in emerging market countries is highly desirable. Substantial experience in the private sector on bankruptcy and debt restructuring is also desirable. Working knowledge of English is required.
Foreign exchange law
Experts engaged by LEG to provide advice in the area of foreign exchange legislation should have substantive experience, preferably of more than 10 years, in the design and drafting of foreign exchange laws and regulations. In particular, these experts should have developed such expertise through their holding of senior positions (e.g., senior legal counsels/advisors) at legal departments of their national/regional central banks or monetary authorities, where they have directly worked in the design and drafting of such type of legislation; or, through their tenure as members of the academia or professors of public international law with expertise in monetary-central banking and foreign exchange systems laws.
Statistics Department (STA)
For its roster of experts, STA is interested in identifying experts in the areas of balance of payments statistics, government finance statistics, monetary and financial statistics, national accounts statistics, price statistics, and data dissemination that meet the following general and subject-area qualifications. Suitably qualified individuals are invited to send their CV to STAEXPRecruitment@imf.org. Should a suitable assignment arise, they will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Subject matter experts
Balance of Payments Statistics
Experts should have extensive experience in the compilation and dissemination of balance of payments and international investment position statistics. Candidates should be familiar with surveys and other data collection. Expertise in the compilation of foreign direct investment statistics, external debt, reserves, and remittances are highly-valued assets. Experts should have good knowledge of the international methodological standards such as the fifth and sixth editions of the Balance of Payments Manual.
Government Finance Statistics
Experts should have extensive knowledge in the area of statistical methodology, in particular the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001), as well as extensive experience in the compilation and dissemination of fiscal data of one or more countries. Often, this is supported by experience in the areas of fiscal policy and/or public sector accounting. Most experts in GFS have a professional background in economics. Experience with GFSM 2001 implementation, including the migration from the Government Finance Statistics Manual 1986 methodology, is highly desirable. Experts should have strong data analytical skills; oral and written communication skills; and technical skills in the use of Excel and Word software.
Monetary and Financial Statistics
Experts must have extensive knowledge of the methodology and experience in the compilation and dissemination of (1) monetary and financial statistics and/or (2) financial soundness indicators. They have to be very familiar with the concept of standardized report forms for compiling and reporting monetary data.
A solid knowledge and understanding are required with respect to the (1) macroeconomic and monetary policies, (2) use of monetary data, (3) prudential and supervisory principles of the financial system, and (4) accounting rules.
National Accounts Statistics
Experts should have significant experience in compiling national accounts in a statistics compiling agencies. A sound knowledge of the System of National Accounts is a must. Other relevant experience such as compilation of basic economic statistics, price statistics, establishment and household surveys, data collection programs, business registers, statistical classifications is also required. Knowledge of specific quarterly national accounts compilation techniques is an advantage. Familiarity with short-term statistics indicators is desirable.
Price Statistics
Experts should have extensive experience in compiling a consumer price index, and a producer price index as well as imports and exports price indices in a statistics compiling agencies. Knowledge of the System of National Accounts and the relevant price index manuals is desired too. Other relevant experience such as compiling production indices, national accounts, statistical classifications, business registers, and data collection programs is also required.
Data dissemination
Experts must have extensive experience in the compilation and dissemination of macroeconomic statistics and related metadata. Specific knowledge of the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives, the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), National Summary Data Page (NSDP), and Advance Release Calendars (ARC), is required. Candidates should be familiar with best international practices in the compilation of statistics and related metadata in at least one of the following statistical sectors: real, fiscal, financial, or external. Knowledge and experience in more than one of these sectors would be a distinct advantage. A good understanding of the effective use of information technology in data dissemination is also important, although it is not expected that experts will be IT experts. Knowledge of the alignment of statistical plans for improvement with broader strategic plans (e.g., PRSPs, SMPs, and NSDSs) and medium-term budgets, will be an advantage.
Institute for Capacity Development (ICD)
For its roster of experts, ICD is interested in identifying experts with strong credentials in macroeconomic analysis and policy making, both theory and practice. Most courses require broad-based skills in these areas, but there is also a need for specialists, especially in finance, and monetary and exchange rate policy, who can address issues in these areas the broader macroeconomic context. Suitably qualified individuals are invited to send their CV to ICDEXPERTS@imf.org. Should a suitable assignment arise, they will be contacted to discuss interest and availability.
Subject matter experts
Assignments typically involve two weeks full time engagement at the course site, plus preparation prior to the course, which can typically be done in the expert’s country of residence. Courses are usually delivered at one of the ICD’s seven regional training centers but experts are also engaged to deliver courses at other locations. Because of the need to keep up with the continually evolving ICD curriculum, experts need to be available for at least two assignments a year.
Experts engaged in delivering ICD training courses must have:
- a strong graduate-level training in economics, preferably with Ph.D.;
- extensive practical experience in analyzing macroeconomic issues and providing policy advice, including significant experience in developing and emerging market countries;
- a demonstrated ability to teach applied economics at the undergraduate and graduate levels;
- excellent interpersonal skills needed to work effectively as part of the course delivery team and to lead small-group workshops; and
- fluency in English.
Additional skills needed for certain courses include:
- fluency in Arabic, French or Spanish, for courses conducted in these languages;
- specialized knowledge in finance, econometrics, or modeling, with an aptitude for applying these skills in a macroeconomic context.
CVs sent to the ICD should explicitly address qualifications related to each of seven bullet points above. The course catalog at http://www.imf.org/external/np/ins/english/news.asp identifies which courses are taught by the ICD.
Scholarship & Career 