Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.
Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region
We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs. Yet, these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades. In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio of 350 projects totaling more than $38 billion in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water and sanitation- all to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87% of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved. Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID.
Duties and Accountabilities:
Develop technical solutions and lead/manage the preparation and implementation of community and local development projects in fragile, conflict and violence context.
Support Bank-financed projects as a technical expert and/or Task Team Leader (in particular the Lake Chad Recovery and Development Project and the Community-Based Recovery and Stabilization Project for the Sahel); support TTLs with day-to-day engagement with clients at the operational and policy level; organize and participate in missions and other supervision activities.
Advise task teams and counterparts on technical options for social development programs and operations, on the full range of social development topics, including social cohesion, citizen engagement, social inclusion, gender and youth, with a particular focus on lagging regions, access to services, community-based service delivery, social accountability mechanisms, climate resilience, etc.
Play a key role in implementing the Unit’s sector strategy, through advising the Practice Manager, engaging clients and supporting colleagues.
Support Senior and Lead Specialists in handling complex technical, institutional and program implementation issues regarding social development at the operational level, and lead the related dialogue with counterparts.
Participate in cross-practice teams responsible for the preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics, Country Partnership Frameworks, sector studies, and research and policy development activities on the full range of social development topics.
Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure consistency and conformity to Bank operational policies.
Contribute to the Unit’s analytical work; generate “think pieces” and “best practice” papers; leads the development and implementation of proposals for analytical and advisory work.
Contribute to knowledge sharing, dissemination and awareness raising activities with both Bank staff and clients.Support and actively participate to the Bank-wide professional community of staff engaged in social sustainable and inclusive development by participating in thematic groups, exchanging best practices, and drafting technical notes.Work independently, seeking guidance and instruction on new, unusual or complex assignments.
Selection Criteria
Master degree with minimum 5 years’ experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience in a related social science (e.g., Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science)
Demonstrated skills and operational experience of a minimum of 5 years in the following areas is required: community driven development and fragility, conflict and violence; Additionally, skills and experience in one or more of the following is desirable: social inclusion, citizen engagement, gender, youth, climate resilience.
Demonstrated skills and direct work experience with at least one or more of the following: community development, public consultations; participatory budgeting; participatory rural and urban appraisal; participatory research methods (including observation, surveys); participatory monitoring and evaluation; grievance redress mechanisms; or youth mobilization.
Experience working with the Government of Chad in country essential including in-depth knowledge of country systems. Experience working in-country in Niger and Cameroon a plus.
Project leadership and management experience with World Bank IDA and/or IBRD lending operations or comparable project management experience with other large-scale development institutions is highly desirable.
Proven capacity to translate analytical work into policy advice and operational, actionable, recommendations.
Proven capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, international organizations, development agencies, government counterparts, beneficiaries of Bank projects, and civil society organizations.
Strong oral and written presentation skills, creativity and problem-solving skills.
Outstanding interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and multicultural environments.
Willingness to travel, including in areas affected by fragility.
Excellent oral and written communications skills in French and English
