Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. 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, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

Regional Context:

The South Asia Region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) is at a crucial stage of development. Rapid economic growth, driven by urbanization and demographic dividend, has brought down poverty rates, but severe forms of exclusion and disparities based on ethnicity, caste, and gender remain. Rapid growth has also come with congestion and pollution in cities. South Asia is more than other regions affected by changes in temperature and extreme weather event. Additional challenges are that South Asia is underperforming in exports, has large informal sectors and low female labor force participation rates. All these challenges must be addressed to secure rapid growth in coming decades. 

Private sector led growth, focused on investments in infrastructure, energy, logistics and cities are essential to generate the jobs needed to employ South Asia’s sizeable youth population. At the same time, the region needs to continue building human capital so that South Asia’s population is well equipped for the jobs of the future.

The World Bank in South Asia: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar

People Group

The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest provider of development finance and solutions for human development working with high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to develop country-tailored solutions for human development (HD) under the themes of education, health, social protection, jobs and gender. The People Group coordinates with other Practice Groups to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to development challenges, and through the World Bank Regional Units is expected to deliver the strongest and most pertinent support to our client countries.

Country background

India houses 17.7% of world’s population and the most populous democracy in the world.  India is a federal country consisting of 28 states and 8 union territories. The country has experienced strong growth and poverty reduction in the past 2-3 decades.  Currently a lower middle-income country, India is on track to reach upper middle-income status in the next decade and aspires to become a developed economy by 2047 when it celebrates the 100th year of independence.  While post-Covid recovery has been strong (with the economy growing at 6-7% per annum), achieving India’s ambition requires faster economic growth; and taking advantage of its large and young population requires more jobs for the youth and women. Now the 5th largest economy in the world, and as the current G20 Presidency, India is increasingly seen as a leading voice and a source of development knowledge for the Global South.   In cumulative terms, India is the single combined largest (IBRD and IDA) client with 98 projects currently under implementation totaling $21.4 billion. In FY18, India graduated from IDA. Annual commitment was at 4.38 billion USD of new IBRD lending in FY23. India portfolio is multisectoral, diverse, with projects at both the central and state levels spanning [13 Global Practices].

The World Bank in India: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/india

Role & Responsibilities:

The selected candidate would be expected to:

• Serve as a core contributor to the economic, financial and analytical work carried out by the team, with a focus on learning recovery and emerging areas of importance in the sector.
• Contribute to devising technical and policy advice on how to improve access to and quality of education and skills development outcomes, while promoting evidence-based decision-making.
• Proactively work across sectors to build synergies and identify entry points to leverage education and skills development and promote equitable and resilient growth in India.
• Contribute to reviewing or providing inputs to documents on behalf of the sector team.
• Help to support policy dialogue and interactions with relevant government authorities; development partners; and civil society organizations.
• Support teams in designing and developing new projects and providing implementation support for clients and monitoring project performance.
• Support the team in preparing Implementation Completion Results Reports of closed projects.
• Support the team in the delivery of the work program and lead the delivery of individual tasks as assigned.
• Be active in the thematic areas related to the Human Capital Project as well as Learning Poverty.
• Bring global and regional good practice and lessons learned to promote education system strengthening, improve inclusive access to high quality learning and skills development, and enhance institutional accountability.   

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in economics, education or relevant field.
• 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Experience in quantitative research and analytical work in education or the social sectors
• Demonstrate ability to think and work across sectors.
• Integrate divergent viewpoints of multiple external and internal stakeholders into a coherent project/program/strategy.
• Possess political judgment, diplomatic acumen, and negotiating skills.
• Excellent English writing and speaking skills and high proficiency in public speaking (a must).
• Build and sustain key stakeholder relationships with government and other key stakeholders.
• Guide clients and/or development partners in establishing priorities and identifying key operational issues and optional solutions with a demonstrated ability to bring together different perspectives.
• Demonstrate deep understanding of policy making process in India and the role of own sector of expertise in that process.
• Guide research efforts and translate technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies and for discussions with clients and development partners.
• Mentor junior and support staff in the team.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.