Lead Financial Sector Specialist – GH

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org.

CGAP is a global partnership of more than 30 leading development organizations dedicated to advancing the lives of people living in poverty, especially women, through financial inclusion.  CGAP works at the frontier of inclusive finance to test solutions, spark innovation, generate evidence, and share insights. CGAP’s knowledge enables public and private stakeholders to scale solutions that make financial ecosystems meet the needs of poor, vulnerable, and underserved people and of micro and small enterprises (MSEs), including through advancing women’s economic empowerment. As a global public good, CGAP’s independent research and analysis is available to all. 

CGAP envisages responsible and inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all. CGAP is guided by a five-year strategy and annual workplans – the new strategy covering FY24-28 (CGAP VII Strategy) will contribute to strengthening responsible and inclusive financial ecosystems by elevating the focus of financial inclusion to broader development outcomes.  

 

To achieve this, CGAP will focus on contributing to seven outcome areas through its work program: (i) mobilizing financial services for climate adaptation, mitigation, and a just transition; (ii) mobilizing financial services for building resilience to shocks and managing risk; (ii) mobilizing financial services for women and MSEs to capture economic opportunities; (iv) increasing the breadth and depth of financial inclusion; (v) promoting responsibility in financial ecosystems and enabling financial sector policies and regulations; (vi) enhancing the effectiveness of impact investing in inclusive finance and the inclusiveness of carbon markets; and (vii) generating and promoting evidence of what works, where, and for whom. 

 

Through its work, CGAP is committed to accelerating progress toward women’s financial inclusion, and we take a gender-intentional approach to our research and advocacy efforts. CGAP is housed in the World Bank. For more information, please visit https://www.cgap.org/

 

This position will report to CGAP’s CEO. 

 

The selected candidate will be an active member of CGAP’s Leadership Team (LT) and will be primarily responsible for leading CGAP’s Financial Policy work, focused on promoting responsibility in financial ecosystems and enabling financial sector policies and regulations towards greater financial inclusion and more effective inclusive finance in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs). The Lead Financial Sector Specialist will operate as Pillar Lead for CGAP’s financial sector policy team, called the FREE Pillar. The Pillar Lead will also be responsible for CGAP’s work focused on enhancing the effectiveness of impact investing in inclusive finance (the I3 Pillar).

 

The position is based in Washington D.C., USA, and involves frequent travel.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

CGAP is seeking a reputable expert with vast knowledge, thought leadership, and proven experience in financial sector policy, regulation, and supervision, who can lead CGAP’s work program on promoting responsibility in financial ecosystems and enabling financial sector policies and regulations outcomes. As such, the candidate should have vast experience in financial sector policies and regulations, and clear strategic forward-looking abilities. In particular, the candidate should have strong technical knowledge and proven experience in identifying, conceptualizing, and developing effective proportionate policy frameworks that can help foster greater financial inclusion, especially in (EMDEs), and an ability to see both the public and private sector perspectives on policy issues. Experience in policies and regulations of impact investments in inclusive finance is a plus.

 

The candidate should also bring broader financial sector and global development perspectives and understand how global policy agendas, emerging risks, and opportunities (e.g. climate change risks and the greening of the financial sector, modularization of the financial services value chain, new fintech solutions, crypto developments, monetary policy tightening, high debt levels, unwinding of pandemic support measures, increasing commodity prices, etc.) relate to and have implications for financial inclusion in EMDEs. In addition, the candidate should understand potential trades off between various policy objectives, including financial inclusion, stability, conduct, and climate objectives.

 

Experience working with, and knowledge of, the global financial architecture and the role of Standard Setter Bodies (SSBs) in supporting financial inclusion is required. Understanding how the different international institutions and SSBs work and coordinate globally to advance appropriate policy initiatives and how national regulators adapt those to their countries is essential to support CGAPs’ effective participation in these global efforts towards stable, responsible, and inclusive financial sectors. 

 

The candidate should also demonstrate thought-leadership in shaping policy and regulatory frameworks to foster greater financial inclusion, including a clear understanding of current changes in financial markets, related, among others, to digital, technological, business models, and products transformations, and how these can provide opportunities or challenges for financial inclusion.  The ability to develop clear narratives and visions for future policy and regulatory frameworks that can foster greater financial inclusion in EMDEs is a must.

 

The ability to communicate effectively to different audiences on complex policy, regulatory, and supervisory issues is essential given CGAP’s role in influencing others to adopt best practices with regards to financial sector policies and regulations.  In that context, the candidate should have experience consulting with, and ensuring adequate responses to policy initiatives from, regulated financial entities, including private ones.

 

Last but not least, the position requires strong proven managerial abilities, including experience in managing teams of policy experts or researchers, and drive effective, high quality, relevant policy work.

 

Overall, this position demands a thought leader and manager who can lead in both the formulation of financial sector policy work and execution. It calls for a person who can lead in a team environment fostering cooperation and collaboration that brings out the best work in CGAP. 

 

The Lead Financial Sector Specialist / Pillar Lead will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

 

Provide thought leadership on frontier financial sector policy and regulatory issues that impact and influence financial inclusion and inclusive finance. The Pillar Lead will work with the CGAP CEO to define a financial policy agenda and a vision for financial policy frameworks that can foster responsible and inclusive financial ecosystems and lead to greater financial inclusion and inclusive finance in EMDEs, and a greener, more resilient, and more inclusive world.  The Pillar Lead will identify relevant policy questions, knowledge gaps, and opportunities to improve financial sector policy frameworks in EMDEs to foster greater financial inclusion and inclusive finance.  

 

The Pillar Lead will stay abreast of important policy and regulatory developments affecting financial inclusion and inclusive finance, as well as of any transformations and developments in the financial sector or beyond susceptible to affect financial inclusion and inclusive finance, especially related to fast ongoing digital transformations. The Pillar Lead will develop clear narratives and visions for how such developments can affect financial inclusion and inclusive finance and identify relevant knowledge questions and work programs for CGAP to influence relevant forward-looking financial sector policies and regulations.

 

The Pillar Lead will contribute to CGAP’s thought leadership on policy and regulatory issues affecting financial inclusion and inclusive finance, including advocating for needed policy initiatives, publishing Leadership Essays and other thought leadership pieces, speaking at high-profile events for regulators, policy makers and industry leaders, and convening them around shared visions.

 

Lead CGAP’s FREE team to success. The Lead Financial Sector Specialist will operate as Pillar Lead for CGAP’s FREE team of 12 staff members. The Pillar Lead will help shape their work program and oversee all Pillar deliverables.  The Pillar Lead will maintain an environment conducive to a highly performing and inclusive team, fostering creativity, teamwork, and passion for CGAP’s mission.  He/she will be responsible for the team’s performance management and professional development. The Pillar Lead will also be responsible for overseeing and ensuring adequate use of the FREE pillar budget.  Last but not least, the Pillar Lead will be responsible for ensuring high quality work, especially that CGAP’s policy work is relevant, focused on frontier issues, and generating new knowledge and practical guidance that can effectively help EMDE financial sector authorities foster greater financial inclusion and inclusive finance.

 

Lead CGAP’s financial policy work program.  The Pillar Lead will lead a team of experts in developing and implementing an applied research work program on frontier issues related to financial sector policies and regulations. 

 

The Pillar Lead will develop, in coordination with the CGAP CEO, a structured applied research agenda to position CGAP’s work at the cutting edge of financial policy and regulatory issues and ensure the team conducts rigorous applied research.  

 

The Pillar Lead will craft and implement influence strategies to ensure knowledge gained through the pillar research work is used to effectively influence and create impact across financial sector stakeholders through convenings, knowledge products, and structured partnerships. The Pillar Lead will position CGAP effectively to influence key organizations and relevant stakeholders. 

 

Among others, the pillar work may include regulating financial innovation, strengthening consumer protection in view of rapidly evolving risks, understand how inclusive finance can be sustained in times of crises, assessing potential policy barriers to women financial inclusion, understanding the potential impacts of climate-related financial policies on financial inclusion, the regulation of open finance, etc.  

 

Lead strategic outreach: The Pillar Lead will participate in seminars, conferences, working groups and other events, with public and private stakeholders, to lead CGAP’s efforts to advance financial inclusion and inclusive finance through sound policy and regulatory frameworks. This entails engaging, under the leadership of CGAP CEO, with international fora and organizations that lead policy initiatives related to financial inclusion, such as those of the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, FinCoNet, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the office of the United Secretary General’s Special Advocate for financial inclusion (UNSGSA), and the financial sector standard setting bodies.

 

CGAP Leadership Team member: The Pillar Lead will participate actively and constructively in the CGAP Leadership Team meetings and decisions. This includes playing a key role in leading the organization and implementing the CGAP VII strategy, as well as participating in decisions regarding human and financial resources management, program delivery, fundraising and partnership management. 

 

Collaboration across CGAP: The Pillar Lead will provide policy and regulatory advice and other strategic and technical inputs to teams across CGAP as and where relevant. 

 

Engaging with CGAP’s members: As a member organization, CGAP regularly interacts with members to learn of member priorities so that CGAP’s work remains relevant, and to share knowledge generated by CGAP for greater influence. The Pillar Lead will lead CGAP’s engagement with its members on financial policy issues.  This will include collaborating with the World Bank Group’s departments that works on financial sector policy, regulatory and supervisory issues (i.e., The Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation, FCI, department) as needed, to bring CGAP’s applied research in relevant WBG work programs and country dialogues, and to leverage existing WB knowledge.

 

Selection Criteria

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following WBG Core Competencies: 

 

Deliver Results for Clients – Acts as a trusted, strategic advisor, partnering with clients to deliver results.

• Creates Opportunities that are aligned with the mission to increase impact and leads initiatives to take advantage of these opportunities;
• Proactively guides clients to see the possibilities in new approaches and solutions;
• Takes full accountability for managing risk and ensuring outcomes consistent with WBG strategy.
 

Collaborate within Teams and Across Boundaries – Leads collaboration across WBG and with partners drawing on robust professional networks. 
 

• Clearly articulates and models expectations of collaborative behavior, recognizes collaboration and contributions of others;
• Provides a safe environment for the exchange of ideas where people feel free to express dissenting opinions, handling conflicts as opportunities to be solved;
• Prioritize CGAP corporate goals over individual or team goals when in conflict. 

Lead and Innovate – Inspires and Influences others to drive innovation.

• Fosters open discussions with broad audiences to set vision and establish buy-in for innovation that can enhance WBG effectiveness;
• Inspires others to develop new Solutions that have a development impact and advocates for changes and application of new methods to enhance results;
• Develop partnerships and relationships that enable WBG to achieve results through innovation;

Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – Establishes an environment where knowledge is created, applied, and shared. 

• Leverages external knowledge and partnerships to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients;
• Is known across WBG and externally in their subject area and is routinely sought out by the WBG colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to knowledge products of others;
• Encourages a learning culture by seeking out and being open to feedback, as well as effectively mentoring others on how to improve contribution and impact through continuous learning and knowledge acquisition;
• Builds networks of experts and clients to share knowledge and experience for the purpose of strengthening internal and/or external client solutions as well as WBG’s role as convener and facilitator of knowledge. 

Make Smart Decisions – Makes timely decisions that have a broad impact.

• Makes timely decisions, which anticipate, evaluate, and plan for the impact across organizations boundaries and stakeholder groups;
• Demonstrates the confidence to make bold decisions quickly, balancing speed and thoroughness even in the face of ambiguous circumstances;
• Takes accountability for decisions that involve higher levels of risk, works effectively with stakeholders to minimize risks involved.

The successful candidate(s) will demonstrate the following FCI GP-specific Core Competencies: 

Integrative Skills:

• Demonstrates ability to lead work on integrating divergent views in a coherent project/program/ strategy, including across sectors and WBG;
• Advises project/country teams on how to integrate corporate/regional priorities into specific projects/strategy; 
• Brings together multidisciplinary perspectives for effective solutions; 
• Ensures that the project team considers corporate commitments (e.g., MFD, climate, gender) in its approach.

Policy Dialogue Skills:

• Translates broad policy objectives into concrete development proposals;
• Advises Bank teams in multiple regions on the preparation and implementation of lending and non-lending operations;
• Provides highly practical advice to management and teams on complex strategic and operational deliverables, outputs and outcomes;
• Has a track record of conducting effective policy dialogue with country counterparts in complex and challenging situations;
• Demonstrates strong ability to defend policies’ rationale and impacts to senior bank management and government officials;
• Actively promotes dialogue with relevant counterparts, the donor community, the private sector, government officials, and civil society.

Knowledge and Experience in the Development Arena:
 

• Demonstrates a complete understanding of the policy-making process and the role of own sector of expertise in that process and its interrelations with other sectors;
• Can explain and defend development initiatives and policies’ rationale and impacts to senior WB management and government officials;
• Influences the design and execution of major policy and/or research initiatives;
• Conceives and promotes innovations in development policies, project design, offerings, organization and management to improve operational and sector work;
• Acts as a trusted partner in client relations for their development needs.

Specialized Knowledge and Technical Skills:
 

• Financial Inclusion, Infrastructure and Access- Provides leadership and expertise for financial inclusion and/or financial infrastructure and access programs; Demonstrates deep knowledge in at least two of the following areas: approaches to extend access to financial services for the poor, MSME finance products and institutional arrangements, consumer protection and financial literacy, credit and payment infrastructures (including secured transactions, insolvency and credit information), policy and legal/regulatory reforms); Leads analytical work, ideally including one of FCI’s recognized products such as the FSAP, payment assessments, financial consumer protection diagnostics, ICR ROSC)
• Financial Stability and Integrity- Demonstrates broad-based experience in public policy, regulation, supervisory and/or enforcement work related to financial systems stability, integrity, crisis management and/or development; Recognized by colleagues inside and outside the Bank for a high degree of expertise in policy, regulatory, supervisory and/or enforcement issues. 
• Climate and Risk Management – (Preferred) Demonstrates comprehensive technical expertise to contribute to the design of and then execute projects relevant to Climate and Risk Management and provide comprehensive policy and regulatory guidance on the same.

In addition to meeting the World Bank-wide and FCI-specific criteria for this level position, it is expected that the selected candidate would meet the following criteria (in order of importance):

• At least a master’s degree in policy, Economics, Finance, Business Administration, or another relevant field.
• At least ten (12) years, preferably fifteen (15) years, of relevant professional experience in financial sector policy and regulation, acquired while working in financial sector regulatory and supervisory agencies, international financial institutions (IFIs) or multilateral development banks (MDBs), standard setter bodies, other entities involved in global financial sector policy leadership.  
• Proven experience in the conceptualization, design, and implementation of financial sector policies or regulations, preferably with a focus on financial inclusion.
• Strong knowledge of ongoing developments and innovations in the financial sector, and of their implications for financial sector policies and regulations, especially as it regards financial inclusion and inclusive finance. 
• Strong knowledge of the international financial architecture, the G20 agenda, the World Bank, OECD, IMF, and the financial standard-setting bodies, and their strategic priorities and knowledge agendas related to financial sector policies and regulations, especially related to financial inclusion and inclusive finance. 
• Deep sense of strategy, including conceptualizing high-level narratives and visions. Integrative capacity, including the ability to situate financial policy and regulatory issues within the context of global and national development priorities. 
• Ability to lead the conceptualization, implementation, and dissemination of high-quality applied research with a strong outcome orientation. Ability to apply a practical approach to problem-solving and developing and interpreting applied research. This includes the ability to grasp a variety of technical issues and explain them succinctly, the ability to translate complex topics for a general financial inclusion audience, and the ability to analyze and apply insights from demand-side research on low-income people and/or from supply-side research on business models to policy/regulatory issues. Experience in applying practical know-how and effective policy dialogue to achieve development results. 
• Demonstrated excellent writing and oral communication skills, including presenting and convening around complex policy analyses to various external audiences, including central banks, policymakers and supervisors, donors, academics and practitioners, international organizations, private sector entities, and other development actors. 
• Strong experience as a supervisor or manager of staff, with a proven ability to lead diverse and complex teams across several countries and time zones, coach and manage staff’s career constructively, inspire commitment and passion, drive commitment and high-quality work, role model outstanding behavior, respect and team work, and foster cooperation and collaboration.
• Ability to build strong external relationships, and engage easily with external partners, including with IFIs, MDBs, bilateral donors, SSBs, and private sector financial service providers.
• Soft diplomacy and influencing skills, including talent at navigating among teams with varied priorities and agendas, evaluating what is in the best interests of the wider CGAP and corralling parties toward a collective outcome. 
• Experience working in EMDEs is preferred.  
• Track record in publishing on financial sector policy issues is a plus.
 

 

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.

 

This is how cinfo can support you in the application process for this specific position: 

• Application preparation: Before you apply for this position: Improve your application documents by registering for a Job Application Support. Our coaches are here to help tailor your application to the requirements of the job (service provided at your own cost).
• Interview preparation: When invited to the interview: Prepare for the interview by registering for a Job Application Support.
• Additional services for  Swiss nationals who get invited to  the selection process (written test, interview, assessment centre, etc.):
  • Let us know by writing to recruitment@cinfo.ch. We flag matching applications to HR partners and SDC/SECO for visibility.
  • Benefit from free interview/assessment preparation by registering here: Interview and Assessment Centre Preparation for Jobs in Multilateral Organisations. Our coaches stand ready to help prepare for upcoming interview/assessment centre.​