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. Visit www.worldbank.org.

The World Bank (WB) supports the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and is committed to working towards accomplishing the initiative’s three goals by 2030: i) universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels; ii) doubling the share of the world’s energy supplied by renewable sources from 18 percent to 36 percent; and iii) doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

The Infrastructure Practice Group is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies. As part of the Infrastructure Practice Group, the Energy & Extractives (EEX) Global Practice (GP) focuses on providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy to meet the needs of fast-growing economies, ensure universal access to modern energy services for people in client countries, strengthen policy and institutional frameworks to promote transparent and equitable growth of the extractives sectors for public benefit. There is a strong emphasis on private sector resource mobilization and catalyzing financing from commercial and other sources of development and climate finance.

The East Asia & Pacific (EAP) region has diverse energy requirements, including sector reform, utility restructuring, energy efficiency, renewable energy development, energy access, regional integration, etc., and a similarly diverse client base, from sophisticated middle-income countries to fragile states.  The unit’s program spans the breadth of WB instruments, including investment lending, guarantees for public-private partnerships, technical assistance, program for results, and development policy lending. The region’s energy program also has about 120 active Recipient- and Bank-executed trust funds which supplement our Bank-funded work program which has an active portfolio of about 35 IBRD/IDA projects totaling over US$5 billion. The EAP region is divided into six country management units (CMUs) with decentralized Country Directors: (i) China, Mongolia & Korea; (ii) Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand; (iii) Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands; (iv) Indonesia and Timor Leste; (v) Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar; and (vi) Vietnam. Overall, EAP energy has a team of 32 staff, with more than 80 percent based in the field. EEX has established a core team in the Singapore Infrastructure Hub, where the energy Practice Manager for EAP is also based along with seven other EEX staff. For each country/CMU, the energy program is coordinated by a country program coordinator, who is part of the country energy team, is based in the field, and reports to the energy Practice Manager. 

The position is based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) to support the implementation of existing projects and the design of pipeline projects in PNG, and to facilitate the WB’s energy sector engagements in PNG. The selected candidate is also expected to support energy programs in other EAP countries, and other infrastructure programs in PNG.

Duties and accountabilities:

The EAP energy unit (IEAE1) of the World Bank seeks a qualified Senior Energy Specialist, as part of the PNG-based energy team, shall work with Governments and their entities, national and international stakeholders and partners in leading/coordinating the WB’s energy program. The work entails strategic, advisory, and operational work in the energy sector. The selected candidate will lead or assist the teams in a complex sector dialogue and the management of Bank’s ongoing and pipeline lending portfolio and non-lending portfolio such as Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) programs primarily focusing on PNG and possibly cross-supporting a few other countries in the EAP region. The successful candidate will report to the EAP Energy Practice Manager in Singapore, and work in coordination with other PNG Country Office-based staff, and the Energy Program Coordinator in Sydney, Australia.

The selected candidate will participate in overseeing the implementation and preparation of energy operations to enhance quality and accelerate operations and will play an active role in Bank’s policy dialogue with the PNG government, authorities, development partners, private sector entities, and other stakeholders in strategic energy issues and engagement of ongoing energy sector reforms. Key responsibilities of the selected candidate will include technical support to lending and non-lending programs:

• Lead or co-lead energy sector strategy development and policy dialogue;
• Lead or co-lead development of new lending, preparation and supervision of investment operations in the energy sector to accelerate implementation, enhance quality, efficiency, and pro-poor focus;
• Contribute to the drafting inputs for sector and country briefings, analytical and advisory reports, and studies on accelerating energy access, utility management improvement and reform, generation and transmission rehabilitation, expansion, and resilience enhancement, renewable energy development, private sector participation in the energy sector;
• Support the unit’s analytical agenda on improving access to energy services, supporting energy transition, and climate resilience;
• Assume an active role in PNG-based WB staff to ensure adequate and appropriate integration of relevant aspects of the energy development agenda in core WB products, including the country partnership framework (CPF), strategic country diagnostic (SCD), country climate and development report (CCDR), country economic memorandum (CEM);
• Participate in the dialogue with relevant representatives of the private sector to keep abreast with issues related to the business investment climate and identify possible areas of collaboration through public-private partnerships;
• Draft and provide timely contributions to project documents and follow-up of official missions, including the drafting of Aide Memoires, official correspondence, and project preparation, implementation supervision/completion and results reports;
• Develop strong working relationships with the Government counterparts and state-owned enterprises (e.g. ministries responsible for energy, power utilities, etc.) to aid project preparation and quality implementation support, and support the energy team to be able to work closely with them and to speed up projects’ preparation and implementation; and
• Participate in the dialogue with the development partner community to keep abreast of energy sector support, to identify possible areas of collaboration and maximize synergies.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in engineering, energy planning/economics, business administration, or equivalent areas relevant to energy/infrastructure sector development.
• At least 8 years of combined experience in the WB, other international financial institutions (IFIs) or companies, PNG government agencies or state-owned enterprises, PNG private sector companies, and/or energy sector utilities outside PNG, with a demonstrated track record of successful engagement and achievement with complex projects. Experience working on WB, other IFIs, and/or multilateral or bilateral donor’s lending and/or advisory operations is desirable.
• Experience leading and/or playing key roles in energy or infrastructure sector-related dialogues, investment projects, or knowledge activities with counterparts in the government and the other stakeholders.
• Experience working with a global team that produced high-quality results and outcomes is advantageous.
• Excellent track record in coordinating teams and carrying out high-quality and timely analytical reports and activities is advantageous.
• Knowledge, Capability, and Skills
• In-depth knowledge of energy access and electrification, energy utility management, operation, and reform, and the PNG government’s energy sector priorities, and PNG’s energy business environment.
• Sound and clear understanding of the energy/infrastructure policies, strategies, and/or technologies, the necessity of the private sector participation, and the institutional development that are needed to support the development and the success of projects and analytic works.
• Demonstrating the capability to translate analytical work and outcomes into policy, operations, research, and/or investment projects, that relate to any of the following thematic business lines: Energy Strategy; Energy Economics; Energy Utilities Management and Operation; Energy Efficiency; Variable Renewable Energy and Hydropower; Energy Finance; Power Systems and Technologies; Energy Storage; Greenhouse gas reduction; and other critical Infrastructure.
• Active listening and discussion skills and abilities to influence the audience (such as counterparts in government, international partner organizations, academia, and WB’s colleagues, senior staff, and managers.
• Ability to work independently and to take initiative, and flexibility to adjust to changing work program requirements quickly.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to build strong partnerships with clients, different stakeholders, and colleagues across units and departmental boundaries in a multicultural environment with virtual teams located in different countries.
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills, including an ability to communicate complex issues in simple terms and to engage in evidence-based dialogue with clients, other stakeholders, and WB team.
• Business-level IT skills such as Microsoft Office applications and a laptop computer

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.

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