Senior Social Development Specialist – GG  

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, visit www.worldbank.org.

WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA (AFW) REGION:

https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Planet Vertical

The Planet Vertical helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture; Climate; Water; Environment; and Social Development.

Social Development Global Practice (SD)

The Social Development GP helps countries tackle deep rooted social problems stemming from fragility, climate change, exclusion, and the digital age with people centered solutions that build on local values and institutions. The Global Practice engages with citizens, communities and governments to deepen resilience, build inclusion, and empower vulnerable and marginalized groups to have influence and voice. The Social Development GP prioritizes participatory, multi-sectoral approaches that build on norms and informal institutions to address social challenges and to build more inclusive, empowered communities. It also works across the Bank’s portfolio to implement the ESF standards and strengthen inclusive development (https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-framework/brief/environmental-and-social-standards).

Cross-GP collaboration is critical for the ESF and also the direct operational work of the staff. In particular, the GP focuses on three opportunity sets:

– Social Resilience: Deepening opportunities for people to thrive by building cohesive and resilient communities able to withstand divisions caused by inequality, violence, climate change, and other risks to their livelihoods.

– Inclusion for All: Expanding opportunities for people who have been excluded from participating fully in markets, services and society, because of their ethnicity, gender, disability, income, or religious or sexual orientation.

– Empowerment: Creating opportunities for people to lead their communities, engage more fully in government, and shape their own futures.

Three overarching priorities of the Global Practice are to strengthen: (1) the analytics that underpin our country dialogue, operations, social risk management across the Bank’s portfolio, and engagements on the global agenda exploiting traditional and new sources of data and analytical tools, including digital tools; (2) the synergies between operational interventions (ASAs and financing) and the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) to help deliver on the promise of the ESF to bring a development focus to social risk management of the Bank’s portfolio; and (3) the Community Driven Development operational instrument to more consistently focus on social dimensions of climate change, digital applications for community learning, empowerment and livelihoods, and norms and behavior change.

POSITION

The Senior Social Development Specialist will be based in Washington, D.C. and will co lead the Social Development operational portfolio and analytical work related to women’s economic empowerment (WEE), gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, and community and local development (CLD) in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Specialist may provide support to SD led operations in other countries in the region. The Specialist may also provide technical and analytical support on broad social development themes including social inclusion; social cohesion and resilience; and fragility, conflict and violence. The specialist will report to the SAWS1 SD Practice Manager.

Duties and Accountabilities

The Senior Social Development Specialist will lead or co-lead operations and analytical work on WEE and CLD:

Key tasks will include:

• Lead or co-lead the implementation of active, complex WEE operations in Nigeria and Liberia.
• Lead policy dialogue related to WEE, GBV Prevention and Response, CLD, and broader social development topics with key clients.
• Help clients to develop, pilot and scale Locally Led Climate Action operational approaches; digital savings applications for women’s groups; and financial linkages with banks.
• Lead rigorous impact evaluations and thematic studies of WEE operations and special studies
• 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, social dimensions of climate change with a particular focus on fragile and post-conflict countries.
• Lead missions and supervises Bank-financed projects as a technical expert and/or Task Team Leader; interact with clients at the operational and policy level.
• Play a key role in implementing the Unit’s sector strategy, through advising the Practice Manager, engaging clients and supporting colleagues.
• Support in handling complex technical, institutional and program implementation issues regarding social development at the operational level and leads the related dialogue with counterparts.
• Contribute to develop new areas of focus and operational business around social development issues, including on CLD, WEE, social dimensions of climate change, social cohesion, social inclusion with a focus on youth and women, GBV prevention and response, and violence prevention in the context of fragile regions.
• Participate in cross-practice teams responsible for the preparation of policy notes, Country Partnership Frameworks, sector studies, and research and policy development activities on the full range of social development topics.
• Work independently under the general direction of the Practice Manager, seeking guidance on complex projects/issues from lead specialists; guide and mentor more junior staff.
• Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure consistency and conformity to Bank operational policies.
• Lead analytical work; generate “think pieces” and “best practice” papers; leads the development and implementation of proposals for analytical and advisory work.
• Develop relationships with key donors and other parts of the World Bank Group including MIGA and IFC.
• Fundraise to support operations and analytical work.
• Promote knowledge exchange among the WEE, GBV and CLD projects within and outside the Africa Region. More broadly, 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 development by participating in thematic groups, exchanging best practices, and drafting technical notes.

Selection Criteria

This is a challenging position suited for a candidate with strong operational and analytical skills, a focus on WEE and CLD, and practical experience leading large operations in complex operational contexts. The specialist is expected to have TTL experience with operations throughout the project life cycle – from preparation through implementation to closure.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or PhD) in relevant social science (e.g., Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science) or related fields.
• A track record in 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.
• Demonstrated skills and experience (at least 8 years) in the following areas is required: WEE; CLD; and FCV contexts. Additionally, skills and experience in one or more of the following is desirable: GBV prevention and response, climate change, social inclusion, and social risk management.
• A track record of leading high-quality analytical work on social development topics is required.
• A peer reviewed publication record on social development topics is desirable.
• Experience working in fragile and conflict-affected environments is required
• Experience in applying emerging and disruptive technologies and innovations to development engagements 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.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and multicultural environments.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills in English
• Working knowledge of French (Oral and Written) is highly desirable.

COMPETENCIES

The successful candidate is expected to exhibit the following core competencies:

• Social Development Implications on Policy, Institutions, and Operations: solid understanding of the implications of social development on policy, institutions, and operations.
• Analytical Tools for Social Sustainability: Robust experience conducting social development analyses, producing meaningful results, and applying the tools in operations.
• Participation and Consultation: Solid experience conducting social development consultative and participatory approaches, and applying the approaches in operations;
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
• Deliver Results for Clients: Proactively addresses client’s stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries: Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly received diverse perspectives.
• Lead and Innovate: Develops innovative solutions.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge: Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions: Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, they will retain their Regular or Open-Ended appointment. If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Term appointment that expires later than the end date of this appointment, they will retain the duration of their current Term appointment.

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.

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