Team Assistant

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 while working in a collaborative and multicultural workplace, with a competitive salary, benefits and opportunities for learning and grow. The World Bank 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.

VPU 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. 

Unit Context:

• The World Bank has been assisting Sri Lanka in developing and delivering appropriate solutions to the country. Under the World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework (CPF) FY23-26, our program is focused on two areas: (i) Supporting resilient, inclusive, and robust economic growth (ii) Protecting and enhancing human and natural capital 
• As part of the South Asia Region (SAR), the SACSN Country Management Unit (CMU) is responsible for overseeing the World Bank’s programs in Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The CMU is led by the Country Director based in Kathmandu, Nepal, supported by the Operations Manager (OM) in Kathmandu and the Country Program Coordinator (CPC) in Washington DC. The Sri Lanka country office in Colombo has approximately 60 staff and is headed by the Country Manager for Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Duties and accountabilities:

• Team Assistants play a crucial role in supporting the successful implementation of the World Bank’s operations. This position involves a wide range of office, project-related and administrative tasks within a team. Additionally, the role includes providing specialized support in areas such as database management, knowledge management, task management and major event/course planning.

The team assistant will perform several functions related to the Unit’s content activities, including, but not limited to:

• Provide administrative support to Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and task teams for projects and analytical work in Sri Lanka, Maldives, and other countries as required.
• Coordinate meetings, travel arrangements, visas, and other logistics related to the program.
• Assist in organizing and implementing events related to programs, including preparation of written materials and coordination with service providers.
• Support operations-related tasks, including processing lending or implementation support documents, adhering to Bank guidelines, and managing contracts for consultants.
• Handle routine correspondence, proofread materials, and incorporate agreed comments into documents using shared drives and software capabilities.

Support to Visiting Missions:

• Assist with visiting missions and occasional visits by Practice Manager(s) and Regional Director(s) in coordination with Task Team Leaders as needed, including scheduling meetings, and organizing transportation, or other logistical support.
• Follow up with visiting missions through on Clearance process on Mission Announcement Letters (MALs) and security clearance forms prior to giving clearance for travel.
• Update and circulate the visiting mission’s calendars.

General Office Support:

• Serve as backup to colleagues as required, to contribute to the effective workflow of the office.
• Draft routine letters, memos and other internal and external correspondence as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the manager.

Selection Criteria

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline with minimum 2 years of relevant experience.
• High organization skills with attention to details.
• Knowledge of World Bank policies and procedures and familiarity with project cycle is a plus.
• Proficiency in office information technology and programs (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Interpersonal Skills and ability to work effectively in a diverse team.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=29327&site=1