Closing date: Monday, 15 December 2014

Background / General description

THE WORLD BANK GROUP

THE WORLD BANK

Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2014, the WBG committed $65.6 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $22.2 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.

The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). IBRD and IDA are commonly known as the World Bank, which is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions, and - as of July 1, 2014 - has introduced fourteen Global Practices (GPs) as well as five Cross-Cutting Solution Areas (CCSAs) to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.

GLOBAL PRACTICES & CROSS-CUTTING SOLUTIONS AREAS

The 14 GPs are: Agriculture; Education; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets; Governance; Health, Nutrition and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management; Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and ICT; and Water. The 5 CCSAs are: Climate Change; Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Gender; Jobs; and Public-Private Partnerships. The new operating model is part of a broader internal reform aimed at delivering the best of the World Bank Group to our clients, so that together we can achieve the twin goals of (1) ending extreme poverty by 2030, and (2) promote shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population in every developing country.

THE 'SOCIAL, URBAN, RURAL AND RESILIENCE' (SURR) GLOBAL PRACTICE

Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Cities generate 80% of global GDP and are key to job creation and the pursuit of shared prosperity. Yet one billion city residents live in slums today, and by 2030 one billion new migrants will arrive in cities. This concentration of people and assets will exacerbate risk exposure to adverse natural events and climate change, which affects the poor disproportionately. The absence of secure land tenure underpins deprivation and is a major source of conflict in the urban and rural space. One and a half billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence. In the absence of services, participative planning and responsive institutions, these trends will result in increased poverty, social exclusion, vulnerability and violence. Finally, avoiding a 4-degree warmer world requires drastically reducing the carbon footprint of cities.

The WBG is in a unique position to support national and sub-national clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local governments - cities, municipalities, and rural districts - to deliver local infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and risk management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of cities. The WBG brings a combination of lending ($7-8 billion in annual lending to cities), analytical and advisory services (e.g., social inclusion flagship, urbanization reviews, Sendai dialogue), its growing portfolio of reimbursable advisory services, its convening power (e.g., understanding risk and the land conferences), its leveraging capacity (e.g., guarantees and risk mitigation), and its ability to work with the private sector to tackle the challenges at scale and to effect.

The SURR GP covers a wide gamut: (i) developing green, inclusive and resilient cities;

(ii) addressing the social inclusion of the poor, vulnerable and excluded groups through accountable institutions, and ensuring compliance with social safeguards;

(iii) enhancing urban and rural development through supporting and managing the urban-rural transition, assisting local development through developing land tenure, management and information systems; and

(iv) assisting in disaster risk management through issues of risk assessment, risk reduction (including flood management, urban drainage, coastal management, and retrofitting of infrastructure), disaster preparedness (including hydromet services, early warning systems, and civil defense), risk financing (including CAT-DDO), and resilient reconstruction (including post-disaster damage and loss assessment).

A key responsibility of the GP is to provide professional expertise and operational support to other GPs to implement the WBG social policies (the WB's safeguard policies and the IFC's Performance Standards) to deliver sustainable development results that ensure that any adverse impacts of WBG interventions are limited and mitigated.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

REGIONAL/COUNTRY/GLOBAL UNIT CONTEXT

Regional Context

The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region comprises of 30 extremely diverse clients, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Four of our clients are IDA only and another 5 are IDA blend countries. The remaining 21 are IBRD credit-worthy though not all have active lending programs. Although 10 of our clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or lending services. CASs/CPSs reflect this strong diversity with substantial variation in lending prospects, but strong demand for Bank technical services is present across the board.

Over the last 20 years of transition, ECA countries have integrated into the global economy across many dimensions such as trade, finance, and labor flows. GDP in the Region grew by two-thirds from 2000 to 2008 - an enviable growth of an average of 6.5 percent a year. Yet despite this progress, ECA was hit the hardest by the global economic crisis compared to the other regions in the Bank. Growth in the Region, which had peaked at about 7 percent in 2007, fell to a negative 6 percent in 2009.

The financial and economic crisis led to a substantial increase in Bank lending and knowledge activities in all ECA countries. The crisis helped serve as a powerful reminder of the relevance of the Bank both as an attractive source of funding and a reliable provider of timely and quality advice.

It is projected that ECA is going to be the slowest region to recover from the crisis. Based on this changing context, the new ECA strategy is focused on developing a new growth model for the region through: (i) Increasing competitiveness to achieve faster growth;

(ii) Pursuing social sector reforms and fiscal adjustment to achieve more inclusive growth;

(iii) Supporting climate action to achieve more sustainable growth.

Even while declining from the heights of the crisis, we expect demand for our lending and advisory services post-crisis to remain strong. This requires an increased results focus to help direct resources to where they will have the greatest impact, along with continued emphasis on leveraging partnerships and expanding our fee for services activities.

Sector Context

The Europe and Central Asia Region is prone to a wide range of adverse natural events, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, droughts, strong winds, and storms. Vulnerability to disasters increased as urbanization and development led to the occupation of areas exposed to natural hazards, and is further exacerbated by climate change.

The ECA region has been promoting a proactive and strategic approach to managing disaster risk. The underlying thrust has been that both loss of life and the economic impact of disasters can be reduced by advanced planning and investments. In order to pursue this goal, the GP SURR team has been engaging with and supporting clients in key areas of the DRM framework, concentrating on the following elements

(i) Disaster risk assessments at the regional and country level by analyzing the vulnerability and potential effects and impact of disasters;

(ii) Enhancing client capabilities in monitoring and forecasting of natural hazards by supporting modernization of hydro-meteorological services and creating effective operational links with emergency management authorities;

(iii) Mitigating risk through investments in flood risk protection, seismic risk retrofitting or reconstruction, improvements in building codes. and land-use planning incorporating the knowledge of disaster-prone zones;

(iv) Enhancing disaster preparedness through support to emergency response functions, emergency management coordination, emergency communication and information systems, and raising public awareness;

(v) Catastrophe risk financing through introduction of innovative risk transfer tools, such catastrophe risk insurance;

(vi) Supporting resilient recovery, that is, recovery and reconstruction efforts that follow the principle of 'build back better' rather than recreating the original risk.

GP SURR assists our clients through lending (including sector investment loans), implementation support (supervision), and advisory, knowledge, technical assistance, and fee based services.

To support the growing demand from our clients and potential for further expansion of the DRM portfolio, the unit is seeking a highly qualified and motivated Senior DRM Specialist to lead projects and analytical and advisory services and support policy dialogue in the area of disaster vulnerability reduction, with particular emphasis on hydrometeorological and seismic risk mitigation, hazards monitoring and early warning systems, catastrophe risk financing, and risk assessment.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities

• Leads and/or participates in task teams to deliver and implement investment lending operations, prepare analytical and advisory activities, and develop new business opportunities in the DRM sector in the region.
• Leads, and/or contributes to policy dialogue and just-in-time advisory work in DRM and helps enhance the capacity of our national and sub-national clients to respond to DRM challenges through programs and projects.
• Generates or contributes to 'think pieces' and 'best practice' papers as well as major/complex reports, and leads the development of grant-funding proposals.
• Assists country teams in the inclusion of DRM agenda in Country Partnership Strategies, leads and or provides critical input in the design and execution of policy and research initiatives; and conceives, and promotes innovations in Bank policies and sector strategies in the area of DRM development.
• Participates in professional development and knowledge sharing activities in the DRM sector and contributes specific knowledge both within the assigned countries and in the World Bank.
• Works with the Bank's DRM Practice Group and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) at the corporate level, and helps develop knowledge products and/or training activities to improve best practice in the DRM sector.
• Coordinates and provides support to the teams, as needed, in an event of disaster affecting an ECA country, including providing advice to the unit and country management on a potential Bank assistance in the aftermath of natural catastrophes.
• Provides coaching mentoring on-the-job to junior team members, extended term consultants and junior professional associates in the unit.

Selection criteria

• Advance degree (PhD or Master's) with 8 years' experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience in economics, public policy, urban planning, disaster risk management, structural engineering, environmental science, or similar relevant discipline.
• A sustained record of achieving high quality, substantive results in the DRM sector over an extended period (typically 8 years).
• Experience in designing and implementing Bank operations, including knowledge of World Bank operational procedures, the project cycle, fiduciary responsibilities and safeguards policies, is highly desirable.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated ability to make effective presentations to diverse audiences.
• Excellent command of English. Ability to communicate in one or more of the regional languages is desirable.
• Familiarity with Europe and Central Asia and prior experience in the region is desirable.

Competencies

• Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-practice areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-practice work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and practice strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Lead and Innovate - Develops innovative solutions with others.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the client.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiates collaboration across boundaries and broadly across WBG, and brings differing ideas into the forefront.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Creates, applies and shares knowledge from across and outside WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions.
• Make Smart Decisions - Recommends and takes decisive action.

Knowledge and experience in at least two of the following areas

• DRM Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Has a solid understanding of disaster risk management policies, institutions, and regulations.
• DRM Infrastructure - Deep experience in at least one subtopic; develops novel approaches to mitigate risk or overcome difficult challenges.
• Emergency Preparedness and Early Recovery - Broad understanding of emergency preparedness and recovery strategies, with ability to support operations and analytical work, and draw conclusions and take action based on results of analyses.
• Disaster Risk Financing - Solid knowledge of a wide range of disaster risk financing alternatives; can propose solutions to most financing needs.
• Familiarity with GFDRR processes and procedures.

Application information: http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=8454041&piPK=8454059&theSitePK=8453353&JobNo=141322&contentMDK=23158967&order=descending&sortBy=job-req-num&location=ALL&menuPK=8453611