Urban Specialist - Washington, United States - The World Bank Group

Description

Urban Specialist


Job #:
req27800


Organization:
World Bank


Sector:
Urban


Grade:

GF
Term Duration:

3 years 0 months


Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment


Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):

English

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:

6/19/2024 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

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.

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The Global Practice for Urban, Resilience and Land (GPURL)

GPURL covers a wide gamut of topics including: (i) supporting the development of green, inclusive, resilient and productive cities, including harnessing urbanization to contribute to growth and poverty reduction, and strengthening local governments' capacity to plan, finance and deliver services and infrastructure investments; (ii) promoting efficient, well-coordinated spatial and territorial development; including strengthening rural-urban linkages and developing-lagging regions; (iii) strengthening disaster risk management policies, institutions and regulations and mainstreaming resilience across development sectors including risk assessment and mapping, risk reduction (including urban flood management, stormwater 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 and recovery (including post-disaster damage and needs assessment); (iv) post-conflict reconstruction and recovery; (v) strengthening land tenure, management and information systems; and (vi) supporting the development of national and sub-national spatial data infrastructure and supporting the development of geospatial information.

GPURL Global Programs Unit

The GPURL Global Programs Unit supports GPURL through the design and implementation of the global programs that support the development of: (i) knowledge & innovation, and (ii) partnerships, convening and advocacy.

The Global Programs include three Umbrella Trust Funds that catalyze donor support as well as stand-alone TFs and other Global Programs.

The unit also hosts several key partnerships with funding agencies (bilateral donors, multilateral agencies) as well as non-funding partners (academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and civil society).

The Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA), formerly known as the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA), provides innovative financing solutions that link funding to achieved results.

Established in 2003 and part of GPURL, GPRBA supports the work of building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities, using innovative RBF instruments to help address the many development challenges that the world faces today.

By linking payments to actual results achieved and its explicit and unique pro-poor focus, GPRBA fosters inclusive development and helps address service delivery gaps arising from the challenge of increased urbanization in developing countries.

It creates financial incentives for service providers to extend basic services specifically to low-income communities, while also providing incentives for consumers in these communities to access the services.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Urban Specialist will work under the supervision of the Global Programs Practice Manager (or his/her designee), in close coordination with the Task Team Leaders of tasks to which s/he is assigned.

The Urban Specialist will be responsible for the following:

• Support the GPRBA in its analytical, operational, and corporate work.
• Analyze knowledge gaps on RBF approaches in GPURL business lines such as municipal finance, urban resilience, solid waste management, land, housing, public buildings, etc.
• Support the development of global knowledge products and analytical work on GPURL business lines to support operations and develop new business opportunities on RBF; including supervising the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure consistency and conformity to Bank standards; evaluate studies and sector-related project documentation.
• Liaise and provide technical advisory support to operational task teams on RBF approaches in the GPURL business lines to leverage and inform World Bank operations.
• Support management of GPRBA Umbrella Trust Fund (TF) program including monitoring and evaluation, processing of legal and financial transactions, preparation and review of grant proposals, consultation on technical issues, preparation of annual and progress reports and project briefings, quality control of deliverables
• Support preparation of key documents, including GPRBA's Partnership Council Meeting documents, Annual Report, monitoring reports, and project documents, as needed.
• Support communication and correspondence with donors and development partners
• Support organization and implementation of knowledge sharing activities in the Global Practice and contribute specific knowledge related to GPRBA.
• Perform other duties and functions as assigned by the Practice Manager and Task Team Leaders.

Selection Criteria

The Urban Specialist would have the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in technical fields relevant to urban economics, urban and regional planning, public policy, geography, municipal finance, infrastructure engineering, political science, international development or related field
• At least five years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience in field related to urban planning, municipal infrastructure, municipal finance, urban resilience, urban economics, or related field.
• Experience in working on results-based financing.
• Experience in working on World Bank financed projects and analytical activities on urban development.
• Demonstrated knowledge of World Bank's policies and practices, including institutional, operational, and technical issues related to the Bank's project cycle.
• Experience in working on TFs including monitoring and evaluation and reporting of TF programs, processing of legal and financial transactions, preparation and review of grant proposals, implementation of Bank-executed TF grant activities, etc.
• Effective interpersonal skills and excellent team player
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills
• Proven capacity to deliver quality results on time and demonstrate quality in work products.
• Strong work ethic and ability to work independently.
• Good organization and planning skills, a proven eye for detail
• Demonstrate excellent and effective command of English both in verbal and written forms.

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.