Senior Urban Transport Specialist at World Bank Group

Eastern and Southern Africa

Home to about half a billion of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.

The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continue to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future.

The World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,207 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:

•  Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
•  Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030 – a vision that, if realized, can boost growth by up to 2 percentage points per year, and reduce poverty by 1 percentage point per year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.
•  Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support is helping governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
•  Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities. With the influx COVID-19, we are mobilizing financial support and timely analysis and advice to countries across the subregion to deal with the pandemic.
•  Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption:  In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure. A number of East African countries are currently facing a debilitating Desert Locust infestation, threatening the already precarious food security situation. The Bank has put together a program to help affected countries deal with the scourge.
•  Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
•  Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Bank is a dedicated partner for Eastern and Southern African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for Africa is a better future for the world.

The Transport Global Practice:

Within the World Bank, the Transport Global Practice (GP) is made up of more than 300 professionals who are dedicated to responding to the needs of developing countries for faster, cheaper, safer, and more efficient transport solutions while addressing traffic fatalities, congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and local air pollution. Country needs are growing exponentially under the combined effects of globalization, population growth, rapid urbanization, economic development, and technological progress – making sustainable transport a vital part of the global development agenda.

The Africa transport sector grouping consists of four units across two regions led by a Regional Vice President (East and Southern Africa, and West and Central Africa). The transport units are led by Practice Managers who report to Regional Directors, as well as the Global Infrastructure Practice Group led by a Vice President covering transport, energy, digital development, as well as infrastructure finance, public-private partnerships and guarantees.

The Transport Unit in Eastern Africa is now seeking to recruit a Senior Urban Transport Specialist based in Nairobi, Kenya to support the design, preparation, and supervision of lending operations and technical assistance activities and new business development in the sector. The work will require operational and analytical skills across transport modes, with a strong focus on urban transport, along with experience in addressing cross-cutting transport issues such as road safety, gender, climate change, logistics, procurement, institution building and governance.

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

Duties and Responsibilities:

• The Senior Urban Transport Specialist will be based in Nairobi and will report to the Practice Manager. S/he is expected to work predominantly on urban transport projects in Eastern Africa, with support to projects across other modes (land transport, rail, maritime, and/or aviation). The urban transport portfolio in Eastern Africa currently consists of an ongoing project in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam Urban Transport Improvement Project), one under preparation (Rwanda Urban Mobility Project) and one starting soon (Kenya Urban Mobility Improvement Project) as well as several analytical studies and technical assistance across countries to support policy reform and institution building in urban transport. The transport team collaborates closely with other sector colleagues focusing on urban development, disaster risk management, energy and digital development to enhance integrated urban development in Eastern Africa.
• The primary objectives of the assignment will be to:
•  Lead and/or support task teams in the preparation and implementation of urban transport projects in Eastern Africa, covering the core elements (planning, financial and economic analysis, engineering, maintenance, and operations) and also incorporating key cross-cutting issues such as gender, climate change, road safety, and private sector participation;
•  Support the design, preparation, and implementation of new lending and non-lending activities for other transport modes;
•  Lead and manage advisory and analytical activities on international best practices for the planning and provision of urban transport infrastructure and public transport services, including economic evaluation, cost efficiency, technical and financial feasibility, implementation planning and sustainability, with increased attention to issues such as gender equality and decarbonization;
•  Lead and/or participate in the policy dialogue under the guidance of the Practice Manager, the Country Directors, Country Managers and/or Operations Managers, with external stakeholders/development partners in the country and region;
•  Provide guidance to improve the quality of urban transport projects in Eastern Africa through peer reviews, technical advice, and quality assurance;
•  Advise government counterparts on technical matters associated with urban transport projects, including engineering aspects, the formulation of policy, and measures to strengthen institutional arrangements;
•  Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure quality and consistency with World Bank standards;
•  Provide procurement and contract management support and advice to the project implementing agencies;
•  Participate in cross-sectoral teams responsible for preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics and Country Partnership Frameworks, public expenditures reviews, sectoral studies, and research and policy development activities on the topics/sections pertaining to urban transport and more broadly urban development;
•  Support the World Bank-wide professional community of staff engaged in the transport practice by participating actively in the Global Solutions Group on Urban Mobility and drafting of technical notes, and supporting cutting-edge work in collaboration with other global practices to enhance knowledge creation and dissemination, and expanding the existing knowledge base;
•  Stay abreast of recent developments in the urban transport sector worldwide, and on cross-cutting issues, identifying knowledge gaps and disseminating relevant knowledge to clients; and
•  Represent the World Bank as designated by the Practice Manager, the Country Directors, Country Managers and/or Operations Manager at public events relevant to the sector.

Selection Criteria

The position calls for a highly motivated individual who is able to lead teams and work with little supervision. Candidates for the position will be selected based on the following considerations:

•  Master’s degree or higher in civil/transport engineering, planning, economics, environment, public policy, finance, or other related disciplines.
•  Minimum 8 years proven experience in the transport sector or in a related infrastructure field (either with a government’s transport authority, contractor(s), design or supervision consultant(s), or development institutions), with demonstrated ability to work on developing and implementing public transport service plans, performance-based operations and maintenance contracts, complementary road, traffic management, and non-motorized transport plans, regulating informal and conventional public transport modes, and implementing multimodal public transport systems;
•  Experience in working with programs financed by development partners, multilateral or bilateral.
•  Work experience in developing countries, with experience in more than one of the World Bank’s regions and/or in fragile states as an asset.
•  Experience in analytical work, such as on international and national transport policy, strategy, institutions, and regulation as they relate to the transport sector.
•  Knowledge of key developments in related sectors and on cross-cutting issues affecting the performance of the urban transport sector, such as private sector engagement, environmental and social impacts including gender-based violence, road safety, operational health and safety issues, and climate change.
•  Strong client and communications skills, with proven experience in providing quality policy and project advice to national and sub-national government clients on urban transport and mobility issues, and interest in transferring knowledge.
•  High degree of dynamism and self-motivation, as well as the ability to work with minimal supervision.
•  Ability to identify and develop potential areas for future World Bank urban transport sector initiatives based on client consultation and analysis. Willingness to travel to and work in challenging country environments.
•  Excellent written and communications skills in English.

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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