Jobs at World Bank Group

The World Bank is seeking a highly organized and energized professional, capable of operating effectively and discreetly in a very demanding, fast-paced and culturally diverse environment, to work as a Program Assistant based in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Program Assistant will support work covering the countries of Eastern and Southern Africa. 

The successful candidate will work under the leadership of the Senior Regional Advisor with the day to day supervision of the Senior Executive Assistant and the respective Cluster/Sector/Task Team Leaders (TTLs) who provide supervision and guidance to the ACS (Administrative and Client Support) staff. The selected candidate will provide administrative and client support to the Operational Staff. The job implies frequent interaction with other institutional units, staff in other locations (locally and internationally), Government officials, consultants and external organizations.

Roles & Responsibilities: -

The selected candidate will be assigned to support a set of sectors, as well as for tasks associated to the Unit’s overall work program for which ad-hoc support may be needed from time to time, the Program Assistant will be expected to:

• Extensively coordinate with other Bank group units and frequently liaise with team members regardless of location, and external counterparts.
• Provide primary assistance in the implementation of the unit's work program, including some specialized support in a specific area(s), e.g. database management, knowledge management and information technology, document portal, etc.
• Identify and resolve diverse issues/problems as they arise, which often require interpretation of existing procedures and processes and independently determine the appropriate application.
• Suggest ways to enhance work organization and effectiveness.
• Exercise quality enhancement function for emails, as well as project and other documents by ensuring adherence to departmental, VPU and institutional guidelines.
• Participate in developing project/product time lines, using appropriate software.
• Attend meetings, draft minutes and ensure timely clearance and distribution.
• Monitor task budget/trust funds for specific projects on behalf of the team.
• Undertake ad hoc inquiries in standard and non-standard databases, retrieves, manipulates and presents data.
• Participate in mission field work as required.
• Manage the schedule of the unit staff, particularly that of the Senior Regional Advisor, taking priorities into account.Set up meetings, and monitor changes, and communicate the information to appropriate staff, inside and outside the immediate work unit, including officials outside the Bank group.
• Assist in preparation and logistical planning for various events, e.g. conferences, workshops, training sessions, negotiations, missions, etc.
• Maintain current distribution lists, phone/address lists of project/product contacts, and distribute documents for the team.
• Maintain up-to-date work unit project and other files (both paper and electronic).
• Responsible for submitting travel requests, following up on approvals, and arranging bookings through designated office travel agent.
• Mentor less experienced staff.
• Undertake ad-hoc assignments and provide support to other staff in the unit as required.

Selection Criteria

• Minimum Education/Experience: High school diploma or Diploma in Secretarial Studies or Diploma in Business Administration from a recognized institution with 5 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Competencies

Required Competencies:

• Technology and systems knowledge Demonstrates advanced knowledge and experience working with Microsoft office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc.). Has ability and willingness to maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills as technology.
• Project and task management Exhibits good organizational, problem-solving skills and ability to work competently with minimal supervision. Demonstrates attention to detail and quality. Has ability to manage multiple tasks and complete tasks within agreed schedule.
• Institutional policies, processes, and procedures Demonstrates knowledge of own department's programs and products, knows key players, understands own role. Displays understanding of WB Job Details policies and procedures relevant to the area of assigned responsibilities and is able to apply/implement them.
• Versatility and adaptability Demonstrates flexibility and is receptive to the implementation of new solutions. Is willing to stretch own capability. Demonstrates motivation to avail and adapt oneself to effecting change.
• Client Orientation Exhibits positive and professional client service attitude; is able to understand clients' needs and complete them professionally.
• Drive for Results Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication Has good knowledge of official unit's language(s). Able to write clearly, edit and proofread draft communications. Able learn and share knowledge/information across the unit.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making Able to manage information and support retention and disposition of information and records. Can search, report, and deliver basic information from various sources and independently respond to basic inquiries.

go to method of application »

The successful candidate will work under the overall supervision of the Operations Manager and in collaboration with the Kenya based Operations Officer, the four (4) Sector Leaders based in Nairobi and the Operations teams in Rwanda, Somalia, and Uganda.  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 five (5) year term appointment.

Roles & Responsibilities:

The Senior Operations Assistant (SOA) will play a critical role in supporting the management and oversight of the Bank’s portfoliat preparation, implementation, and evaluation stages. The SOA specific duties will include, but are not limited tthe following:

Strategy:

• Provide support tStrategy development, implementation and monitoring of the Kenya country engagement products, including collating relevant information and coordinating meetings and events.

Pipeline Management:

• Keep track of the status of the AECE2 pipeline operations ensuring milestones are updated including providing regular updates tthe OM, PLs and OO.
• Support task teams in following up on government requirements for pipeline operations.
• Support Operations Officer in the review of pipeline packages at the negotiation and board stages.

Portfolio Management:

• Monitor and analyze the portfoli(lending and non-lending), based on the relevant metrics for reporting and produce regular and ad-hoc portfolireports including identifying problems that need resolving.
• Follow-up on report findings with Country Teams and send reminders of stale Implementation Status and Results Reports (ISRs), final ISRs, Progress Reviews, and the Implementation Completion Report (ICR) etc.  
• Provide portfolidata as input tCMU deliverables such as the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), Country Partnership Framework (CPF), Performance and Learning Review (PLR), regular briefs tmanagement and event/high level visit briefs. 
• Provide input for CMU comments on Project documentation (e.g Aide Memoires, Management Letters, general correspondence) for finalization by the Operations Officer.
• Monitor, track and keep record of all Environmental and Social Incident Response Toolkit (ESIRT) and periodically update the PLs. 

Liaison with Ministry of Finance 

• Take lead in the organization of wrap ups and PDU meetings 
• Provide 1-2 days per week of operational support tthe World Bank Desk at the MoF, or as agreed with the OM and OO.  
• Manage the logistics and agendas for the weekly Portfolireview meetings 
• Participate and oversee the logistics for the Quarterly PortfoliReviews including managing the agendas.  
• Support Oin following up on PortfoliAgreed Actions
• Be the focal point person with government on following up on notifications, reminders, overdue notices and clearances   

CMU Support

• Manage the organization of OM-TTL meetings, including recording of proceedings and monitoring of agreed action points
• Manage the organization of AECE2 Operations task team meetings, reporting of proceedings, and monitoring of agreed action points
• Manage the organization of CMU debriefs with mission teams
• Clear or coordinate the clearance of all out-going standard correspondence for CD such as Mission Announcement Letters, disbursement notifications (cancellation and closure of accounts) etc.
• Mentor other ACS tmaintain full familiarity with contents and processing steps of operational documents, reports and Board documents.   

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s degree or Undergraduate degree in a relevant field/discipline (e.g. Economics, Business Administration, Political Science, Finance, International Relations, Social Science or similar field relevant tthe Bank’s mission) strongly preferred. Five (5) years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. However, qualified candidates with a combination of a Bachelor’s degree coupled with proven experience will be considered. 
• Extremely dynamic, results-oriented, and action focused with a can-dattitude focused on immediate problem solving. 
• Knowledge of Government of Kenya (GoK) systems and donor coordination mechanisms.
• Ability twork within cross-sectoral and Kenya National Treasury’s World Bank Desk with sensitivity and appreciation of one’s role.
• Proven ability tthink strategically and demonstrated political sensitivity and mature judgment, with an ability tnavigate a challenging environment. 
• Outstanding inter-personal skills with proven ability twork cooperatively with a multi-disciplinary team.
• Demonstrated initiative, leadership skills, and drive for results including ability tundertake a diversity of tasks within a rapidly changing and demanding environment on short deadlines.
• Highly developed spoken and written communications skills including the ability tdraft concise reports, minutes, briefs, and correspondence skills.

Competencies:

• Excellent working knowledge and understanding of the WBG organization and its range of available financial instruments (e.g., IBRD loans, IDA credits and grants, trust funds).
• Demonstrated experience working in operations with a clear understanding of the project and country engagement life cycle and Bank operational policies and procedures.
• Good familiarity and ease of working with the Bank’s data and reporting systems, such as SAP, Standard Reports, and the Operations Portal. 
• Good familiarity and understanding of Bank’s lending portfoliperformance measurement and analytics.
• Full proficiency in data handling and ability twork quickly in Excel, particularly with creating data driven visuals and using advanced formulas e.g. pivot tables.
• Ability tcarry out research and analytical tasks on a wide range of operational and country issues, review and interpret information/data, identify trends and issues, and recommend actions/solutions.
• Excellent writing skills and capacity tprepare briefs/presentations using Word/PowerPoint.
• Capacity twork with tact and diplomacy with staff at all levels, often under tight time pressure in a busy environment.
• Proven ability twork both independently and in diverse teams, including with colleagues in various Global Practices, with minimal supervision and with high levels of accuracy and attention tdetail.
• Proficiency in English (both verbal and written).