Program Analyst at World Bank Group (WBG)

Background / General description:

Established in 1944, the World Bank Group (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

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

The World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice (GPSURR) has an active work program in the Africa Region, encompassing a large number of IDA operations, a smaller number of middle-income clients, a wide-ranging advisory and analytical program, active partnerships with Regional and Sub-Regional institutions and a large portfolio of around 400 projects under supervision. The Africa Social and Conflict Unit, part of GPSURR, plays a strategic, advisory and knowledge role for the Region and the GP’s work in these areas. The Unit has around 48 staff and two major work streams: support for fragile states and conflict-affected countries; and social development, including implementation of the Bank’s social safeguards policies on resettlement and indigenous peoples. Kenya is an IDA country with an active and growing portfolio across a wide range of sectors, with a heavy focus on supporting devolution.

Supporting devolution is one of three pillars of the World Bank’s FY2014-18 Country Partnership Strategy. For the past five years, the Bank has been widely recognized as a leading development partner providing analytical, technical, and operational support to the devolution process. The Bank has mobilized around $30 million in trust fund through the Kenya Accountable Devolution Program Multi Donor Trust Fund (KADP), and established a cross-practice team, largely based in-country, to provide support to devolution focused on six key areas: (i) fiscal impacts of decentralization; (ii) county PFM; (iii) planning, M&E, and open data; (iv) social accountability; (v) devolved sector support; (iv) knowledge exchange and program management. Additional funds from donors allowed KADP to be expanded with new focus on devolution and citizen engagement, conflict prevention, social inclusion, climate change adaptation, and community-driven development. Donors have expressed interest in providing funds for a third phase of the KADP multi donor trust.

The social development team is leading the overall coordination of the Bank’s decentralization support, in close cooperation with the governance and macro-fiscal global practices. This team provides a range of analytical and technical assistance to government and non-state actors. With support from the KADP MDTF and Bank budget, GSURR-Social (i) provides overall coordination of the devolution agenda and manages the multi-donor trust fund; (ii) manages an innovative and multi-faceted program supporting citizen engagement in devolution; (iii) manages/co-manages new lending operations related to decentralization, county institution building and citizen engagement; (iv) manages technical assistance on conflict and violence prevention in marginal counties and urban areas; (v) coordinates technical assistance on devolution to devolved sectors. Devolution also brings significant new opportunities and challenges for vulnerable and marginalized groups (VMGs), and the application of social and environmental safeguards.

The Africa Social Unit is looking to recruit a local Operations Analyst for the World Bank’s Nairobi Office. The position is primarily to support the implementation of the KADP MTDF; with some part of the work program also supporting the broader social development/safeguards team. The Social Development Operations Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the Practice Manager for the Africa Social Unit and work closely with the KADP TTL. In addition, the Unit has several international Senior Social Development Specialists based in Nairobi who will work closely with the Social Development Analyst, the Program Leader is also expected to provide guidance and mentoring.

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 3 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The Operations Analyst is expected to contribute to effective implementation of the KADP MTDF, by providing coordinated support to the KADP teams across GPs, including:

• Provide high quality support to TF management, including developing systems for efficient monitoring of disbursement, commitments and timely delivery of work programs; play a leading role in producing quarterly update reports;
• Support KADP knowledge management activities including capturing lessons learned and results; and contributing to the KADP Annual Report and other major outputs;
• Support donor coordination, the quarterly donor steering committee meetings; and event planning;
• Provide support to analytical and operational teams, including planned analytical work on devolution lessons; write routine reports independently and participate in drafting technical working papers for wider circulation;
• Contribute to effective management of social safeguards work stream, and support as needed the broader social development work program;
• Work independently, seeking guidance and instruction on new, unusual or complex assignments.

Selection Criteria:

• Preferably Master's degree with two or more years of relevant work experience (e.g., Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science).
• In-depth knowledge of at least one other social development competencies – social inclusion, addressing fragility and conflict, community driven development (incl. community mobilization and empowerment) – is desirable.
• Experience in Trust Fund Management, including monitoring of workflows and budgets.
• Basic knowledge of World Bank’s operations including social safeguard policies.
• Strong oral and written presentation skills, creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and multicultural environments.
• Willingness to travel regularly, including in areas affected by fragility.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills in English; knowledge of local languages would be an advantage.
• Documented understanding of Kenya’s political economy

Competencies:

• Strong analytical and conceptual skills.
• Ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments, and adjust to and prioritize a variety of complex evolving tasks. Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment.
• Kenyan Context: Knowledge and experience of social development issues in Kenya.
• Knowledge of Kiswahili is highly desirable.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to develop effective relations within and outside the Bank, and to promote collaboration within the team to meet unit objectives.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborate across boundaries, give own perspective and willingly receive diverse perspectives. Ability to effectively provide professional support to senior staff.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Apply knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions - Interpret a wide range of information and push to move forward.