Senior Urban Development Specialist

Senior Urban Development Specialist

Job #:
req29061

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Urban

Grade:
GG

Term Duration:
4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):
English, French

Preferred Language(s):
English, French

Closing Date:
9/18/2024 (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 helpour clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Groupis one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developingcountries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to endingextreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainabledevelopment. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, wework with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreakingprojects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to themost urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

Infrastructure Vice Presidency

Globally, one billion people live more than 2 kilometers from all-weather roads, 685 million people lack electricity, and nearly 4 billion people lack Internet access. Access to basic infrastructure services is critical for creating economic opportunities for the poor. The Infrastructure (INF) Vice Presidency within the World Bank is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies. The INF Vice Presidential Unit (VPU) currently consists of four global departments (GDs): Energy & Extractives (EEX); Transport; Urban, Resilience and Land (URL); and Infrastructure Finance Practice (IFP). It oversees the Bank's work across energy and transport sectors, urban development, as well as efforts to promote energy transition, low-carbon transportation, livable cities, disaster risk resilience, land management, and quality infrastructure services through public-private partnerships. Infrastructure represents around $110 billion of the Bank's portfolio. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/infrastructure.

Regional and Unit Context

Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa is occurring at an unprecedented pace. The share of Africans living in urban areas is projected to grow from 38 percent in 2016 to almost 60 percent by 2040, translating to an additional 40,000 new urban citizens every day until 2040. The region's urbanization rate, one of the highest in the world, managed in a sustainable, climate-smart, inclusive, environmentally, and socially sound manner, can lead to economic growth, transformation and poverty reduction. However, many cities in Africa still have not fully captured the benefits of urbanization and poorly managed urbanization have exacerbated existing infrastructure challenges, resulting in increased inequality, urban poverty, proliferation of informal settlements and disaster risks. Adverse natural events present a serious obstacle for achieving sustainable social and economic development, particularly in vulnerable regions as Sub-Saharan Africa. Disaster affects the poor most severely; unplanned human settlements, unsafe building practices, high population densities, economic growth, and accumulations of assets in risk prone areas has dramatically increased exposure to hazards and increased disaster loss. Climate changed has the potential to significantly worsen the situation.

The "Urban, Resilience and Land" (URL) D epartment

URL supports national and subnational clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land management in support of growth and poverty reduction; promote 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 disaster risk management; reduce conflict and violence; expand access to finance for subnational governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of cities, through a combination of lending , analytical and advisory services, its convening power (e.g., Understanding Risk; Technical Deep Dives; 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 with impact.

The URL GD covers a wide range: (i) developing green, inclusive and resilient cities; (ii) enhancing urban and rural development by supporting and managing the urban-rural transition; assisting local development through land tenure security, strengthening municipal finance and management; and providing sustainable services including solid waste management; and (iii) supporting disaster risk management through risk assessment, risk reduction (including flood management, urban drainage, coastal management, and infrastructure retrofitting), disaster preparedness (including hydromet services, early warning systems, and civil protection), disaster risk financing (including Cat DDO and RRO), and resilient reconstruction (including post-disaster damage and needs assessment).

Position

IAWU1 is seeking a qualified and highly motivated Senior Urban Specialist to lead and contribute significantly to the development and implementation of the AFW URL program, with proven operational experience in managing multisector urban operations. S/he will be expected to lead and co-lead tasks, including the preparation and implementation of lending operations, operational and analytical work, contribute to teams within and outside the unit, lead cross-sectoral and multi-sectoralengagements across various global departments, and support the furtherdevelopment and implementation of the URL program through a range of Bankinstruments and engagement modalities. The focus would be on the provision ofsustainable municipal services to help build climate-smart cities in oftenfiscally constrained and sometimes fragile contexts. This would include, butnot limited to, solid waste management and circular economy engagement, urbaninfrastructure and Nature Based Solutions, Transit Oriented Development and LandValue Capture, infrastructure and services financing, among others.

Job Dutiesand Responsibilities:

• Lead/co-lead/participate in task teams to develop and carry out Urban, Land and DRM activities in assigned countries;
• Specifically, lead/co-lead/participate in policy dialogue, just-in-time advisory and analytical work, and lending operations in the areas of:
- Solid waste management and circular economy,
- Sustainable and climate smart delivery of municipal services,
- Governance, decentralization, and municipal finance,
- Infrastructure and Climate finance,
- Climate smart urban management, including floods, drainage, green buildings and spaces, Nature based solutions,
- Urban mobility, Transit oriented development and Land Value Capture
- Integrated Territorial Development
• The candidate is also expected to foster new business engagement in the above priority areas and develop new areas of engagement based on the region's emerging needs and demands and the INFRA regional strategy;
• Participate in professional development and knowledge sharing activities and contribute specific knowledge both within the assigned countries and in the Bank;
• In collaboration with the URL Global Department, contribute to the development of knowledge products/training activities to enhance best practices in the urban sector both within and outside the Bank;
• Contribute to knowledge sharing, dissemination and awareness raising activities with key clients.
• Contribute to dialogue and provide technical inputs for the preparation of country strategy documents, CEM, SCDs, CCDRs and RRA;
• Manage Trust Fund (TF) activities including preparation and review of grant proposals, consultation on technical issues, preparation of progress reports, project briefings, disbursements and quality control of deliverables;
• Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists in support of policy reviews and recommendations and supervises consultants' reports and outputs;
• Provide on-the-job coaching and mentoring to junior team members, extended term consultants and junior professionals in the unit;
• Perform other duties and functions as assigned by the Practice Manager.

Selection Criteria

• Degree & advanced degree in civil or environmental engineering, economics, municipal development and finance, urban development and planning, climate change/finance studies or related field with at least 8 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Substantive operational experience and technical expertise in solid waste management, sustainable delivery of municipal services, circular economy, sustainable and resilient cities, municipal finance and/or climate finance specifically sought.
• Experience in leading strategic dialogue and analytical work on municipal infrastructure and services, including SWM agenda with a comprehensive approach including institutional, financial, policy and private capital mobilization aspects is desirable.
• Ability to conduct independent policy discussions with representatives of central and local government, private sector and civil society as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners.
• Experience in initiating and implementing municipal service delivery programs with development impact, including IPFs, PforRs and DPOs.
• Experience in digital tools and innovation
• Proven ability to lead and work with multi-disciplinary teams
• Ability to anticipate client demand and undertake relevant knowledge and research and analytical work.
• Excellent collaboration skills across the Bank structure
• Strong written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated ability of making effective presentations to diverse audiences; and
• Excellent command of English and French. Portuguese is a plus.

For information about WBG Core Competencies, please visit: https://bit.ly/2kbIA7O

Note: This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staffonly (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries).External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidateapplies, their application will not be considered.

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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