Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group - Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Financial Sector Specialist

Job No.: req12287
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Financial Sector
Grade: GF
Term Duration: 2 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Required Language(s): English

Description

• Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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 and promoting shared prosperity.
• 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.  For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region

• We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs.
• Yet, these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades.
• In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio of 350 projects totaling more than $38 billion in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water and sanitation- all to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87% of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved.
• Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team to improve people’s lives and help countries build back better after COVID.
• Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Regional Context
Western and Central Africa:

• Western and Central Africa is a region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles – marked by contrasts of stability and conflict; affluence and poverty.  Home to about half a billion people, it encompasses 22 countries stretching from the westernmost point of Africa across the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean to the Republic of Congo in the South.
• The sub-region is rich in resources and brimming of opportunities. It made impressive progress in regional cooperation and includes two monetary unions - the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) that cover 13 countries between them.   
• Yet these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back to the forefront the risks posed by weak health systems and poor surveillance. Many countries in the region that learned difficult lessons from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 are applying some of the lessons and using all existing instruments and expertise to curb the pandemic while prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable people.
• The World Bank Western and Central Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,139 staff mostly based in about 22 country offices, is committed to helping countries to realize their considerable development potential and become more competitive in the global economy 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 Western and Central African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for the region is a better future for the world. https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions Practice Group:

• Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions (EFI) Practice Group (PG) supports economic policies and legal, regulatory and institutional reforms to enable equitable and sustainable growth and to reduce poverty.

The Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice:

• The Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice combines expertise in the financial sector with expertise in private sector development to foster private-sector led growth and help create markets in client countries.  For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/fci
• Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.

Regional and Country Context

• The recruitment is for a Financial Sector Specialist based in Abuja to focus on Nigeria. Key priorities in Nigeria include promoting financial inclusion, finding future diversified sources of growth and employment for fast growing young populations, developing long term finance for infrastructure and for the private sector, and supporting macro-financial stability.
• The Financial Sector Specialist reports to the Regional Practice Manager (EAWF2) for Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI). The FCI portfolio covers a range of lending operations, analytical work and technical assistance and the selected candidate would be expected to take on significant leadership responsibilities.

Job Duties and Responsibilities
Duties: Include, but are not limited to, the following main tasks:

• Contribute to the FCI dialogue in Nigeria with a focus on finance and private sector development: Supports the policy dialogue with counterparts on relevant issues focusing on mobilizing private capital, sustainable finance for jobs and economic transformation, green finance, and entrepreneurship.
• Support the Management of FCI Portfolio: Oversee the overall implementation of the investment portfolio and work closely with the task team leaders and the rest of the team to ensure quality, impact and coordination across projects. Regularly monitor and facilitate the meeting of deadlines on key deliverables for closing activities/projects (ICR), delivery of projects in the pipeline as well as regular Implementation Status and Results Reports (ISRs).
• Support to business development efforts. Contribute to prepare for lending and for delivery of ASA as assigned across the full range of Bank instruments.
• Contribute to informing the GPs dialogue with the CMU and support the dialogue with the region: prepare inputs for WPA discussions, strategic documents such as CPFs, SCDs, and CPSDs.
• Other tasks as requested by Practice Manager

Selection Criteria

• MA +5 years minimum of relevant professional experience in the areas of finance, business, management, economics, or related discipline. PhD is an advantage as is private financial sector experience.
• Broad based technical experience, including on entrepreneurship, early stage financing, green financing, innovation strongly recommended, with a track record in analytical and evidence based analytical research.
• Demonstrate deep analytical skills in addition to collecting and analyzing large data sets to inform lending operations and high-level policy dialogue. Strong preference will be given to candidates with experience in supporting implementation of complex projects and high-quality analytical work.
• Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement major projects and contribute to major/complex reports or studies, both in the WBG and outside.
• Demonstrated professional ability to operate in complex and fragile environments and to collaborate with larges teams of professionals and to effectively contribute to execution of major projects.
• Track record of knowledge aggregation and timely delivery with high quality.

Application Closing Date
24th June, 2021; at 11:59pm UTC .

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

For information about WBG Core Competencies, please click this link - https://bit.ly/2kbIA7O