Education Specialist
Job Description
Education Specialist
Job #:
req19192
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Education
Grade:
GF
Term Duration:
4 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Spanish
Closing Date:
10/7/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. 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, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. 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
THE EDUCATION GLOBAL PRACTICE
Education is central to achieving the WBG's twin goals: it is a reliable route out of poverty through large and consistent returns to income for individuals and as a driver for economic growth. It is also a prime vehicle for promoting shared prosperity. The main challenge in the education sector is to achieve "learning for all and learning for life"- that is, to ensure that all children and young people acquire the knowledge and skills they need for their lives and livelihoods. In the past two decades, the developing world has made great advances in education, most notably in enrolling and keeping children in school and in approaching gender equality. Despite these successes in expanding access to education, critical challenges remain: removing persistent educational barriers faced by the poorest people and those living in fragile and conflict-affected states and improving the quality of education so that schooling leads to real learning. In recent years, the WBG, and the broader education development community, have shifted their focus to include learning outcomes. Traditional input-driven programs have shown that they do not always lead to improved learning outcomes, so that the WBG's education strategy highlights the need for a more comprehensive 'systems approach' to education reform, investments, and service delivery. This approach is about increasing accountability and targeting results, as a complement to providing inputs. It also requires strengthening the knowledge base on education, to highlight where systems are achieving results, where they are falling short, and what the most effective solutions are. These efforts are increasingly guided by the need to invest early; invest smartly; and invest for all. Through high-quality analytical work, collection of evidence, and practical know-how in these three areas, the WBG is helping its partner countries accelerate their progress in the education sector.
The Education Global Practice is led by a Global Director, who has overall responsibility for the practice, together with Regional Directors who oversee the human development program in the regions working with ten Practice Managers.
REGIONAL/ UNIT CONTEXT
The World Bank Group serves over 30 client countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR). Clients range from large sophisticated middle-income clients (MIC) to IDA countries to small Caribbean states to one fragile state. After a decade of sound economic management with solid social progress, Latin America has reached a development crossroads. With slower growth prospects and the threat in the reversal of fortunes for many, the region now faces new challenges, and improving productivity is now increasingly emerging as a key underlying factor to address them. Progress on this front will be critical for higher growth and to ensure that the social gains amassed over the economic boom of the past decade - one that expanded the middle class to more than one third of the entire population and lifted 80 million people out of poverty- are not eroded. Moreover, Latin America's inequality continues to be high compared to other world regions; and the recent COVID-19 crisis has had a tremendous toll on the region, with the GDP expected to have decreased by about 7% in 2020.
High quality education for all is central in the pursuit of growth and equity. The Education Unit for LCR works with client countries - at the regional, sub-regional, national and sub-national levels - to address key education challenges. To cite some of the key challenges: (a) learning outcomes have tended to improve, but LCR is still facing a Learning Crisis - with a learning poverty of about 50% and on average, 15-year-old students three years behind in reading, mathematics, and science when compared to a student in an OECD country; (b) learning gaps between students from better-off and most disadvantaged backgrounds are very large; (c) enrollment has continued to increase in secondary education but completion remains a regional challenge, especially among the poorest; and (d) the supply of higher education has increased significantly, but relevance and inclusiveness are still important challenges. These challenges have by now been strongly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a profound impact on Latin America. The latest simulations estimate that the region would be faced with the largest expected increase in Learning Poverty levels with an increase up to 79%, and all other metrics, in primary, secondary and tertiary education, are evolving in very worrisome ways, especially for the most vulnerable children and youth. We are also expecting large increases in dropouts if learning gaps are not addressed.
To address these challenges and their underlying constraints, the unit's education strategy centers on four key pillars: (a) investing in Early Childhood Education/Development; (b) measuring and improving teaching and learning; (c) addressing drop-outs and improving the skills of secondary and tertiary-school age youth; and (d) pursuing best practices in governance, management and financing. This also includes the effective use of ICT and learning spaces and a strong focus on inclusion. These pillars are consistent with the global education practice approach and the focus on learning poverty, as well as with the main strategic intervention areas to help countries cope and recover from the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector. These areas of intervention are focused on the return to schooling and recovery and acceleration of learning through: (i) safely and sustainably reopening all schools; (ii) implementing policies and strategies for re-enrolling all students and preventing dropouts; (iii) prioritizing and consolidating curricula; (iv) assessing learning levels; and (v) implementing at scale learning recovery strategies and programs. It is expected that the focus of FY23 will still largely be on helping LAC countries recover from the COVID-19 crisis on their education sector, while laying the ground for longer term improvements in education systems.
To implement its strategy, the unit has a large program comprising analytical and advisory (ASA) services as well as lending operations. It currently has a well-performing portfolio of 25 operations across most countries of the region, and education levels. The portfolio has increasingly used new lending instruments to support systemic reforms (including IPFs with PBCs, and the two first ever PforR in education in LCR in Brazil and Argentina). In part to respond to the challenges of the pandemic, a significant proportion of projects have been or are being restructured. The unit has a strong emphasis on bringing the best global evidence to inform its products and services for its clients, and in working strategically with clients to generate knowledge where the knowledge base is still nascent. lt produces innovative and programmatic ASA work, with analytical and just-in-time components, which is highly valued by our MIC clients, while also including a strong program of impact evaluations embedded in client engagements (operations or ASA). The unit also prides itself in its thought leadership through the preparation of rigorous regional studies to shed light on policy relevant issues in the region (teachers, school dropout, higher education, system and school management, impact of the pandemic, for example). We also stepped-up opportunities to share our work with the rest of the Bank through the Tuesday Talks and several BBLs and webinars, and our monthly COVID-19 dashboards. In FY22 we also launched a powerful Education Campaign, including a regional call for action on learning recovery and protection and a regional report (Two Years After: Saving a Generation), both attracting a huge media coverage. Moving forward, we have several new projects under preparation and/or in the pipeline, including, among others, in Brazil, Jamaica, The Caribbean, Paraguay, Argentina, with a strong focus on recovering from the pandemic and/or laying the ground for improving education in the longer-term, including supporting skills development, safe schools, and policies and strategies for schooling and learning recovery, and there is potential to do much more.
Duties and Accountabilities:
In light of the above, the unit is seeking an Education Specialist, based in HQ, who has the skills and capacity to improve the technical and operational quality of the growing HLCED program, while also supporting operational engagements and client dialogue in selected countries. The selected candidate will report to the Practice Manager for HCLED and is expected to work in close collaboration with the other members of the education and HD team, and colleagues in other GPs, and the CMUs of the relevant countries. Key tasks will include:
Operational and Analytical work:
Operational and Quality Assurance Support for the Unit:
Operational Strategy Development & Advice:
Operational Policy Advisory:
Selection Criteria
The ideal candidate will combine strong operational skills and technical understanding of the education sector, with a capacity to work with teams to improve the quality of their operations and other engagements and navigate Bank's processes and corporate requirements. The candidate should have:
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.
Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.
Job #:
req19192
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Education
Grade:
GF
Term Duration:
4 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Spanish
Closing Date:
10/7/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. 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, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. 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
THE EDUCATION GLOBAL PRACTICE
Education is central to achieving the WBG's twin goals: it is a reliable route out of poverty through large and consistent returns to income for individuals and as a driver for economic growth. It is also a prime vehicle for promoting shared prosperity. The main challenge in the education sector is to achieve "learning for all and learning for life"- that is, to ensure that all children and young people acquire the knowledge and skills they need for their lives and livelihoods. In the past two decades, the developing world has made great advances in education, most notably in enrolling and keeping children in school and in approaching gender equality. Despite these successes in expanding access to education, critical challenges remain: removing persistent educational barriers faced by the poorest people and those living in fragile and conflict-affected states and improving the quality of education so that schooling leads to real learning. In recent years, the WBG, and the broader education development community, have shifted their focus to include learning outcomes. Traditional input-driven programs have shown that they do not always lead to improved learning outcomes, so that the WBG's education strategy highlights the need for a more comprehensive 'systems approach' to education reform, investments, and service delivery. This approach is about increasing accountability and targeting results, as a complement to providing inputs. It also requires strengthening the knowledge base on education, to highlight where systems are achieving results, where they are falling short, and what the most effective solutions are. These efforts are increasingly guided by the need to invest early; invest smartly; and invest for all. Through high-quality analytical work, collection of evidence, and practical know-how in these three areas, the WBG is helping its partner countries accelerate their progress in the education sector.
The Education Global Practice is led by a Global Director, who has overall responsibility for the practice, together with Regional Directors who oversee the human development program in the regions working with ten Practice Managers.
REGIONAL/ UNIT CONTEXT
The World Bank Group serves over 30 client countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR). Clients range from large sophisticated middle-income clients (MIC) to IDA countries to small Caribbean states to one fragile state. After a decade of sound economic management with solid social progress, Latin America has reached a development crossroads. With slower growth prospects and the threat in the reversal of fortunes for many, the region now faces new challenges, and improving productivity is now increasingly emerging as a key underlying factor to address them. Progress on this front will be critical for higher growth and to ensure that the social gains amassed over the economic boom of the past decade - one that expanded the middle class to more than one third of the entire population and lifted 80 million people out of poverty- are not eroded. Moreover, Latin America's inequality continues to be high compared to other world regions; and the recent COVID-19 crisis has had a tremendous toll on the region, with the GDP expected to have decreased by about 7% in 2020.
High quality education for all is central in the pursuit of growth and equity. The Education Unit for LCR works with client countries - at the regional, sub-regional, national and sub-national levels - to address key education challenges. To cite some of the key challenges: (a) learning outcomes have tended to improve, but LCR is still facing a Learning Crisis - with a learning poverty of about 50% and on average, 15-year-old students three years behind in reading, mathematics, and science when compared to a student in an OECD country; (b) learning gaps between students from better-off and most disadvantaged backgrounds are very large; (c) enrollment has continued to increase in secondary education but completion remains a regional challenge, especially among the poorest; and (d) the supply of higher education has increased significantly, but relevance and inclusiveness are still important challenges. These challenges have by now been strongly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a profound impact on Latin America. The latest simulations estimate that the region would be faced with the largest expected increase in Learning Poverty levels with an increase up to 79%, and all other metrics, in primary, secondary and tertiary education, are evolving in very worrisome ways, especially for the most vulnerable children and youth. We are also expecting large increases in dropouts if learning gaps are not addressed.
To address these challenges and their underlying constraints, the unit's education strategy centers on four key pillars: (a) investing in Early Childhood Education/Development; (b) measuring and improving teaching and learning; (c) addressing drop-outs and improving the skills of secondary and tertiary-school age youth; and (d) pursuing best practices in governance, management and financing. This also includes the effective use of ICT and learning spaces and a strong focus on inclusion. These pillars are consistent with the global education practice approach and the focus on learning poverty, as well as with the main strategic intervention areas to help countries cope and recover from the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector. These areas of intervention are focused on the return to schooling and recovery and acceleration of learning through: (i) safely and sustainably reopening all schools; (ii) implementing policies and strategies for re-enrolling all students and preventing dropouts; (iii) prioritizing and consolidating curricula; (iv) assessing learning levels; and (v) implementing at scale learning recovery strategies and programs. It is expected that the focus of FY23 will still largely be on helping LAC countries recover from the COVID-19 crisis on their education sector, while laying the ground for longer term improvements in education systems.
To implement its strategy, the unit has a large program comprising analytical and advisory (ASA) services as well as lending operations. It currently has a well-performing portfolio of 25 operations across most countries of the region, and education levels. The portfolio has increasingly used new lending instruments to support systemic reforms (including IPFs with PBCs, and the two first ever PforR in education in LCR in Brazil and Argentina). In part to respond to the challenges of the pandemic, a significant proportion of projects have been or are being restructured. The unit has a strong emphasis on bringing the best global evidence to inform its products and services for its clients, and in working strategically with clients to generate knowledge where the knowledge base is still nascent. lt produces innovative and programmatic ASA work, with analytical and just-in-time components, which is highly valued by our MIC clients, while also including a strong program of impact evaluations embedded in client engagements (operations or ASA). The unit also prides itself in its thought leadership through the preparation of rigorous regional studies to shed light on policy relevant issues in the region (teachers, school dropout, higher education, system and school management, impact of the pandemic, for example). We also stepped-up opportunities to share our work with the rest of the Bank through the Tuesday Talks and several BBLs and webinars, and our monthly COVID-19 dashboards. In FY22 we also launched a powerful Education Campaign, including a regional call for action on learning recovery and protection and a regional report (Two Years After: Saving a Generation), both attracting a huge media coverage. Moving forward, we have several new projects under preparation and/or in the pipeline, including, among others, in Brazil, Jamaica, The Caribbean, Paraguay, Argentina, with a strong focus on recovering from the pandemic and/or laying the ground for improving education in the longer-term, including supporting skills development, safe schools, and policies and strategies for schooling and learning recovery, and there is potential to do much more.
Duties and Accountabilities:
In light of the above, the unit is seeking an Education Specialist, based in HQ, who has the skills and capacity to improve the technical and operational quality of the growing HLCED program, while also supporting operational engagements and client dialogue in selected countries. The selected candidate will report to the Practice Manager for HCLED and is expected to work in close collaboration with the other members of the education and HD team, and colleagues in other GPs, and the CMUs of the relevant countries. Key tasks will include:
Operational and Analytical work:
- Contribute to, and eventually co-lead and/or lead, the preparation and supervision of education operations (IPFs, PforRs, DPFs) at various education levels.
- Contribute to, and eventually co-lead and/or lead, customized analytical and advisory services, including just-in time TA.
Operational and Quality Assurance Support for the Unit:
- Engage and support country task teams up-stream to enhance the quality of new projects (in all dimensions).
- Review and provide inputs on project documents, including PCNs, PADs, ISRs, and/or ICRs.
- Support teams to resolve bottlenecks during preparation and implementation, including by participating in regular touch-bases and supporting projects' restructurings.
- Handle reviews of more complex tasks and provide strategic advice to task teams.
- Monitor unit's deliveries (lending, portfolio, ASA).
Operational Strategy Development & Advice:
- Support the cross-cutting dimensions of program delivery (lending, portfolio, ASA), in close coordination with the GP/PG FO and CMU management and staff.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of practices and routines in the unit aimed at improving quality of operational and analytic products, including guidelines, knowledge exchange across teams and units, and collaboration with other GPs and OPCS.
Operational Policy Advisory:
- Interpret Bank policies and guidelines and provide guidance to task teams at all operational stages.
- Review policy waivers, exceptions and other operational requests originating from the unit for compliance with Bank policies and procedures as well as regional guidelines.
- Be focal point for key corporate requirements.
Selection Criteria
The ideal candidate will combine strong operational skills and technical understanding of the education sector, with a capacity to work with teams to improve the quality of their operations and other engagements and navigate Bank's processes and corporate requirements. The candidate should have:
- Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in economics, education, business or related fields
- Experience: A minimum of 5 years of directly relevant work for the position
- Strong operational skills and understanding of World Bank processes, policies, operations, instruments, and systems is required to be able to effectively support teams through all the stages of project preparation and supervision
- Track record of supporting and/or co-leading the preparation and/or supervision of education operations, including through a client-facing role, in selected countries
- Strong technical understanding of the education sector
- Strong client skills
- Fluency in Spanish and English is essential
- Excellent communication and writing skills
- Track-record of working very well in teams
- Track-record of working simultaneously and effectively on a variety of tasks
- High levels of energy, initiative, and flexibility. Proactive attitude to challenges and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements
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.
Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.
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Date Posted
09/26/2022
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