Lead Climate Finance Specialist

Lead Climate Finance Specialist

Job #:

req20668

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Environment

Grade:

GH

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:

1/25/2023 (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 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 Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy GlobalPractice (ENB GP) forms part of the World Bank's Sustainable DevelopmentPractice Group. We provide expertise, technical assistance, and financing tohelp low- and middle-income countries manage land, sea, and freshwater naturalresources in a sustainable way to help create jobs, improve livelihoods,enhance ecosystem services, decrease pollution, meet national climate changemitigation and adaptation targets, manage the low-carbon transition, andincrease resilience to climate change. Over 350 ENB staff working across theglobe help set developing countries on a clean and green growth trajectory for low-carbon,resilient economies and for healthy communities.

ENB has five key business lines consisting of lending andnon-lending services in: (1) Forests, Landscapes and Biodiversity; (2) BlueEconomy; (3) Pollution Management, Environmental Health, and Circular Economy;(4) Environmental Economics, Policies, and Institutions; and (5) EnvironmentalRisk Management.

ENB has three broad and distinct functions:

1. Provide clients with lending and non-lending services to support the GP's key business lines;
2. Support effective environmental risk management and sustainability by managing risk at the project level and creating opportunities to advance sustainable development, in part through the implementation of the World Bank's environmental risk management policies;
3. Work closely with other sectors to mainstream environmental considerations into their policies, strategies, and operations.

LCR ENB Context

TheSLCEN unit covers the entire Latin America and Caribbean Region (LCR) and comprisesaround 50 staff, with half based in Country Offices and the remainder based inWashington DC. It is a core part of the Sustainable Development (SD) Departmentin LCR with over 200 staff. SLCEN is headed by a Practice Manager and the SDDepartment is headed by a Regional Director, both based in Washington.

TheSLCEN program currently comprises 10 pipeline projects and 27 active projectswith a total commitment of $3.25 billion, including IPF and DPF operations, coveringfisheries, forestry, the blue economy, climate change, natural resourcemanagement, and pollution management, as well as a large program of more than30 active pieces of advisory services and analytics (ASA), including all theClimate and Country Development Reports (CCDRs) in the region. The SLCEN team alsomanages the LAC Climate Task Force, which provide advice on WBG own accountclimate finance (climate co-benefits) and on Paris Alignment of IBRD and IDAfinance to all teams in LAC across all Global Practices. Finally, SLCEN providesenvironmental risk management functions, including implementation of theEnvironment and Social Framework (ESF), for the World Bank's pipeline and portfolioin LCR.

The Position

Internationallyrecruited staff are remunerated on an international pay scale and are expectedto move to assignments in different regions approximately every four years. TheLead Climate Finance Specialist will report to the Practice Manager,Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy (ENB) for LCR based in WashingtonDC.

Overall Responsibilities:

The Lead Climate Finance Specialist willlead SLCEN's engagement on the development and application of climate and naturefinance (also known as green or blue finance) in LCR and will be the team'sinterface with the ENB global unit, the wider WBG including OPCS and Treasury, andother development partners, including other MDBs and the private sector, toinnovate and scale up public and private investment, including via long-termfinance, for climate and nature. The Lead Specialist will also support thePractice Manager in driving and managing the overall growingclimate business, including strategy and new operations, as well as: CCDRs andother ASAs; the Climate Task Force, including MDB climate finance reporting andParis Alignment; dissemination and annual reporting, including to the Board, onthe LCR Climate Roadmap and on LCR's contribution to the WBG Climate ChangeAction Plan (CCAP); and working with ECR on a sustained climate communicationscampaign for the region. She/he willwork according to an annual work plan agreed with the SLCEN Practice Manager, adjustedperiodically as necessary. The work program is envisaged as mixed betweensupporting LCR specifically and up to a maximum of 50 percent of time allocatedto cross-support to the ENB global unit on climate and nature finance globally.

Program Strategy and Coordination:

• Provide intellectual leadership in the LCRregion and the ENB Global Practice globally for climate and nature financeinnovation and private capital mobilization in support of the WBG's vision for scalingup action on global challenges, including nature, the environment, and climate change.
• Engage with internal and externalstakeholders to develop an operational program of lending and ASA to scale up climateand nature finance in LCR, leveraging WBG resources to mobilize public andprivate sources of investment.
• Lead stakeholder dialogue with otherMDBs, NGOs, partnerships, and the Private Sector on innovative climate andnature finance mechanisms for LCR, building synergies with initiatives across the WBG, and representing LCRENB and LCR SD at various climate and nature finance workshops and events,including Climate and Biodiversity COPs.
• Support the Practice Manager in drivingand managing the growing climate business in the region, including themonitoring and reporting of CCDRs and the Task Force, as well as engagementwith senior management and with clients on new climate operations and relatedinnovations and new products.
• Lead ENB/SD inputs on green finance forcountry strategy products (SCDs, CPFs, PLRs) in the LCR region, and drive theprovision of climate change inputs for the same products working with others inSLCEN and SD.
• Develop partnerships to encourageinstitutional investor groups in LCR to access climate and nature investmentopportunities, and to foster new opportunities working with the WBG.
• Collaborate and join forces with otherPractice Groups in LAC, notably with EFI and especially with FCI, to maximizeimpact and engage in joint products in the area of climate and nature finance,as well as with other parts of the WBG, including OPCS, Treasury, IFC and MIGA.

Lending:

• Lead the integration of climate and naturefinance into SLCEN investment operations, including from the private sector,from new WBG sources of finance, and from the Scaling Climate Action byLowering Emissions (SCALE) facility, and provide guidance on the same to otherLCR teams.

• Provide leadership in LCR for piloting andscaling up innovative climate and nature finance instruments using IDA and IBRDresources and co-financing partnerships to promote and reward action andresults, sharing experience globally across ENB.

• Lead and contribute to the preparation andimplementation of LCR operations to mobilize and leverage climate and naturefinance, including through the identification of prior actions to beincorporated into development policy financing (DPF).

Non-Lending:

• Lead and contribute to cutting edge ASAboth in LCR and with the ENB global unit on policies and mechanisms to mobilizeclimate and nature finance, to strengthen carbon markets, and to integrategreen finance into country development plans, including through the mobilizationof resources from the Climate Support Facility (CSF) and the Partnershipfor Market Implementation Facility (PMI).
• Collaborate with other WBG units toundertake research and pilots on innovative structures and financialinstruments, such as linking carbon and biodiversity credits to capitalmarkets, and the use of new structures to provide financing for protected areasand other natural assets - and share lessons globally.
• Lead and contribute to analytical andadvisory support for the development of sustainable investment instrumentslinked to capital markets, including through advice on labeled andsustainability-linked bond issuance.
• Collaborate with teams from otherpractices on policies, regulations, and investment structures, including thedevelopment of green taxonomies and expanded ESG integration, to advance sectorpolicies and attract long-term finance to emerging markets for sustainabledevelopment projects.
• Collaboratewith regional FCI teams, the IFC Climate Business Department, and the SustainableBanking and Finance Network (SBFN) Secretariat on initiatives aimed at greeningthe financial sector, and engage with government, industry, and financialsector regulators on reforms to achieve this.

Selection Criteria

Do you meet the following selection criteria? If so, we encourageyou to apply:

• Advanced degree (PhD or Masters) in a field related to climate and nature finance specifically or in a technical field such as finance, economics, public administration, or another field relevant to climate change and climate finance.
• At least 12 years of full-time professional experience, with the most recent years being directly engaged in climate and/or nature finance, in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility.
  Extensive experience in operations in the WBG or another Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) at a senior level.
• Experience with carbon and/or nature finance instruments and dialogue with external stakeholders on the mobilization of green finance, with a track record of new product development and implementation.
• Track record of leading and building high performing teams in the timely delivery of complex and multisector operations related to climate and nature finance, including experience with various instruments, such as lending, trust funds, and grants.
• Experience of leading large teams to deliver complex ASAs, technical assistance, and capacity building activities, especially as related to climate and nature finance.
• Experience related to climate and nature finance with diverse clients - including the private sector, such as institutional investors and associations of firms - in a range of countries of different income levels and economies.
• Reputation as a well-respected global expert based on evidence of support to task teams, mentoring teams on complex problems, providing advice to senior management, and representing the Bank or other MDB in policy dialogue with clients, the private sector, and external audiences on technical matters related to climate and/or nature finance.
• Working level Spanish, with a commitment to advance to fluency in the first 6 months in the position, is required.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, including a proven record of successfully delivering polished presentations at the international level.

The following would be an advantage but not required:

• Previous experience working in LCR with an understanding of the region's institutional and political context, and prior exposure to the region's environment and/or climate policy challenges.
• Advanced Spanish language skills.
• Portuguese language skills.

Climate Finance Competencies:

• Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of a broad range of climate and nature finance tools, approaches and issues related to mobilizing/deploying climate and nature finance through projects or through mainstreaming into financial portfolios/regulation/policy;
• Demonstrates a comprehensive track record of developing and implementing an integrated strategy for country and/or regional approaches to prioritizing and deploying climate and nature finance;
• Demonstrates comprehensive abilities and experience with conceptualizing and structuring financing solutions for specific climate adaptation/mitigation and nature conservation projects;
• Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the establishment and operation of carbon and green finance markets;
• Demonstrates comprehensive technical knowledge of approaches to policies and systems for carbon pricing and/or taxation, and payments for environmental services.

Integrative Skills:

• Demonstrates ability to lead work that integrates divergent views in a coherent project/ program/ strategy, including across sectors and the WBG;
• Advises project/country teams on how to integrate corporate/regional priorities into specific projects/strategies;
• Brings together multi-disciplinary perspectives for effective solutions;
• Ensures that the project team considers corporate commitments (e.g., MFD, climate, gender, citizen, engagement) in its approach.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Delivers results for clients: proactively addresses clients' stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborates within teams and across boundaries: collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
• Creates, applies and shares knowledge: applies knowledge across the WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Makes smart decisions: interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.
• Leads and innovates: develops innovative solutions.

Note:If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regularor Open-Ended appointment, they will retain their Regular or Open-Endedappointment. Current Bank Group Staff members will be offered a 4-yearassignment.

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.