SAR Regional Director, Infrastructure

SAR Regional Director, Infrastructure

Job #:

req20529

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Operations

Grade:

GI

Term Duration:

4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:

International Recruitment

Location:

Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):

English

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:

1/20/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of financing and analytics 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.

South Asia Region (SAR)

The World Bank Group serves eight client countries in the South Asia Region, home to nearly 1.8 billion people. Clients range from large rapidly growing sophisticated middle-income countries to IDA countries to fragile and small island and landlocked states. Over the past few years, work has focused on the response to the COVID-19 crisis. In FY22, the region delivered $10.7 billion in financing for client countries and a wide range of ASAs and engagements with countries. The focus for the post-pandemic recovery lies on economic recovery and prudent fiscal and debt management; private sector expansion and job creation; climate resilience and improving human capital. The region will continue to support progress on structural reforms and invest in inclusion, gender equality, productive jobs, climate resilience and digital economy.

For more information on the South Asia Region (SAR): https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar

The Infrastructure Department in South Asia Region has a portfolio of about 60 projects totaling about USD17 bn, with approximate 85 staff supervised by 2 Practice Managers. The department management is supported by five country office-based program leaders and an operations advisor reporting to the regional director. More than 50% of the staff as well as 1 Practice Managers are based outside Washington, DC. The portfolio includes a mix of instruments - Investment Project Financing (IPF), Development Policy Financing (DPF), Program for Results (PforR). On average, over the past 4 FYs the Department delivered new lending commitments of about USD2.6 bn annually, and about 10 Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) products. The Department is also a key contributor to climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as Private Capital Mobilization in particular in energy and transport. While the digital development and extractive units are managed globally, their work programs and staff in the region are closely integrated with the infrastructure department.

The position will be based in Washington, DC, and reports to the Regional Vice President for SAR.

Duties and accountabilities:

The SAR Regional Director, Infrastructure will have accountability/responsibility of the following areas:

Strategy and Vision • Provides strategic vision, coherence and direction and determines strategic focus for the Region's INF program consistent with regional priorities and country partnership frameworks.• Oversees quality of all operations and analytics in SAR's infrastructure department.• Is an active member of the RLT and RMT, providing value added at the regional and corporate levels as needed.• Ensures that the work program is delivered on budget and on time, and that the department attracts and retains high caliber staff.• Works in partnership with Country Directors and their teams, and with other Regional Directors, the Strategy and Operations Director, to develop and deliver effective and impactful work programs. Draws in internal expertise from other areas of the Bank as well as external expertise, when needed.• Drives the development agenda related to Infrastructure in the Region, including active participation and contribution to country and regional strategic review meetings, Board updates and opportunities for partnerships with external partners, IFIs, private sector and think tanks with interests in the region. • Working with the Global Directors (GDs), contributes knowledge and good practice so that that PGs can learn from the Region, and that operations are informed by international best practice. • Contributes to overall infrastructure strategy and vision.

Country and Client Responsiveness and Relationships: • Works across the World Bank Group, including on operations that help mobilize private capital.• Works closely with Country management to respond to client needs, builds strong client relationship, and carries out client dialogues at the senior level, supported by and supportive of Practice Managers (PMs) and Program Leaders (PLs) • Provides inputs to country engagement documents (e.g., Systematic Country Diagnostics -SCDs, Country Partnership Framework -CPFs)• Oversees quality of all analytical inputs from SAR Infrastructure, including to CCDRs, CEMs, or Public expenditure reviews. • Advises Regional Vice President (RVP) and Regional Leadership Team (RLT) on all issues related to infrastructure and supports and contributes to discussions called by the RVP. • Provides substantive inputs and active participation in Regional Operations Committees (ROCs), Annual and Spring Meetings, other priority regional review meetings, RMTs, RLTs, retreats and townhalls. • Engages with clients ensuring delivery of technical expertise and global good practice.• Draws on technical expertise of experts, engages regularly with clients and counterparts as well as development partners in the region, providing strategic, intellectual, technical, and proactive leadership. • Identifies and mentors high potential senior staff, and proactively manages lower performing staff.• Monitors and ensures that client expectations are met, and high impact is achieved.

Business Development and Work Program Agreement Delivery: • Seeks opportunities in the regions for WBG engagements and for all WBG instruments and products, aligned with corporate priorities and regional and country strategies. • Leads the Department in the Work Program Agreement (WPA) formulation, in close collaboration with PMs and PLs, in discussion with CDs (for Country work) and the RVP (for Regional work)• Is responsible for ensuring collaboration and coordination between Infrastructure GPs in the Region. • Supports collaboration across Regions and the Practice Group in delivering and supervising the regional work program. • Is accountable for ensuring that all corporate commitments are fully incorporated into the country programs and for achieving the targets. • Is accountable for delivering the Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) and lending pipelines and quality supervision of the portfolio on time and on budget. • Is accountable, alongside the Country Director (CD), for risk management of the country programs managed by the SAR Infrastructure Department. • Ensures quality control of all operations and ASA mapped to SAR Infrastructure Department.

Resource Management: • Is accountable for managing budget resources from all sources (e.g., Country Engagement -CE, Program and Practice Management -PPM, Reimbursable Advisory Services -RAS, Trust Funds -TF) for the Department's engagement in the Region. • Proactively supports the efficient and effective use of resources to foster synergies and multi-sectoral solutions for clients.

Knowledge Management:• Supports global knowledge generation and capture by ensuring staff in the region allocate time to generate, capture and disseminate knowledge. • Fosters knowledge management within the region as well and working with GDs and other RDs for to ensure cross fertilization of knowledge within and across regions.

Staffing and Talent Management: • Works closely with SAR FO, CDs, PMs and Talent Boards and Talent Council to plan staff needs, including guiding the regional staffing requirements, and providing input into decentralization plans, strategic staffing, and the D&I agenda for SAR and the INF Practice Group. • Responsible for providing input to the Regional workforce plans, considering decentralization, diversity, grade level balances and responsible for the implementation of the Department's part of the workforce plan. • Supports PMs in its Regions in nurturing talent and grooming staff for career development and growth and managing performance including poor performance.

Human Resources: • Manages all infrastructure PMs and PLs in SAR.• Oversees all staff in the SAR RD infrastructure department who work on programs managed by the PMs mapped to SAR. • Responsible for day-to-day performance management of all SAR infrastructure staff• Working closely with CDs, supervises PLs in the Department. • Contributes to the Performance and Talent Management Review Meetings • Chairs regular SAR Infrastructure department regional management team meetings with PMs and PLs.• Working with the PMs, Talent Boards and Talent Council, facilitates year mobility (including across regions), redeployment and global exposure of INF staff. • Is a full member of SAR Leadership and Management Teams, and of INF PG Leadership Team. • Provides regional knowledge to the INFLT and GP Management Teams and brings technical leadership to the SAR RLT/RMT.

Selection Criteria

• Models exemplary leadership values and managerial behaviors and reinforces these qualities in own management team and staff. • Creates an environment of learning and innovation. • Builds relationships based on serving the client, trust, and efficiency/agility.• Passion for the WBG mission and familiarity with the World Bank Group structure and entities.• Masters or PhD degree in relevant fields of infrastructure and 15 or more years of relevant experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility.• Demonstrated in-depth experience working across sectors and disciplinary boundaries, and with multiple stakeholders, both public and private, in building collaborative alliances for results. • Track record of managing complex and large work programs, budgets, portfolio monitoring and supervision, with proven results. • Operational experience as task team leader and/or manager with IPFs, PforRs and DPFs together with policy dialogue is required• Substantive experience working in client countries and familiarity with the full menu of WBG services (financial, analytical, and advisory, and convening services). • Knowledge of and experience with IBRD/IDA operational business. • Strong written and oral communication skills in English. • The ideal candidate should have proven competency in energy (a must) and transport and be familiar at the operational level with the Bank's engagement in digital. • Experience in the nexus of infrastructure and climate, climate finance as well as policy dialogue and project design that helps mobilize private resources is a plus.

WBG Leadership Values and Managerial Behaviors:

• Leadership of Self: Role model the change and values for WBG; Demonstrate courage of convictions, ownership and self-mastery within the organization in accordance to our values.• People Leadership: Lead and inspire staff to perform and deliver for better results; Help others achieve their fullest potential through coaching and mentorship.• Collaborative Leadership: Be mutually accountable for entire WBG's corporate targets and success; Work across WBG and with clients and partners to achieve better results.• Client Solutions Leadership: Be the leading provider of development solutions for country clients; Provide leadership in both knowledge generation and knowledge sharing.• Decisive Leadership: Take informed risks and make decisions in a transparent manner resulting in transformative impact for clients; Commit to decisions once they have been made.

WBG Managerial Competencies: https://bit.ly/2kDjXkr

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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