Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Job #:
req19608

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Financial Sector

Grade:
GG

Term Duration:
3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):
English

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:
11/22/2022 (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. Visit www.worldbank.org.

Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group:

The Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) is one of the World Bank Group's four Practice Groups. EFI's mandate is "Growth, Finance, and Institutions for all." Our approach is to leverage public and private sector expertise, together with International Finance Corporation (IFC), to support a data-driven reform agenda. EFI supports clients in advancing evidence-based structural reforms to build the foundations for inclusive and sustainable growth.

EFI is composed of four Global Practices (GPs):

Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment (MTI)- consist of country economists and trade, financial and private development specialists that support structural reforms.

Governance GP - consists of public sector, financial management and procurement specialists to support institutional and governance reforms and provide fiduciary support to all Bank operations.

Poverty and Equity GP - consists of micro, labor, and development economists to build the evidence base, provide advice and operational support to ensure country policies and WBG interventions are inclusive.

The Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) GP is comprised of two directorates: The Finance directorate, and the Trade, Investment and Competitiveness (TIC) directorate. The GP aims to support client countries to create an enabling environment in which financial stability, efficiency and firm-level solutions are provided in an integrated way to crowd in the private sector, support the creation of markets, and accelerate equitable growth.

The Finance Directorate provides analytical and advisory support to the international community to enact reforms that lead to deep, inclusive, efficient, and resilient financial systems. The Directorate is comprised of thematic teams focused on (i) Financial Stability and Integrity, (ii) Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure, (iii) Long term finance and (iv) Crisis and disaster risk finance.

The Financial Stability & Integrity unit (EFNFS) in the FCI Global Practice works on a range of areas, including financial stability, bank regulation and supervision, bank resolution and crisis management, corporate governance, financial integrity, and asset recovery. Within EFNFS, the Stability team assists national authorities to improve the prudential policy, legal, regulatory, supervisory, and institutional framework needed to achieve and sustain financial sector stability, engages with standard setters bringing in the perspectives of EMDEs, and produces analytical work. The (global) stability team provides technical inputs (including as technical project leads) to region-led advisory/analytical operations and lending operations and conducts country-level diagnostics and knowledge work on: regulation and supervision of deposit taking institutions, bank resolution and crisis management, deposit insurance, fintech aspects related to financial stability (including related to financial market integrity). It

also manages the financial sector assessment programs (FSAPs), coordinates the World Bank engagement with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and is the lead technical provider for assessments of compliance with the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision (BCPs).

Advisory on Greening the Financial System

The World Bank assists developing countries in their efforts to align financial sectors with climate and environmental considerations, often in collaboration with partners. Financial institutions are increasingly affected by the consequences of climate change and related environmental risks. On the one hand, opportunities arise from the large investments needed to finance the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy. On the other hand, the commitments under the Paris agreement will lead to significant economic adjustment costs, which spillover into financial risks. Failing to keep temperatures well below 2 degrees will have even greater effects on the economy and the financial system

At the same time, governments and regulators are increasingly strengthening the role of the financial sector to manage climate-related risks and mobilize capital for green development. Financial sector standard setters, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), have all come out with guidance and analytics that support authorities in better management and understanding of climate-related financial risks. Several authorities have also launched policy action plans which envision alignment of financial systems with climate and sustainability goals.

Though a 'transition of thinking and action' has taken off, there is also a need to further strengthen capacity of financial systems to address and incorporate climate and environmental considerations. Within the financial sector, there is evolving understanding of climate financing opportunities and, particularly, climate-related financial risks. However, the level of understanding and awareness differs strongly between jurisdictions, and developing countries in particular, face capacity constraints to assess these risks properly. Moreover, the regulatory and supervisory framework is often not in place to manage these risks adequately.

Within the Financial Stability & Integrity unit, the Greening Financial Systems business-line supports countries in strengthening stability and soundness of financial sectors against climate and related environmental financial risks, while at the same time improving the ability of financial sectors to mobilize capital for climate and environmental objectives. The team provides technical support and training to client countries all over the world on integrating climate and environmental risks into financial sector regulation and oversight. The team also provides diagnostics on climate and environmental risks and opportunities, culminating in a set of recommendations on how to manage risks and foster green finance. This is done as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), often in coordination with the IMF, as well as on a stand-alone basis. Technical assistance and diagnostics are supported by research, including the design of broadly applicable technical tools (e.g., vulnerability analysis and climate stress testing) to assess climate and broader environmental risks, including those stemming from the loss of biodiversity. The team also leads global engagements with international networks, such as the NGFS, FSB, and the Sustainable Banking & Finance Network, and financial sector standard setters. The work has synergies, and closely collaborates, with other WB and IFC programs on long-term/sustainable finance, disaster risk management, and climate change.

Roles & Responsibility:

The World Bank seeks to recruit a staff member to support the work on greening financial sectors.

The selected candidate will be responsible for support on the overall agenda and is expected to play a key role in both coordinating and providing country analytics and advisory services. Specific responsibilities will include:
• Responsible for country specific work programs and end products that will help client countries in integrating climate and other sustainability risks into supervisory practices. Independently but also as project lead, the selected candidate is expected to be able to manage client country relationships and produce - and support client country financial sector authorities with - high quality end products, such as supervisory methodologies and frameworks, climate risk and opportunity assessments, and / or stress tests.
• Independently or as project lead, conduct climate diagnostics and assessments as part of the FSAP program and related diagnostics. Work will include client country missions, where the selected candidate is expected to be able to assess risks stemming from climate and environmental sources (e.g., biodiversity loss) and provide guidance to financial sector regulators and supervisors on how to manage these risks, while also being able to provide guidance to authorities on the development and deepening of green finance.
• Support the design of analytical frameworks and tools for measuring and assessing climate and environmental risks and opportunities for financial sectors.
• Support and lead engagements with external and internal partners. Key external partners include the FSB and NGFS, of which the World Bank is an observer. Internally, there is also a need to coordinate with various World Bank Group programmatic approaches, including in the context of IFC's 30 by 30 Zero Program and the World Bank Group's Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDR) . The selected candidate is expected to be able to represent the Bank during relevant events.
• Prepare and review reports on greening financial systems -coordinating with other FCI teams on green financial sector regulatory frameworks (including taxonomies, reporting etc.) and market development (green bond regulations etc.).
• Provide briefings to senior management on policy briefings related to greening financial sector work.

While the focus of this position is on greening financial sectors, the candidate should also have the flexibility to provide support to the broader work of the Financial Stability and Integrity unit when needed. This could cover the following areas:
• Support the unit's work in the area of banking regulation /supervision and financial stability, including (i) evaluating and making recommendations on banking regulation and supervision, (ii) analyzing international practices and emerging literature on specific issues related to banking and banking regulation and supervision, (iii) promoting the adoption and implementation of international best practice in client countries to foster the sound development of banking intermediation.
• Contribute to the preparation of FSB/G20 related work that are pertinent to the WB; this includes the preparation of interventions, memos, briefs, notes, reports for internal and external purposes covering a wide array of issues (including but not limited on Green Finance and Fintech related issues).
• Assist the FSB coordinator in delivering products above-mentioned in coordination with different front offices (MD-CFO, FCI Senior director and directors) and in liaison with the FSB team.
• Prepare written notes, papers, reports, etc. that analyze policy issues and implementation challenges, and advocate and support recommendations and good practices for banking, banking regulation and supervision.
• Participate in other forms of dissemination of policy analysis and recommendations on banking regulation and supervision, including via workshops, conferences, meetings.

Selection Criteria
• An advanced degree (Master's/PhD) in relevant area, for example Finance, Economics, Econometrics, Business Administration, Public Policy, Climate Change and Environmental Science. • At least 8 years of work experience in relevant industries, including exposure to the analysis of climate and environmental risks for the financial sector. The candidate's professional experience includes working for a financial sector authority (e.g., prudential regulator, supervisor, Ministry of Finance), an International Finance Institution, and/ or a financial institution.• Deep familiarity with r concepts related to green and sustainable finance, climate-related financial risks, financial stability, systemic risk, and financial sector regulatory frameworks.• Experience in assessing climate risks for the financial sector and / or integrating climate / ESG aspects in banking sector regulation and supervision. • Demonstration of interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in large and multi-disciplinary teams of specialists. • Strong project management skills, with capacity to work simultaneously on a variety of issues and tasks, independently adjusting to priorities. • Ability to use quantitative techniques to support analysis and policy formulation, preferably through a track record of policy or academic publications.• Excellent communication skills, specifically in writing and editing briefs, reports and preparing PowerPoint presentations. • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, as well as demonstrated ability to advocate positions and defend orally and in writing difficult issues and positions to government officials, WB management and others.• Familiarity with World Bank operations is desirable.

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.