Senior Social Development Specialist-Social Inclusion and Sustainability

Senior Social Development Specialist-Social Inclusion and Sustainability

Job #:
req19274

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Social Development

Grade:
GG

Term Duration:
4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):
English, French

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:
10/14/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and 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 387 projects totaling more than $44.1 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

The Sustainable Development Practice Group helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food; Climate Change; Environmental and Social Framework (ESF); Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy; Social Sustainability and Inclusion; Urban, Resilience and Land Development; and Water.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSION GLOBAL PRACTICE

The Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice helps countries tackle deep rooted social problems stemming from fragility, climate change, exclusion, and the digital age with people centered solutions that build on local values and institutions. The Practice engages with citizens, communities and governments to deepen resilience, build inclusion, and empower vulnerable and marginalized groups to have influence and voice. It prioritizes participatory, multi-sectoral approaches that build on norms and informal institutions to address social challenges and to build more inclusive, empowered communities. The Practice also works across the Bank's portfolio to implement the Environment and Social Framework (ESF) standards. The ESF offers an overarching platform for fostering inclusive approaches to ensure vulnerable groups benefit from Bank investments and mitigate against related risks.

The Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice has adopted a new strategy that aims to promote inclusive sustainable development anchored on three pillars:

• Social Inclusion: enhancing opportunities for equality and inclusion of all people irrespective of income level, geography, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation or other grounds of discrimination; advancing inclusive laws, regulations, policies and institutions; and investing in access to markets and services for hard to reach and marginalized groups living in lagging regions.
• Social Resilience: strengthening social risk management for social sustainability; enhancing social cohesion and opportunities in fragile communities; strengthening social resilience to climate extremes and natural hazards; and supporting emergency response and an inclusive recovery from covid-19.
• Social Empowerment: supporting community empowerment for more effective service delivery; fostering accountable governance including from the bottom up; and promoting community-driven women empowerment and livelihood support programs.

POSITION

The Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice (SSI GP) has a growing work program in West and Central Africa, encompassing project loans and grants, advisory and analytical programs and active partnerships supporting a wide range of engagements focusing on fragility, conflict and violence (FCV); social cohesion and resilience; women empowerment and gender equality, social inclusion, citizen engagement and social accountability; and social risk management.

SAWS1, one of the two SSI GP units in West and Central Africa, is looking to recruit a Senior Social Development Specialist/ Social Sustainability and Inclusion Specialist to lead our operational engagement in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana Country Management Units (CMUs). The selected candidate will be based in Washington D.C and will report directly to SAWS1 Practice Manager. S/he will be expected to work closely with the CMU and task teams in the country, as well as with other Global Practice teams, Global Solution Groups and Global Theme teams specializing in Gender and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV).

Duties and Accountabilities

The Senior Social Development/Sustainability and Inclusion Specialist will be responsible for managing the planning of large, complex, and strategically significant activities currently led/co-led by the SSI GP. She/he will provide oversight, coordination, and strategic guidance for the implementation of activities according to agreed work plans and corresponding deliverables. She/he will also coordinate the implementation of the activities in the broader context of World Bank's contributions to assigned country and regional development priorities.

In particular, (s)he will focus on the following specific areas:

• Lead/support country and regional engagement on key SSI operational and policy priorities in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana CMUs. This will also include playing a central role in cross-portfolio efforts to enhance Bank support for implementation in challenging high-risk environments.
• Actively engage in efforts to promote evidence-based approaches and policy updates to foster social cohesion, conflict sensitivity, community empowerment, resilience, and violence prevention.
• Lead/advise and support task teams and counterparts on technical options for social development programs and operations, on the full range of social development topics, including social cohesion, citizen engagement, social inclusion, women empowerment, gender and youth, with a particular focus on lagging and/or FCV-affected regions, access to services, community-based service delivery, social accountability mechanisms.
• Provide technical support and actively participate in operational and policy engagement related to gender equality and women empowerment.
• Contribute to develop new areas of focus and operational business around social development issues.
• Develop and lead analytical work that informs the social development aspects of key policy and operational decisions in areas such as gender equality, social inclusion, poverty reduction, social resilience, and local service delivery.
• Contribute to the elaboration of strategies, project concept and policy analysis relevant to the Social Sustainability and Inclusion Practice; Participate in cross-practice teams responsible for the preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics, Country Partnership Frameworks, sector studies, and research and policy development activities on the full range of social development topics.
• Lead/participate in missions and supervise Bank-financed projects as a technical expert and/or Task Team Leader; interact with clients at the operational and policy level.
• Guide and mentor junior staff; Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure consistency and conformity to Bank operational policies.
• Support and actively participate to the Bank-wide professional community of staff engaged in social sustainable and inclusive development by participating in thematic groups, exchanging best practices, and drafting technical notes.
• Contribute to the Unit's briefs, blogs, strategy documents, and papers on critical social development issues for both internal and external audiences.

Selection Criteria

This position is suited to constructive, highly motivated team players with an eye for detail, understanding of the bigger picture context of operations, and creative problem-solving abilities. The successful candidate should have strong operational and analytical skills, have practical experience handling complex/sensitive social development issues through participatory processes of stakeholder engagement, and be able to integrate social development considerations in an operational context.

• Master's degree or PhD in social sciences (gender studies, anthropology, sociology, social development, public health, conflict and violence prevention etc.)
• A minimum of 8 years of operational experience in the areas of social inclusion, social resilience, community development, women economic empowerment.
• Demonstrated team leadership experience and deep knowledge in the areas of community empowerment, social inclusion, gender and women empowerment, forced displacement, citizen engagement, local service delivery, community driven development, fragility, conflict and violence in low- and middle-income countries.
• Proven project management experience with World Bank IDA and/or IBRD lending operations, policies, procedures and processes; experience with leading design and implementation of social development programs including women empowerment and gender equality, social inclusion, Community Driven Development and livelihoods support.
• Strong organizational skills, with ability to prioritize, deal with frequent and unexpected changes, and work within tight.
• Experience with managing operations in low capacity, fragile and conflict-affected environments, working on complex multi-sectoral development challenges and working in a federal system.
• Knowledge and experience in addressing issues covered by the World Bank's ESF and social safeguards policies in complex and challenging settings, and across practices.
• Demonstrated ability to translate analytical work into policy advice and actionable, practical recommendations.
• Experience in contributing to high-level strategic decisions and technical support to government counterparts, policy makers, beneficiaries, community-based organizations, and development partners on effective approaches to close gender gaps.
• Proven capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, international organizations, development agencies, government counterparts, beneficiaries of Bank projects, and civil society organizations; ability to effectively negotiate and build consensus to achieve constructive outputs.
• High level of energy, initiative, and self-motivation; willingness to travel and work under challenging circumstances.
• Demonstrated ability to work across practices, work in cross-thematic teams, foster teamwork, and mentor junior staff.
• Outstanding interpersonal, communication, problem-solving, and team skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced solutions to complex development problems, with a strong client focus; Proven track record in communicating complex issues in a clear and concise manner to different stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and writing skills in English and French essential.

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.