Operations Analyst

Operations Analyst

Job #:

req22268

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Operations

Grade:

GE

Term Duration:

2 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:

Local Recruitment

Location:

Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:

5/1/2023 (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, www.worldbank.org

Regional Context

The South Asia Region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) is at a crucial stage of development. Rapid economic growth, driven by urbanization and demographic dividend, has brought down poverty rates, but severe forms of exclusion and disparities based on ethnicity, caste, and gender remain. Rapid growth has also come with congestion and pollution in cities. South Asia is more than other regions affected by changes in temperature and extreme weather event. Additional challenges are that South Asia is underperforming in exports, has large informal sectors and low female labor force participation rates. All these challenges must be addressed to secure rapid growth in coming decades.

Private sector led growth, focused on investments in infrastructure, energy, logistics and cities are essential to generate the jobs needed to employ South Asia's sizeable youth population. At the same time, the region needs to continue building human capital so that South Asia's population is well equipped for the jobs of the future.

The World Bank in South Asia: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar

Country Context

Since the August 2021 fall of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis has worsened, with rising poverty and unemployment, and losses in education, health, and gender outcomes. 24.4 million Afghans require humanitarian assistance. The banking sector has collapsed, creating barriers to delivering humanitarian assistance. The flow of humanitarian assistance has been severely constrained by the lack of a functioning payment system.

From August 2021 until now, the international community's approach has evolved, with the recognition that a humanitarian response alone will be insufficient to address Afghanistan's challenges, provide essential basic services and sustain even a smaller economy.

The Bank's initial response (Approach 1.0) focused on providing financial support to immediate humanitarian response, specifically health and food distributions by way of transfers out to UNICEF ($100 million) and WFP ($180 million), respectively.

Approach 2.0 will make available just over US$1 billion in ARTF resources in calendar year 2022 in addition to the US$280 million in TOs provided in 2021. Approach 2.0 will focus on financing for delivery of essential basic services through off-budget recipient-executed grants to parties outside the control of the interim administration, in particular UN agencies, and potentially international NGOs (iNGOs). The Bank has also been working with international partners to establish a Humanitarian Exchange Facility (HEF) as a temporary measure to facilitate payments until a more permanent solution is found.

The Country Management Unit (CMU) is seeking to hire a well-organized, proactive, and motivated individual for the position of Program Assistant to provide administrative support to the teams in Kabul Country Office.

Role & Responsibilities:

The Operations Analyst (OA) will be expected to support and coordinate the programming and implementation of the Bank portfolio in Afghanistan. The OA will contribute to the dialogue with country counterparts, play a role in strategy development and implementation, monitor portfolio execution, and support technical teams in addressing operational issues. The OA will report to the Manager and will be an integral member of the Kabul team.

Operational Analyst• Participate in the preparation of Country Engagement products (Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), Country Partnership Framework (CPF), Policy Notes, etc.) and other CMU initiatives, including drafting sections of these documents• Review and screen relevant documents/reports for consistency with country strategies• Analyze portfolio trends, drivers, and performance• Verify and regularly update key operational timelines with task teams and proactively follow-up to ensure timeliness of activities• Review operational packages to ensure compliance with Bank policies and procedures• Support task teams by providing strategic arrangement of agendas, and joining key meetings and events to facilitate interaction and follow-up with government counterparts and Bank teams, as needed; and• Facilitate advice to task teams on processing operational documents for management approval.

Reporting and Brief Preparation• Produce responses to ad hoc information requests from internal and external parties (e.g., cooperation agencies and other international organizations);• Maintain a general brief with information on projects, results, general overview of the portfolio that could be used to prepare other materials such as briefs for senior management, articles, interviews, etc., and• Coordinate, under mentorship of more senior staff, country reports to management (e.g., Annual Meeting Briefs) and external agencies (e.g., minutes of Consultative Groups).

Client Relations• Take care of client representatives on issues identified by the country office team• Share knowledge with local staff on operational matters (policies, new guidelines); and• Field operational inquiries.

Selection Criteria

The successful candidate should meet the following selection criteria:

• Master's degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Social Sciences or other field related to development;• Have two or more years of work experience in a relevant field (e.g., public-sector management, financial analysis, etc.);• Have a basic understanding of Afghanistan's policy issues and priorities• Have basic knowledge of World Bank Group organizational structure and its goals (IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA), and a basic understanding of Bank's development initiatives• Have analytical and problem-solving skills which can be applied to conducting research under senior staff guidance, including identifying issues, and presenting findings/recommendations• Be able to deliver information effectively in support of team or workgroup• Be familiar with national & international development issues• Have project management skills, including knowledge and understanding of project management tools & methodologies• Be proficiency in both written and verbal communication in English• Be pro-active, flexible, and able to work independently, and have a background of working efficiently in teams• Possess strong interpersonal skills and ability to work reliably with internal/external partners and promote collaboration in a multi-cultural environment• Be familiar with operational issues and broad understanding of links to sectoral policies, are preferred.

COS Generic Competencies: https://tinyurl.com/y34lnxvu

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.