Urban Specialist ETC
Job #: |
req28083 |
Organization: |
World Bank |
Sector: |
Urban |
Grade: |
EC2 |
Term Duration: | 1 year 0 months |
Recruitment Type: |
Local Recruitment |
Location: |
Yaounde,Cameroon |
Required Language(s): |
French/English |
Preferred Language(s): |
|
Closing Date: |
7/12/2024 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC |
Description
Established
in 1944, the World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the world’s largest sources of
funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG
committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to
its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional
finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and
delivers services out of 120 offices with more than 16,000 staff located
globally. The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: The International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development
Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre
for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). IBRD and IDA is organized
into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions,
and – as of July 1, 2014 – has introduced fourteen Global Practices (GPs) as
well as five Cross-Cutting Solution Areas (CCSAs) to bring outstanding
knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients. For more information,
visit www.worldbank.org.
The
“Urban, Resilience and Land” (URL) Global Practice
Urbanization
is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Cities generate 80% of global GDP and
are key to job creation and the pursuit of shared prosperity. Yet one billion
city residents live in slums today, and by 2030 one billion new migrants will
arrive in cities. This concentration of people and assets will exacerbate risk
exposure to adverse natural events and climate change, which affects the poor
disproportionately. The absence of secure land tenure underpins deprivation and
is a major source of conflict in the urban and rural space. One and a half
billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence. In
the absence of services, participative planning and responsive institutions,
these trends will result in increased poverty, social exclusion, vulnerability
and violence. Finally, avoiding a 4-degree warmer world requires drastically
reducing the carbon footprint of cities.
The WBG is
in a unique position to support national and sub-national clients to: harness
urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and
poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the
responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local
governments – cities, municipalities, and rural districts – to deliver local
infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and risk
management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up
access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint
of cities. The WBG brings a combination of lending ($7-8 billion in annual
lending to cities), analytical and advisory services (e.g., social inclusion
flagship, urbanization reviews, Sendai dialogue), its growing portfolio of
reimbursable advisory services, its convening power (e.g., understanding risk
and the land conferences), its leveraging capacity (e.g., guarantees and risk
mitigation), and its ability to work with the private sector to tackle the
challenges at scale and to effect.
The GPURL
covers a wide range of development areas: (i) developing green, inclusive and
resilient cities; (ii) enhancing urban and rural development through supporting
and managing the urban-rural transition, assisting local development through
developing land tenure, management and information systems; and (iii) assisting
in disaster risk management through issues of risk assessment, risk reduction
(including flood management, urban drainage, coastal management, and
retrofitting of infrastructure), disaster preparedness (including hydromet
services, early warning systems, and civil defense), risk financing (including
Cat DDO), and resilient reconstruction (including post-disaster damage and loss
assessment).
Regional and
Unit Context
Urbanization
in Sub-Saharan Africa is occurring at an unprecedented pace. The share of
Africans living in urban areas is projected to grow from 38 percent in 2016 to
almost 60 percent by 2040, translating to an additional 40,000 new urban
citizens every day until 2040. The region’s urbanization rate, one of the
highest in the world, can lead to economic growth, transformation and poverty.
However, many cities in Africa still have not fully captured the benefits of
urbanization and poorly managed urbanization have exacerbated existing
infrastructure challenges, resulting in increased inequality, urban poverty,
proliferation of informal settlements and vulnerability to hazards. Adverse
natural events present a serious obstacle for achieving sustainable social and
economic development, particularly in vulnerable regions as Sub-Saharan Africa.
Disaster affects the poor most severely; unplanned human settlements, unsafe
building practices, high population densities, economic growth, and
accumulations of assets in risk prone areas has dramatically increased exposure
to hazards and increased disaster loss. Climate changed has the potential to
significantly worsen the situation.
To this end,
the West and Central Africa (AFW) Urban, Resilience and Land Units brings together
a wide range of important and interrelated development and financing
instruments to support national and sub-national clients to: harness
urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and
poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the
responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local
governments – cities, municipalities, and rural districts – to deliver local
infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and disaster
risk management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence;
scale-up access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon
footprint of cities.
Position context
The West
Africa sub-region harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many
of its countries fragile. This creates a huge development challenge which
compounded with other natural shocks like floods and droughts, impacts heavily
on the lives and livelihoods of people. But it also creates an opportunity to
work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and
young people to chart a brighter course for the future. The WBG’s experience in
Africa offers important source of insight, drawing on an array of lessons learned
from multi-sector operations in FCV or disaster-conflict nexus situations.
The AFW
Urban, Resilience and Land Units brings together a wide range of important and
interrelated development and financing instruments to support national and
sub-national clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land
management in support of both growth and poverty reduction; foster social
inclusion of marginalized groups; support the responsiveness and fiscal,
financial, and management capacities of local governments – cities,
municipalities, and rural districts – to deliver local infrastructure and
decentralized services; strengthen resilience and disaster risk management
related to natural hazards; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up access to
finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of
cities.
SAWU4 Unit
is seeking a highly qualified and motivated Urban Development Specialist (ETC) with
strong civil engineering expertise and demonstrated operational experience in
managing urban development and infrastructure operations. The Urban Development
Specialist (ETC) will be based in Yaounde, Cameroon and will report to the
SAWU4 Practice Manager based in Accra. He/She will work across the Urban and
DRM program in the area of urban development and infrastructure; with a
particular focus on the Central Africa CMU (Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Republic of Congo). He/She will be expected to provide
technical leadership in operational and analytical tasks, including but not
limited to the preparation and implementation of lending operations,
operational and analytical projects, contribute to teams within the unit and
beyond, co-lead cross sectoral and multi-sectoral urban development and
infrastructure engagements across various global practices, and support the
further development and implementation of the urban and resilience building
programs through a range of Bank instruments and engagement modalities. Given
the multi-GP nature of the urban agenda, the Urban Development Specialist (ETC)
is expected to demonstrate the highest collaborative competencies, working with
colleagues across the range of technical areas within the unit and, equally
importantly, from other GPs.
The
assignment will primarily focus on operational projects in Cameroon and Gabon,
with flexibility based on business demand. The term of this ETC position is for
one (1) year, with a possibility of extension based on business demand and the selected
candidate’s performance.
Roles and
Responsibilities
The Urban Development Specialist (ETC)’s
responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to the following:
• Provide substantive contributions to engagement in urban
development, urban infrastructure, and resilience through existing country
programs and provide technical support towards the promotion and implementation
of the urban and resilience agenda, including through participation in the
Bank’s dialogue with clients and CMUs.
• Provide technical and thought leadership on urban
development and infrastructure topics, including in maintaining engagement with
a range of stakeholders within the Bank, and with government clients and
development partners across the region.
• Lead or co-lead technical review, technical assistance,
global knowledge sharing, and capacity building related to civil engineering for
urban development, infrastructure and resilience with the client and development
partners, and within the World Bank Group in the AFW region.
• Provide technical and substantive inputs task
operational and analytical activities as part of the Urban and DRM program in
AFW, including preparation and implementation support and documents towards
lending operations and implementation of cutting-edge analytical instruments
and knowledge products.
• Contribute to regional and country level policy
dialogue and just-in-time advisory work in urban development, infrastructure, and
resilience.
• Work closely with national and sub-national clients to
respond to urban development and infrastructure challenges through lending
operations and analytical work particularly towards the mainstreaming of the urban
agenda and addressing infrastructure gaps in national and subnational policy
development, planning, and budgeting.
• Contribute to business development in the urban
development, infrastructure, and resilience areas by identifying key opportunities
and priority areas for engagement and by conceptualizing, preparing and
implementing urban solutions both in the operational and analytical realms.
• Participate in professional development and knowledge
sharing activities related to green, resilient and inclusive infrastructure
development, particularly on urban development and urban infrastructure topics,
and contribute specific knowledge both within the assigned countries and across
the various World Bank units
• Contribute to and support cross-sectoral dialogues in
AFW countries from an urban perspective and provide inputs towards just-in-time
advisory work.
• Provide substantive inputs to dialogue and technical
tasks from an urban development, infrastructure and resilience perspective for
the preparation of country strategy documents and the SAWU4 unit’s operational
and strategic documents.
• Work with colleagues at various levels and positions in
support of various urban operations, analytical undertakings, national and
sector policy reviews and recommendations, including identifying suitable
consultants and firms, and managing and supervising consultants' reports and
outputs as applicable.
Selection Criteria
• Advanced degree from a reputable institution related to
urban development such as civil engineering, water resources management, urban
planning, economics, climate, or similar field with at least 5 years'
professional experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong civil engineering experience and expertise in urban
infrastructure, preferably in urban transport and/or hydraulic engineering.
• Operational
experience with the World Bank and/or other international financial
institutions, ideally including with substantive experience in
designing/implementing World Bank lending operations.
• Track record of
delivery of client-oriented solutions, hand-holding support to low-capacity
clients, and technical reviews related to urban infrastructure.
• Strong professional
experience in West and Central Africa is preferred.
• Familiarity with
the Bank’s engagement in fragile, conflict, and violence (FCV) countries and
regions.
• Demonstrated teamwork
skills including working with complex, cross-sectoral teams for emergency or
crises response, and urgent deliverables.
• Strong
communication skills, including the ability to write quickly and concisely on a
variety of topics in a well-structured manner and deliver complex concepts and
messages orally in an understandable and compelling manner with a range of
stakeholders.
• Ability to think
innovatively and strategically during problem solving for the Bank in a range
of context of political economies, while maintaining a strong client focus.
• Demonstrated
capacity to effectively engage in policy dialogue with World Bank clients.
• High energy and
demonstrated interest and experience in achieving impact through operational
and analytical work.
• Demonstrated
experience to work with teams in a collaborative manner.
• A proven ability to
work flexibly on a range of assignments, adjust to changes in schedule and
priorities, and juggle concurrent tasks effectively and efficiently.
• Demonstrated
ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong written and
oral communication skills in French and English, with demonstrated ability of
making effective presentations to diverse audiences.
WBG Core
Competencies:
• Drive for Results: Takes
personal responsibility for producing high quality work, identifying and
informing of risks, and delivering results for clients
• Lead and Innovate:
Brings new and different insight; applies critical thinking to current
approaches, identifies areas for improvement and tries new solutions that drive
results
• Collaborate Within Teams
and Across Boundaries – Keeps others fully informed to ensure integration and
work consistency and displays a sense of mutuality and respect.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge
– Actively contributes to and readily applies WBG’s body of knowledge for
internal and/or external client solutions
• Make Smart Decisions –
Leverages available data and makes timely decision; seeks and analyzes facts,
data and lessons of past experience to support sound, logical decisions
regarding own and others’ work.
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.
Note: If the selected
candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Regular or
Open-Ended appointment, they will retain their Regular or Open-Ended
appointment. If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff
Member with a Term appointment that expires later than the end date of this
appointment, they will retain the duration of their current Term appointment.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
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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Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET appointment of three years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.