AWCW3 Senior Operations Officer – Mali 

Description

Established in 1944, the 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 nearly 15,000 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). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions and fifteen Global Practices and five Global Themes to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.

Western and Central Africa is a region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles – marked by contrasts of stability and conflict; affluence and poverty.  Home to about half a billion people, it encompasses 22 countries stretching from the westernmost point of Africa across the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean to the Republic of Congo in the South. The sub-region is rich in resources and brimming of opportunities. It made impressive progress in regional cooperation and includes two monetary unions – the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) that cover 13 countries between them.

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. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back to the forefront the risks posed by weak health systems and poor surveillance. Many countries in the region that learned difficult lessons from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 are applying some of the lessons and using all existing instruments and expertise to curb the pandemic while prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable people.

The World Bank Western and Central Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,139 staff mostly based in about 22 country offices, is committed to helping countries to realize their considerable development potential and become more competitive in the global economy by focusing on the following priorities:

• Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
• Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030.
• Supporting more Efficient and Accountable Institutions: Our support is helping governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
• Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities.
• Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption:  In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure.
• Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
• Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

FCV Context

We are on a mission to change the world; do you want to join us where it matters the most? Invest in your personal and professional development and acquire the skills that are vital for a global career in international development?  A role in an FCS (Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations) location will be a truly impactful experience!

Fragility Conflict and Violence: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/fragilityconflictviolence

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

Country Context

The Mali team provides a wide range of financial, knowledge and convening services to help address this country’s most complex development issues.  The Country Partnership Framework is based on a combination of key pillars that aim at: (i) improving governance; (ii) creating economic opportunities; and (iii) building resilience. Each focus area encompasses two or three outcome areas supported by a knowledge and financing program whose selection was guided by government priorities and security challenges, binding constraints and knowledge gaps, realism and feasibility, and the WBG’s comparative advantage. Prior to the coup, the Bank dialogue with Mali focused on a robust FY21 delivery. The dialogue also consisted in the preparation of several engagement products, including a Systematic Country Diagnostic, a Country Private Sector Diagnostic, a Completion Learning Review, a Country Partnership Framework, and an Eligibility Note for accessing the Prevention and Resilience Allocation (PRA) under IDA 19. Our program of IDA credits and grants stand at $1.8 billion and leverages a multilateral and bilateral trust funds that co-finance our investments.

Our knowledge program is extensive, including a substantial focus on poverty reduction, human capital, vulnerability and resilience, governance and public sector capacity, competitiveness and employment, digital economy as well as other areas.  The Mali program also seeks to innovate in the use of financial instruments working closely with IFC whose portfolio amounts to US$40.8 million and MIGA, and relationships with Mali are active across the full WBG.

There is an 18-month transition government in place since October 2020 and the World Bank Group’s (WBG) engagement will be adjusted to reflect the new challenges facing the new government while maintaining support to addressing the country’s medium to longer term development challenges.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The Senior Operations Officer will work in close collaboration with the Country Director and the Operations Manager (OM) based in Bamako,  Mali, the Senior Country Officer (SCO) based in Washington DC and the other members of the CMU management and country team, on all aspects of the Mali program to ensure strategic focus, integration and consistency across and within the portfolio. More specifically (s)he will:

• Provide support to the Country Director and the Operations Manager in the Management of the country program management, including business planning and work program, monitoring of work program and budget implementation, quarterly reviews and progress reporting, quality review of the packages.
• Coordinate the Mali country work program with the CMU management team, Global Practices (GPs), other World Bank units and internal partners such as IFC, MIGA and IEG, as required.
• Play a key role in the Mali Implementation Support Team, which monitors portfolio implementation and tracks disbursements, procurement and financial management bottlenecks and works with task teams to ensure operations are implemented as planned; and help lead the preparation of the Country Portfolio Performance Reviews. Work with the OM, PLs and OO to analyze and monitor Mali’s work program delivery, portfolio and operational performance, quality and trends, and contribute to problem resolution with task teams.
• Make substantive contributions to country and sector strategies, lending and non-lending work programs; with support from the FCV unit, help ensure that technical and financial support to Mali is designed to respond to Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) recommendations and mitigate the risks of fragility and conflict; play a key role in the formulation and implementation of the Mali Country Partnership Framework (CPF)/Country Engagement Note (CEN), including the Performance/Completion and Learning Reviews (PLRs/CLRs); and assess sector and thematic issues in relationship with the broader country developments and the CPF/CEN.
• Monitor and interpret political, social and economic developments; develop and maintain understanding of country socioeconomic and political conditions.
• Coordinate or assist with the preparation of briefs and presentations, including for high-level visiting missions, special events, conferences and Annual and Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF; and oversee or assist with drafting or reviewing operational correspondence, including responses to official external queries.
• Serve as a liaison, coordination and integration point for the extended country team; provide guidance and advice on country developments, operational priorities and strategies as needed; help foster teamwork and cross-sectoral cooperation on program preparation and implementation; contribute to country team meetings and activities; and provide guidance or support to visiting missions to Mali and for the dialogue with country counterparts and development partners, as needed.
• Represent the World Bank at meetings with government, development partners and non-state actors on topics relevant to the World Bank Group’s program in Mali, as needed.
• Assist in country program management, including business planning and work program preparation, WPA budget allocation, monitoring of work program and budget implementation, quarterly reviews and progress reporting.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (Economics, Business Studies, Political Science, Finance, International Relations, or similar filed relevant to the Bank’s mission.)
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience with the World Bank or comparable institution. Thorough knowledge of World Bank operational policies and business practices.
• Proven ability to think strategically, and to apply this to the design and implementation of country assistance programs.
• Outstanding inter-personal skills with ability to work cooperatively with a multi-disciplinary country team, other groups throughout the World Bank, and development partners.
• Demonstrated initiative, leadership skills and drive for results, including ability to undertake diverse tasks within a rapidly changing and demanding environment on short deadlines.
• Strong problem-solving skills and solutions-oriented attitude.
• Political sensitivity and mature judgment; and ability to focus on big the picture, while not losing sight of details.
• Highly developed spoken and written communications skills; including the ability to draft concise briefs and reports and correspondence.
• Language proficiency in English and French (speak, read and write) is essential. 

Competencies:

• Project Management –Demonstrates in depth knowledge and understanding of the project management concepts, as they relate to the implementation of complex, multi-functional projects in varied geographical and economic conditions
• Portfolio Management –Leads the monitoring of country/sector strategy and work program ; Flags implementation issues for attention of clients and Bank management and takes a leading role in resolving these.
• Analytical and Technical Skills, Operational Strategy Development & Advice –Recognized by peers and/or managers for ability to identify and pro-actively solve operational issues and problems.
• Sector Dialogue – Able to conduct a dialogue with the client on familiar topics, with a narrow scope, based on a solid understanding of the sector.
• Bank Instruments, Policies, Procedures, and Systems – Recognized by peers and/or managers for providing high quality, pragmatic advice to teams on the appropriate use of Bank policies, procedures and instruments and financing mechanisms.
• Team Leadership –Leads teams to achieve challenging outcomes, providing a role model and enhancing the team-leadership skills of team members.
• Client Orientation – Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results – Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion – Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication – Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making – Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.

COS competencies – https://worldbankgroup.sharepoint.com/sites/hr/Documents/Career%20Management/Professional%20Family%20Mapping/COS_PFM_Criteria.pdf

If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 years 0 months term appointment.

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe

Applications:

For the FULL job description, selection criteria and required competencies, qualified candidates are requested to submit an on-line application at www.worldbank.org/en/about/careers. Click on > Current job openings > Search « req10129″.