Job #: req38553 Organization: World Bank Sector: Social Development Grade: EC2 Term Duration: 0 years 6 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): English Closing Date: 10/23/2026 (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. Visit www.worldbank.org.
Home to about 700 million of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.
The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continues to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. 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 World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,207 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities: (i) creating Jobs and Transforming Economies, (ii) building up the Digital Economy, (iii) making institutions more Efficient and Accountable, (iv) investing in People, (v) supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption: (vi) addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence; (vii) Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent.
Eastern and Southern Africa (E AFR) Region: https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/region/afr/eastern-and-southern-africa
The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest provider of development finance and solutions for human development working with high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to develop country-tailored solutions for human development (HD) under the themes of education, health, social policy and gender. The HD PG coordinates with other Practice Groups to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to development challenges, and through the World Bank Regional Units is expected to deliver the strongest and most pertinent support to our client countries.
The People Vice Presidency (HDVP) at the World Bank Group is made up of the Departments for education; health and social policy. Additionally, the HDVP houses the gender group. As such, HD is central to the World Bank Group’s goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and raise shared prosperity.
The World Bank Group’s Gender Strategy 2024–2030 (“Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet”) prioritizes concerted action and financing at scale to (i) end all forms of gender-based violence and strengthen human capital; (ii) expand and enable women’s economic opportunities, including more and better jobs and greater ownership and use of economic assets; and (iii) advance women’s leadership and participation in decision-making, including by widening access to enabling services. In AFE, this agenda is advanced through operations and analytics that address binding constraints for women and girls—especially gender-based violence—and strengthen accountability for gender outcomes across the portfolio. Complementing World Bank engagement, IFC is scaling investments and advisory services in AFE to increase access to finance for women-led SMEs, promote women’s participation and leadership in firms, and strengthen gender-smart business practices across priority sectors and value chains.
Across Eastern and Southern Africa, gender platforms coordinate and support country and sector teams to systematically advance women’s and girls’ empowerment across the portfolio. Led by the Social Protection Gender Team and anchored in close coordination with Country Management Units and sector teams, the platforms work directly with operational teams to identify and operationalize entry points to strengthen gender equality in design and implementation; generate and disseminate user-oriented country analytics (including gender and GBV assessments and operational good practice notes) to inform client dialogue and policy engagement; and deliver client capacity building through training, partner coordination, and outreach to champions in government, development partners, and civil society. Through these functions, the platforms accelerate implementation of the WBG Gender Strategy 2024–2030 and the AFE Regional Gender Action Plan by translating strategic priorities into concrete operational support, while also strengthening results focus and accountability by helping teams meet and track corporate commitments reflected in the Corporate Scorecard.
HAESO seeks to hire an ETC that will be a core member of the AFE Socia Protection gender team. In this assignment, the ETC will serve as a technical lead, providing analytical and operational support to integrate gender considerations across country strategies and portfolios; advising and supporting Task Teams on gender tagging and gender-informed project design from concept through implementation; maintaining regional portfolio monitoring and reporting tools; identifying and promoting good practice operations; delivering trainings and participating in relevant technical discussions with teams, clients, and partners; and producing and disseminating knowledge products (e.g., toolkits, good practice notes, scorecards, blogs, and learning materials) to strengthen cross-sector learning, communications, and capacity building across the region.
Selection Criteria
Integrative skills: demonstrates ability to think and work across WBG, practices and sectors • Integrates divergent viewpoints of multiple external and internal stakeholders into a coherent project/program/ strategy • Considers corporate commitments (e.g., MFD, climate, gender) in project approach
Policy Dialogue skills: possesses political judgment, diplomatic acumen, and negotiating skills • Builds and sustains key stakeholder relationships with government and other key stakeholders • Guides clients and/or development partners in identifying key operational issues and optional solutions with a demonstrated ability to bring together different perspectives
Knowledge and Experience in Development arena: demonstrates sound knowledge of World Bank Group’s Twin Goals and the complementarities among different World Bank Group member institutions • Demonstrates deep understanding of policy making process and the role of own sector of expertise in that process • Fully understands Bank’s development initiatives and policies and practices related to l ending and non-lending operations • Guides research efforts and translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies and for discussions with clients and development partners • Anticipates client needs and requests and guides the development/ offering of relevant tools to clients.
Communication and Influencing Skills: demonstrates the ability to influence and persuade others to accept ideas and suggestions (such as counterparts in government, international partner organizations, academia, and Bank colleagues, senior staff and managers). Has ability to communicate and defend, orally and in writing, challenges and positions to colleagues and management
This is a locally recruited position, not an internationally recruited position. As a result, the conditions of employment will be in line with the employment market in the country where the position is located.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
As per WBG policy, an Extended Term (ET) appointment is subject to a lifetime maximum of three (3) years. Former and current ET staff who have completed or are in the process of completing their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.
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.
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Our vision is to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
We are not a bank in the common sense; we are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 189 member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Each institution plays a different but collaborative role in advancing the vision of inclusive and sustainable globalization. The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world's poorest countries.
Their work is complemented by that of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Together, we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture and environmental and natural resource management.
