Job Description

ETC- Social Development Specialist

Job #: req38801 Organization: World Bank Sector: Social Protection Grade: EC3 Term Duration: 1 year 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Bogota,Colombia Required Language(s): English, Spanish Preferred Language(s): Portuguese Closing Date: 11/12/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

At the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The consultant will provide senior-level technical and operational support to the Social Policy team in the Latin America and Caribbean region on social inclusion, migration, and forced displacement, working with a high degree of independence across the full project cycle. The assignment combines strategic advisory functions, high-level client engagement, and hands-on operational responsibilities across multiple countries and a diverse portfolio of lending and advisory operations. It requires a specialist with deep subject matter expertise, demonstrated capacity for independent technical judgment, and the ability to translate complex analytical findings into politically viable policy solutions and operational instruments.

On regulatory reform and institutional strengthening, the consultant will lead the production of high-quality analytical work — including normative gap analyses, comparative regulatory assessments, institutional diagnostics, and reform feasibility studies — ensuring outputs are technically rigorous and operationally grounded enough to support credible government decision-making. The consultant will advise government counterparts and task teams on the design, sequencing, and implementation of regulatory reforms that expand displaced populations' and other vulnerable groups' access to formal employment.

On policy dialogue and institutional coordination, the consultant will negotiate with government counterparts and internal clients on sensitive and complex issues related to regulatory design, reform prioritization, and institutional change, building the sustained relationships of trust with lead ministries and technical teams that are essential for navigating politically complex processes over extended implementation horizons. The consultant will support the design and strengthening of interinstitutional coordination, facilitating coherence between national policy frameworks and territorial-level implementation strategies across both national and subnational levels.

On new operations and resource mobilization, the consultant will identify, design, and contribute to the preparation of new lending and ASA operations that integrate social inclusion, migration, and forced displacement components into World Bank country programs across LCR. The consultant will also lead or contribute to resource mobilization proposals for bilateral donors and global trust funds.

On knowledge management, the consultant will lead or co-author policy notes, situation reports, working papers, and analytical briefs that generate and disseminate evidence on social inclusion, migration, and forced displacement in the region. The consultant will maintain updated operational knowledge of country-level dynamics — including evolving normative and regulatory frameworks, political economy conditions, and socioeconomic data on target populations — and will represent the Social Policy team in regional and global convenings, positioning the World Bank as a knowledge leader in this field.

On project implementation, monitoring, and reporting, the consultant will track implementation progress across active operations against agreed workplans, results frameworks, and milestones, flagging risks and bottlenecks and proposing corrective actions in a timely manner. The consultant will coordinate the preparation of progress reports, aide-mémoires, and implementation status updates, and will support the TTL in meeting donor and trust fund reporting requirements, maintaining up-to-date monitoring matrices and tracking disbursements and output delivery across project components.

Selection Criteria

Education and experience:

• Master's degree in public policy, social sciences, international development, migration studies, economics, or a related field. A combination of a Bachelor's degree and extensive relevant experience may be considered.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in social inclusion, migration, forced displacement, or related areas, with a strong track record in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and implementation of public policies and programs for the social and economic integration of migrants, forcibly displaced populations or other vulnerable population groups.
• Proven experience in institutional coordination with government entities at the national or subnational level, including work with Ministries, interinstitutional bodies, and subnational authorities.
• Experience in development finance, including the design of social inclusion components in lending operations or advisory services, and familiarity with resource mobilization from multilateral, bilateral, or trust fund sources.
• Prior experience working within or in close collaboration with the World Bank Group or other multilateral development institutions is strongly preferred.

Technical competencies

• Deep substantive knowledge of forced displacement and migration policy in Latin America, including legal frameworks (international protection, regularization, labor market access), institutional architectures, and operational realities.
• Solid understanding of social inclusion principles, territorial development approaches, and labor market integration strategies for vulnerable populations.
• Ability to produce high-quality written products in Spanish and English, including policy notes, technical briefs, project documents, and analytical reports.

Leadership and strategic skills:

• Proven ability to provide high-level technical advice and strategic guidance on complex operational and policy issues.
• Experience in working with multidisciplinary teams and coordinating across institutions and sectors.
• Strong capacity to engage senior stakeholders, including government counterparts, financial institutions, and development partners.

Communication and knowledge:

• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality analytical and operational outputs, including technical reports, advisory notes, and knowledge products.
• Experience contributing to knowledge generation, training, or academic activities is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of Portuguese is an asset.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

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.