Job Description

Manager, Sovereign Risk

Job #: req37198 Organization: World Bank Group Sector: Risk Grade: GH Term Duration: 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 6/30/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions driven by a bold vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, we help solve the world’s greatest development challenges. When you join the World Bank Group, you become part of a dynamic, diverse organization with 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide. We work with public and private sector partners, invest in groundbreaking projects, and use data, research, and technology to bring tangible and transformative change around the globe. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The WBG Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Vice Presidency is the core unit responsible for Group-wide institutional risk oversight, including establishment and monitoring adherence to risk policies and guidelines and risk assessment and reporting to the Board and executive management. Its mission is to enable and support the WBG to achieve its goals in a financially sustainable manner. The VPU assists management with identifying and managing Group-wide cross-cutting risks, enhancing risk response decisions, reducing financial and operational surprises and losses, seizing opportunities and improving deployment of capital. The WBG CRO Vice Presidency includes the IBRD/IDA, IFC, and MIGA risk teams and covers a wide range of financial and non-financial risks.

The Credit Risk Department (CROCR) of the CRO VPU provides country risk ratings for the entire WBG (IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA), as well as banking sector country risk ratings and corporate sector country risk ratings for IFC. It is responsible for ensuring that the World Bank's credit risk exposure is commensurate with the risk appetite of stakeholders, consistent with IBRD and IDA’s triple-A credit rating requirements and strikes the appropriate balance between development and financial sustainability objectives. The department manages the country credit risks inherent in IBRD and IDA’s loan and guarantee portfolios, which are the most predominant risks on IBRD and IDA’s balance sheets given the World Bank’s development mission. The department is responsible for IBRD and IDA’s Capital Adequacy Frameworks, as well as prudential country credit risk management policies that seek to ensure consistency of country lending plans with risk policies and capital adequacy through the country Exposure Management Framework. The department also develops and manages risk-transfer mechanisms including new innovative instruments to enable an increase in the Bank’s financing headroom (such as shareholder and MDB guarantees, Enhanced Callable Capital, MDB Exposure Exchange Agreements, etc.).

The Department consists of two teams – the Sovereign Risk Team that assesses and monitors individual country risks and overall global and regional development trends that affect WBG countries, and the Portfolio Risk Team that is responsible for assessing and managing IBRD and IDA portfolio and balance sheet risks, including stress testing, loan loss provisioning, and capital adequacy, as well as risk-mitigating instruments.

Duties and Accountabilities

This Manager will be responsible for overseeing the Sovereign Risk Team and its work program and report to the Director of the Credit Risk Department. The Manager will supervise a team of professional staff with the following main responsibilities:

• Lead the department’s country risk rating work and ensure high-quality delivery:

o Assess country credit risks and assign internal credit ratings used by all WBG entities (including ratings that reflect Preferred Creditor Status and those that do not), as well as Banking Sector country risk ratings and Corporate Sector country risk ratings for IFC.

o Ensure rating methodologies are robust, clear and up to date, and meet all WBG entities’ requirements.

o Oversee the country rating processes, ensuring high-quality robust analysis and consistent application of the rating methodologies by all country rating staff. Manage the rating group discussions of individual countries and derivation of final rating recommendations.

o Engage with external auditors to respond to any queries related to country risk ratings.

o Actively pursue measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the country risk rating process.

• Monitor overall global and regional development trends that have implications for country risks, including conducting stress tests (e.g. macroeconomic, climate, natural disasters, etc.) and assess implications for country risk ratings.
• Monitor countries that are vulnerable to crises, including payment arrears to the World Bank; Serve as Secretariat to the monthly meetings of the Short-Term Risk Monitoring Group and oversee the preparation of the report.
• Participate in the Paris Club meetings and brief the Paris Club members on the economic situations in countries of interest based on input received from relevant country teams, in collaboration with other World Bank representatives and the IMF.
• Oversee country creditworthiness assessments and ensure robust methodologies and process.
• Contribute to the IBRD Country Exposure Management processes including assessing country limits reallocation requests, in close collaboration with the Portfolio Risk team and OPCS. Support country teams in managing country exposures in line with the IBRD Exposure Management Framework.
• Prepare high-quality briefings to Senior Management. Develop effective dashboard, reports and tools.
• Contribute to other department, VPU, corporate initiatives and goals.

People/Talent Management:

• Model exemplary WBG leadership values and managerial behavior.
• Drive and encourage technical excellence within the team by creating an environment of learning and innovation that attracts and develops the best talent reflective of the diversity of our clients.
• Coordinate and support the management in developing and implementing appropriate staffing strategies, staff learning and development as well as career progression and talent and performance management.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s or PhD degree in Economics or another relevant field, with a minimum of 12 years of directly relevant professional experience.
• A seasoned macro economist with broad and deep experience with developing country economics and credit risk analysis. Deep understanding of the various factors that affect World Bank client countries’ country credit risks, including IBRD and IDA’s Preferred Creditor Status. Ability to guide staff on macroeconomic modeling work, including on stress testing.
• Familiarity with the World Bank’s country engagement model and financial instruments. Previous experience working in the World Bank or another MDB’s country operations is desirable.
• Knowledge of sovereign debt issues, including debt restructuring, is desirable.
• A conceptual and strategic thinker who also fully grasps technical details and nuances.
• Ability to develop sound and practical methodologies and policy frameworks.
• Excellent communication skills. Ability to write and speak clearly, succinctly and convincingly, for various audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills. Ability to build effective partnership with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including resolving conflicting views and forging consensus.
• Strong leadership, managerial and organizational skills, ability to effectively plan and allocate resources to deliver the team’s work programs in a timely manner with high quality, including responding to unexpected urgent tasks. Commitment to innovations and process improvement, including utilizing the latest new technologies.
• Interested and skilled in people management and building a high-performing team.
• Excellent work ethic and results focus, with a “can do” attitude.

Note: This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

WBG Managerial Competencies

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

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.