Job Description

Senior Health Specialist – Health Services

Job #: req38280 Organization: World Bank Group Sector: Health/Nutrition/Population Grade: GG Term Duration: Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP) Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Spanish, French Closing Date: 10/14/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

At 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 www.worldbank.org

The WBG Knowledge Bank

Launched in 2026, the Knowledge Bank is a WBG-wide transformation that integrates how the institution generates, shares, and applies knowledge across public and private sector operations. Its five Verticals—People, Planet, Prosperity, Infrastructure, and Digital and AI—bring together IBRD/IDA and IFC teams to develop enabling policies and scale proven solutions under a Managing Director-level Chief Knowledge Officer. This “One WBG” approach applies global expertise to country challenges and private sector opportunities through AI-enabled platforms such as Knowledge 360 and Data 360, and the WBG Academy, which helps policymakers and practitioners apply WBG knowledge.

People Vice Presidency (People Vertical)

The People Vice Presidency advances investment in people by delivering knowledge and public-private solutions to WBG teams and clients. It promotes equitable access to quality health care, education, and social protection so people can build and use their human capital throughout life.

The People Vice Presidency works with countries and global partners to:

• Provide affordable, quality health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030 through financing, knowledge, and partnerships.
• Halve learning poverty by 2030 and expand education and job-relevant skills.
• Close gender gaps, end gender-based violence, and advance women’s health, economic inclusion, and empowerment.
• Connect policymakers, enable cross-learning, and advance human capital investment and policy through the nearly 100-country Human Capital Project.
• Reach 500 million people with social assistance programs by 2030.
• Promote health, education, gender, and social policy investments that drive growth and jobs through better infrastructure, policies, regulations, and private capital.

The People Vertical scales effective solutions, strengthens thought leadership and innovation, and delivers timely knowledge to client teams. It draws on expertise from staff, clients, development partners, and civil society to tailor solutions to country needs. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/human-development

Global Health Directorate

The Global Health Directorate leads the WBG's health agenda, partnering with governments and the private sector to strengthen health systems, improve health outcomes, and accelerate progress to expand access to quality affordable health care. The Directorate provides intellectual leadership, technical expertise, and operational support to country teams working across the full spectrum of health systems challenges — from primary care delivery and health financing to health emergency preparedness and response and healthy longevity. Collaborating across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries, the Global Health Directorate supports regional teams to deliver on the Bank's corporate health commitments — reaching 1.5 billion people with quality, affordable health services and building resilience in 66 countries — while supporting the creation of more and better jobs.

The Global Health Directorate is led by a Global Director supported by two Practice Managers that oversee the Directorate’s two units — Policy & Regulations (P&R) and Solutions and Impact (S&I) — and a Front Office responsible for strategy, partnerships, risk management, external and internal engagement, and talent and budget management. A Central Project Coordination Unit (PCU) reports jointly to both Managers and serves as the operational bridge between the two units, managing portfolio and pipeline, Health Compacts, CPF upstream engagement, and regional outreach. Two cross-cutting layers — Methods, Impact Measurement and Innovation and Digital and AI — provide foundational technical support to all programs within the Directorate.

Health Solutions and Impact Team

The Health Solutions & Impact (S&I) team within the Global Directorate is responsible from the Knowledge Management and Learning (KML) activities for WBG Health operations and the private investment center of excellence (COE), which supports the private sector contribution to the WBG Health targets through IFC investments and advisory activities. Through a mix of global sector leads, sector specialists, investment and operations officers; the COE provides the strategic business development, processing, due diligence and advisory support working closely with the regional IFC teams.

The S&I team also houses the Private Sector Global Health Advisory Program, which comprises a robust set of tools to support healthcare companies in areas of health quality, ethical practices, sustainability, digital transformation and operational excellence. In addition to firm level advisory, the Health Advisory team delivers knowledge products and system level assessments to support overall development of health systems in these areas.

Role Overview

The Global Health Unit is seeking a Senior Health Specialist, with a strong understanding of how mixed health systems (public and private) work and rich operational experience in private health services in developing countries.

The Senior Health Specialist will be a key technical resource within the Solutions and Impact Team, providing specialized health-sector expertise throughout IFC’s investment cycle. The Specialist will also serve as a bridge health-system policy and private-sector delivery by translating government priorities and system constraints into viable private-sector solutions and bringing industry evidence and operational insights into policy dialogue, regulatory reform, country strategies, and WBG operations.

• IFC Investment and Advisory
• Provide due diligence support and input to investment documents and meetings as a technical specialist on IFC’s health services projects, including hospitals, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, health technology, and health insurance.
• Assess how a proposed investment fits within country service-delivery networks, referral pathways, workforce capacity, financing arrangements, and regulatory frameworks; evaluate both firm-level viability and potential system effects, including access, affordability, quality, equity, fragmentation, supplier-induced demand, and market concentration;
• Identify complementary public policy, institutional, or advisory actions needed to achieve development impact; and
• Conduct regular portfolio reviews and field visits to assess project health outcomes and compliance with sector-specific good practice standards.
• Identify opportunities and provide support for Advisory and WBG collaboration, where appropriate, to increase the impact of the projects at a system level
• Strategy, Knowledge Management and Thought Leadership
• Contribute to the development and refinement of WBG's health sector strategy, including identification of priority thematic areas and geographies for private sector investment and public private partnership with a specific focus on the replicable solutions under the Health Implementation Plan.
• Lead or contribute to analytical work on private sector health market dynamics, investment trends, and regulatory environments in emerging markets.
• Represent WBG in external forums, conferences, and working groups related to private sector health investment and global health financing.
• Author or co-author sector notes, working papers, and policy briefs that position WBG as a leading voice in global health.
• Develop and maintain knowledge products, including sector toolkits, investment guides, good practice notes, and case studies for use by WBG teams and clients.
• Contribute to internal learning events, training sessions, and communities of practice related to health sector investing.
• Contributing to the Health Public Policy & Regulation
• Contribute private-sector and implementation perspectives to health-sector diagnostics, policy dialogue, country strategies, Health Compacts, and upstream engagement.
• Advise on how health financing, purchasing and reimbursement, licensing, accreditation, competition, taxation, workforce, data governance, and quality regulation affect private-sector participation and health outcomes.
• Advise on enabling frameworks for mixed health systems, including strategic purchasing, contracting, public-private collaboration, provider regulation, referral arrangements, and accountability mechanisms.
• Translate policy and regulatory reforms into viable investment and advisory opportunities, while identifying affordability, equity, quality, market-concentration, and fiscal risks.
• Bring lessons from IFC clients and industry operations into policy design, and help private providers understand and respond to public-policy objectives.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s or advanced Degree in Healthcare management or related field
• Minimum of 8 years (15+ years strongly preferred) of international operational/managerial/consultancy experience with health services companies and familiarity with the regulatory, quality and operational aspects of health services businesses;
• Deep executive or operational experience in private health services, with demonstrated responsibility for business models, clinical quality, growth, investment, operational performance, or market entry in emerging economies.
• Demonstrated experience working at the interface of private health-sector operations and health-system policy, including direct engagement with ministries of health, finance ministries, regulators, public purchasers, social health insurance agencies, or development institutions.
• Knowledge of health systems in areas of health financing and strategic purchasing; provider payment and reimbursement models; licensing, accreditation, quality assurance, and patient safety; market and competition dynamics; workforce and service-delivery planning; digital health and data governance; and equity, affordability, and financial protection.
• Understanding and/ or experience in quality and ethical practices issues in the sector;
• Familiarity with WBG strategy, operations and toolkit for the health services
• Strong leadership track record, ability to manage and drive change with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Qualifications must include computer literacy in relevant scientific/technical software,
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal in English.
• Spanish and French language proficiency is highly preferred

WBG Culture Attributes & Competencies

The Senior Health Specialist Specialist is expected to embody and model the World Bank Group's core leadership values and culture attributes:

• Sense of Urgency: Proactively responding to stakeholder needs, driving momentum on strategic priorities, and removing bottlenecks to delivery without sacrificing quality.
• Thoughtful Risk-Taking: Challenging the status quo, testing new approaches, and supporting innovation within a framework of sound institutional judgment and accountability.
• Empowerment & Accountability: Holding oneself and the team to high standards of delivery, empowering staff to take initiative, and maintaining transparency with senior management on progress and challenges.

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.