Job Description

Senior Public Sector Specialist

Job #:
req38004 Organization:
World Bank Sector:
Public Sector Development Grade:
GG Term Duration: 5 years 0 months Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment Location:
Dhaka,Bangladesh Required Language(s):
English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date:
9/11/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

This position is a part of the Japanese recruitment mission.

Build a career with impact. Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) provides a unique opportunity to help countries solve their greatest development challenges. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, the WBG is a unique partnership of five global institutions dedicated to ending poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the WBG works 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.

The South Asia Region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) is at a crucial stage of development. Rapid economic growth, driven by urbanization and demographic dividend, has brought down poverty rates, but severe forms of exclusion and disparities based on ethnicity, caste, and gender remain. Rapid growth has also come with congestion and pollution in cities. South Asia is more than other regions affected by changes in temperature and extreme weather event. Additional challenges are that South Asia is underperforming in exports, has large informal sectors and low female labor force participation rates. All these challenges must be addressed to secure rapid growth in coming decades. Private sector led growth, focused on investments in infrastructure, energy, logistics and cities are essential to generate the jobs needed to employ South Asia’s sizeable youth population. At the same time, the region needs to continue building human capital so that South Asia’s population is well equipped for the jobs of the future. 
The World Bank in South Asia: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar

Duties and Accountabilities

We are seeking an international Senior Public Sector Specialist for a five-year international appointment based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The selected candidate is expected to contribute substantially and/or lead operational and knowledge work in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

The Senior Public Sector Specialist will lead, supervise, and support the country program on public sector reforms. The Senior Public Sector Specialist will develop new operational and analytical initiatives and participate in cross-GP teams focusing on institutional reforms related to public sector performance and public administration.

The selected candidate will be expected to undertake the following tasks:

• Lead/co-lead engagement in Bangladesh and Bhutan on institutional reforms, public sector performance, revenue mobilization, and SOE reform.
• Lead and/or contribute to the analysis of public sector service delivery and performance.
• Provide thought leadership, analyze trends, and emerging lessons in public sector governance. Evidence of publications and/or reports will be an advantage.
• Provide knowledge products, tools, and data to speed-up and improve project quality, analytical work, and policy dialogue on public sector reforms.
• Lead and contribute to technical inputs to analytic work and advisory services, and/or supervising the preparation of analytical products (ASA) and other relevant technical reports to clients in close collaboration with the CMUs, relevant Task Team Leaders and sector experts within and outside the Bank.
• Support the corporate agenda through analytical inputs, briefs, and monitoring of the Bank’s corporate commitments on institutional reforms (e.g., under IDA and Financing for Development).

Selection Criteria

The successful candidate will be a professional with extensive experience on analytical, advisory and operational work in public sector governance areas relevant for this position.

• Master’s degree or PhD in public policy, public administration, economics, public finance, or related field.
• A seasoned senior specialist with a minimum of 8 years relevant experience in public sector governance.
• Demonstrated practical experience in public sector economic and governance reforms.
• A senior technical expert with significant knowledge and expertise in the following areas: public sector performance, public service delivery, public investment management, domestic revenue mobilization, digitalization of public administration, fiscal analysis and public expenditure management.
• Track record of authored or co-authored reports/publications in public sector issues.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the capacity to work in teams across organizational boundaries within a multi-cultural environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English is required.

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.