Lead Partnerships Specialist Job #: req32962 Organization: World Bank Sector: Health/Nutrition/Population Grade: GH Term Duration:ย 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): French (desired) Closing Date: 5/13/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
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ย Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities โ the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.
The Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Global Practice
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The central contribution of the HNP Global Practice to the World Bankโs twin goals is to enable the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in which all people are effectively covered by essential health services, and nobody suffers undue financial hardship because of illnesses. In the quest for UHC, the HNP Global Practice is building on progress made in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals, an array of analytical and advisory services, strategic partnerships with partner institutions and other financing agencies, and an active lending portfolio. The HNP Global Practice includes staff members in Washington, DC, and many country offices.
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The HNP Global Practice is led by a Global Director, who has overall responsibility for the GP. The HNP Global Practice works with and across multiple sectors, in recognition of the fact that HNP outcomes often depend on actions that lie outside the HNP sector.ย Accordingly, a capacity to work across GP boundaries, forge coalitions and influence multi-practice solutions are essential for achieving the major objectives of improving HNP outcomes.
Global Financing Facility Context
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The global community has made considerable progress over the past 25 years in improving the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents. Rates of preventable death have dropped significantly in many countries and improvements have been seen across a range of key measures of health and well-being. But the progress has not been enough: too many women, children, and adolescents have been left behind, dying and suffering from preventable conditions, in considerable part because of a large financing gap, estimated at US$33 billion annually.
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The Global Financing Facility (GFF) embodies the worldโs commitment to ensuring that all women, children and adolescents can survive and thrive. Launched in 2015, the GFF is squarely focused on prioritizing and scaling up evidence-driven investments to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition in the worldโs most vulnerable countries through targeted strengthening of service delivery systemsโto save lives and as a critical step toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ย
The GFF has pioneered a country-driven, collaborative model for global health linked to sustainable financing and results. At the core of GFFโs model is the development and implementation of a government-led, prioritized and costed national investment case that lays out the pathway to scaling up universal access to a basic package of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services along with critical health financing and system reforms to accelerate progress toward UHC. By facilitating multistakeholder country platforms, the GFF supports its partner governments to mobilize and align both domestic and external funding behind national investment case priorities.ย
The GFF approach also enables other global health partners to achieve more by working better together and by empowering countries to lead. The GFF responds to developing countriesโ long-lasting call for global partners to align once and for all behind their national health plans and prioritiesโfostering a permanent shift in the global health and development assistance paradigm.
The GFF partnership is led by the GFF Director; the day-to-day management of the GFF team is the responsibility of the GFF Practice Manager. The GFF secretariat, which is based at the World Bank and is situated in the HNP Global Practice, works to deliver on the GFF objectives. This includes working with countries to develop quality investment cases, managing the GFF Trust Fund, technical assistance to regional teams, and support to the GFF Investors Group, the governance mechanism for the GFF.
Position introduction:
The position will work directly with the Head of the GFF Secretariat to lead the development and implementation of GFF strategies and policies, including strategy and policy formulation, their resourcing and the mobilization of the GFF Secretariat to ensure their implementation.
The overall objectives for this position are to:
โข Ensure that the GFF has strategies and policies that are fit for purpose which are developed and updated as needed through an inclusive process, that are adequately resourced and that GFF Secretariat staff and external stakeholders are mobilized to deliver.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Strategyย
โข Lead strategy development and implementation function of the GFF, including identifying and addressing strategic questions that will arise during the implementation of the strategy
โข Provide strategic and timely advice to GFF leadership and secretariat on development trends or sensitive issues, including reputational risk issues and/or strategic positioning opportunities
โข In coordination with the GFF external relation lead, act as a liaison between GFF and World Bank global units who work on issues relevant to the GFF mandate to ensure strategic alignment
ย โข Mobilize the GFF Secretariat for the consistent delivery of the strategy, working closely with other members of the GFF Leadership Team, notably colleagues responsible for program delivery and for results monitoring.
Policyย
โข Oversee the development of papers outlining options and recommendations for the Head of secretariat, Investors Group and Trust Fund Committeeโs consideration, and help the trust fund implement the GFF strategy
โข In collaboration with GFF technical teams, develop GFF strategic initiatives in support of GFF strategy and resource mobilization
โข Considering the ongoing GFF strategy development process, ensure that relevant GFF policies, tools and processes are adjusted to enable theย GFF to deliver on the new strategyย
Resource Mobilization
โข Lead the development of the resource mobilization strategies and its implementation, working in close collaboration with the Lead for External Relations.ย ย
โข Directly manage a team of GFF staff, as well as firms and consultants who will support the GFF resource mobilization strategy
โข Serve as Acting Head of Secretariat as needed.
Selection Criteria
โข Advanced degree in a relevant field, e.g., journalism, public health, health economics, or relevant discipline or equivalent work experience.
โข At least 12 years of relevant experience preparing strategy and policy documents and leading strategy related processes.
โข Proven ability to think strategically, to analyze information from a variety of sources and to work nimbly to ensure rapid and consistently strong positioning for a program or organization.
โข Track record of successful donor and other stakeholder engagement and of mobilizing resources commensurate with the GFF volumes of funding.
โข Extensive knowledge of the global health architecture and its political economy.
โข Extensive experience leading teams for impact, including extensive experience directly managing staff.
โข Knowledge of and experience working in/with the World Bank will be a strong asset.
โข Track record of producing high quality documents under tight deadlines.
โข Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; Ability to speak French an advantage.
โข Experience living and working in developing countries an asset.
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.
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