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ย Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work 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. Visit www.worldbank.org.
REGIONAL/COUNTRY/GLOBAL UNIT CONTEXT
The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region comprises 30 extremely diverse countries, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Although ten of our clients have joined the EU and seven of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or lending services. Furthermore, in the midst of a crisis like the pandemic that we are experiencing now, some of the advanced countries re-engage with the Bank for additional support, including financial. ECA has a strong lending pipeline as well as a large and growing portfolio of Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS). Knowledge is critical to the Bankโs value proposition to client countries in the ECA region in both lending and advisory services.
ECCEU is the Country Management Unit (CMU) for World Bank operations in the European Union Member States. Management is decentralized, with the Country Director and Program Leaders located in Brussels, Belgium, with country offices in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland and Romania. As of July 1st 2024, the Warsaw Office will be one of the pilots for joint country representation for the World Bank Group.
The Poland Country Office manages a diverse lending and knowledge service portfolio aimed at strengthening Polandโs institutions so they can better respond to key challenges, including achieving ambitious climate and environmental commitments and generating sustainable economic development. Since the 1990s, the World Bank has been one of the most prominent development institutions in Poland, providing a total of US$16 billion in loans and implementing a number of advisory projects. Polandโs relationship with the Bank is a two-way knowledge collaboration.ย
Poland has made strides in strengthening its overall economic governance systems over the last three decades with key economic institutions for instance being able to put together a robust package of fiscal and monetary actions in 2020 that limited the GDP contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, economic and social institutions to manage key transitionsโdemographic, green, and digitalโneed to be developed further on the national and subnational level. To boost growth and reverse trends that are slowing down productivity and to further reduce inequality of opportunity in the future, Poland will need to navigate three imminent transitions that require it to simultaneously shift towards a green economy, adopt digital technologies, and adjust to the needs of an aging population.ย
Roles & Responsibilities:ย
The Operations Officer will be based in the Warsaw Country Office and will cover Poland.ย The Country Office works very closely with all manners of public institutions and development partners. As a key member of the Country Management Unit (CMU), the Operations Officer will have a substantive role in supporting projects and policy dialogue with key counterparts in Government, public and private institutions and development partners, country strategy formulation and implementation, portfolio quality enhancement, portfolio monitoring, business planning, and briefing preparation.
Client Relations:ย The Operations Officer will maintain regular relations and communications on portfolio and program issues with Government, ensuring timely and relevant information flows to and from counterparts, particularly the departments of the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Poland responsible for international cooperation.ย S/he will facilitate contacts between government officials and task team leaders.
Reporting and Brief Preparation:ย The Operations Officer will support the preparation of reports and management briefs on the Poland Program, especially for senior management meetings with the Polish authorities, for example during the Annual and Spring Meetings.ย This may require substantive analysis of operational, country and sector issues.
Partner and Stakeholder Relations:ย Together with the Head of Office and the Senior Operations Officer, the Operations Officer will support effective coordination with other donors and CSO in Poland.
RAS and EU-funded programs: The Operations Officer will be responsible to the Head of Office for coordination of legal agreements and deliverable timetable for EU-funded technical assistance programs (mainly DG REFORM and DG REGIO) and Reimbursable Advisory Services concluded with the Governments of Poland. S/he will work closely together with LEG and the ECADE unit in Brussels responsible for coordination with the European Commission.ย
Other activities: The selected candidate may provide support to GP teams, depending on profile and work load.
Selection Criteria
โข A Masterโs degree or equivalent in a relevant field/discipline (Economics, Public Policy, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering or other related discipline) and a minimum of 5 years of relevant and progressive development policy and operational experience, combined with a good knowledge of World Bank strategic directions.โข Excellent writing skills, with a strong command of English and Polish and ability to convey complex ideas in clear, direct and lively style.โข Strong and inter-personal skills with proven ability to work cooperatively with multi-disciplinary country teams, all levels of staff and managers, and development partners.โข Proven ability to juggle diversity of tasks within a demanding environment, and work under pressure when necessary.โข Strong client orientation and excellence in client management coupled with strong planning and organizational skills.โข Familiarity with operational issues and broad understanding of links to sectoral policies.โข Experience in capacity building, technical assistance and analytical services supporting government programs would also be an added advantage;โข Substantial knowledge of government processes in Poland would be an added advantage;โข Strong diplomatic, interpersonal and teamwork skills; sensitivity to working in a multicultural environment.โข Self-starter, conscientious and able to demonstrate initiative with a clear focus on results.ย โข Competence with basic business software and databases.
COS Competencies:ย COS_PFM_Criteria.pdf
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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