Senior Water Specialist

Senior Water Specialist Job #: req32628 Organization: World Bank Sector: Water/Sanitation Grade: GG Term Duration: 2 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Dhaka,Bangladesh Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 4/18/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

 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 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
As the world’s largest multilateral source of financing for water in developing countries, the World Bank is working closely with partners to achieve “A Water-Secure World for All,” by sustaining water resources, delivering services, and building resilience.
With a portfolio of water investments of US$41 billion, the World Bank is uniquely positioned to achieve the vision of a water secure world for all, developing and sharing global knowledge while amplifying the impact of lending through technical assistance on the ground. Within its broad mandate, the Water Department, housed within the Planet Vertical, which brings together the cross-cutting sectors of Water with Agriculture, Climate, Environment and Social Inclusion.
Read more about the World Bank’s Water Department at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water.
2030 Water Resources Group (WRG) is a global multi-donor trust fund, established with the aim of addressing water security through private sector engagement.  2030 WRG’s work is structured around three themes, namely (1) Water for Food, through climate-resilient irrigation, (2) Water for Environment to address water pollution and water use for catchment protection and restoration, and (3) Water for Cities, to support resilient city-regional water systems, balancing the demand and supply of water. 
At the country level, WRG's delivery model includes:
1. Support for evidence-based decision making through analytics and a macro framing of the national or sub-national/ state-level water challenges, building on World Bank and other analytics, 2. Establishment of country platforms for high-level convening to support enabling environment reforms and structured programs and solutions with private sector participation, 3. Design of Accelerator programs for large-scale implementation of private sector-led solutions, and4. Replication and scaling of solutions through alignment with the World Bank’s new Global Challenge Program on ‘Fast-Track Water Security and Climate Adaptation’.
Duties and accountabilities: 
The Water Specialist will be based in the World Bank’s Dhaka office in Bangladesh.  He/she will report to the Program Manager of WRG (based in Washington DC) and work closely with the Water Practice Manager for the region (based in Singapore) and country teams, the IFC team, the local country platform leaders, and partners from business, government, and civil society who oversee and support the WRG work in country.
Specific duties and accountabilities of the position include, inter alia:
1. Lead implementation of the WRG Bangladesh country program in alignment with the WRG Strategic Plan and Operational Plan, in active consultation with World Bank management and country teams and country partners. Support the Accelerator program in Bangladesh, focused on industrial and municipal pollution management, with core engagement of the WB, IFC, and MIGA in program delivery. The core theme of the Accelerator is on structuring public-private partnerships (PPP) and private capital mobilization (PCM).2. Support the Program Manager in identifying opportunities to scale-up WRG efforts in the region, such as expansion into new countries or new program areas while supporting existing country work in Bangladesh.3. Participate as an active member of the World Bank’s Water operational team in Bangladesh on lending operations and Analytics and Advisory Work as agreed with the Practice Manager (up to 40% of work program).  This will involve close collaboration with the project teams and active contribution to advancing the WBG water engagements, focused on industrial and municipal pollution management, by contributing to the new Dhaka Water Security program (under preparation4. In coordination with WB’s water team, lead the production of high-caliber analytical products and technical assessments in line with program needs and priorities and ensure that they are rigorously quality-assured following regular WBG procedures5. Fundraise and bring in new partners, including funding partners at the regional- and local levels, to ensure the financial sustainability of the regional and country programs and effective budget management.6. In coordination with the water team, participate actively in Regional, Unit and Global Solution Groups (GSGs) meetings of the Water Global Practice, and Country Management Unit (CMU) meetings and activities and closely coordinate with all relevant groups in the World Bank, IFC and MIGA to ensure alignment and visibility of WRG internally and externally.7. Work closely with the water team and the broader country team to ensure alignment of activities to World Bank priorities and participate in joint activities and missions as required. 8. Work closely with the WRG Communications team to strengthen 2030 WRG visibility, thought leadership, and impact globally, regionally and at the country level, including through investor conferences and other high-level convening opportunities.9. Engage with and maintain close ties with all WRG partners in the country, particularly government and private sector.

Selection Criteria

1. Master’s degree in a Water-related field, including, Environment, Economics, Finance, Engineering, Business Strategy, and/or Business Administration. 2. At least 8 years of regional and country-level work experience in program management, financing/business development, private sector development, public-private partnerships or water and other environmental issues, with relevant experience in supporting private sector-driven solutions.3. Clear understanding of the technical and policy drivers of the water sector and the political economy of reforms.4. Demonstrated track record of successfully leading regional and national-level transformational programs and delivering large-scale public-private partnership initiatives in water/sanitation/environment/ sustainability issues. 5. Well-established networks among key individuals and organizations associated with the water, climate, and environment agenda, ideally across public, private, and civil society sector activities in Bangladesh.6. Proven ability to work with senior business leaders, technical staff in the World Bank Group or equivalent in other international organizations, senior-most government officials (at the Minister or Principal Secretary level), non-governmental organizations, as well as with representatives from grassroots organizations and academia.7. Excellent teamwork and team membership skills, with proven capacity to contribute to activities and engagements led by others, providing valuable constructive technical inputs whilst working collaboratively with a range of other professional colleagues.  8. Outstanding verbal and written communication skills in English; proficiency in other local languages including Bengali is desirable.9. Direct experience and/or familiarity with the current and potential country partners of WRG is highly desirable.

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.

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