Financial Sector Specialist

Job #: req24602

Organization: World Bank

Sector: Financial Sector

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Location: Lilongwe,Malawi

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 10/30/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

The Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice combines expertise in the financial sector with expertise in private sector development to foster private-sector led growth and help create markets in client countries. FCI’s core lines of business are: (a) Financial Stability & Integrity; (b) Financial Inclusion, Infrastructure & Access; (c) Firm Capabilities & Innovation; (d) Long-Term Finance; (e) Climate & Risk Management; (f) Markets and Technology; and (g) Investment and Competition. For more information, please visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/fci

Eastern and Southern Africa: Home to about half a billion of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.

The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continues to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future.

The World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,207 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:

•  Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
•  Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030 – a vision that, if realized, can boost growth by up to 2 percentage points per year, and reduce poverty by 1 percentage point per year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.
•  Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support is helping governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
•  Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities. With the influx COVID-19, we are mobilizing financial support and timely analysis and advice to countries across the subregion deal with the pandemic.
•  Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption: In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure. A number of East African countries are currently facing a debilitating Desert Locust infestation, threatening the already precarious food security situation. The Bank has put together a program to help affected countries deal with the scourge.
•  Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
•  Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank is a dedicated partner for Eastern and Southern African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for Africa is a better future for the world.

This position is based in Lilongwe with a primary focus on Malawi and Zimbabwe. The World Bank has an active lending and technical assistance program targeting access to finance and MSME finance in Malawi. The development of the financial sector and support to MSME’s is a central part of the work of the World Bank FCI practice in Malawi. In Zimbabwe, the World Bank has a growing technical assistance and advisory program on financial sector development, with a focus on financial inclusion and MSME finance. The World Bank is also engaged with the government of Zimbabwe in the development of the Private sector. This position offers an opportunity to be an integral part of the Bank’s growing engagement in Malawi and Zimbabwe and representing FCI in a key role in this engagement.

Job Duties and Responsibilities: Amongst other tasks, the candidate will be expected to:

•  Contribute to the policy dialogue on financial sector development, task manage, and/or support the implementation of ongoing FCI lending projects, analytical and advisory services work with a focus on strong country outcomes.
•  Work closely with the Program Leaders/Country Economists and Senior FCI staff and CMUs to ensure the integration of relevant finance, competitiveness, and innovation sector issues in country strategies, SCDs/CPFs and work programs and country policy dialogue and engagement.
•  Develop effective coordination mechanisms internally with the Global Practices and externally with development partners and with IFC and contribute on behalf of FCI to activities/projects led by other GPs/units.
•  Produce technical notes, briefings, presentations, etc. as requested by Management.
•  Business Development: cultivate strategic relationships with country clients and the CMU and contribute to building the FCI engagement further in line with the CPF and country priorities.
•  Knowledge Management, and Teamwork: promote synergies across product teams, providing support through trouble shooting, anticipating problems and solving them. Facilitate learning across projects, regions and best practices.
•  Donor Collaboration: Support the partnership with the donor community and facilitate/participate in formal and informal meetings with key development partners, civil society and other stakeholders.

Selection Criteria

This job requires a Financial Sector Development (FSD) specialist with some knowledge of private sector issues and strong client relationship management, technical and operational (lending and ASA) skills. He/she will have demonstrated an ability to manage tasks independently and deliver results on the ground. The following qualifications will be considered: The following qualifications will be considered:

•  A master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Management or a related field and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience including of working in the private sector/financial sector.
•  The ideal candidate will have a combination of experience inside and outside the World Bank, and within the Bank have experience of preparing lending projects and ASA/AAA activities and have familiarity of operational policies on lending.
•  The ideal candidate should have strong proven track record, experience, and technical expertise in the following areas: financial stability, financial inclusion and deepening. Knowledge of climate finance and greening the financial sector will be a plus. Exposure in one or several of the key FCI areas: financial regulation and supervision, banking reform and bank restructuring, financial infrastructure, financial inclusion, digital financial services, MSME and housing/infrastructure finance, PPP financing.
•  Strong results focus, demonstrated ability to inspire confidence in senior country officials, and work in a culturally diverse environment.
•  Possess strong internal and external client engagement skills and ability to collaborate and work across boundaries and learn and bring new ideas in a challenging policy environment.
•  A track record of working on teams to deliver high impact projects and activities.
•  Verbal and written proficiency in English is required. Strong written communication skills for both policy dialogue and analysis.
•  Work experience in Malawi and/or other countries in Southern Africa and an understanding of the broader Africa regional context would be an added advantage.

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.