Junior Professional Associate

at  IFC Systems Corporation

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.

JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATES – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Junior Professionals Associate Program (JPA) offers an exceptional opportunity for recent graduates to embark on a professional journey, providing a three-year contract with valuable work experience within a diverse and dynamic environment and the potential of field work experience. The program is an excellent platform to sharpen your existing skills and to develop new ones, all while gaining a profound understanding of the challenges associated with reducing poverty and fostering shared prosperity on a livable planet.
We will provide you with the opportunity to gain entry-level professional experience in a premier development institution, on an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) contract with benefits. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org/careers/jpa

The following are minimum requirements to be eligible for the JPA program:

• Be 32 years of age or younger
• Hold a bachelor’s degree
• Be fluent in English

The JPA program at the World Bank is a highly competitive initiative. Candidates who are being actively considered for positions may be required to present academic transcripts and professional references. The World Bank’s Human Resources team and hiring team will reach out exclusively to individuals selected for assessment and interviews.
Positions may be in any of the World Bank’s offices worldwide.

UNIT DESCRIPTION: THE EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA (ECA) REGION

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, because of the covid pandemic, 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. Knowledge is critical to the Bank’s value proposition to client countries in the ECA region in both lending and advisory services.
A predominantly middle- and high-income region, ECA continues to be at the forefront in confronting the numerous development challenges that countries face in the evolving global economy. The region is at the vanguard of building regional connectivity while having to manage the changing structure of the labor market. At the same time, digital technologies are changing the nature of work, populations are aging, and large migration flows have generated social tensions that have contributed to increased political polarization. These emerging trends threaten to reverse the region’s achievements in regional integration, poverty reduction and shared prosperity.
The ECA region is also vulnerable to climate change. It has a large potential to strengthen climate resilience and reduce its contribution to GHG emissions. Other important challenges affecting parts of the region include conflicts and domestic political instability. For more information on ECA, please refer to https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca

The ENB Unit in the ECA Sustainable Development Department (SCAEN) is seeking to recruit a JPA to be based in Vienna, Austria (with a possibility of another location as per mutual agreement). Working in close collaboration with colleagues in the Unit (a team of over 40 staff, more than half of which are based in various ECA countries), the specialist’s responsibilities will be to support a growing program of the ENB in ECA. He/she will work under the guidance and mentoring of senior environmental specialists in the Unit, reporting to the SCAE2 Manager based in Vienna.

The JPA will work closely with the ENB staff based in Washington DC, Vienna, and across ECA countries and other regions, as well as liaise closely with the Sustainable Development front office on regional strategic activities across the Practice Group, as needed. He/she will work on operations and analytical work related to climate change, green transition, and various ENB business lines, including air quality, pollution management and blue economy. More specifically, the JPA will:

• Contribute to technical assessments of green transition context in specific ECA countries, including review of sector policies and legislation, strategies, and action plans, analysis of data, etc.
• Support the work of the ECA Design for Climate (D4C) approach to mainstream climate action (including climate “co-benefits”) in various lending operations and strategic country engagements
• Contribute to work on the blue economy, air quality and pollution management and circular economy agenda in the region (with a focus on the Central Asia and Western Balkan countries)
• Provide technical input and serve as a team member of different analytical work on air quality and climate in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan; pollution management and blue economy in Albania and Montenegro.
• Contribute to design of air quality improvement operations in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, support formulation of relevant Prior Actions for Green Budgetary Support (DPOs and Cat DDOs);
• Contribute to the design and implementation of selected operations in Montenegro focusing on pollution management. Contribute to raising the profile of climate action, environmental sustainability, and green transition agendas through information sharing, exchange of knowledge / experience, and engagement in relevant communities of practice inside the World Bank.
• Keep abreast of relevant research and developments and their implications for client countries and share the knowledge with unit members.
• Coordinate and carry out other tasks as requested by the Practice manager, for example, organizing training or knowledge sharing events, activity-related reporting, and preparing management briefings.