Junior Professional Associate

at  World Bank Group

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. For more information, please 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.

SPECIFIC UNIT DESCRIPTION – EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA SOCIAL PROTECTION AND JOBS (HECSP)

Pensions in ECA: The Europe & Central Asia SPJ team has shaped the World Bank’s work on retirement security and well-being through flagship reports since the 90s and our strong technical expertise on pensions, and other age-related modeling. We are known globally for our frameworks, tools for financial projections, and our knowledge and institutional memory on pension reforms. Pensions in ECA are the largest individual public expenditure item and, given rapid aging in the region, fiscal pressures because of pensions are likely to remain. Expenditure on pensions in EU was equivalent to 13.6 % of the EU’s GDP in 2020 and approximately 7% in non-EU countries. ECA is also the oldest region in the world, with 14% of ECA’s population above age 65. The rapid aging of countries combined with net outflow of the working age population in select countries has fastened the fiscal strain because of pensions and heightened the need for further developing the Long-Term Care systems.
The World Bank is the partner of choice for countries across the region on topics of pension, AND social insurance Care given our institutional knowledge, reputation for sound unbiased technical assistance, and lending instruments to assist with implementation of pension reforms and administrative changes. The ECA SPJ team is looking for a JPA to assist teams with analytical and operational tasks on pensions.

The ECA Social Protection and Jobs unit is seeking a Junior Professional Associate (JPA) capable of supporting a high-quality engagement on pensions with client governments in multiple countries across the ECA region. This expected engagement comprises research, analytical activities, policy writing and support to knowledge generation and sharing, primarily related to pension design, administration, and reforms. Additionally, the selected candidate should be capable of using World Bank’s tools for pension analysis and be familiar with the actuarial underpinnings of those models. The assignment will entail direct engagement with client governments, working within World Bank task or project teams, at times in close cooperation with other international development partners and external stakeholders in client countries, as well as with other global practices and other parts of the World Bank.

Key responsibilities in this position for the unit and for the region would include:

• Providing analytical and modeling support to teams using the World Bank’s tools for pension analysis.
• Making substantial contributions to:
• Policy dialogue across pensions and related social protection areas with client governments.
• Preparation of concept notes and progress review documents of the team’s pension advisory services and analytics (ASA) activities and deliverables.
• Participating, as team member, in missions related to pension policy dialogue, pension model development, project preparation and project supervision.
• Engagement with development partners and staff across GPs with the objective of knowledge sharing and highlight key pension policy issues, challenges, and opportunities in the region.
• Coordinating and partnering as necessary with other global practices in advancing the social protection and jobs agenda and meeting key corporate, regional, practice, and country priorities.
• Core member of the Pension & SI Knowledge Exchange team and organizing events and seminars to facilitate, compile, and curate knowledge on pensions within the ECA SPJ practice.

The selected candidate will report to the Practice Manager, Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, Europe and Central Asia Region.