Practice Manager

Practice Manager Job #: req30452 Organization: World Bank Sector: Infrastructure Grade: GH Term Duration: 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 11/29/2024 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC Description Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile?
Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) 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 emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs); 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 .
Infrastructure Vice Presidency Globally, one billion people live more than 2 kilometers from all-weather roads, 685 million people lack electricity, and nearly 4 billion people lack internet access.
Access to basic infrastructure services is critical for creating economic opportunities for the poor.
The Infrastructure (INF) Vice Presidency within the World Bank is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies.
It currently consists of four global departments: Energy & Extractives (EEX); Transport (TRA); Urban, Resilience and Land (URL), and the Global Infrastructure Finance Department (IFD).
It oversees the Bank's work across energy and transport sectors, urban development, as well as efforts to promote energy transition, low-carbon transportation, livable cities, disaster risk resilience, land management, and quality infrastructure services through public-private partnerships.
Infrastructure represents around $110 billion of the Bank's portfolio.
For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/infrastructure Infrastructure Finance Global Department The Infrastructure Finance Department (IFD) supports the WB's efforts to increase private sector engagement in sustainable, inclusive, and quality infrastructure across EMDEs.
Private participation in infrastructure (PPI) encompasses a range of operational and financial models, from established PPP structures, such as shared public and private ownership financed through availability and concession payments, to full private ownership of infrastructure projects supported by public sector financing to enable commercial viability as well as affordability of service provision.
IFD engages with governments and private clients across this spectrum, designing tools that optimize public resources and WB financing to enable greater private investment.
IFD works across the infrastructure finance life cycle from (i) upstream advice on strategic prioritization and planning for infrastructure investment programs, support for policy and regulatory strengthening, and institutional capacity building; (ii) midstream funding for project preparation, including analysis of the most appropriate financing models; and (iii) downstream advice on structuring alternative options to public finance that incentivize sustainable private sector participation.
In doing so, IFD helps Bank teams and client countries to design programs that encourage private investment and ultimately expand private capital mobilization (PCM) and private capital enabling (PCE) results.
PPP Unit Overview Within the IFD department, the PPP unit is a center of global expertise, providing advice on policy reform and financial innovation to support private solutions in public infrastructure projects.
Staff in the PPP Group work closely with other WB Departments, as well as IFC and MIGA, the private sector arms of the WBG, in the following areas: • Financial innovation and leadership on the private capital mobilization agenda .
PPP Group experts lead efforts to develop models of deploying public sector financing to maximize sustainable private sector participation in infrastructure projects.
This includes the innovative use of WB financial instruments to reduce risks and improve the bankability of projects, thereby driving greater private capital mobilization.
• Capacity Building and Regulatory Reform .
The PPP Group supports the design of government policies to attract private sector participation, including guidance on upstream reforms, PPP ecosystem development as well as pipeline development for private participation models.
The Group also supports the development PPP institutions, builds country capacity, and develops tools to promote transparency.
• Risk Management .
The PPP Group provides policy advice on manage risks arising from private participation models including on issues related to fiscal commitment and contingent liabilities, transparency and disclosure.
The PPP Group engages in countries to assess the fiscal costs and risks arising from PPPs, including contingent liabilities (through the PPP Fiscal Risk Assessment Model (PFRAM)).
• Infrastructure Analytics .
The PPP Unit assesses infrastructure priorities and identifies binding constraints on delivery, through analytical tools including the Infrastructure Sector Assessment Program (InfraSAP).
The InfraSAP provides an agile yet sound basis for deploying World Bank financing to leverage private finance.
Downstream of this diagnostic, PPP Group experts combine grant resources and financing to support policy reforms and sector restructuring as well as project and financial structuring.
The PPP Group also houses the Analytics team which produce several PPP flagship knowledge initiatives, including the PPI Database, the PPP Procurement Benchmarking, the PPP Fiscal Risk Assessment Model (PFRAM) for valuing and managing contingent liabilities and fiscal exposure from PPPs, alongside a range of other tools, operational standards.
Duties and accountabilities: IFD is recruiting a Practice Manager for the PPP Group who will manage a team of technical experts to structure and disseminate global expertise on enhancing private participation in infrastructure projects.
The practice manager will be part of the IFD management team.
Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: • Provide strategic direction to help the PPP Group create enabling environments for sustainable private participation models -including developing robust country policy, legal, and institutional frameworks that are embedded in sound public investment planning and fiscal risk management, and developing governments' capacity to procure and implement well-structured, bankable and affordable projects that offer value for money; • Manage the teams and advise them on preparation and execution of advisory work and technical assistance with focus on (i) creating and supporting country/regional strategies to increase private sector participation, (ii) prioritization and planning of infrastructure investment, (ii) strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks, (iii) enabling infrastructure, social and other PPPs and (iv) enhancing government institutional capacity; • Manage and lead engagement with World Bank Group Country Management teams to define strategic approaches to supporting clients in the use of PPPs and other forms of private participation in infrastructure to achieve development goals, including through the origination and delivery of infrastructure sector assessments (InfraSAPs) which in turn lead to Bank operations such as those described above; • Manage and lead the team on the development of innovative PPP related knowledge products, practical cutting-edge tools and diagnostics; evaluation of the Bank's PPP engagement and extract strategic lessons for effective support to PPPs and private participation in infrastructure; • Take a leading role in the World Bank's effort to enable and mobilize private capital in support of the WBG's commitment to Maximize Financing for Development, collaborate with GPs, Regions, IFC and MIGA to provide intellectual leadership on private capital mobilization and enablement by supporting the GPs and Regions in their effort to increase PCM at project and portfolio levels, and manage the PCM-PCE team supporting the GPs and Regions in their effort to increase PCM and providing training to task teams to support Bank-wide capacity on the PCM agenda and in close cooperation with OPCS.
• Take a leading role in the World Bank's engagement on PPPs in international and regional forums, and with other multilateral and bilateral development institutions.
• Take a leading role in developing working relationships with donors and MDBs as needed.
• Oversee development of the PPP Group global engagement focusing on supporting corporate priorities as they relate to MFD/PCM, the climate agenda taking into account the GRID approach.
• Support as part of IFD management team on corporate priorities and different requests for inputs for INF VP and WBG senior management.
• Support IFD in developing and implementing appropriate strategies for global staffing, deployment, talent and performance management.
Be accountable for managing team members' performance and mentoring/guiding team members on their career paths.
• Oversee development and implementation of PPP Group budget and ensure delivery of targets especially in terms of securing country engagement (CE) contributions, cross-support collaboration, and recovery from external resources.
Reporting: The Practice Manager for the PPP Group will report to the Global Director of the Infrastructure Finance Department.
Approximately, 25 staff members report to the Practice Manager.
Selection Criteria • Advanced university degree(s) in a relevant discipline such as finance, economics, public policy, business administration, engineering, law.
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant professional experience as a practitioner in the infrastructure finance, PPP, and/or infrastructure policy-making fields, or an equivalent combination of post-graduate education and experience.
Previous private sector experience in EMDE infrastructure in project finance, corporate finance and/or investment banking is preferred.
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills with established track record managing multi-location and virtual teams.
• Ability to manage programs with a strategic vision and strong operational focus.
• Experience in the management of trust funds, global programs and/or financial intermediaries.
• Proven experience in resource development.
• Record of encouraging a culture of innovation, shared learning, risk taking, and accountability.
• Must be a results-driven, strategic planner and implementer, adept at building consensus in order to move projects from concept to implementation.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to lead and prioritize a variety of complex evolving tasks.
• Extensive experience in translating technical knowledge into practical application in developing country contexts.
• Demonstrated achievement of results - through building a culture that consistently delivers high-quality products and services to clients and through engaging others in implementing strategies that have long-term impact.
• Strong problem-solving skills and sound business judgment to identify issues and present creative and practical solutions.
• Highly motivated, committed to highest ethical standard, ability to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries.
• Superior communication skills, with ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing in a logical and comprehensive yet concise manner.
• Excellent inter-personal skills, ability to constructively solve conflict situations and proven ability to lead from behind and to mentor.
• Fluency in English is required; Proficiency in another of the WBG official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) would be an advantage.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively.
Technical Competencies: • Proven practical experience in developing and implementing PPP strategies, policies, and/or projects (preferably including working from a public sector perspective, obtained from within a government or public sector entity, development finance institution, management consultancy firm, or similar entity).
• World-class understanding of international experience and good practice with respect to PPP project preparation, structuring, and transaction management, as well as legal, policy, and institutional frameworks for PPPs and other forms of private participation in infrastructure, and of relevant aspects of broader public investment and fiscal risk management.
• Understanding of various innovative financing solutions.
• Extensive operational background and experience in translating technical knowledge into practical application in developing country contexts.
• Proven ability to engage with clients and work across organization and disciplinary boundaries as well as with multiple stakeholders to build collaborative alliances for results.
Evidence of close collaboration within FD with sector teams, other Global Departments, country teams as well as within WBG.
WBG Managerial 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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