Senior Water Specialist at World Bank Group

Duties and accountabilities: 

• The Senior Water Specialist will be based in the World Bank’s Pretoria office in South Africa 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 Ethiopia) 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.
• The specific duties and accountabilities of the Senior Water Specialist will include, inter alia:
• Lead the implementation of the WRG South Africa 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 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 South Africa.
• 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 procedures.
• 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.
• Develop a strategy to leverage opportunities for resource mobilization at the country level, including tapping into World Bank Group and external Trust Funds.
• 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.
• Work closely with country teams to ensure alignment of activities to World Bank priorities and participate in joint activities and missions as required
• Work closely with the WRG Communications team to strengthen 2030 WRG visibility, thought leadership, and impact globally, regionally and at the country level
• Engage with and maintain close ties with all WRG partners in the respective countries, particularly government and private sector.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in a Water-related field, including, Environment, Economics, Finance, Engineering, Business Strategy, and/or Business Administration
• 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.
• Clear understanding of the technical and policy drivers of the water sector and the political economy of reforms.
• 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
• 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 South Africa.
• 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.
• Team leadership skills, with proven capacity to supervise, coordinate, and motivate team members in complex, highly decentralized, and matrixed organizational settings and manage regional and country budgets and work programs
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills in English; proficiency in other local South African languages desirable.
• Direct experience and/or familiarity with the current and potential country partners of WRG is highly desirable.