New Openings at World Bank Group

• Lead and manage advisory and analytical activities in urban mobility in South Africa  
• Support the Practice Manager, the Regional Director in further developing and/or revising transport strategies. 
• Engage with, advise and provide guidance to clients in designing and advancing transport policy and institutional reforms and capacity building programs in urban transport, seeking to develop capacity in the implementing entities to plan, develop, and manage transport projects. 
• Participate in the policy dialogue with external stakeholders and development partners under the guidance of the Country Director/Management, the Practice Manager, and the Lead Transport Specialist 
• Advise government counterparts on technical matters associated with urban transport projects, the formulation of policy, and measures to strengthen institutional arrangements.
• Facilitate project implementation including providing procurement and contract management support and advice to project implementing agencies.
• Provide support to improve the quality of urban transport projects in general, through peer reviews, technical advice, and quality assurance.
• Participate in cross-sectoral teams responsible for preparation of policy notes, Country Partnership Frameworks, public expenditures reviews, sectoral studies, and research and policy development activities on the topics/sections pertaining to the transport, urban development, trade and competitiveness, and environment sectors.
• Support World Bank-wide professional community of staff engaged in the transport practice by participating actively in the Global Solutions Group on Urban Mobility and drafting of technical notes, and supporting cutting-edge work in collaboration with other global practices to enhance knowledge creation and dissemination, and expanding the existing knowledge base;
• Represent the World Bank at public events relevant to the sector.
• The Transport Specialist will be based in the World Bank’s Pretoria office.  She/He will report to the IAET2 Practice Manager. Her/His activities will be identified with the Practice Manager and adjusted based on business needs. She/He will also be a larger part of the transport team in South Africa and liaise and work with other global practices and cross-cutting solutions areas, as relevant, and ensure appropriate collaboration and partnership between Government, the World Bank Group, and other international and bilateral organizations involved in the transport sector in the southern Africa sub-region.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced degree (at least Masters or equivalent) in transport planning/transport economics/transport engineering or other related disciplines
• Sustained record of achieving high-quality substantive results in the transport sector over a period of at least 5 years.

Proven experience in the transport sector, with demonstrated ability to work on at least three of the following areas:

• engaging public sector leaders in urban transport;
• developing and implementing public transport improvement strategies;
• formulating and engaging on transport policy or frameworks;
• transport demand modelling and forecasting;
• transport data analysis for compliance and ongoing monitoring;
• implementing complementary road, traffic management and/or non-motorized transport plans;
• transformation of informal public transport modes;
• activities related to implementing integrated public transport networks and subsidy policies;
• sustainability and green transition projects within public transport;
• mitigating demand and sustainability risks during public transport start-up and operational phases; and
• project management, team leadership and client relationship management
• Experience in working with cross-sectoral teams, including teams for safeguards and fiduciary aspects, and knowledge of key cross-cutting issues that impinge on the performance of the transport sector and on which the development of transport sector infrastructure and services needs to create positive effect, including environmental and social impacts, land acquisition and resettlement, gender equality, road safety, climate change, and the interplay with digital technologies for enhance transport sector performance.
• Proven track record of design and implementation of transport programs, and experience of working on programs financed by the World Bank or other development partners, multilateral or bilateral, is a plus. 
• Familiarity with the challenges facing the transport sector in Sub-Saharan Africa would be an advantage. 
• Proven ability to build client relationships involving multiple stakeholders, to discuss transformative transport policies or reforms.
• Good oral and written communications skills.
• English essential. 

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Role & Responsibilities: 

• The IO’s work will involve the implementation of advisory mandates of a variety of types, including business development, interactions with clients, supervising consultant hiring, preparing and delivering presentations, overseeing financial modeling and due diligence, leading transaction structuring and the drafting of bidding documents, managing bidding processes, and interaction with investors towards closing deals. Duties will include, but will not be limited to:
• Contribute to origination and marketing activities across the Southern Africa region (SA), managing marketing activity in assigned countries/strategic areas, including collaborating with other WBG teams to identify opportunities based on country strategies and market creation potential;
• Develop new client relationships and project leads in SA region;
• As appropriate, undertake project scoping to assess feasibility of potential projects, and lead the origination and marketing activities, e.g. supervision of proposal preparation, mandate negotiation with clients, etc.;
• Lead the day-to-day management of project preparation leading teams working on sell-side PPP mandates, including review of legal and technical outputs, documentation and financial models; 
• Prepare/review memos and documentation for internal approval, manage consultant procurement processes, and project budget;
• Manage consultants e.g. legal and technical and review their outputs;
• Understand possible legal and regulatory impediments for private sector participation in the working countries/sectors and work closely with the WBG relevant teams to overcome these;
• Develop transaction structure options for the PPP projects, providing innovative and practical solutions and present these to management and clients;
• Participate/lead meetings with government clients and investors;
• Organize and manage the tendering process of projects, including marketing, support to the Government procurement entities in the definition of the prequalification criteria, elaboration requests for proposals, selection and project award and, as appropriate, the final negotiation of project agreements leading to closing of deals;
• Develop, coach, motivate and manage the junior members of the team;
• Actively participate in the development and implementation of upstream activities in line with IFC 3.0 to create, deepen and expand markets with the regional and global team from across IFC and the WBG;
• As appropriate, support the SA Hub Lead and SA TL group on sub-regional strategy, origination activities, and HR/staffing related matters;
• Potential support/intervention on Corporate Finance mandates, both in terms of origination as well as execution that may include the preparation and delivery of pitch presentations to companies, reviewing and advising on corporate structure, balance sheet structure, valuation, prospectus review, corporate governance, etc.
• As appropriate, coordinate with different WBG groups to assess opportunities for PPPs in the WBG operations;
• Support knowledge management by helping to disseminate PPP and CFS knowledge and experience and,
• Assist in other project or strategy related activities as the need may arise.

Selection Criteria

• MBA or equivalent Post Graduate degree in business, finance or economics;
• Solid and relevant experience of at least 10-12 years gained either in project finance, corporate finance, M&A and privatizations, or private equity funds in infrastructure;
• Minimum 3-4 years of experience of sell//buy-side M&A advisory is considered a plus;
• Knowledge of infrastructure trends and experience in infrastructure transactions/PPPs preferably in  Africa;
• Business development track record and ability to focus on clients’ needs effectively;
• Strong track record in preparing and closing infrastructure transactions;
• Strong existing relationships with government officials and investors in the infrastructure space, Africa being preferred;
• Client relationship skills, experience and ability to interact independently with senior government officials, development partners, investors and the many stakeholders of infrastructure projects;
• Ability to manage teams in multiple transactions, delivering high quality work within deadlines meeting team objectives; 
• Strong analytical and financial modeling and structuring skills and demonstrated ability to:
• Lead a variety of transaction advisory, including debt and equity transactions;
• Independently develop financial models and sound financial analysis to support structuring solutions;
•  Structure/restructure transactions with prudent and sustainable risk sharing among all parties.
• Proactively address and resolve client challenges with a solution-focused approach, effectively engaging decision-makers.
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently (written and oral);
• Ability to operate in large, culturally diverse and geographically dispersed teams;
• Proven experience building productive relationships and fostering open communication across diverse teams and organizations to share knowledge and resources.
• Strong commitment to project success, delivering work with high standards, and proactively seeking opportunities for improvement and innovation.
• Ability to work under pressure, travel on short notice and frequently
• Highly motivated, committed to the highest ethical standards; and
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Portuguese.