The Social Protection and Labor Global Practice supports governments across the world in the design, financing and implementation of programs to help people and families find jobs, improve productivity, cope with shocks, invest in the health and education of their children, and protect the aging population. The World Bank supports social protection and labor programs in developing countries as a central part of its mission to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth.
The Eastern and Southern Africa Unit of the Social Protection and Labor Global Practice provides a variety of products and services to its 21 client countries, including investment and budget support operations, economic and sector work, reimbursable advisory services, and other technical assistance.
The Social Protection portfolio is experiencing particular growth in Southern Africa, which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These countries are at very different levels of development in their efforts to reduce poverty, ranging from low (Zimbabwe) to upper middle income (Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia) – implying a multitude of challenges and opportunities. The Social Protection program in this sub-region is accordingly complex and demanding.
Social Protection is high in the agenda of governments of the seven countries in the CMU, and the World Bank is playing an increasingly key role in supporting it through policy dialogue, technical assistance, investment lending, and analytical work. A new lending operational was approved in Zambia in FY15, in Lesotho in FY16 while a new project is under preparation in Botswana. In Swaziland, social protection is part of a multi-sector operation led by the Health unit. Extended analytical work is currently being supported in Botswana and Lesotho through Rapid Social Response Trust Fund grants, and has recently been completed or is under finalization in Zambia, Swaziland and South Africa. Finally, a recent initiative to support civil registration and identification systems linked to social protection is in place in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Lesotho.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 1 year term appointment.
Selection Criteria:
A Master’s Degree in relevant discipline (social policy, economics, public policy) with at least 5 years of professional experience in relation with social protection, preferably in the areas of social safety nets, poverty reduction or other related fields;
• Knowledge of and previous experience in the region is strongly preferred;
• Extensive field experience, ideally in Southern Africa, is strongly preferred;
• Conceptual and analytic skills: experience and expertise in the design, implementation and assessment of Social Protection & Labor programs. Ability to: (a) translate conceptual and analytical findings into practical operational applications and policy recommendations; and (b) communicate these findings effectively in a variety of technical and non-technical settings to influence policies, programs, and business opportunities are a must;
• Communications skills and team work: (a) ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments, to work in a team environment; (b) ability to operate independently with minimal direct supervision and support; (c) ability to work effectively and independently as a team member and as a leader alike, including in multi-sectoral teams; and (d) ability to share and disseminate relevant information with colleagues, clients and managers alike; and capacity to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders within and outside the Bank, with a strong client orientation are a must;
• Considerable experience in holding independent dialogue with Government counterparts, Donors and other stakeholders will be considered an asset.
• Excellent oral and writing skills in English.
• The individual should be able to handle multiple tasks effectively, meet deadlines, manage uncertainty, and adjust to a changing work program over a wide variety of low- middle and upper middle-income countries.
The SP Specialist should also have the following relevant competencies:
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Social Protection Knowledge and Experience – Has experience working on economic, institutional, and policy issues related to social protection, in different social and development contexts. Has expertise in one or more of the following: Safety nets, Social Insurance, and/or Labor.
• Integrative Skills – Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Client Orientation – Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results – Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion – Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication – Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making – Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.
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