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.

Social Projection and Jobs

In the past few years, the WBG has stepped up efforts to mainstream climate change, which is a key barrier to the WBG’s mission of ending poverty on a livable planet, into its engagements with client governments and partner organizations. National social protection and labor programs help poor and vulnerable people prepare for and cope with rapid on-set climate shocks and slow onset events, as well as adapt to changing labor markets and prices, including those for food and energy, which can be affected by climate change policies. While there is growing recognition of the role played by social protection in responding to climate change, these programs are rarely featured in national climate change policies, and there is a need to strengthen the evidence based of their impacts, as well as an understanding of how their design and delivery can be modified to enhance their contribution to climate adaptation and mitigation.

The SPJ Global Engagement Unit is looking for a dynamic and highly motivated JPA to engage in the growing stream of work on climate change in the SPJ GP, which seeks to enhance the impacts of social protection projects for climate change adaptation and mitigation, while also seeking to better position social protection within national and international climate change policies. To this end, the JPA will support the SPJ Climate Change team through (i) enhanced data and analytics on climate change and social protection; (ii) new tools and methods to support task teams to integrate climate change into their country engagement; (iii) improved support operational teams to optimize the design and delivery of SPJ projects to achieve climate change objectives; (iv) greater knowledge sharing and convening within SPJ, across GPs within the World Bank and with international partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

It is anticipated that the JPA will support the SPJ Climate Change team, as follows:
• Enhanced data and analytics on climate change and social protection: the JPA will be responsible to support the preparation of various analytical reports, including case studies and practical experiences on established topics and exploratory papers series that lay the groundwork on emerging topics on social protection and climate change. This will include reviewing relevant international and national policies and programs; collecting, managing, and analyzing relevant data; performing statistical analysis; contribute to background papers, working papers, research reports, policy briefings, or other deliverables as required. The JPA will also contribute to summarizing knowledge and global best practice to meet the requests from task teams.
• New tools and methods to support task teams to integrate climate change into their country engagement: the JPA will be responsible to support the team to promote, share lessons, and tailor SPJ tools and methods to strengthen their use and application for climate change-related analysis, including the Social Protection Stress Test. This includes improving methods for contributing towards the corporate climate commitments (i.e. CCBs and CCDRs) related to social protection.
• Improved support to operational teams to optimize the design and delivery of SPJ projects to achieve climate change objectives: the JPA will support the climate team team to identify and develop opportunities for SPJ task teams to take advantage of international initiatives with regards to climate change. The JPA will play a key role in the GE Units enhanced support to operational teams to modify the design and delivery of projects to better achieve climate corporate commitments, which includes the production of guidance notes, leading capacity building activities, tracking progress and providing hands-on-support to task team. The JPA will coordinate the network of regional SPJ climate focal points and may provide cross-support to operational teams, if the opportunity arises.
• Greater knowledge sharing and convening within SPJ, across GPs within the World Bank and with international partners: the JPA will play a key role in the SPJ and Climate Change Community of Practice, as well as contribute towards the preparation of learning materials for the SPJ Core Learning Academy and Solution Services (SPJ CLASS). The JPA will contribute towards stronger coordination with other GPs in the World Bank on selected topics related to climate change. Additionally, the JPA will support exchanges with an international network of experts on SPJ and climate change, participation in international initiatives such as USP2030, and contributions to international events, such as the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) on climate change. Finally, the JPA will be responsible for producing material for the dedicated intranet site and regular newsletters to staff and provide inputs to the communication reports (e.g. newsletters, blogs).

Selection Criteria

o Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, climate change, or a related area.
o Technical knowledge in areas of social protection and safety nets, as well as knowledge of climate change and international and national climate change policies and commitments.
o Knowledge of the World Bank climate corporate commitments and previous experience in applying these commitments is an asset.
o Experience supporting capacity building of staff within large organizations is required, including developing and delivering train materials.
o Strong quantitative and qualitative skills, including:
• experience gathering, compiling, and processing data from various sources.
• skills in the use of excel and PowerPoint.
• ability to conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis, and prepare succinct narratives based on the analysis.
o Excellent written and oral communications skills in English.
o Experience and skills in communications and design are desirable.
o Strong organizational skills and ability to work under time pressure.
o Self-starter, with great attention to detail and accuracy.
o Ability to work as part of a team and across teams.

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.