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.

Specific Unit Description – Social Sustainability and Inclusion, Global Practice

Global development is at an important crossroads. Despite remarkable gains over the last several decades, a growing number of challenges threaten to reverse development gains and jeopardize the prospects for continued progress. These include rising inequality and erosion of trust within societies to climate change, pandemics and increasing conflict across the globe. About one third of the global population is at risk of exclusion from services, access to markets and participation in cultural and political spaces. Exclusion can occur based on gender, disability status, age, sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), ethnicity, race, and migration status, among other characteristics.

Social sustainability – when people feel part of the development process and believe they and their descendants will benefit from it – is fundamental to addressing today’s development challenges; and is the social counterpart to environmental and economic sustainability. Building on decades of engagement on social development, the World Bank’s focus on social sustainability encompasses inclusion, resilience, cohesion and process legitimacy.

Social Sustainability and Inclusion reflects the World Bank’s commitment to addressing long standing barriers to development, strengthening the focus on people who have been excluded from economic and social opportunities, and increasing investment in inclusive growth. We support our client countries to build socially sustainable communities and societies that are able to work together to overcome challenges, deliver public goods, and allocate scarce resources in a manner perceived as legitimate and fair by all, so that all people may thrive over time.

One of the Unit’s programs is the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) multi-donor trust fund (MDTF), dedicated to improving development results by supporting capacity building for enhanced citizen engagement, accountability, and transparency. Through five Calls for Proposals and individual projects, the GPSA has supported over 50 projects in 34 countries. For its last Call for Proposals, the GPSA is preparing to dedicate the remainder of its funds toward supporting civil society activities in climate finance and climate action. As the program is set to sunset in December 2026, the team’s efforts are primarily focused on bridging the existing program and developing the successor facility to the GPSA. While the GPSA has long-standing relationships with a select number of donors, past outreach efforts have had limited success. As an MDTF, the GPSA has so far received US$ 55 million from thirteen donors. Significant past donations have come from country governments, bilateral aid agencies and select philanthropic foundations. As the successor facility to the GPSA is developed, it’s conceptualization, strategy and materials development, branding, and mapping of key stakeholders and potential donors and resource mobilization efforts are part of the critical path of the team’s work program.

Lastly, the Citizen Engagement and Social Accountability (CESA) work program is closely linked to the GPSA work and the overall SSIGL Unit’s corporate targets. The Unit currently tracks and monitors corporate compliance of the citizen engagement (CE) indicator and provides just-in-time advice to regional teams on best practices and global lessons to inform policy dialogue, operations, and analytical work.

Duties and Responsibilities

The JPA will be part of the core GPSA-CESA team and will lead, co-lead, and/or support the following tasks:

1.Partnership Building and Resource Mobilization
• Support the development and implementation of partnership and stakeholder engagement strategies and initiatives aligned with the GPSA’s goals and values. Develop action plans to achieve agreed outputs and outcomes, monitor partnership outreach efforts, and track progress towards goals.
• Support the organization, outreach, coordination and follow up of donor and resource mobilization missions, in collaboration with other team members.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to gather feedback, share information, and build relationships related to civil society and social innovation facility.
• Identify, liaise and build relationships with current and prospective partners, assessing level of engagement required for each, and advising team on best strategies for sustaining partnerships.
• Identify opportunities for improvement in program performance and practices. Recommend and implement initiatives to drive continuous improvement.
• Schedule and coordinate most external partnership meetings, including follow ups and necessary preparations.

2.Strategy Development:
• Support and contribute to the development of strategic messaging and content development targeting both internal and external stakeholders on the design, mechanics, and value proposition of the GPSA’s successor facility.
• Develop and draft Concept Notes successor facility to GPSA and contribute to developing content and background materials to include in longer think pieces.

3.Strategic Communications & Graphic Design:
• Liaise closely with internal team to understand design needs and objectives under tight timelines. Generate creative concepts and ideas that effectively communicate the desired message, information, and strategy, including pitch decks, promotional materials conveying succinct messaging for multiple audiences.
• Employ graphic design tools such as Canva to create visual assets such as logos, illustrations, layouts, and other graphical elements; develop designs that are visually appealing, on-brand, and aligned with project requirements. This includes but not limited to, adapting visual language from professional firms and partners for materials for the new facility.
• Oversee and monitor quality of external footprint for the Green Accountability splash page and for new facility (ie., ensure look and feel are consistent, coordinate with external partners, ensure website is updated with relevant events, timelines, content).
• Lead and/or contribute to various GPSA external communications pieces, (ie., newsletters, blogs, talking engagements, and GPSA Annual Report)

4.Event Design and Coordination
• Collaborate with external stakeholders to understand event objectives, target audience, and desired outcomes, and coordinate with ECR as needed.
• Develop creative event concepts and themes that align with the organization’s mission and goals, as well as development of talking points, speaker briefs, event questions, Trello board, videographer, key messages, etc.
• Serve as point person for zero drafts on strategic concept notes for key events, (ie., Civil Society Forum, Annual/Spring meetings), contributing to briefing notes, talking points and run of show.
• Venue selection and logistics, program development, vendor coordination, videographer, marketing and promotion, registration and attendee management, on-site management, post-event evaluation for high-level meetings/events).

5.Research and Analysis
• Conduct research and analysis on the role of civil society in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of development finance (ie., contribute to evidence case for new facility with literature review & excel stock take).
• Translate data into meaningful insights vis-à-vis literature review and global stock take of civil society and social innovation impact.
• Present recommendations to key decision makers.

Selection Criteria

• Bachelor of Arts or Science and/or relevant direct experience in fields related to international development, civil society organizations, social accountability and climate change.
• Ability to work as part of team, liaise with multiple stakeholders and establish professional relationships at various levels
• Independent thinking, strong writing and analytical skills
• Capacity to work independently and collaboratively, as part of a team
• Excellent language skills including English with fluency in Spanish or French a plus.
• Excellent PowerPoint skills
• Excellent graphic design skills
• Ability to multi-task and works well under pressure, tight timelines, and limited supervision
• Experience in co-leading and designing external events

Diversity and Inclusion

The World Bank continually searches for qualified individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds from around the globe. 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, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. Individuals with different abilities may be provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions and support in receiving other workplace accommodations.

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.