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The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Vice Presidency (VPU) of the World Bank is the core unit responsible for institutional risk oversight, including establishing risk policies and guidelines, conducting risk assessment, and monitoring and reporting to the Board and executive management. Its mission is to enable and support the institution to achieve its development goals in a financially sustainable manner. The VPU assists management in identifying and managing group-wide cross-cutting risks, enhancing risk response decisions, reducing financial and operational surprises and losses, and seizing opportunities and improving efficiency in the deployment of capital. The CRO Vice Presidency comprises three Departments: 1) Credit Risk (CROCR); 2) Market & Counterparty Risk (CROMC), and 3) Operational Risk (CROOR).

The Credit Risk Department (CROCR) ensures that the Bank’s credit risk exposure is commensurate with the risk appetite of stakeholders, consistent with IBRD and IDA’s triple-A credit rating requirements and strikes the appropriate balance between development and financial sustainability objectives. The department manages the country credit risks inherent in IBRD and IDA’s loan and guarantee portfolios, which is the most predominant risks on IBRD and IDA’s balance sheets given the World Bank’s development mission. The department also manages IBRD and IDA’s Capital Adequacy Frameworks. CROCR’s core functions include, among others: (1) Assessing sovereign credit risks for all IBRD and IDA borrowers, including assigning internal credit ratings and assessing country creditworthiness which determines eligibility for IBRD loans; (2) Establishing prudential country credit risk management policies and ensuring consistency of country lending plans with risk policies and capital adequacy through the country exposure management framework; (3) Monitoring countries that are vulnerable to crises, including payment arrears to the World Bank; representing the Bank in engaging with the Paris Club of official bilateral creditors; (4) Ensuring IBRD and IDA are adequately provisioned for loan losses, in line with US GAAP accounting standards; (5) Managing IBRD and IDA’s Capital adequacy Frameworks in line with shareholder risk appetite and with triple-A rating standards; (6) Monitoring IBRD and IDA’s capital adequacy, including performing stress testing, and reporting to the Board; and (7) Developing and managing different risk-transfer mechanisms, including new innovative instruments, to enable an increase in the Bank’s financing headroom.

The Department consists of three teams – the Sovereign Risk Team that assesses and monitors individual country credit risk and overall global and regional development that affects IBRD and IDA countries’ credit risks; the Portfolio Risk Team that is responsible for assessing and managing IIBRD and IDA portfolio and balance sheet risks, including stress testing, loan loss provisioning, and capital adequacy; and a third innovative finance team that develops risk-transfer mechanisms to mitigate risks on IBRD and IDA’s balance sheet and frees up capital for additional lending.

This Manager role will be responsible for overseeing the Sovereign Risk Team and its work program. The Manager will supervise a team of economists and senior economists and report to the Director of the Credit Risk Department.

(This will be a four-year term position. Staff who are already on Open-ended contract will retain Open-ended terms.)

Duties and Responsibilities:-

The Manager will oversee the work program of the Sovereign Risk Team, with the following main responsibilities:

– Lead the department’s Sovereign Risk Rating work and ensure high-quality delivery. Responsible for ensuring a robust rating methodology and guidelines and adequate training and guidance to staff on risk rating work, assigning country responsibilities to team members, and managing the Risk Rating Committee meeting plans, and chair the Committee meetings when delegated by the Director. The Manager is also expected to actively pursue measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the country risk rating process.

– Monitor global and regional economic developments and countries at risk of crisis. Analyze potential risk implications for the Bank and provide prompt alerts and updates to the Director. Serve as Secretariat to the monthly meetings of the Short-Term Risk Monitoring Group and oversee the preparation of the report. Oversees the preparation of the quarterly internal reports on countries facing potential payment difficulties.

– Participate in the Paris Club meetings on behalf of the World Bank and brief the Paris Club members on the economic situations in countries of interest based on input received from relevant country teams. Liaise with IMF and other World Bank representatives.

– Responsible for developing macroeconomic stress testing scenarios and related methodologies and modeling work.

– Oversee country creditworthiness assessments and ensure robust methodologies.

– Contributes to the IBRD Country Exposure Management processes, including assessing country limits reallocation requests. This requires close collaborations with the OPCS team and also involves regular reviews to enhance the process and framework.

– Prepare high-quality briefings to Senior Management. Develop effective dashboard, reports and tools.

– In addition to ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of the team’s work program and objectives, the Manager is also responsible for overseeing staff members and ensuring that they are provided with adequate training and guidance to effectively perform their roles and are well-supported in their career development efforts. The Manger is also responsible for ensuring an equitable and inclusive working environment that values diversity.

– The Manager will be a member of both the Department’s and the VPU’s Management Team and will be expected to contribute to Department-wide and VPU-wide initiatives and discussions.

Selection Criteria

* Master’s or PhD degree in Economics or another relevant field, with a minimum of 12 years of directly relevant professional experience.

* A seasoned macro economist with broad and deep experience with developing country economics and credit risk analysis. Deep understanding of the various factors that affect World Bank client countries’ sovereign credit risks, including IBRD and IDA’s Preferred Creditor Status. Ability to guide staff on macroeconomic modeling work, including on stress testing.

* Familiar with the World Bank’s country engagement model and financial instruments. Previous experience working in the World Bank or another MDB’s country operations is desirable.

* Knowledge of sovereign debt issues, including debt restructuring, is desirable.

* A conceptual and strategic thinker who also fully grasps technical details and nuances. Ability to develop sound and practical methodologies and policy frameworks.

* Excellent communication skills. Ability to write and speak clearly, succinctly and convincingly, for various audiences.

* Strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills. Ability to build effective partnership with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including resolving conflicting views and forging consensus.

* Strong leadership, managerial and organizational skills, ability to effectively plan and allocate resources to deliver the team’s work programs in a timely manner with high quality, including responding to unexpected urgent tasks. Commitment to innovations and process improvement, including utilizing the latest new technologies.

* Interested and skilled in people management and building a high-performing team.

* Excellent work ethic and results focus, with a “can do” attitude.

The World Bank Group values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of World Bank Group member countries to apply, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. Sub-Saharan African nationals, Caribbean nationals, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.