Description

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. Visit www.worldbank.org.

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Vice Presidency of the World Bank is the core unit responsible for institutional risk oversight, including establishment and monitoring adherence to risk policies and guidelines and risk assessment and reporting to the Board and executive management.  Its mission is to enable and support the institution to achieve its goals in a financially sustainable manner. The VPU assists management with identifying and managing Group-wide cross-cutting risks, enhancing risk response decisions, reducing financial and operational surprises and losses, seizing opportunities and improving deployment of capital.   The CRO Vice Presidency comprises three Departments:  1) Credit Risk (CROCR); 2) Market & Counterparty Risk (CROMC), and 3) Operational Risk (CROOR).
CROOR which operates under the Group CRO has key responsibilities that cover (i) Operational Risk Management, including Oversight, Challenge and Direction for Operational Risks; (ii) Corporate Insurance Management (iii) Business Continuity (iv) Resilience; and (v) Enterprise Risk Management and Risk Governance.

Operational Risk Management (ORM):

 Operational risk is defined as the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems, or from external events (Basel, 2011) and is distinct from the Bank’s risk in operations. The Operational risk unit within CROOR is part of the ‘three lines’ principle the Bank has established to manage operational risks. Business units are the first line responsible for managing the day-to-day operational risk within their business functions; the operational risk unit is the second line and auditors (internal and external) are the third line and are responsible for providing assurance on the Bank’s operational risk management program. As the second line, CROOR is responsible for providing oversight and guidance to business units to manage operational risks and report to management and the board on the overall operational risk profile of the Bank and the status of risk management initiatives.

Key Responsibilities for the Risk Lead include:

The successful candidate will be the most senior representative of CRO in the Chennai office and will be responsible for leading the: (i) Institutional Resiliency; (ii) Integrity Due Diligence; (iii) Technology; (iv) Modelling and Quantification; as well as leading portions of the Operational Risk Management function. The Lead will be responsible for overseeing the work of all CRO staff in Chennai.

Institutional Resiliency 

• Overall management and coordination of the WBG Resiliency program.
• Lead the development of a WBG Resiliency Roadmap and oversee its implementation.
• Coordinate the activities of the Resiliency Task Force and report progress to management.
• Maintain key Resilience reports including Country of Focus, and Evacuations.
• Lead crisis management efforts for the Chennai office supporting the center manager.
• Establish effective partnerships with operations to ensure proper flow of information.

Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) 

 • Overall management and coordination of the IDD program.
• Development of a Strategic Roadmap for IDD that considers WBG risk profile and practices and oversee its implementation.
• Lead implementation of systems to support IDD.
• Coordinate the activities of the IDD Steering Committee and report progress to management, including supporting the review of high and substantial risk relationships (e.g., donors).

Technology, AI & Data Initiatives 

 • Lead the design of an IT strategy for the department and oversee and monitor implementation.
• Lead implementation of IT projects funded through AIP (3 projects of about $1M).
• Deploy Operational Risk Analytics based on roadmap and prioritized risk analytics (including VPU and Regional Dashboards, Resiliency Dashboards, Enterprise Risk Management Reports)
• Leverage technology to increase operational efficiency, including the use of AI, machine learning and other emerging technologies to support our business needs

Risk Management Frameworks and Best practices 

 • Lead operational risk management initiatives and work programs including, risk reporting, capital adequacy framework, risk intelligence and analytics, among others.
• Lead operational risk management initiatives as needed in response to new and emerging risks.
• Monitor regulations and best practices and ensure our operational risk and resiliency practices evolve. These include regulations relating to enterprise and operational risk, resiliency, integrity and anti-money laundering, cyber security and other relevant fields.

Risk Modeling and Quantification  

• Oversee the development of a risk modelling and quantification strategy and ensure capital adequacy requirements are met.
• Oversee its implementation including QA review of models and strategic oversight. 

Leadership and management 

• Serve as part of the CRO Leadership Team (comprising the VP, Directors and Managers). Actively participate in CROLT discussions and deliberations, to provide inputs from the Chennai perspective, bringing an aggregate voice of Chennai staff to the LT and vice versa.
• Lead, supervise, motivate, coach and day-to-day management of all CRO staff in Chennai.
• Build and retain a motivated team through effective and robust training, hiring, retention and staff development approaches.
• Manage diverse teams in different geographical locations to achieve the above deliverables
• Drive transformation through process improvements/ simplification and automation by encouraging adoption of technology and tools as prioritized by the leadership team.
• Create consensus among stakeholders and support implementation of CRO policies, programs, and initiatives in Chennai and HQ.

The Lead Risk Officer position will be based in Chennai and will be reporting to the Manager, Enterprise and Operational Risk, CROOR.
If the selected candidate is a current World 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 3 years 0 months term appointment.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in a business or finance related discipline.
• Minimum of 15 years practical experience in ORM, resilience, IDD etc especially in the second line function.
• Track record, with skills and expertise in implementing IDD, business continuity, corporate resiliency and operational risk frameworks, as well as leading large IT initiatives involving AI and machine learning.
• Understanding of the Bank processes around the areas of responsibility mentioned above.
• Expert knowledge on ORM frameworks and processes.
• Proven ability to interact effectively with corporate and external counterparts.
• Superior written and oral communication skills with ability to convey complex messages succinctly and diplomatically.
• Strong organizational skills, with proven change management experience, ability to multi-task, and pay attention to details while maintaining a clear sense of business priorities.
• Experience in guiding business units to implement risk management frameworks and initiatives.
• Exposure to preparing risk reports for various stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in analyzing and interpreting data and presenting in a concise manner.
• Hands-on experience in managing Governance, Risk and Compliance systems.
• Working knowledge of various reporting tools such as Business Objects and Tableau.
• Proven ability to lead teams and projects.
• Proven ability to learn new areas such as climate, Artificial Intelligence etc.
• Proven ability to deal with confidential matters and with discretion.
• Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with colleagues, various levels of client staff and management.
• Exceptional communication skills, written and oral, including the ability to explain and express views/opinions articulately and confidently.
• Demonstrate high level of motivation, confidence, integrity, and responsibility.
• Be a self-starter; take initiative and be able to work autonomously.
• Willingness to travel on short-term assignments.
• The flexibility to work outside normal office hours as may be required from time-to-time.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

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, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.