Junior Analyst - Short Term Consultant (STC)

World Bank Group Water Global Practice

Terms of Reference for Short Term Consultant (STC)

Water Supply and Sanitation Global Solutions Group (WSS GSG) – Junior Analyst

1. Introduction

As the world’s largest multilateral source of financing for water in developing countries, the World Bank is working closely with partners to achieve “A Water-Secure World for All,” by sustaining water resources, delivering services and building resilience.

Water is at the center of economic and social development: it is vital to maintain health, grow food, generate energy, manage the environment, and create jobs. Water availability and management impacts whether poor girls are educated, whether cities are healthy places to live, and whether growing industries or poor villages can withstand the impacts of floods or droughts.

Water security is among the top global risks in terms of development impact. It is also an integral part to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The world will not be able to meet the sustainable development challenges of the 21st century — human development, livable cities, climate change, food security, and energy security — without improving management of water resources and ensuring access to reliable water and sanitation services.

Of the 2.1 billion people who do not have access to safely managed water, 844 million do not have even a basic drinking water service. Of the 4.5 billion people who do not have safely managed sanitation, 2.3 billion still do not have basic sanitation services. As a result, every year, 361,000 children under 5 years of age die due to diarrhea related to poor sanitation and contaminated water, which are also linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid. Water supply and sanitation is just one aspect of the broader water agenda.

With a portfolio of water investments of US$41.4 billion (US$29.4 billion of water-sector projects and US$12 billion of multi-sector projects related to water), the World Bank is uniquely positioned to achieve the vision of a water secure world for all, developing and sharing global knowledge while amplifying the impact of lending through technical assistance on the ground.

The Water Supply and Sanitation Global Solution Group (WSS GSG)

Within its broad mandate, the Water Global Practice hosts several Global Solution Groups (GSGs).  The GSGs have played a critical role in establishing the Water Global Practice as a global thought leader, deepened the use of knowledge in operations and improved the flow of knowledge to clients and operational teams. The Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Global Solutions Group (GSG) focuses on the Water GP’s analytical, advisory, and operational engagement in all areas—policy, institutions, utilities, and governance — relating to water supply, sanitation, wastewater management, and related water quality issues.  The WSS GSG covers the entire rural to urban continuum and considers the full range of challenges related to effective, efficient, inclusive, and sustainable WSS service delivery in World Bank (WB) client countries. The WSS GSG is comprised of six main business lines:

• Policy, Institutions, and Regulation (PIR) – PIR explores the role of institutional incentives in achieving positive WSS sector outcomes with focus on the following themes: (1) Policy and Legislative Framework; (2) WSS Institutions; (3) Regulation; (4) Intergovernmental relations and (5) Financing. See report for more information.
• Utility of the Future (UoF) – The UoF is a new paradigm for providing WSS services, far beyond what most utilities have achieved—or even aimed for—today. A UoF provides high-quality services in a highly efficient manner while also being innovative, inclusive, market- and customer-oriented, and resilient. This business line focuses on utility performance and reform with a focus on the following elements: market and consumer orientation, inclusion, innovation, resilience, commercial, technical, human resources management, financial management, and organization and strategy.  See website for more information.
• Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) – The World Bank helps countries address sanitation challenges: ending open defecation, improving service delivery, and closing the loop from access to sanitation facilities to sustainable management of wastewater and sludge. Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) looks to shift the urban sanitation paradigm, aiming to ensure everyone has access to safely managed sanitation by promoting a range of solutions—both onsite and sewered, centralized or decentralized—tailored to the realities of the world’s burgeoning cities. CWIS means focusing on service provision and its enabling environment, rather than on building infrastructure. See website for more information.
• Rural Water Supply and Sanitation – Rural water supply and sanitation presents a growing business opportunity in support of the SDGs. Seven out of ten people without basic sanitation or drinking water live in rural areas as well as three quarters of the poor in developing countries. The rural space matters and many colleagues in Sustainable Development – both within and outside the Water GP – are leading operations in rural water and sanitation. The rural fabric in changing and small towns and peri-urban areas require tailored solutions.
• Water in Circular Economy and Resilience – The objective of this initiative is to establish a common understanding of circular economy principles and resilience in the urban water sector and to support countries to implement those principles. The Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework seeks to guide practitioners who are incorporating the principles in policies and strategies, planning, investment prioritization, and design and operations. The main report of the initiative describes the key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: 1) deliver resilient and inclusive services; 2) design out waste and pollution; and 3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. See website for more information.
• Water Secure Cities (WSCs) Program– launched this fiscal year, the WSC Program seeks to strengthen Water GP engagements to achieve water security at the city level through a holistic package of solutions that recognize the interrelated nature of water challenges, and urban planning and development.

2. Key Responsibilities

The selected candidate will support the GSGs work to leverage key regional and global operations, curate and generate knowledge, and enhance partnerships within and outside the WBG. In coordination with the Global Lead, Coordinator, and the GSG’s thematic leads, the main tasks as part of this assignment include the following:

• Support the GP’s effort to promote the WSS agenda respectively by enhancing coordination among the Bank’s regional and global initiatives.
• Prepare and coordinate briefing materials, presentations, and meeting minutes under GL guidance.
• Support preparation of the WSS GSG’s communications including the GSG’s quarterly newsletter; events and webinars; and development of the GSG’s website.
• Support the GSG’s technical efforts to enhance global learning, exchange and communications on WSS, in coordination with the GP’s knowledge management, learning, communications and administrative support teams.
• Support GL in coordinating, monitoring, and reporting on the GSG work program (including GFRs, GRMs, GWSP reporting, updates) and the WSS portfolio.
• Other tasks that may be requested.

3. Contract Duration

The contract duration is for a period of 20 days between December 2021 and June 2022. Contract may be extended depending on business need and performance.

4. Required Qualifications and Experience

Candidates must demonstrate professional excellence and outstanding oral and written communication skills. They must also demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to find practical solutions to problems and to think strategically.

• Master’s degree in engineering, public policy, economics, business administration, public management, or related field and 2 years of relevant work experience.
• Familiarity with the water sector.
• Practical experience in supporting the water sector and related development projects, particularly experience with policies and strategies and in the development of water-related institution in developing countries.
• Excellent writing and presentational skills, and ability to synthesize large amounts of material into crisp briefing memos and Power Point presentations.
• Skills to draft concise and quality meeting minutes or other records of proceedings.
• Strong analytical and research skills, attention to detail.
• Experience with multi-sectoral, multi-cultural teams.
• High degree of dedication and commitment to results.
• Working level of English required. Proficiency in other languages used in World Bank operations is a benefit.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a team-oriented and multi-cultural environment.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize and coordinate work requests in a timely manner often under time pressures.
• Knowledge of Trust Funds, TF reporting, systems, and familiarity with related policies and procedures is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of procedures related to Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) & internal products with the ability to use related systems to prepare reports and analysis of the data is preferred.

5. Application Process

Please submit your CV and Statement of Interest (500 words maximum) to [email protected]. The deadline for submission is December 10, 2021 at 11:59 EST.