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 145 country offices (over 150 facilities) across about 140 countries, 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, visit www.worldbank.org.
The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank (IBRD/IDA) is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice Presidencies, several corporate functions, and a set of Practice Groups made up of Global Practices that bring cutting‑edge knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.
The Water Global Practice: Context
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. Economic growth in many regions is already stifled by too much, too little or too polluted water. More than $1 trillion per year is needed to meet current water security needs, with potentially higher investments required to mitigate increasing economic shocks and water-related extreme events.
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.
The World Bank Group is the largest multilateral financier of water in developing countries with a portfolio on the order of $27–30 billion. The World Bank Group (WBG) Water Sector Strategy outlined three core pillars to build a water-secure world – Water for People, Water for Food, and Water for Planet and is accelerating action to secure water for people, food, and the planet.
The World Bank’s Water Global Practice (GP) is mandated to ensure that water issues are effectively addressed in all related sub-sectors, such as agriculture (ensuring sustainable water availability for irrigation), disaster risk management, energy (hydropower), and water supply & sanitation (rural and urban, assisting utilities on efficiency and financial sustainability, targeting the poor). In each sub sector an integrated approach is adopted which considers investment alongside issues such as governance, institutions, and policies.
Water resources planning and management is a critical element for sustainable growth and poverty reduction for most of the World Bank’s borrowers. Dams and other water storage are important contributors to the development of many countries. If well designed and implemented, they improve and expand irrigation, domestic and industrial water supplies, power generation, and provide security against droughts and protection from floods. The Bank portfolio of lending and non-lending for projects that include dams is large and growing; there are over 180 ongoing and pipeline projects with a significant dam component or dependent on performance of upstream existing dams. Because there are serious consequences if a dam does not function properly or fails, the Bank is concerned about the safety of new dams it finances and existing dams on which a Bank-financed project is directly dependent.
Developing and managing dams and other water storage in a sustainable manner are critical to support the water strategic pillar of Sustaining Water Resources and the strategic pillar of Build Resilience through flood management for river basins – as well as to achieve the Bank’s corporate targets on climate change – both mitigation and adaptation. The dam safety management is also critical by providing policy advice and technical support on safety of dams to ensure the Bank Safeguards Policy on Safety of Dams (OP4.37) and the new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) are properly addressed and implemented; and serve for the Water GP strategy of sustain water resources and building resilience by providing technical support to improve water resources planning and management for the Bank projects.
The ET Consultant will be based at the Headquarters of the World Bank in Washington DC, USA. She/he will serve as a Senior Dam Specialist under the Global Dams and Reservoirs Team (GDART), in coordination with water resources and dam specialists, and report to the Practice Manager for the Water Global Solutions Unit in Water Global Practice.
Duties and Accountabilities
The Water GP is seeking a highly qualified and motivated Consultant to serve as a Senior Dam Specialist. The principal duties and responsibilities of the Senior Dam Specialist would include:
1. Support to Operational Teams in selected regions:
a. Provide advice and technical inputs to teams involved in early planning and options identification for water storage projects, including:
i. The potential pros and cons of dams/built storage solutions and the types of potential alternatives the team could consider (including natural and hybrid options).
ii. Identification of potential opportunities and risks for dam development, rehabilitation, reoperation, and repurposing to meet the intended development objectives of the projects – as well as identification of what types of programs may be needed to realize the benefits from the dams themselves.
iii Advising the team on the World Bank’s approach to dam-related risk management, and how they can build this into their project preparation process should the project proceed.
b. Provide technical support to teams preparing and supervising dam-related projects, including:
i. Quality assurance and compliance checking with World Bank policies (OP 4.37/ESS4-Annex 1) of dam related projects across GPs, including maintaining up-to-date entries in the internal dams database.
ii. Review and comment on technical terms of reference, dam safety plans, feasibility studies, detailed design, and other technical documents related to dam design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
iii. Perform visual inspection and safety assessment of dams to inform advice to Task Team during project preparation and implementation.
iv. Provide advice to Task Teams on what may be needed for the client to realize the intended development benefits of dam projects.
v. Participate in project preparation and implementation support missions and contribute to the Aide Memoire and/or other team documents on dam related aspects.
vi. Provide advice and technical inputs, utilizing the most relevant and up-to-date global knowledge on dams and reservoirs development and management, including risk-informed dam safety, in the design and implementation of country engagements.
2. Participate as a core member of the Global Dams and Reservoirs Team (GDART), including:
a. Being willing to travel overseas in line with the Bank travel policy and operational mission requests.
b. Provide inputs to (and, where requested, lead) selected global analytical and strategic tasks to fill critical knowledge gaps and advance the curation of good international practices related to dams and water storage.
c. Coordinate with other professionals involved in water storage beyond the dam’s community, including those involved in Nature based solutions, to work towards more integrated approaches to water storage planning, development, and management
d. Participate in (or lead) specific training and dissemination activities and contribute as needed to such events aimed at ensuring best practice experiences are widely known and discussed within the Bank.
e. Provide briefs, presentations, and management notes for management discussion on request, and be able to represent global dam-related activities to both internal and external audiences as necessary.
Selection Criteria
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. The following specific criteria will also apply:
a. An advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in science or engineering related to dam safety management and at least 8 years of hands-on experience in planning, designing, and assessing safety condition of dams for single or multi-purposes (irrigation, water supply, hydropower, flood control, environment etc.).
b. Proven expertise in key disciplines associated with dams, such as hydrology, hydraulics, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, instrumentation, and monitoring, etc.
c. Experience in designing or implementing programs using dams as a catalyst for greater development benefits.
d. Experience working on dam-related projects in World Bank client countries.
e. Demonstrated ability to work as a team member for providing innovative solutions to solve complex technical and development issues.
f. Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, and team skills, and the ability to work across boundaries.
g. Demonstrated ability to function effectively in a multi-cultural environment, sustaining partnerships with clients and colleagues.
h. Willingness and demonstrated ability to regularly conduct site visits, including visits to remote areas.
i. Ability to multitask
j. Knowledge of strong computer skills for operating and maintaining database.
k. Excellent writing and presentational skills, and ability to synthesize large amounts of material into crisp briefing memos and Power Point presentations.
l. Strong written and spoken English language communications skills are required; Additional languages, especially Spanish and/or Portuguese, will be an advantage.
Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable at the discretion of the World Bank, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET appointment of three years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
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Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.
Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET appointment of three years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.
