Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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 and promoting shared prosperity. 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, visit www.worldbank.org.

Human Development Practice Group (HD PG) 

The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest provider of development finance and solutions for human development working with high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to develop country-tailored solutions for human development (HD) under the themes of education, health, social protection, jobs and gender. The HD PG coordinates with other Practice Groups to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to development challenges, and through the World Bank Regional Units is expected to deliver the strongest and most pertinent support to our client countries.

Education Global Practice  

Education is a human right, a powerful driver of development and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability. It delivers large, consistent returns in terms of income and is the most important factor to ensure equality of opportunities. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education

Regional/Unit Context 

The AFW Region is seeking a Practice Manager for the HAWE3 unit. Reporting to the Regional Director, the Education Practice Manager will be based in Accra, Ghana. The PM will cover the CMUs based in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.

West and Central Africa (AFW) Region 

Western and Central Africa is a region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles – marked by contrasts of stability and conflict; affluence and poverty.  Home to about half a billion people, it encompasses 22 countries stretching from the westernmost point of Africa across the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean to the Republic of Congo in the South. The sub-region is rich in resources and brimming of opportunities. It made impressive progress in regional cooperation and includes two monetary unions – the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) that cover 13 countries between them.

Yet these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back to the forefront the risks posed by weak health systems and poor surveillance. Many countries in the region that learned difficult lessons from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 are applying some of the lessons and using all existing instruments and expertise to curb the pandemic while prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable people.
AFW has a new Regional Strategy which aims to sustainably reduce poverty and increase shared prosperity in AFW countries through growth and economic transformation to create better jobs for more people, including women and youth. AFW is focusing on contributing to the realization of four high-level goals to achieve this transformation:

• Rebuild trust between citizens and the state
• Remove the bottlenecks that prevent firms from creating more and better jobs
• Strengthen human capital and empower women
• Ramp up climate resilience.

Education will play a central role in helping client countries achieve these goals. The AFW Education Team is preparing a new Regional Education Strategy to be launched in late FY21 which will provide strategic directions for our portfolio to improve learning outcomes, raise opportunities for girls and increase the effectiveness of education systems. The portfolio is large and growing, with 43 projects (US$ 3.8 billion). The Strategy will emphasize innovative, transformational and operational approaches to improving education quality, reducing learning poverty and building human capital, especially for women and girls.

Duties and Accountabilities 

The Practice Manager reports to the Regional Director for HD AFW and is also accountable to the Global Director for Education and is responsible for the following areas:

• Leads team in global engagement on education topics, including global partnerships, applied research and dissemination, global databases, and monitoring, brings cutting edge global evidence to AFW and informs the global education agenda with innovations and experience from the AFW Region.
• Works closely with Regional Directors, CMUs, PLs, PMs from HD and other PGs, and teams in supporting analytics, advisory and lending projects by providing in-depth technical inputs and quality reviews and sharing global experiences and practices.
• Works in partnership with other PMs in the GP and with other GPs, as well as public and private stakeholders, to find tailored and holistic solutions to complex development challenges.
• Drives and inspires technical excellence within the team and the GP by creating an environment of learning and innovation that attracts and develops the best talent reflective of the diversity of our clients.
• Supports GP management in developing and implementing appropriate strategies for global staffing, deployment, talent, and performance management.
• Encourages appropriate business risk taking, and introduce a culture and environment of continuous improvement and innovation, in which staff feel empowered to take risks, fix issues, and try better ways of doing things.

Managerial Responsibilities include:

The PM will collaborate across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries to help design and deliver development solutions to a diverse range of clients, while supporting global knowledge flows that share knowledge and practical development experience with other countries, assuring that global lessons are reflected in the Bank-supported programs.
The PM is a member of the Education Practice Management Team, the AFW Regional Management Team and the Africa HD Leadership team and coordinates closely with the other HD Practice Managers, HD Program Leaders and the CMU and Regional Management Teams. The PM is also a member of the Education Talent Board to oversee the strategic staffing, career development and deployment of GP staff across the Bank.

People/Talent Management:  
• Models exemplary WBG leadership values and managerial behaviors and reinforces these qualities in own team and staff
• Leads, drives and inspires technical excellence within the team and the GP by creating an environment of learning and innovation that attracts and develops the best talent reflective of the diversity of our clients
• Closely supports and advises staff on their performance, skills development and career planning 

Solutions and Results to Clients: 
• Leads her/his team to deliver results consistent with the AFW Regional Strategy, Education’s key strategic priorities, and, in collaboration with the Country Directors, ensure alignment with Country • Partnership Frameworks.
• Contributes as an active member of the AFW RMT; the EDU GP Management Team and the joint AFE/AFW HD Leadership team.
• Draws on thought leadership and implementation know-how to ensure high impact multi-sectoral solutions
• Builds and maintains a balanced portfolio of innovative, cost-effective and demand-driven products and services
• Works in partnership with other PMs in the GP and with other PGs and GPs, as well as public and private stakeholders, in order to find tailored and multisectoral solutions to complex development challenges
• Accountable for delivering high-quality and timely results.
• Lead the AFW Education team, working closely with the other EDU PM in AFW and the PMs in AFE. Provide strategic leadership of cross-cutting HD issues and responsible for delivery of the Africa Human Capital Plan as part of the HD Africa Leadership Team.

Knowledge Management:
• Ensures that the GP is at the forefront of the development debate and contributes to the global dialogue in the area of expertise of the GP
• Ensures timely flow and capture of knowledge and expertise so that AFW clients receive the highest quality support and knowledge they need, when and where they need it
• Promotes innovative and cross-cutting research, as well as the dissemination of technical and experiential knowledge and learning
• Instills a culture of evidence-based, yet client tailored engagement for highest development impact. 

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s degree (Ph.D. preferred) in relevant field including education, economic development or related social sciences field, with at least 12-15 years of relevant experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility.
• Excellent operational skills covering policy and investment lending, and ability to lead complex policy dialogue.
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills with established track record managing multi-location and virtual teams.
• Strong operational and development experience and track record, including experience in more than one Global Practice/VPU (including IBRD, MIGA, and IFC), and in more than one world region of those relevant to these positions.
• Technical knowledge and experience in one or more of the areas described above is desirable, though solid managerial and influencing skills are at a premium for these positions.
• Demonstrated in-depth experience and track record of results and successfully working across practices, disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
• Ability to influence dialogue and policy and its use in other sectors without direct control or authority.
• Strong sense of strategy, including ability to prioritize and exit some activities; track record in streamlining and rationalizing product offerings.
• Good partnership experience, including involving multiple stakeholders – both public and private – in building collaborative alliances for results. Experience in applying practice know-how and effective policy dialogue to achieve development results.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with proven experience in dealing with the media, external constituencies and expert groups.  

WBG Managerial Competencies 

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.