Operations Officer at the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group - Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Operations Officer

Job ID.: req32013
Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full-time
Grade: GF
Sector: Operations
Term Duration: 3 years, 0 months

Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region

• We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. 
• We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs. 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.
• In West and Central Africa, the World Bank is a leading partner with a growing portfolio of 387 projects totaling more than $44.1 billion in areas such as agriculture, trade and transport, energy, education, health, water, and sanitation- all to support job creation, gender equality, poverty reduction, and better lives. 
• Across the continent, the World Bank’s program has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By 2030, about 87% of the world’s extreme poor are projected to live in Sub-Saharan Africa, so this is where our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity will be achieved.
• Are you ready to make an impact? We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our innovative and diverse team.

Country Context

• Nigeria is critical to the World Bank Group's (WBG) twin goals of eradicating global extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. A multi-ethnic and diverse federation of 36 autonomous states, Nigeria is already Africa’s largest country, with over 200 million people, and Africa’s largest economy. With its abundance of resources, a young and entrepreneurial population, and a dynamic private sector, Nigeria has the potential to be a giant on the global stage.
• At the same time, with over 40 percent of its population living in poverty, Nigeria has the second largest population of poor in the world and real per-capita incomes are about the same level today as they were four decades ago. 
• The economy and public finances continue to be highly vulnerable to oil shocks, and not enough jobs are being created for the 3.5 million young Nigerians coming of working age every year. 
• To provide economic opportunities for its growing population, Nigeria needs to unlock private investment and job creation, and further the structural transformation and diversification of its economy.
• Nigeria, a blend country eligible for both IBRD and IDA financing, has the largest country allocation under IDA20 and the third-largest IDA-IBRD portfolio with approximately $16.53 billion dollars distributed across 29 projects, of which about 40% is federally executed and 60% is executed at the state-level.
• The World Bank Country Office in Abuja is recruiting an Operations Officer to provide operational support to the Country Director and Operations Manager. The Operations Officer will report to the Operations Manager, Nigeria.

Roles & Responsibility
The key accountabilities of the Operations Officer are as follows:
Support CMU monitoring of operational quality:

• Provide general operational support to the Operations Manager and Country Director in the oversight of preparation and implementation of lending operations.
• Undertake routine monitoring of project implementation including review of Aide Memoires and Management letters, ISRs, monitoring disbursement and designated account balances, project readiness, and compliance with effectiveness and disbursement conditions.
• Participate in routine check-in meeting with project teams, prepare brief on project progress in advance, prepare summary of meetings, follow up with teams in implementation of agreed actions.

Analysis and reporting on portfolio quality:

• Produce reports and analysis of the Nigeria portfolio and provide inputs into monthly portfolio performance reports.
• Independently undertake periodic routine monitoring, including of disbursements, proactivity on problem projects, closing projects, PPAs, ISRs due and other aspects of portfolio performance.
• Use data from Standard Reports, SAP, Client Connections, and other sources to produce excel-based analysis of current and historical portfolio performance and prepare reports for portfolio team, region and country team and Ministry of Finance.
• Prepare PowerPoints which summarize program portfolio performance extracting information from analysis and presenting key messages for requisite audiences.

Country engagement products:

• Support effective monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Country Partnership Framework including providing analytical and written inputs into Performance and Learning Reviews, Completion and Learning Reviews, and Country Portfolio Program Reviews.

Team and client engagement:

• Provide advice to operational teams on policies and procedures. Support delivery of operational clinics to TTLs and teams including production of materials and good practice notes.
• Manage liaison with State Focal Persons including responding to queries, organizing events, and designing and producing regular reports for State Governments.
• Produce short briefs on project progress for Country Director and Operations Manager including talking points for meetings, contribute to country background briefing documents for Spring and
• Annual Meetings and high-level country visits.
• Liaise with Ministry of Finance on operational matters, including providing technical support to build capacity of Ministry of Finance staff to manage portfolio.
• Facilitate dialogue with a diversity of stakeholders and support the development of partnerships with them where relevant.

Document review:

• Review and clear outgoing correspondence for Country Director.
• Undertake detailed review of project documentation for Country Director and Operations Manager approval and concurrence functions including decision packages, restructuring papers and ICRs.
• Contribute to teamwork, workflow coordination and an operating culture focused on client service appropriate for fragile countries and Conflicted affected states, as envisaged under the Country Partnership Framework.

Collection and analysis of data on portfolio performance:

• Ability to independently monitor and analyze portfolio data from a range of sources including internal WBG systems such as BI and Standard Reports, identify key trends and produce written material summarizing them.

Ability to:

• Identify key portfolio risks in achieving expected project outcomes, proposing tailored mitigation measures with attention to good practices.
• Carry out data collection and background analysis on relevant project design and implementation issues, including good practices and lessons learned; and
• Contribute to the development of action plans to resolve preparation and implementation bottlenecks and monitor the execution of such plans.
• Ability to contribute to portfolio reporting focusing on the CMU performance indicators, interacting with task team leaders and other departments on emerging issues while flagging issues to CMU management.

Project Implementation and management:

• Ability to support project teams, partners, and clients in project preparation and implementation (including liaising with experts on planning, budgeting, project financing, procurement, disbursement, legal issues, and safeguards)
• Ability to identify key risks in achieving expected project outcomes, proposing tailored mitigation measures with attention to good practices
• Ability to carry out data collection and background analysis on relevant project design and implementation issues, including good practices and lessons learned
• Ability to contribute to the development of action plans to resolve preparation and implementation bottlenecks and monitor the execution of such plans
• Ability to draft sections of key documents, keep project records in the Bank systems, and draft meeting minutes.

Bank Instruments, Policies, and Procedures, and Ability to Proactively Apply Them

• Solid operational experience and familiarity with World Bank’s operational and environmental and social policies and procedures; ability to apply them in different contexts, advise teams to resolve bottlenecks, and find pragmatic operational solutions; ability to exercise quality assurance of documents at different stages of project cycle; ability to write country products.
• Ability to review strategy and project documents for compliance with relevant Bank operational templates, policies, and procedures

Integrative skills and personal organization:

• Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills, and ability to develop and maintain effective relations across boundaries and with partners inside and outside the WBG
• Solid integrative thinking and ability to support management and project teams in developing an integrated point of view around development challenges
• Highly organized with experience and ability to design, implement and maintain systems to manage workflow.

Policy dialogue skills:

• Ability to identify and assess policy issues and communicate findings/ points of view verbally and in writing (through reports and papers)
• Diplomatic skills to facilitate participation in the dialogue with government and/or other stakeholders as part of Bank teams

Knowledge and experience in international development:

• Full familiarity with the WBG’s organizational structure, complementarities among different Bank Group agencies, with ability to apply this knowledge
• Familiarity with Bank’s development initiatives and policies and practices related to lending and non-lending operations
• Ability to find and use relevant information/data to be used in the preparation of briefs, reports, and other written documents

Communication & influencing skills:

• Ability to tailor communication style to meet audience needs and deliver information effectively in support of team or workgroup
• Strong analytical ability, and strong verbal and written communication skills including the capacity to draft concise reports, minutes, briefs, and correspondence, in English.
• Ability to share knowledge

Internal and external stakeholder engagement:

• Strong country knowledge, particularly of its political economy, and how it shapes its development agenda
• Ability to contribute to high-level events (i.e., with Development Partners, Government, and other stakeholders) and to handle requests, and contribute to country dialogue
• Ability to independently coordinate and engage with stakeholders from various parts of WBG, providing substantial inputs into and participating in the dialogue with external clients and stakeholders, including governments, NGOs and CSOs, and development partners.

Selection Criteria

• Masters’ Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Economics, Management, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Technical Studies, or another field related to development)
• Minimum of 5 years professional experience
• Ability to function effectively in multi-disciplinary teams within a matrix environment.
• Written and Verbal Communication - Delivers information effectively in support of team or workgroup.

Remuneration
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.

Application Closing Date
11th March, 2025 at 11:59pm UTC.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Additional Selection Criteria Questions for Job Application: In your cover letter or as an additional one-page document, please include a summary of your actual experience relevant to the selection criteria. Applications that do not specifically address the selection criteria will not be considered.
• If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, they will retain their Regular or Open-Ended appointment. If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Term appointment that expires later than the end date of this appointment, s/he will retain the duration of his/her current Term appointment.
• 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.