Senior Social Development Specialist - conflict and fragility

• Job #122941
• Job TitleSenior Social Development Specialist - conflict and fragility
• Job FamilySocial Development
• Job TypeProfessional & Technical
• GradeGG
• LocationWashington, DC
• Recruitment TypeInternational Hire
• Language RequirementEnglish [Essential]; French [Desired]; Portuguese [Desired]; Spanish [Desired]
• Closing Date14-Jan-2013

Background / General description:
Background / General description:Sustainable development requires balancing the needs of present and future generations and has become a rapidly growing global concern, most recently anchored in the “inclusive green growth” agenda. The triple bottom line for sustainability – economic, environmental, and social – is increasingly taking a central place in discussions of growth and poverty reduction. Social sustainability is, therefore, a critical aspect to achieving long-term pro-poor development. Social development focuses on the need to ‘put people first’ in development processes. Poor people’s own voices tell us that poverty is more than low income—it is also about vulnerability, exclusion and isolation, unaccountable institutions, powerlessness, and exposure to violence. As such, efforts to overcome poverty must not just get economic policies right. They must also promote social development, which empowers people by creating more inclusive, cohesive, accountable and resilient institutions and societies. The Social Development Department (SDV) within the Sustainable Development Network Anchor (SDN) leads the implementation of the Bank's social development work as outlined in the Bank's Social Development Strategy, 'Empowering People by Transforming Institutions'. The Department is organized around five clusters, responsible for the following thematic work areas: (i) Social Sustainability and Safeguards; (ii) Social Inclusion; (iii) Social Resilience, (iv) Social Accountability; and (v) Social Cohesion. The Social Cohesion and Violence Prevention Team resides within the Social Development Department (SDV) in the anchor and provides support to knowledge generation, knowledge brokering and cross-support services across the Bank. In FY 09 it created the Global Program on Forced Development which currently has some $ 2.5 m annually to provide cross-support to the regions. In FY 12, the team produced the flagship report on the Societal Dynamics of Fragility and this along with the World Development Report of 2011 on Conflict Security and Development forms the basis of its analytical work focusing on fragile and conflict affected states (FCS). Note: If the selected candidate is a current 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 5 year term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The generic work program of the team is organized according to three themes: (i) analysis of conflict and fragility; (ii) violence prevention and citizen security and (iii) forced displacement. Specific services are as follows: 1. Cross-Support to AAA tasks and operations including managing an SPF grant on displacement in MENA, co-managing two SPF grants in LAC strengthening analysis and piloting activities in areas of high-violence, as well as providing conflict and fragility assessments for nine country strategies. 2. Knowledge-Generation: a number of headline studies including: (i) on violence prevention: rehabilitation of violent offenders, a security sector portfolio review, violence prevention and ICT, gender-based violence and Bank policy and operations; (ii) on forced displacement: political economy of displacement (six country studies), livelihoods study, effects of displacement on land and property rights, displacement/ human rights/ and development in AFR and MENA; (iii) a joint CAS Review in FCS (led by CCSD) and (iv) a PER security sector sourcebook – led by PREMPS. 3. Knowledge-Brokering: training, cross-sector work, staff development including: (i) guidance on analysis of fragility and conflict, forced displacement, gender and violence and citizen security. (ii) leading a training program for SDV staff to undertake a fragility assessment; (iii) improving the measurement of measurement of violence/ displacement/ fragility metrics – along with poverty and (iv) leading a Community of Practice to strengthen SDN engagement in FCS. Specific Duties: Under the overall supervision of the team leader, the Senior Social Development Specialist will have the following main areas of responsibility: • lead the teams work on translating violence prevention and analysis of FCS into SDV oriented operations (focused on the emerging challenges of urban violence, community development in FCS, early recovery for displaced populations, demobilization of ex-combatants, and working with youth associated with violence); • lead cross-support (in collaboration with the SDV Board) to highlight the operational lessons for at least five SDV lending operations addressing conflict and fragility; • lead the teams work on creating an SDN Community of Practice defining what the emerging FCS agenda means to sector operations, to understand what are the differences of sector operations in FCS and creating a network of seasoned sector staff to provide cross-support to Bank engagements in difficult environments. • generate a state-of-the art learning platform around SDN operations addressing FCS challenges using different modalities to compile guidance on Bank rules and procedures, innovations and lessons for such operations. • assist country teams, through field missions where appropriate, in conflict analysis methodology and implementation, and other conflict-related areas, as appropriate and as requested. • assist the team lead in organizing the team along contiguous lines of Bank reform and in particular offering greater surge support to frontline FCS engagements. • contribute to the design of training activities on conflict, knowledge management and dissemination by SDV.
Selection Criteria:
Selection Criteria: • Graduate degree (Masters or equivalent) in a relevant discipline and at least eight years' experience in conflict-related projects and/or applied research. • High levels of energy, self-motivation and initiative; ability to develop an active and challenging work program, take the lead in pushing the Bank's agenda on conflict analysis and be proactive in identifying and providing operational support to the Regions. • Good understanding of the Bank's mission, policies and organizational structure. Familiarity and experience with the preparation and processing of Bank products (projects, adjustment operations, Country Assistance Strategies, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers/Joint Staff Assessments) an advantage. • In addition to English, working proficiency in at least one language important for conflict countries (e.g., French, Portuguese, Spanish). COMPETENCIES: Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level. Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners. Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations. Analytical Tools for Social Sustainability - Extensive experience conducting social development analyses, deriving results that resonate with the client; ability to coach others in the application of the tools. Participation and Consultation - Extensive experience conducting social development consultative and participatory approaches, deriving results that resonate with the client; ability to coach others in the application of the interventions. Social Development Implications on Policy, Institutions, and Operations - Solid understanding of the implications of social development on policy, institutions, and operations. Social Safeguards - Experience successfully applying the social safeguard policies to category B and C projects, with minimal supervision. Knowledge of FCS Context - Applies to operations and analytical tasks a substantive understanding of fragility, conflict and violence, including the impacts of violence and conflict, polarization of state-society relations, diminished client capacity, relevance of partnerships, etc. FCS Policies, Tools and Instruments - Is experienced with the range of FCS related policies, tools and instruments: post-conflict needs assessment, transitional results framework, OP8.00 / OP7.30 / OP2.30, conflict assessments, political economy analysis, etc. Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge. Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables. Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches. Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels. Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.

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