Urban Development Specialist

• Job #123077
• Job TitleUrban Development Specialist
• Job FamilyUrban Development
• Job TypeProfessional & Technical
• GradeGF
• LocationWashington, DC
• Recruitment TypeInternational Hire
• Language RequirementEnglish [Essential]
• Closing Date13-Jan-2013

Background / General description:
Note:  This is a trust-funded 2-year coterminous term position. Staff with regular/open-ended appointment, if selected, will retain their current appointment type, with a re-entry guarantee provided by the releasing unit. All others will be offered a 2-year coterminous term appointment.  It is expected that the selected candidate will initially spend up to one year at HQ to get familiar with the World Bank operations before relocating to a field office in Central Asia. Regional Context The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region comprises of 30 extremely diverse clients, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Four of our clients are IDA only and another 5 are IDA blend countries. The remaining 21 are IBRD eligible. Although 10 of our clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or lending services. CASs/CPSs reflect this strong diversity with substantial variation in lending prospects, but strong demand for Bank technical services is present across the board. For the most part, countries in the ECA region have recovered to the GDP levels prevailing prior to the 2008/09 crisis, yet growth is slower than before the crisis. In 2011, the region had a real growth rate of 5.3 percent, and is projected to grow at 3 percent in 2012. The crisis left ECA countries with historically high levels of unemployment, which are still worsening, particularly in the Balkans. Furthermore, the rapidly unfolding sovereign debt problems in Western Europe are posing challenges to the sustainability of the relatively tepid recovery. The ECA region is implementing a regional strategy that is focused on addressing three critical challenges to growth and development---improving competitiveness, reforming the social sectors to achieve inclusive growth, and making growth more sustainable through climate action. Governance and gender issues cut across these three strategic pillars. The financial and economic crisis led to a substantial increase in Bank lending and knowledge activities in all ECA countries, including in several EU members states (e.g., Latvia, Romania, and Poland). The crisis helped serve as a powerful reminder of the relevance of the Bank both as an attractive source of funding and a reliable provider of timely and quality advice. Sector Context The mission of ECA’s Sustainable Development Department (ECSSD) is to support the Bank’s clients in the region achieve equitable, environmentally and socially sustainable growth and prosperity. ECSSD is responsible for: (i) advising ECA Management on long-term development issues in the sectors of ECSSD expertise, and delivering a broad range of high-quality operational and analytical products, in response to demand from country clients and Country Management Units (CMUs); (ii) overseeing professional development of the ECA staff assigned to the Sustainable Development (SD) Network, including those based in field offices; and (iii) ensuring a proper link with the SD Network in developing a long-term vision and strategy for SD activities Bank wide and in ECA. The Europe and Central Asia Region Urban, Water and Disaster Risk Management Unit (ECSUW) within ECSSD operates in the context of the overall Regional mission to improve the quality of people's lives. With over 70 percent of the population living in urban areas, ECA is the second most urbanized region in the developing world. Cities in the ECA region are still going through a process of transition from centrally-planned economies of over 20 years ago to market-based economies. While urban areas are generally drivers of growth and innovation in the Region, many cities are experiencing a hollowing out of industry, demographic decline and relatively high levels of unemployment, particularly as a result of the global economic and financial crisis. Typical characteristics of many ECA cities are aging and often oversized infrastructure, weak urban planning mechanisms, problems of inefficient utility operations and weak cost recovery (water and sanitation services, solid waste management and other communal services), and housing policy and affordability gaps. ECA is also the most energy intensive developing region and efforts to improve energy efficiency, particularly at the city level are of paramount importance. Several ECA countries also stand out as examples from which other regions can learn from the region’s urban experience, including adaptation to urbanization pressures, historic cities preservation, urban redevelopment, and energy efficiency, among other areas. Therefore, drawing lessons learned, sharing experience and promoting cross-regional learning is an important agenda for ECSUW. Against this backdrop, ECSUW has developed a diverse and responsive urban program, including solid waste management, housing and communal services, regional and local economic development and tourism, municipal funds and finance mechanisms, metropolitan governance and management, infrastructure and urban environment. The region’s flagship urban program is “Sustainable Cities,” which is structured around the triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social sustainability at the city level. Extensive knowledge exchange programs, diagnostic tools and planning frameworks have been developed and delivered that are now driving new investment lending and advisory services. The mission of the Europe and Central Asia Regional Urban, Water and Disaster Risk Management unit (ECSUW) is to work with national and local governments and with communities to make cities more economically productive, environmentally sound and livable and less vulnerable. ECSUW teams work seamlessly across all three areas of the unit’s services, including water supply and sanitation and disaster risk management, in addition to the urban program. ECSUW provides our clients services through lending (including sector investment loans), implementation support (supervision), and advisory, knowledge, technical assistance, and fee based services. ECSUW works collaboratively with other sector units within the Sustainable Development Department, in addition to working across the Bank networks and with other institutions of the World Bank Group. At present, ECSUW has 40 ongoing projects in its portfolio, with a loan/credit value of US$3.4 billion. The unit is working on a diverse pipeline with strong innovation and client responsiveness. ECSUW is comprised of about 30 team members, including extended term consultants.
Duties and Accountabilities:
To support the growing demand for urban service improvement from our clients, the ECSUW unit is seeking a highly qualified and motivated Urban Development Specialist to support operational and analytical services in the Central Asia (ECCU8) sub-region. The Central Asia Country Unit consists of five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and it is expected that the selected candidate will support the urban teams working in Central Asia and contribute on a range of urban issues, namely areas of sustainable city development, solid waste management, housing and communal services, regional/territorial development and/or municipal management/finance. This position is also expected to liaise closely with multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and international organizations active in urban agenda in Central Asia. • Support and provide technical inputs to task teams working on investment and development policy lending operations, also undertake monitoring and evaluation activities related to urban development operations in Central Asia. • Support and provide technical inputs for analytical and strategy work in the urban development sector in Central Asia, such as the Long-term Spatial Policy in Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan Historic Cities Sustainable Development Strategy for Bukhara and Samarkand and the Tajikistan: Municipal and Communal Services Development Strategy. • Provide project supervision support on investment lending activities and liaise with project government counterparts as directed by the TTLs. • Assist in development of new business opportunities in the urban sector in Central Asia, in line with unit’s strategic directions and the Bank comparative advantage. • Liaise closely and coordinate urban development activities with the Central Asia Country Unit, as well as with bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors and international institutions to strengthen partnerships. • Assist Central Asia country teams in the inclusion of urban agenda in Country Partnership Strategies, provide critical input to the design and execution of policy and research initiatives as relevant to the urban sector. • Participate in professional development and knowledge sharing activities in the urban sector and contribute specific knowledge both within the assigned countries and in the World Bank. • Perform other duties and functions as assigned by the SD Sector Manager and the TTLs for Central Asia on Urban. • Participate in missions in area of specialization; provide technical inputs and guidance to counterparts on appropriate scope, technology, costs, etc.; prepares terms of reference for projects- or sector-related work.
Selection Criteria:
COMPETENCIES • Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients. • Policy Dialogue Skills - Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders. • Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector. • Urban Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Familiarity with urban policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations. • Urban Services Delivery - Foundational knowledge of urban services delivery, with ability to applyto operations and analytical work. • Client Orientation - Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success. • Drive for Results - Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so. • Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view. • Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner. • Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work. Knowledge and experience in at least two of the following areas: • Urban Economics - Solid understanding of many of the economic concepts relevant to urban, with hands-on experience. • Municipal Finance - Working knowledge of a range of municipal financing alternatives; can conduct a range of financial analyses. • Urban Poverty and Slums - Foundational knowledge of urban poverty, with ability to support operations and analytical work. • Land and Housing - Foundational knowledge of land and housing, with ability to support operations and analytical work. • Urban Environment and Solid Waste - Direct experience in at least one subtopic: environment monitoring, planning and evaluation; air, soil, or water pollution; urban water resources management; solid waste management; etc. • Urban and Regional Planning - Foundational knowledge or urban and regional planning, with ability to support operations and analytical work. OTHER SELECTION CRITERIA • Advanced university degree(s) (PhD or Masters) in a field relevant to urban development, infrastructure and service delivery, such as urban and regional planning, urban economics, environmental engineering, political science, municipal finance, or a related field. • At least 5 years of directly relevant experience. Urban analytical work and/or project experience in the urban sector in developing countries is required. • Experience working in an international environment, especially in developing countries or countries in transition, is desirable. Experience in supporting national urban ministries and municipalities in preparing and/or implementing urban development strategies, policies, or institutional reforms would be an advantage. • Knowledge of World Bank operational policies and practices, including institutional, operational and technical issues related to the Bank’s project cycle would be a plus, but not compulsory. • Demonstrate excellent and effective command of English both in verbal and written forms. Ability to communicate in Russian language would be a plus. The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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