E T Consultant – Digital Development Specialist

Organization: World Bank
Sector: Digital Development
Grade: EC2
Term Duration: 1 year 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Maputo, Mozambique or ; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or Antananarivo, Madagascar
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date: 5/16/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

 

Description

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.

The Infrastructure Practice Group

Globally, 840 million people live more than 2 kilometers from all-weather roads, 1 billion people lack electricity, and 4 billion people lack Internet access. Access to basic infrastructure services is critical for creating economic opportunities for the poor. The Infrastructure Practice Group is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies.

The World Bank Group helps developing countries build smart infrastructure that supports inclusive and sustainable growth, expands markets, creates job opportunities, promotes competition, and contributes to a cleaner future. We help countries address their unique infrastructure needs by working with the public and private sectors. Infrastructure improves lives by connecting people to opportunity. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/infrastructure

The World Bank’s Infrastructure Vice Presidency (INF VPU) is keen to increase recruitment of highly-qualified, early and mid-career African and African Diaspora (A&AD)[1] staff for careers in transport, energy, digital development, infrastructure finance and infrastructure economics. To this end, the INF VPU has created two branded recruitment programs: (i) the A&AD Infrastructure Fellows Program; and (ii) the A&AD Infrastructure Mid-Career Professionals program. The present recruitment process is carried out under the A&AD Infrastructure Fellows program. Applicants should describe in their cover letter how they meet the requirements of the A&AD Infrastructure Fellows Program.

1.African and African Diaspora candidates are citizens of Sub-Saharan African countries or those who hold the citizenship of other countries but trace their ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Digital Development Global Practice

The Digital Development (DD) Global Practice is part of the Bank’s Infrastructure Practice Group. It plays a critical role in enabling the achievements of the Twin goals and the Sustainable Development Goals.   Digital technologies are transforming firms, governments and people’s lives; and with the digital economy growing at a rate significantly higher than that of the global economy, it offers emerging economies a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional paths for development through digital solutions.

Collaborating across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries, the Digital Development team helps design and deliver ICT-enhanced solutions to a diverse range of clients.  The team supports clients (i) through advisory assistance to establish policy and regulatory environments that allow the widespread use of technology and create a trust environment; (ii) lending operations by building infrastructure to connect the unconnected, or enabling digital government shared platforms (cloud, digital, identification, etc.).

For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digitaldevelopment

Identification for Development Initiative

The World Bank Group estimates that one billion people globally are still unable to prove who they are, and many more have forms of ID that cannot be reliably verified or authenticated. Without a secure and trusted way to prove ones’ identity, people struggle to open a bank account, enroll in school, access health and social services, or obtain a mobile phone. The poorest and most vulnerable often face the highest risk of being excluded. In the digital age, the lack of ‘Good’ ID systems creates challenges for fully leveraging the opportunities being created through digital government and the digital economy, such as e-commerce, digital financial services and cross-border transactions. It is for these reasons that the international community committed to, “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030 through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 16.9.

In response, the World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative was launched in 2014 to leverage global knowledge and expertise across sectors to help countries realize the transformational potential of digital ID and civil registration systems to achieve the SDGs. The Initiative is located in the DD Global Practice and operates across the World Bank Group with global practices and units working on social protection, health, financial inclusion, governance, gender, and legal aspects, among others. The ID4D initiative works with more than 40 countries and has $1.5 billion in active and pipeline financing  It is supporting implementation of digital ID and civil registration systems, with much of this work carried out with partners, such as bilateral donors, think tanks, the private sector, UN agencies, and other international finance institutions. The work of ID4D is supported by a multi-donor trust fund, including the following partners: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government, the French government, and the Omidyar Network.

 The DD Global Practice is led by a Director supported by several Practice Managers with specific regional and thematic responsibilities, including ID4D. The IDD04 unit is responsible for Digital Development activities and portfolio in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, including lending, supervision and analytical work. The IDD03 unit is responsible for the global ID4D and G2Px cross GP initiative.

The unit is looking to recruit a Digital Development (DD) Specialist under an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) appointment to be based in one of the following locations (Maputo, Mozambique, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or Antananarivo, Madagascar) and support various countries in the region. English is essential, and French or Portuguese would be an advantage. The DD Specialist will report jointly to the IDD04 Practice Manager and the IDD03 Practice Manager.

Duties and Accountabilities 


The ET Consultant will work across both the AFE Digital Development regional team and the global ID4D team:

Digital Development activities (50%)

• Contribute to the design, preparation and supervision of World Bank Group financed digital development related investment and policy reform programs in client countries with a particular emphasis on stimulating development of digital connectivity infrastructure through PPPs and regulatory/policy reforms, facilitating development of digital government IT infrastructure, platforms and services, and promoting development of digital skills and innovation as well as on addressing corporate requirements (e.g. climate change, gender, ….).
• Advise clients on strategies, best practices and design of programs to develop the foundations of their digital economies.  This may include participating in complex technical assistance activities and providing ad hoc technical and strategic expertise on the design of the overall policy, legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the ICT sector and wider digital economy as well as IT functions and digital services delivery within governments.
• Provide technical expertise and advice on a range of ICT policy and regulatory issues to promote competition, investment and innovation in the telecoms sector and broadband value chain with the aim of boosting affordability, service quality and access to digital connectivity by citizens, businesses and governments and to stimulate the downstream development of value-added digital services.
• Provide technical expertise and advice on policy, institutional reform, project development and execution to support the digitization of public administration and public services delivery in client countries.
• Liaise and provide guidance to colleagues working in other sectors (including agriculture, health, education, energy, financial services, transport, etc.) on how to leverage digital technologies to improve public service delivery and efficiency in the respective sectors.
• Develop innovative and practical approaches to solving difficult policy and operational issues for selected high priority telecommunications, ICT or digital economy related activities
• Contribute to policy dialogue with senior officials of client countries, regional institutions, private sector/industry, and development partner agencies.
• Prepare of best practice notes and reports on policy and regulation in the DD sector.
• Perform economic and financial analysis (market models, business models, etc.) to inform decisions on project designs, PPP schemes, financing plans, etc.
• Represent the DD Unit and the Bank at digital development related fora and events, as well as liaison in the above areas with key external partners.
ID4D activities (50%)

The roles and responsibilities include but not limited to: 

• Provide strategic and operational inputs to the ID4D initiative.  Translate the strategic leadership and guidance provided by the ID4D Senior Directors into actionable program(s) to be implemented by the participating GPs/Global Themes and sectors, and in consultation with external partners; and Closely monitor progress in the implementation of the work program;
• Facilitate country implementation of multi-sector solutions to the complex development challenges faced by our client governments.  Serve as a team member on operational teams (across a range of Global Practices), contribute to the preparation of World Bank project documents, provide guidance on ID good practices to project teams. Contribute to the policy dialogue (often working across a range of Ministries and agencies), convening, and consensus-building across stakeholders.  Participate in technical evaluation and support missions and provide technical guidance to help shape the design, project preparation, and management of World Bank projects.
• Lead and contribute to developing analytical products in collaboration with a range of GPs/departments and external expert partners, review and provide feedback to publications, and contribute to the development of indicators to track global progress in the ID4D field;
• Strengthen knowledge sharing and advocacy around the ID4D agenda through synthesizing findings from analytical products or country project progress in concise publications, briefing notes, and well-designed presentations and sharing insights from ID4D’s work with internal as well as external audiences at conferences, seminars, and other events.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in telecommunications, engineering, computer science, law, economics, public policy or related field with a minimum of 5 years of experience in ICT / Digital Economy policy and regulation and/or ICT / Digital Economy project design and implementation, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Excellent conceptual and analytical skills, including ability to think strategically and innovatively about the role of digital technologies for socio-economic development and for transformation in other sectors of the economy.
• Strong technical and operational skills as evidenced in a proven track record in supporting the delivery of project operations and project implementation and supervision within the Bank or similar type of projects/products for other entities; knowledge and experience in World Bank Group Policy and Procedure Framework (PPF) is not mandatory but would be a plus.
• Strong relationships with leaders and experts in the fields of digital identity and technology
• Firm understanding of digital technologies, digital transformation of society, and digitally enabled business model trends relevant to socio-economic development in the African context (especially Eastern and Southern Africa) and enthusiasm to stay abreast of new innovations.
• Strong client engagement skills, taking responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or project success.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English (French and Portuguese would be an advantage) as demonstrated in a proven track record of effectively delivering technical information in a clear, easily understandable and effective manner.
• Excellent presentation skills, using charts, graphs and other data presentation techniques appropriately to communicate data, technical information, or complex concepts to non-specialists.
• Strong drive for results, taking personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results.
• Strong business judgment and analytical decision making, analyzing facts and data to support sound and logical business decisions.
• Proven ability to function effectively as a team member of multi-disciplinary teams and resolve conflicts constructively.
• Prior work experience in Africa (especially Eastern and Southern Africa), and good knowledge of sector issues in the region is a plus. Experience in Fragile Conflict and Violence environment would be an additional plus.
• Willingness and ability to travel.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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.

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 for an additional one year, at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET Appointment of two 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 second-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.

 

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