Operations Officer

Job #:
req38334

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Operations

Grade:
GF

Term Duration:
Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP)

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s):
English

Preferred Language(s):
Spanish

Closing Date:
9/25/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Regional Context:

The World Bank Group serves 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LCR). Clients range from large middle-income economies to International Development Association countries, small Caribbean states, and one fragile state. They face three shared challenges: low productivity and growth, insufficient quality jobs, and vulnerability to shocks. The region addresses these through a selective World Bank Group approach that draws on the complementary strengths of its public and private arms and partnerships with regional development institutions.

A. The challenge of low growth. After the post-pandemic rebound, growth returned to about 2.2% in 2023-24, with a medium-term outlook of 2.5%. Latin America and the Caribbean remains among the world's most unequal regions: the bottom 50% earn 27 times less than the top 10%. A child born in the poorest quintile is expected to be 17 percentage points less productive than one born in the richest quintile.

B. The challenge of quality jobs: Although unemployment is 6.2%, job quality remains weak. Labor earnings have grown by no more than 1% annually in most countries over the past decade, and 19% of workers earn below the poverty line. Addressing this challenge requires:
• Investing in foundational infrastructure. Infrastructure investment is only 2% of gross domestic product, below the estimated 3.1% needed. Skills gaps further constrain jobs: 55% of firms report shortages, and three in four 15-year-olds lack basic proficiency.
• A predictable, business-enabling policy and regulatory environment. Priorities include stability, stronger competition, and long-term finance. Private-sector credit is only 55% of gross domestic product, compared with 178% in East Asia and the Pacific.
• Mobilization of private capital for public goods and job-creating sectors. Investment is only 19.8% of gross domestic product, constrained by shallow markets, scarce long-term finance, and regulatory barriers. Priority sectors include energy, mining, manufacturing, agribusiness, and tourism.

C. The challenge of vulnerability to shocks. Building resilience through contingent financing and innovative risk-management platforms is critical given the region's exposure to climate-related disasters and natural hazards. Hurricanes in Central America and the Caribbean can cause losses well above the regional average of 1.7% of gross domestic product, while droughts, storms, and floods increasingly disrupt economic activity and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.

Roles & Responsibility:

LCR is seeking up to two experienced, high-performing, energetic, adaptable, and flexible team members with demonstrated dependability, ability to manage a large workload, and dedication to teamwork to support the Director for Strategy and Operations (DSO) and the Development Effectiveness team. LCR's Front Office and the Development Effectiveness (LCRDE) team work seamlessly across a wide range of demands, requiring staff to have operational knowledge across a range of areas, deep understanding of how the Bank operates, and fungible skills to support priorities as needs evolve.

His/her main accountabilities would include:
• Pipeline and portfolio management and monitoring: (i) Monitor and analyze the region's portfolio, pipeline, and operational performance; (ii) Lead the region's monitoring of environmental, social, and integrity risks in operations; (iii) Support preparation of management briefs, presentations, and analytics for business meetings on lending, deliverables, ASAs, and portfolio managements; (iv) Support the rollout in the region of the D-READY initiative; and (v) Support and/or organize periodic and country/thematic reviews and analyses of portfolio performance, prepare portfolio monitoring reports and presentations, and follow up on portfolio review recommendations.
• Operational quality: (i) Support review of corporate reports, operational packages/documents (IPFs, DPFs, PforRs), country engagement products (CPFs, PLRs, CLRs, CENs) and various operational requests to ensure consistency with corporate operational policies and guidelines, regional priorities, and quality standards; (ii) Assist in advising Regional Management and task teams on complex operational issues, including corporate commitments and operations policy; and (iii) Support the ROC Secretary with the preparation and conduct of concept and decision meetings chaired by RVP related to various milestones in the project cycle.
• Support to Regional and Corporate Priorities: (i) Support the LCRVP Front Office (FO) in delivering key corporate priorities and responding to corporate requests, including coordinating major initiatives related to operational policies, instruments, and procedures; (ii) Oversee the regional partnerships agenda including analytics in relation to donors and other multilateral banks and reporting against MOU deliverables, and (iii) Produce and consolidate operational inputs on budget, staffing, portfolio delivery, and implementation for the FO, as needed; (iv) Prepare management briefs, notes, and presentations for internal and external audiences on regional priorities and operational policy matters; and (v) Contribute to regional activities and high-level events, including the Annual and Spring Meetings.
• Monitoring of implementation of strategies and programs: (i) Lead the design and monitor of the region's MOU; (ii) Prepare talking points, briefing notes, and background documents for the RVP and DSO in advance of the monthly Delivery Review Meetings (DRM) and regular MOU discussions with the MDO; (iii) Support tracking progress on outcome targets/scorecard and LCR's other corporate strategic commitments such as climate change, gender, PCE/PCM, more and better jobs, citizens' engagement, small states strategy, and FCV strategy; (iv) Advise on and monitor the use of IDA, including the IDA Windows.
• Innovation, Knowledge, Communication: (i) Champion innovation including integration of AI tools into operational processes and LCRDE's daily business; (ii) Support the coordination of the LCR operational community of practice; and (iii) Support knowledge sharing as well as the development and delivery of operational training for regional staff and LCR's WBG Learning agenda.

Selection Criteria
• Master's level degree in a relevant discipline with a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience.
• Thorough knowledge of World Bank operations, financing instruments, operational policies and procedures, project cycle, and accountability and decision making.
• Good understanding of Bank's corporate priorities and initiatives.
• Solid experience in pipeline, operations, and portfolio management.
• Superior ability to analyze data and use the Bank's data systems and tools.
• Demonstrated ability to apply AI tools effectively in analytical work, along with curiosity and initiative in exploring emerging AI capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical content into plain language, and capacity to prepare reports and presentations using MS Word, PowerPoint, and AI tools.
• Demonstrated oral and written communication skills in English including the ability to speak and write persuasively and present ideas clearly and concisely in meetings.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, and follow-through.
• Demonstrated ability to undertake a diversity of tasks within a rapidly changing and demanding environment on short deadlines.
• Proven capacity to build strong working relationships with colleagues and clients, demonstrating empathy, reliability, and a willingness to assist others, and contributing to a culture of trust, collegiality, and shared success.

Competencies

COS Generic Competencies: https://tinyurl.com/y34lnxvu

This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.