Senior Social Development SpecialistJob #:
req38644
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Social Protection
Grade:
GG
Term Duration:
Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP)
Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date:
10/27/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Background: The WBG People Vice Presidency is responsible for getting the right public and private sector solutions to our operational teams and to our clients, and to produce scalable impact. Its mandate is to deliver knowledge for impact to enable and support the WBG to achieve its goals in support of our mission and specifically: providing guidance on creating more and better jobs; supporting foundational infrastructure and human capital, policy environment, and private sector mobilization; focusing on agribusiness, healthcare, infrastructure, manufacturing, and tourism; and support and accelerate specific targets such as M300, Health 1.5bn, and SP 500. The VPU's objectives in driving outcomes include replicating and scaling effective solutions, enhancing thought leadership and innovation, and delivering timely knowledge to client teams.
Social Policy (SP) Global Department Context:Social Policy (SP) brings together the former Social Protection and Labor (SPL) and Social Development (SD) Global Practices into a unified platform for building inclusive and resilient social and labor systems. By addressing fragmentation across social, labor, and inclusion programs, SP strengthens policy coherence and places human capital accumulation at the center of social policy-recognizing that capabilities are built over time across the home, neighborhoods, and the workplace.
Social protection is a core pillar of this framework. Through social assistance, social insurance, and labor-linked programs, it reduces poverty, manages risk, and guarantees a basic standard of living while enabling households to invest in nutrition, health, and education. By stabilizing incomes and protecting against shocks, social protection supports human capital formation in the home, promotes inclusion and equity through contributory and non-contributory systems, and strengthens resilience during crises.
Labor markets are equally central, shaping income distribution, social inclusion, and economic stability. Active labor market programs, labor regulations, skills development, and links to social protection systems support human capital accumulation in the workplace by helping workers build skills through either wage or self-employment, access quality jobs, ensure safe and balanced working conditions, and manage transitions as economies evolve-combining opportunity with security.
Community and local development anchor social policy in neighborhoods, where local institutions, service delivery, and social cohesion shape opportunity. By strengthening local capacity and resilience, improving access to services, supporting local economic opportunities, and linking community priorities with national policy, these approaches create environments that reinforce human capital development beyond the household and workplace.
Together, social protection, labor markets, and community development form an integrated social policy framework that links protection, productivity, and participation. The merger reflects a shift from fragmented sectoral programs toward coherent social policies that support people across the life cycle-from childhood to old age-and across the spaces where human capital is built, deployed, and enhanced.
The Social Policy Global Unit performs the following functions:
• Defining strategic directions and business plan for the Social Policy Global Department.
• Capturing and leveraging knowledge effectively across regions, and in collaboration with DEC.
• Developing and coordinating the policy and regulations that support the WBG's strategic directions and deploying of impactful solutions globally.
• Coordinating global engagements, partnerships and convening efforts.
The Senior Social Development Specialist The Senior Social Development Specialist would encompass a dual role: leading the climate team and on scaling microfinance solutions for climate-affected households and women's livelihood groups under the SP500 Microentreprise Support solution.
The role is part of the World Bank Group Knowledge Bank and is anchored in Social Policy's Solutions and Impact unit, with a focus on translating global knowledge, operational experience, and innovation into practical and scalable solutions for regional and country teams. It connects lessons from regional implementation with global technical expertise, supports the adaptation and replication of proven approaches across country contexts, and helps ensure that knowledge informs the design and delivery of high-quality operations.
Duties and Responsibilities:Lead the Global Microfinance Initiative for Climate:• Provide overall technical, operational, and partnership leadership for the initiative, looking for synergies with other programs supporting livelihoods, social protection, and microfinance.
• Advance innovative microfinance solutions that strengthen the climate resilience and adaptability of microentrepreneurs and vulnerable households.
• Coordinate closely with FCI, IFC, CGAP, regional teams, the GEF and other external partners to support implementation and scale-up.
• Support operationalization of microfinance solutions within the broader Social Policy agenda.
• Oversee knowledge generation, learning, and dissemination activities related to the initiative.
Co-Lead the Global Knowledge Hub on Financing Integrated Livelihood Platforms• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Global Knowledge Hub including support of four partner governments in Africa in designing, testing, and documenting safe and sustained pathways for expanding poor and near-poor women's access to affordable productive credit.
• Oversee the provision of grants, technical assistance, operational support and global learning from the Global Knowledge Hub to advance the country programs.
• Generate and curate practical knowledge to support cross-country learning.
• Co-lead partnerships, policy dialogue, and stakeholder engagement with donors and financial-sector actors.
• Represent the Hub externally and mobilize partnerships and resources to sustain its impact.
Lead the Team on Climate and Social Policy• Lead the cross-cutting climate team that advances climate adaptation, resilience, and just transition across Social Policy operations, analytics, and knowledge activities with a focus on adapting the SP500 solutions to have greater climate sensitivity and impact.
• Provide strategic leadership and overall coordination of the climate agenda within the Social Policy Global Unit.
• Lead efforts to integrate and scale climate adaptation and resilience across the SP500 Implementation Plan in collaboration with the other Solutions.
• Support regional teams in incorporating climate into operations, analytics, and policy dialogue, including through Adaptive Social Protection and Locally Led Climate Action; ensure that lessons from the regions are captured to strengthen Social
Policy's operational evidence base on climate adaptation and resilience.• Maintain and grow the Platform on locally-led climate action in collaboration with external partners and by connecting adaptive social protection, economic inclusion, and green jobs.
• Advance the green jobs agenda in close collaboration with the Labor team, linking climate adaptation and resilience investments with opportunities for job creation, skills development, and more resilient livelihoods.
• Serve as the primary focal point for climate-related corporate engagement working closely with the Climate Change Group, other Global Practices, development partners, and donors.
• Lead and deliver the Social Policy Climate Practitioners' Academy, global exchanges, and communities of practice.
• Promote the visibility and uptake of Social Policy climate work through strategic communications and representation at internal and external forums.
• Lead fundraising and resource mobilization to support implementation and expansion of the Social Policy climate work program.
Selection Criteria
Qualifications:• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in relevant social science (e.g., Economics, Sociology, and Political Science) or related fields.
• Minimum of 8 years of professional working experience and knowledge on social development in a variety of roles
• Knowledge, interest, and experience working on jobs and livelihoods, financial inclusion, productive inclusion, microfinance, and climate.
• Proven ability to carry-out independent policy-relevant research, translate theory into practical applications, and adapt professional knowledge and technical skills to analyze, diagnose and propose solutions to policy issues and challenges related to climate and social policy.
• Experience leading or contributing to WBG operations related to climate change, livelihoods, inclusion and climate change, and thorough knowledge of WBG financing instruments and operational procedures, including trust fund management.
• Experience in leading analytical and technical assistance activities linked to operations.
• Demonstrated policy development as well as project/program management skills; aptitude to advise and/or lead diverse, multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, and team skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced solutions to complex development problems, with a strong client focus.
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision and to meet tight deadlines.
Note: 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.
