Social Development Specialist at World Bank

Job #: req3112
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade: GF
Sector: Social Development
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

The World Bank Group’s Vision and Strategy

• The global development community is at an auspicious turning point in history. Thanks to the success of the past few decades and favorable economic growth, developing countries now have an unprecedented opportunity to end extreme poverty within a generation. This is the vision of the WBG: to eradicate extreme poverty by reducing the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day to 3 percent by 2030 and promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40 percent in every country.
• To achieve this vision, the WBG Board of Governors approved a strategy for the organization that utilizes the combined strength of the WBG institutions and their unique ability to partner with the public and private sectors to deliver customized development solutions backed by finance, world class knowledge and convening services. The strategy has three components: (1) maximizing development impact by engaging country clients in identifying and tackling the most difficult development challenges; (2) promoting scaled-up partnerships that are strategically aligned with the goals; and (3) crowding in public and private resources, expertise and ideas.
• The architecture underpinning the strategy and instrumental to its success is the establishment of Global Practices and Cross-Cutting Solution Areas that, in concert with the WBG Regions, will design solutions that address clients’ most pressing developmental challenges, and ultimately, enable the WBG to meet its twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity
• The Sustainable Development Practice Group helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resources, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience, and Water

Social Development Context

• The Social Development theme addresses issues related to:
  • Social inclusion of the poor, vulnerable, and the excluded;
  • Promoting accountable institutions;
  • Supporting socially cohesive communities and groups with a focus on prevention of conflict, crime and violence, as well as supporting post-conflict development;
  • Using community driven development as a tool for developing local infrastructure and delivering services; and
  • Addressing issues related to social risk management, including those covered by the World Bank’s social safeguard policies on Indigenous Peoples and involuntary Resettlement, and by the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) in the new Environmental and Social Framework.
• The work on inclusion of vulnerable and excluded group covers, among others, issues related to Gender, LGBT, Disability, ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and displaced populations. 
• The Social Development team has an active work program in the Africa Region (AFR), encompassing project loans and grants, advisory and analytical programs and active partnerships supporting a wide range of engagements across sectors, including social safeguards and social risk management; community driven development; citizen engagement and social accountability; social inclusion; and social resilience.

Country Context:

• A key regional player in West Africa, with a population of approximately 197 million, Nigeria accounts for about 47% of West Africa’s population, and has one of the largest populations of youth in the world.
• A federation that consists of 36 autonomous states, Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse society. With an abundance of resources, it is Africa’s biggest oil exporter, and also has the largest natural gas reserves on the continent.
• The country has recently held national elections in 2019, for the sixth consecutive time since its return to democracy in 1999. While Nigeria has made some progress in socio-economic terms in recent years, its human capital development remains weak due to under-investment and the country ranked 152 of 157 countries in the World Bank’s 2018 Human Capital Index.
• Furthermore, the country continues to face massive developmental challenges, which include the need to reduce the dependency on oil and diversify the economy, address insufficient infrastructure, and build strong and effective institutions, as well as governance issues and public financial management systems. Inequality in terms of income and opportunities has been growing rapidly and has adversely affected poverty reduction.
• The North-South divide has widened in recent years due to the Boko Haram insurgency and a lack of economic development in the northern part of the country. Large pockets of Nigeria’s population still live in poverty, without adequate access to basic services, and could benefit from more inclusive development policies.
• The lack of job opportunities is at the core of the high poverty levels, of regional inequality, and of social and political unrest in the country. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview

Position

• The position is subject to local recruitment and will be based in Abuja, Nigeria. The Social Development Specialist will provide support in meeting the Bank's expanding Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and social safeguards agenda and promote the social sustainability of its investments.
• She/he will report directly to a regional Practice Manager and will be expected to work closely with country units and task teams across the relevant region.
• The selected candidate will also be expected to work collaboratively and develop good relations with the corporate safeguards team, and the Bank-wide Social Sustainability and Safeguards Global Solutions Group (GSG), coordinated by the Global Lead.

Duties and Accountabilities
The Social Development Specialist – Social Sustainability and Safeguards will have the following responsibilities:

• Work under the coordination of the regional focal point for ESF and social safeguards and the CMU coordinator for ESF and social safeguards providing oversight and quality assurance on the project portfolio. This will include direct operational support on social safeguards and ESF. 
• Participate in the regional roll-out of the ESF and its future application within the region and with clients in borrower countries.
• Undertake policy dialogue with clients on social sustainability and safeguards issues and advise counterparts on technical options for social development, particularly involuntary resettlement, Indigenous Peoples, labor issues, mitigation plans and institutional development strategies. 
• Participate in cross-practice teams responsible for the preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics, Country Partnership Frameworks, sector studies, and research and policy development activities on the full range of social development topics. 
• Advise and participate in project teams to help develop operational designs and mechanisms to assess social opportunities, impacts, constraints and risks related to Bank supported operations; develop and evaluate proposed technical solutions, and assist in the preparation of project documentation. 
• Handle technical, institutional and program implementation issues regarding social development and lead the related dialogue with counterparts.
• Participate in portfolio reviews on selected social development topics. 
• Participate in analytical studies, support other analytical work on different social development topics, and stay abreast of developments in social development globally and on cross-cutting issues. 
• Contribute as task team member to projects mapped to the regional Social Development team. 
• Engage in the Bank-wide professional community of staff in social development and social standards/safeguards by participating in thematic groups, exchanging best practices, and drafting technical notes.

Selection Criteria

• This is a challenging position suited to constructive, highly motivated team players with an eye for detail, understanding the bigger picture context of operations, and creative problem-solving abilities.
• The successful candidate should have strong analytical skills, have practical experience with participatory processes of stakeholder engagement, and be able to integrate social development considerations in an operational context. This requires strong technical competency on social issues and safeguards, with demonstrated ability to contribute to project management. Experience working in complex and challenging settings is highly desirable. 
• Master’s degree or PhD in Social Sciences (Anthropology, Sociology, Political Economy, Social Development, etc.), and a minimum of five years of professional experience in social sustainability, social standards/safeguards and/or social development (voice and participation, gender, community-driven development, citizen engagement). 
• Knowledge and experience in addressing issues covered by the World Bank’s ESF and social safeguards policies or similar policies in other international finance institutions in complex and challenging settings, and across practices. This includes experience with: social assessments and analyzing social risks and impacts on different population groups; involuntary resettlement in different socio-economic contexts and tenure systems; Indigenous Peoples’ issues; coordination of transparent consultative and stakeholder engagement processes; grievance redress mechanisms, integration of relevant planning instruments such as Resettlement Action Plans and Indigenous Peoples Plans in overall project planning and implementation; labor and working conditions community health and safety; and cultural heritage. Experience in social sustainability and risk management policy development, including dialogue with governments, collaboration in these areas with other international development agencies, corporate reviews and policy development and improvement efforts;
• Experience in areas of social inclusion such as gender; conflict, fragility, and violence; and disability.
• Strong operational (task management) and analytical skills and demonstrated ability to translate analytical work into policy advice and actionable, practical recommendations. 
• Ability to present complex social development and ESF/safeguards issues to task teams and Bank audiences, and to engage effectively with government counterparts, the private sector, project beneficiaries and civil society. 
• 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. 
• Acting with integrity at all times to build trust and to create an enabling work environment as team member. 
• Very high level of energy, initiative and self-motivation; willingness to travel and work under challenging circumstances.
• Ability to work across practices, work in cross-thematic teams, and foster team work, and mentor junior staff. 
• Excellent oral and writing skills. Fluency and ability to write well in English is essential. 

Competencies:

• Social Safeguards/ESF - Experience in successfully applying social safeguard and/or ESF policies to both high and low risk projects, with minimal supervision, covering issues of involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, labor, community health and safety, stakeholder engagement,  etc.
• Social Development implications on policies, institutions, and operations –Solid understanding of the implications of social development on policy, institutions, and operations. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• Integrative Skills - Understand relevant cross-practice areas and how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-practice work in lending and non-lending operations. 
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translate technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interact with clients at the policy level. 
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipate needs and requests in the field and conduct independent policy discussions with representatives of government and non-government partners. 
• Lead and Innovate - Develop innovative solutions with others. 
• Deliver Results for Clients - Achieve results and identify mission-driven solutions for the client. 
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiate collaboration across boundaries and broadly across the World Bank Group, and bring differing ideas into the forefront. 
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Create, apply and share knowledge from across and outside WBG to strengthen internal and or external client solutions. 
• Make Smart Decisions - Recommend and take decisive action.

Language:

• Required Language(s): English
• Preferred Language(s): French