Financial Sector Specialist

Financial Sector Specialist

Job #:
req33628

Organization:
World Bank

Sector:
Financial Sector

Grade:
GF

Term Duration:
3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:
International Recruitment

Location:
Washington, DC,United States; London, United Kingdom

Required Language(s):
English

Preferred Language(s):
French, Spanish

Closing Date:
7/18/2025 (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.

PROSPERITY VICE PRESIDENCY

The Prosperity Vice Presidency is one of the World Bank Group's five verticals, with a mandate that emphasizes "Growth, Finance, and Institutions for all." Our approach leverages data-driven analysis and combines expertise from both the public and private sectors, together with International Finance Corporation (IFC). The Prosperity Vice Presidency supports clients in advancing evidence-based structural reforms to establish the foundations for inclusive and sustainable growth in the thematic areas of macro-fiscal policy; financial sector resilience, access, and deepening; private sector development, trade, and competitiveness; and governance and public sector reform, including statistical capacity. Prosperity is comprised of five Global Departments.

Finance, Competitiveness and Investment (FCI) Global Department

The FCI Global Department is comprised of two directorates: the Finance directorate, and the Trade, Investment and Competitiveness (TIC) directorate. The Crisis and Disaster Risk Finance team housed in FCI-Finance directorate is seeking a Financial Sector Specialist.

The Crisis and Disaster Risk Finance Team draws on experienced professionals with skill sets covering all areas of crisis and disaster risk finance and insurance. Collectively, the team assists countries in areas from policy formation to regulation and supervision to investment and creating new financial products against crisis and disaster shocks, including index insurance and pre-arranged disaster risk financing. The team focuses on two primary areas: (i) increasing the financial resilience of countries against natural disasters by implementing sustainable and cost-effective financial protection policies and instruments; and (ii) enhancing access and use by households as well as small and medium enterprises to suitable financial services to reduce vulnerability to shocks.

The Crisis and Disaster Risk Finance team is seeking a Financial Sector Specialist with background and experience in the application of catastrophe risk models and/ or climate models for designing financial instruments for crisis and disaster risk finance and insurance, and assessing climate and disaster risks in the financial system. His/ Her overall objectives will be to:

i. Develop crisis and disaster risk finance and insurance solutions (such as parametric insurance programs, financial risk management instruments) for governments, small & medium enterprises, and households;

ii. Assess the impact of climate and disaster physical risk on the financial system of emerging markets and developing economies (using climate science and catastrophe modeling) to inform financial sector policies;

iii. Support the design and implementation of World Bank projects focused on financial risk management of climate and other disaster shocks;

iv. Develop innovative approaches and tools by exploring the use of new technologies (e.g., remote-sensing, crowd-sourced data, advanced risk analytics, mapping, and visualization techniques) for catastrophe risk, including climate related financial risk modeling, catastrophe risk assessment, and risk and exposure data management;

v. Clearly communicate insights and technical approaches verbally and in writing to specialists and non-specialist; and

vi. Contribute to drafting reports to donors and partners.

S/he will be assigned to work on countries and issues which span a full global portfolio. The candidate will also perform any other tasks are requested by the Practice Manager.

Selection Criteria

Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients stated and unstated needs.
Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
Lead and Innovate - Contributes to development of innovative solutions.
Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
Make Smart Decisions - Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.
Operational Project Management - Demonstrates broad knowledge of project management tools & methodologies; identifies key risks and mitigation measures; interprets background analysis and proposed solutions.
Financial Economic Policy - Demonstrates knowledge of economic policy development; demonstrates strong analytical skills & writing ability to help identify and assess policy issues in support of policy dialogue.
Sector/Program Representation - Ability to constructively participate in strategic cross-sector dialogues within the network, across the country, among Bank colleagues and other development institutions, government, and other organizations.

Knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas:

Strong quantitative expertise in risk modeling (e.g., catastrophe risk modeling, crisis and disaster risk modeling, integrated assessment modeling).
Expertise in the use of satellite imagery data for risk modelling and risk financing applications (e.g., data collection and processing, risk modelling, exposure mapping, near-real time loss evaluation, capacity building, insurance applications, product performance review).
Experience in applying catastrophe risk models and/or crisis and disaster risk models for designing and pricing disaster-related financial instruments.
Experience in applying catastrophe risk models and/or climate /disaster models in climate /disaster scenarios for assessing climate/disaster risks in the financial system.
Experience in managing large projects and/or with World Bank operations would be an asset.

Other Selection Criteria:

Master's degree [or equivalent professional qualification] plus at least 5 years of experience in finance, economics, statistics, engineering, disaster risk management, or related discipline.
Proven ability to work in teams, as well as support the delivery of complex analytical and advisory services.
Proven ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality work on time.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Experience in emerging markets is an advantage.

This internalrequisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term andextended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested notto apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not beconsidered.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of Urgency - Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful Risk Taking - Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.
3. Empowerment and Accountability - Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful results.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

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.