Operations Officer

World Bank Group•Washington, DC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

At the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, the private sector, development partners, and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. The WBG Infrastructure Vertical provides public and private solutions to operational teams and clients across the WBG to produce scalable impact. Its mandate is to deliver knowledge for impact to support the WBG to achieve its goals in support of our mission and specifically: providing guidance on creating more and better jobs by: (i) supporting foundational infrastructure and human capital, (ii) policy environment, and (iii) enabling and mobilizing private sector capital. The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is a global knowledge and technical assistance program administered by the World Bank that helps low- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy systems. The Energy Climate Finance (ECF team under ESMAP manages a broad portfolio of global operations financed through multilateral climate funds — including the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) — to support energy access, renewable energy deployment, and industrial decarbonization. The World Bank's Energy & Extractives (EEX) unit is seeking a seasoned Energy & Climate Finance Specialist to support the management, analytical work, and operational delivery of its energy and climate finance portfolio, with a focus on scaling up private sector investment, strengthening results frameworks and delivering high-quality knowledge products. Please note this position is financed by a Trust Fund and renewal is contingent upon availability of funding, in addition to other factors, including but not limited to business needs, staff performance and skills fit.

Requirements

Advanced degree (Master's or higher) in Environment Policy, Economics, Finance, Public Policy, Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in energy, climate finance, or development economics, preferably including work in low- and middle-income country contexts.
Demonstrated experience managing large-scale, multi-regional energy portfolios within the World Bank Group or another International Financial Institution (IFI), including monitoring, risk mitigation & alternate course of action.
Proven operational experience with multilateral climate funds, including the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), from program design to implementation & completion.
Experience working with donors, fund managers on strategizing the use of climate finance and enhancing the design of Investment Plans and downstream lending operations.
Experience in operations including energy projects preferably in Asia with ability to develop, analyze and articulate project issues, diagnose problems and propose reliable solutions, including mobilizing climate finance.
Experience working on World Bank lending and non-lending operations.
Good knowledge of project design and implementation at the operational level.
Good knowledge on technical topics relevant to climate finance in the energy sector, including grid integration of renewable energy, energy storage systems and industrial decarbonization.
Strong analytical skills and attention to detail for data management.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a multicultural, multidisciplinary team, as well as independently with minimal supervision.
Excellent written communication skills and experience in preparing memos, presentations, and web materials.
Proven effective stakeholder communication and outreach.
Strong stakeholder engagement skills.

Responsibilities

Support operational teams in securing climate finance across various climate funds (e.g., CIF, GCF, other) managed by ESMAP.
Support in managing a multi-regional climate finance portfolio ensuring timely delivery of results against agreed performance frameworks and key indicators.
Lead regional portfolio responsibilities across assigned regions serving as a key liaison for country teams and fund administrators.
Support pipeline prioritization and portfolio-level strategic planning in coordination with senior management.
Monitor the performance of regional portfolio - tracking disbursements, implementation progress, and reporting obligations across the pipeline, flagging risks and proposing corrective actions as needed.
Advising task teams to secure climate finance by designing Investment Plans (IPs), funding proposals in alignment with country’s energy needs, flagship initiatives and contributing towards Maximizing Finance for Development approach by using blended finance mechanisms, High Leverage Modalities and Sustainable Risk Mitigation Instruments.
Provide specific inputs to advisory and analytical work in the region following guidance from task teams and the management.
Support policy dialogue and advise the clients, the World Bank team and the management on policy and regulatory issues in the energy sector.
Prepare core operational documentation, including concept notes, project appraisal documents, aide-memoires, and progress reports, consistent with World Bank and multilateral climate fund requirements.
Support energy teams in liaising with key internal and external partners including Senior Management from regions, clients, donors and Climate fund managers on Bank energy initiatives.
Advise government counterparts and country teams on pricing, policy and processing of climate finance to attract private sector investment in clean energy.
Support high-level policy dialogues, Scoping missions and technical meetings with senior government officials and development partners on energy transition and climate finance.
Prepare knowledge products, briefing notes, talking points, and presentations for senior management and external audiences on energy and climate finance issues.
Synthesize lessons learned from the portfolio to inform future programming and knowledge dissemination.
Build and sustain strong working relationships with a wide range of internal and external partners with IFC, MIGA, Climate Fund Secretariates to ensure alignment on program design and strategic priorities.