Senior Executive Assistant

World Bank Group • Washington, DC

20h

About The Position

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.

The People Vice Presidency

The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest provider of development finance and solutions for human development working with high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to develop country-tailored solutions. The People Vice Presidency is made up of the Global Departments for education and skills; health; gender; and social policy.
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.

WKHVP Front Office

The Office of the Vice President is a dynamic unit that requires professional excellence, results focus and a commitment to teamwork. The Senior Executive Assistant will be part of the People Vice President’s front office team that provides direct support to the Vice President on a broad range of tasks. S/he will work closely with the rest of the front office team, especially the office of the Director, Strategy & Operations (DSO), the Special Assistant, Development Effectiveness (DE) Manager and Team and the Human Capital Project, which is housed in the People FO. This position will offer exposure to a broad range of corporate strategy and operational issues as well as opportunities to work with a wide range of management and staff across the HD units.

The Senior Executive Assistant will report to the People Vice President. The incumbent’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Duties and Accountabilities

The Senior Executive Assistant (SEA) provides comprehensive administrative and proactive executive support to the Vice President (VP). The SEA reports directly to the VP and works closely with the department’s administrative team, the VP’s Front Office, and other Front Offices across the WBG. Key responsibilities include:
• Provide wide ranging executive support to the VP with the highest level of discretion, including managing priorities and overall workflow.
• Manage the VP’s calendar and time, including scheduling and logistics (appointments, invitees, Teams connections), proactively resolving conflicts, screening and prioritizing competing requests, consulting others as needed, and delegating where appropriate.
• Keep the VP on schedule, ensuring smooth transitions between meetings, adequate preparation time, and timely notifications when next appointments are ready to start.
• Lead coordination of logistics for senior management visits, Annual and Spring Meetings, and other high level engagements.
• Ensure timely, high quality preparation of presentations, talking points, and briefs by relevant teams, in line with Bank standards and clearance protocols, in coordination with the Special Assistant.
• Support department workflow and deliverables, ensuring timely follow up by managers and staff in People, including coordination of assignments and requests for comments.
• Manage delegation and tracking of Briefing Notes from EXC, MDCKO, and MDO offices; following up with relevant teams on preparation, approvals, and clearances.
• Draft, proofread, and finalize correspondence on behalf of the VP.
• Triage and respond to diverse inquiries, prioritizing where multiple courses of action exist, and flagging issues requiring VP attention or action on her behalf, in coordination with the Special Assistant.
• Respond to extensive and diverse inquiries, prioritizing and making decisions when multiple courses of action are possible and highlight issues that need to be addressed by and/or on behalf of the VP.
• Support the VP’s mission travel (scheduling, bookings, visas), prepare briefing books/binders, working closely with the Special Assistant.
• Liaise closely with Global Practices Front Offices, HR, and BPS partners to facilitate decision making and follow through.
• Supervise Front Office ACS staff, including reallocating assignments across teams to balance workloads, in consultation with managers as appropriate. Coordinate leave plans to ensure continuous coverage. Represent A2D Staff at the A2D council and provide oversight on coordinated learning activities for A2D, as needed. Act as intermediary between ACS staff and management on ACS concerns, providing leadership, mentoring and support.
• Maintain records, data, and information repositories as required. Compile and organize background materials for meetings (briefs, reports, documents) in OneDrive, Outlook, and/or hard copy; ensure files are well structured for easy access by the Director and Front Office staff and for future reference.
• Coordinate Acting VP arrangements during the VP’s absence.
• Ensure all documents and correspondence requiring signature meet quality, formatting, protocol, and distribution standards.
• Manage logistics for meetings and events hosted or sponsored by the office.
• Serve as a focal point for Office Space coordination for People VPU.
• Undertake other duties and ad hoc assignments, including coverage during staff absences and peak workload periods.
• Exercise sound judgment, discretion, and strict confidentiality in handling sensitive matters; independently respond to a broad range of inquiries and ensure timely follow through on management decisions.

Requirements

• Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of six years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience providing Executive Assistance to senior staff, preferably VP or Director level.
• Thorough understanding, or the ability to quickly gain an understanding, of VP-level business activities and objectives and understanding of the broader context in which the Bank works.
• Good team player, with excellent interpersonal and communication skills and able to interact tactfully and effectively with internal/external contacts at all levels.
• Effective, proven skills in organizing, prioritizing, scheduling, planning and coordinating work and other activities internally and externally
• High degree of discretion and good judgement in dealing with internal and external clients, staff, and managers at all levels, and in handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Experience in full range of office support work, with a high level of performance.
• Able to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Thorough knowledge and use of all relevant computer software, including advanced functions and the ability to help organize data and information retrieval systems.
• Resourceful and comfortable with testing and using new IT tools, including AI, to carry out tasks.
• Ability to adapt and work in a dynamic environment during a period of institutional change.

Responsibilities

• Provide wide ranging executive support to the VP with the highest level of discretion, including managing priorities and overall workflow.
• Manage the VP’s calendar and time, including scheduling and logistics (appointments, invitees, Teams connections), proactively resolving conflicts, screening and prioritizing competing requests, consulting others as needed, and delegating where appropriate.
• Keep the VP on schedule, ensuring smooth transitions between meetings, adequate preparation time, and timely notifications when next appointments are ready to start.
• Lead coordination of logistics for senior management visits, Annual and Spring Meetings, and other high level engagements.
• Ensure timely, high quality preparation of presentations, talking points, and briefs by relevant teams, in line with Bank standards and clearance protocols, in coordination with the Special Assistant.
• Support department workflow and deliverables, ensuring timely follow up by managers and staff in People, including coordination of assignments and requests for comments.
• Manage delegation and tracking of Briefing Notes from EXC, MDCKO, and MDO offices; following up with relevant teams on preparation, approvals, and clearances.
• Draft, proofread, and finalize correspondence on behalf of the VP.
• Triage and respond to diverse inquiries, prioritizing where multiple courses of action exist, and flagging issues requiring VP attention or action on her behalf, in coordination with the Special Assistant.
• Respond to extensive and diverse inquiries, prioritizing and making decisions when multiple courses of action are possible and highlight issues that need to be addressed by and/or on behalf of the VP.
• Support the VP’s mission travel (scheduling, bookings, visas), prepare briefing books/binders, working closely with the Special Assistant.
• Liaise closely with Global Practices Front Offices, HR, and BPS partners to facilitate decision making and follow through.
• Supervise Front Office ACS staff, including reallocating assignments across teams to balance workloads, in consultation with managers as appropriate. Coordinate leave plans to ensure continuous coverage. Represent A2D Staff at the A2D council and provide oversight on coordinated learning activities for A2D, as needed. Act as intermediary between ACS staff and management on ACS concerns, providing leadership, mentoring and support.
• Maintain records, data, and information repositories as required. Compile and organize background materials for meetings (briefs, reports, documents) in OneDrive, Outlook, and/or hard copy; ensure files are well structured for easy access by the Director and Front Office staff and for future reference.
• Coordinate Acting VP arrangements during the VP’s absence.
• Ensure all documents and correspondence requiring signature meet quality, formatting, protocol, and distribution standards.
• Manage logistics for meetings and events hosted or sponsored by the office.
• Serve as a focal point for Office Space coordination for People VPU.
• Undertake other duties and ad hoc assignments, including coverage during staff absences and peak workload periods.
• Exercise sound judgment, discretion, and strict confidentiality in handling sensitive matters; independently respond to a broad range of inquiries and ensure timely follow through on management decisions.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees