Senior Health Specialist – Health Services

World Bank Group•Washington, DC

10d•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. The WBG Knowledge Bank is a WBG-wide transformation that integrates how the institution generates, shares, and applies knowledge across public and private sector operations. Its five Verticals—People, Planet, Prosperity, Infrastructure, and Digital and AI—bring together IBRD/IDA and IFC teams to develop enabling policies and scale proven solutions. The People Vice Presidency advances investment in people by delivering knowledge and public-private solutions to WBG teams and clients. It promotes equitable access to quality health care, education, and social protection so people can build and use their human capital throughout life. The Global Health Directorate leads the WBG's health agenda, partnering with governments and the private sector to strengthen health systems, improve health outcomes, and accelerate progress to expand access to quality affordable health care. The Health Solutions & Impact (S&I) team within the Global Directorate is responsible from the Knowledge Management and Learning (KML) activities for WBG Health operations and the private investment center of excellence (COE), which supports the private sector contribution to the WBG Health targets through IFC investments and advisory activities. The S&I team also houses the Private Sector Global Health Advisory Program, which comprises a robust set of tools to support healthcare companies in areas of health quality, ethical practices, sustainability, digital transformation and operational excellence. The Senior Health Specialist will be a key technical resource within the Solutions and Impact Team, providing specialized health-sector expertise throughout IFC’s investment cycle. The Specialist will also serve as a bridge health-system policy and private-sector delivery by translating government priorities and system constraints into viable private-sector solutions and bringing industry evidence and operational insights into policy dialogue, regulatory reform, country strategies, and WBG operations.

Requirements

Master’s or advanced Degree in Healthcare management or related field
Minimum of 8 years (15+ years strongly preferred) of international operational/managerial/consultancy experience with health services companies and familiarity with the regulatory, quality and operational aspects of health services businesses
Deep executive or operational experience in private health services, with demonstrated responsibility for business models, clinical quality, growth, investment, operational performance, or market entry in emerging economies.
Demonstrated experience working at the interface of private health-sector operations and health-system policy, including direct engagement with ministries of health, finance ministries, regulators, public purchasers, social health insurance agencies, or development institutions.
Knowledge of health systems in areas of health financing and strategic purchasing; provider payment and reimbursement models; licensing, accreditation, quality assurance, and patient safety; market and competition dynamics; workforce and service-delivery planning; digital health and data governance; and equity, affordability, and financial protection.
Understanding and/ or experience in quality and ethical practices issues in the sector
Familiarity with WBG strategy, operations and toolkit for the health services
Strong leadership track record, ability to manage and drive change with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of the organization
Qualifications must include computer literacy in relevant scientific/technical software
Excellent communication skills both written and verbal in English.

Nice To Haves

Spanish and French language proficiency is highly preferred

Responsibilities

Provide due diligence support and input to investment documents and meetings as a technical specialist on IFC’s health services projects, including hospitals, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, health technology, and health insurance.
Assess how a proposed investment fits within country service-delivery networks, referral pathways, workforce capacity, financing arrangements, and regulatory frameworks; evaluate both firm-level viability and potential system effects, including access, affordability, quality, equity, fragmentation, supplier-induced demand, and market concentration.
Identify complementary public policy, institutional, or advisory actions needed to achieve development impact.
Conduct regular portfolio reviews and field visits to assess project health outcomes and compliance with sector-specific good practice standards.
Identify opportunities and provide support for Advisory and WBG collaboration, where appropriate, to increase the impact of the projects at a system level.
Contribute to the development and refinement of WBG's health sector strategy, including identification of priority thematic areas and geographies for private sector investment and public private partnership with a specific focus on the replicable solutions under the Health Implementation Plan.
Lead or contribute to analytical work on private sector health market dynamics, investment trends, and regulatory environments in emerging markets.
Represent WBG in external forums, conferences, and working groups related to private sector health investment and global health financing.
Author or co-author sector notes, working papers, and policy briefs that position WBG as a leading voice in global health.
Develop and maintain knowledge products, including sector toolkits, investment guides, good practice notes, and case studies for use by WBG teams and clients.
Contribute to internal learning events, training sessions, and communities of practice related to health sector investing.
Contribute private-sector and implementation perspectives to health-sector diagnostics, policy dialogue, country strategies, Health Compacts, and upstream engagement.
Advise on how health financing, purchasing and reimbursement, licensing, accreditation, competition, taxation, workforce, data governance, and quality regulation affect private-sector participation and health outcomes.
Advise on enabling frameworks for mixed health systems, including strategic purchasing, contracting, public-private collaboration, provider regulation, referral arrangements, and accountability mechanisms.
Translate policy and regulatory reforms into viable investment and advisory opportunities, while identifying affordability, equity, quality, market-concentration, and fiscal risks.
Bring lessons from IFC clients and industry operations into policy design, and help private providers understand and respond to public-policy objectives.