Senior HR Specialist – Employee Listening & Engagement

World Bank Group • Washington, DC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. 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, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. 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
The Talent and Career Development Center of Expertise is responsible for providing integrated frameworks for performance management, conducting talent reviews, creating listening mechanisms to capture employee experience, mobilizing staff to required roles, enabling succession management to identify, develop and deploy leaders and providing career resources and advice to clarify roles and expectations at each level.
The Senior HR Specialist – Employee Listening and Engagement plays a critical role in shaping the organization’s employee listening and engagement strategy and translating employee voice into informed business and workforce decisions. The role requires experience in employee engagement practices, listening approaches, or related practices, along with the ability to research and apply current best practices in employee listening and engagement, engagement survey design and delivery, talent management, and effective client relationship management and teamwork.
The selected candidate will be based in Washington, DC and reports to the Manager, Talent Planning and Insights in the WBG Human Resources Vice Presidency.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Behavioral Sciences, Organizational Development/Behavior, or a related field, with a minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience.
• Proven expertise leading HR and talent management practices, with a strong focus on employee engagement and listening approaches, including measuring engagement through surveys and translating results into effective action planning.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering employee listening mechanisms (e.g., engagement surveys, pulse surveys, focus groups, one on one interviews) to generate actionable insights and support follow up action; experience with AI enabled or advanced analytics tools is an advantage, or a demonstrated ability to quickly learn and apply such tools.
• Strong change management capabilities, with demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships, conduct focus groups, and collaborate effectively across diverse client groups and WBG HR teams.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, with the ability to analyze complex quantitative and qualitative data, distill key themes, synthesize insights, and translate findings into clear, compelling narratives and actionable, data driven recommendations that support workforce and business decision making.
• Superb project management, planning, coordination, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives concurrently and deliver against deadlines.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly and concisely to varied audiences.
• Strong learning agility and curiosity, with the ability to stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in employee listening and engagement and apply relevant insights in a pragmatic way.
• Strong results orientation, initiative, and responsiveness, with a demonstrated ability to work independently in a fast paced environment and apply a continuous improvement and innovative mindset.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet tight deadlines, and maintain attention to detail while staying focused on high impact outcomes.
• Ability to interact confidently with senior management and build effective, trusting working relationships and partnerships at all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of data governance, confidentiality, and ethical considerations related to employee listening and feedback processes, including the appropriate handling and use of sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Drive the enhancement of the organization’s employee listening and engagement strategy, ensuring alignment with business needs and priorities and supporting sustained workforce engagement. Integrate pulse surveys, life cycle surveys, 360 degree feedback assessments, and other experience data into a cohesive listening framework, ensuring listening priorities and actions are focused on areas with the greatest impact on business outcomes and workforce effectiveness.
• Lead the design, implementation, facilitation, analysis, and reporting of employee engagement and listening initiatives; partner closely with HR Business Partners and other stakeholders to identify, track, and support action planning.
• Manage and deliver annual, bi annual, and life cycle employee listening activities, including survey deployment, results analysis, and the synthesis and socialization of insights.
• Develop and implement post survey initiatives that support managers and employees in translating employee feedback into concrete actions and informed workforce decisions.
• Contribute to the development and facilitation of training related to employee listening, engagement, and action planning practices.
• Provide direction and oversight to external consultants and vendors, as required, to ensure quality delivery and alignment with organizational objectives.
• Monitor and assess the effectiveness of employee listening and engagement programs through quantitative and qualitative analysis, translating insights into clear, actionable narratives for leaders and stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with business leaders, WBG HR colleagues, and key internal stakeholders to understand client needs and ensure employee listening and engagement initiatives are aligned with business priorities.
• Engage with external peer organizations, including International Finance Institutions and leading private sector organizations, to stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in employee listening and engagement, and apply relevant insights to the organization’s approach.
• Prepare and deliver clear, high quality communication materials for staff and managers across all levels of the World Bank Group, including headquarters and country offices.
• Conduct focus groups, interviews, and engagement sessions with stakeholders at various levels to inform program design, enhancements, and continuous improvement.
• Participate in special projects and perform other related duties, as assigned.

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: 11-50 employees