Practice Manager

Description

The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions driven by a bold vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, we help solve the world’s greatest development challenges. When you join the World Bank Group, you become part of a dynamic, diverse organization with 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide. We work with public and private sector partners, invest in groundbreaking projects, and use data, research, and technology to bring tangible and transformative change around the globe. For more information, visit www.worldbankgroup.com

VPU Context

The World Bank Group serves 33 client countries Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR). Clients range from large rapidly growing sophisticated middle-income clients to IDA countries to small Caribbean states to one fragile state, and to varying degrees face three key challenges – low productivity and growth, low quality jobs and low resilience to shocks. The region is tackling these challenges with a strong WBG approach, underpinned by selectivity and complementarity between the value added of public and private arms, and in strong partnership with relevant regional development partners.

• The challenge of low growth: After recovering lost output, the region is returning to pre-pandemic low growth and productivity scenario. After a solid post-pandemic rebound in economic activity (7.2% and 3.9% growth in 2021 and 2022 respectively), GDP growth returned to the pre-pandemic low growth around 2.2% in 2023 and 2024, with a medium-term outlook of 2.5%.With an average Gini co-efficient of [0.52] LAC remains also one of the most unequal regions in the world. It is a region where the bottom 50% earn 27 times less than the top 10%. It also represents stark differences in opportunity, a child born today in the poorest 20% quintile in LAC will on average be 17 percentage points less productive than a child born in the richest 20%.
• The challenge of quality jobs: the need for better quality jobs is paramount, with 6.2% unemployment rates, these low levels mask a deeper issue of job quality. Reflecting stagnating living standards, labor earnings have only grown by 1% or less per year in most countries over the past decade, and some 19% of workers in the region are earning incomes below the poverty line.
• Investing in foundational infrastructure critical to job creation, LAC needs to invest at least 3.1% of GDP in infrastructure investments per year, yet it only invests 2%, which is significantly lower than the world average of 5.4% of GDP. This underinvestment in physical infrastructure, including in key infrastructure sectors (including resilient transport, water, energy etc.) is holding back potential for better jobs. The region is supporting clients by supporting selective transformative infrastructure projects (e.g. urban mobility, regional transport and connectivity).On human infrastructure challenge, firms in the region continue to cite skills shortages (55% of firms in LAC vs 45% in MIC regions) as a key barrier to growth and job creation. A child born in LAC is expected to reach only 56 percent of their productive potential. Three out of four 15-year olds fail basic math proficiency and cannot read adequately the soft side involves supporting clients revamp their education and health sectors. The region is supporting clients to revamp their education and health care sectors.
• The LAC region also needs to foster a predictable, business-enabling policy and regulatory environment. These include ensuring macro stability, eliminating restrictive business regulations in product and factor markets, and improving access to finance, especially long-term capital. Labor market regulations in LAC are noted to be on par with the most restrictive labor market regimes among OECD countries. Further, enforcement of competition policy needs to be supported due to high levels of market concentration in LAC markets: the 50 largest firms in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile have revenues greater than 30% of GDP.At 55% of GDP, domestic credit to the private sector remains much lower than EAP (178%).
• Private capital needs to be appropriately incentivized to support the provision of public goods and investments in key sectors, especially those that have the highest potential to enable and/or create better quality jobs. However, at only 19.8% of GDP, gross capital formation remains lowest among all regions (EAP is at 38% and South Asia at 30%). Private capital mobilization in the region is being held back by shallow capital markets, lack of long-term finance, high cost of capital, regulatory and institutional barriers (including in PPP frameworks). Based on country contexts, the WBG will support investments in productive clusters (energy/mining, value added manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism, etc) across the public-private spectrum.
• The challenge of vulnerability to shocks.Building resilience of the countries to shocks, including natural disasters, through contingent financing and other innovative risk management platforms at country and regional levels is critical given the high exposure to climate–related disasters and natural hazards. The Central America and the Caribbean have recurrent hurricanes that have impacts on GDP significantly higher than the regional average of 1.7%. Several countries are experiencing deep, long droughts, increasingly intense storms, and floods that disrupt economic activities and affect livelihoods, with impacts on the most vulnerable populations.

Digital Development Global Practice

The Digital Development (DD) Global Practice plays a critical role in enabling the achievements of the Twin goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Digital technologies are transforming firms, governments and people’s lives; and with the digital economy growing at a rate significantly higher than that of the global economy, it offers emerging economies a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional paths for development through digital solutions.

Collaborating across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries, the DD team helps design and deliver digitally-enhanced solutions aimed at harnessing the full potential of digital transformation. This requires decisive policy action to mobilize private investment, promote competition in digital markets and support the rollout of infrastructure in commercially unviable areas. It also entails working with client countries to develop digital platforms, strengthen data protection against privacy and cybersecurity risks, and leverage the potential of digital technologies to enhance environmental sustainability.

The DD Global Practice has been led by a Director supported by several Practice Managers (PMs) and Program Managers with specific regional responsibilities and global responsibilities. This Practice Manager will manage the delivery of DD’s programs in the Latin America & Caribbean (LCR) region.

The location for this position is Washington, DC. An alternative location ( i.e. Bogota, Colombia or other LCR locations) may be possible, subject to business needs and management approval.

Duties And Accountabilities

The PM will collaborate across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries to help design and deliver development solutions to a diverse range of clients, while supporting global knowledge flows to share knowledge and practical development experience with other countries, assuring that lessons from outside the region are reflected in Bank-supported programs in LCR.

The PM is a member of the LCR Regional Leadership Team. The PM is also a member of the DD GP Management Team which sets the GP’s strategic global directions and sits in the DD GP Talent Board overseeing the strategic staffing, career development and deployment of DD staff across the Bank.

More specifically, the PM is responsible for the following areas:

Solutions And Results To Clients

People/Talent Management

Knowledge Management And Partnerships

Resource Management

Selection Criteria

WBG Leadership Values And Managerial Behaviors

WBG Managerial Competencies

WBG Culture Attributes