Description
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 “URBAN, RESILIENCE AND LAND” (URL) GLOBAL PRACTICE:
URL covers a wide gamut. Its urban development operations target to developing green and inclusive cities. The resilience teams cover damage and risk assessments, risk reduction financing, as well as retrofitting and building back better. Land operations strive to democratize land tenure security, land administration services and geospatial data. Land rights impact all aspects of human life and nature. Land holdings are instrumental to social inclusiveness, gender equality, economic growth, disaster preparedness, resilience and climate change actions.
In the East Asia and Pacific Region (EAP) continued economic growth, personal wealth increases and moderating population sizes are accompanied by rapid urbanization and progressing impact of climate change. The South Asia Region’s (SAR’s) economic growth pattern has been nudging the 6% pa mark and is forecast to continue this trend in the coming years. Food production, poverty alleviation and growth, and the balanced use of natural resources and growth of cities, all relate to how communities, families, and public and private sectors access land. Cities expand in both Asian regions, and the growing middle class and reduction in household sizes intensify the demand for planned and serviced urban land. 250 million people live in informal settlements in EAP and 130 million in SAR. More than 135% increase of urban land is forecasted in SAR by 2050, and 80% in EAP. Growing cities contend in land use with food security, infrastructure, natural habitat conservation and climate actions. Significant renewable energy and afforestation investments are needed for meeting the Paris agreement targets. Simultaneously, large amounts of lands will undergo inundation or degradation making them unsuitable for cultivation or habitation due to climate change. Both the land demand and scarcity are on the rise.
Good administration and governance of land improve trading and revenues, and underpin affordable housing, carbon emission reduction and the protection of forest cover. Positively, countries recognize that securing Indigenous Peoples’, customary and communal land rights improve balanced land use and reduce deforestation. Better management of public lands will be essential to renewable energy plans and afforestation, as well as to success with Transit Oriented Development or financing the rapidly growing infrastructure. Bring to bear public assets together with regularization of rights and reduction of uncontrolled land use conversion will enable cities to grow greener. Tenure security and information are also keys for resilience in Small Island Developing States that grow increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather.
Korea context
The WBG Korea Office was opened in December 2013 in Songdo, Incheon City. It focuses on knowledge sharing, operational support and disseminating Korea’s development experience outside Korea and bringing WBG global knowledge into Korea. Under the Korea Office Phase 3 program, the URL team will expand with a land specialist based in Korea to assist in growing the program in land administration and geospatial operations in Asia. The program will stem from Korea’s globally leading innovations and expertise with developing country clients. Land administration, geospatial information and the spatial data infrastructure are important for developing cities, combatting climate change, improving resilience and many other applications. The specialist will also support the engagement on land within URL and with Korean partners.
The incumbent taps into Korea’s leading knowledge base in cadastre and land registration from partners such as the Korea National Geospatial Information Institute (NGII) and Korea Land and Geospatial InformatiX Corporation (LX). Conventional paper-based property registration and geospatial information systems representing land parcels and rights to them, as well as topography and features on maps, are redefining modern digital terrain and building models, and real time sensors of big data resulting to dynamic digital twins. Similarly, digital cadastres that record and transact rights to 3D real property objects instead of ‘land’ are coming. Cities will be able use the digital 3D records and models as the base and invest in next generation urban systems for recording, planning and permitting.
Further, Korea is also one of the top tier countries globally in digital mass valuation systems. The Korea Real Estate Board (REB) operates a real time valuation system of all real properties that serves centrally all public sector valuation needs and publishes market information supporting market transparency and efficiency. Comprehensive digital land records and 3D models combined can support valuations capable of producing new approximated land and property values of high level every year. This increases the quality, yield and fairness of property taxes and through them local revenues and thus governance. The incumbent will support URL in developing awareness, interest and solutions promoting the spread of modern approaches in Asia including in land valuation infrastructure and services.
The World Bank's land, urban development and disaster risk management teams work in joint and parallel operations. The clients and partners include national and local governments, private sector, the UN system, civil society, academia and professional organizations. The assignments attract leading technical specialists and scholars globally.
The Land Administration and Geospatial Specialist will join the multidisciplinary, multicultural and diverse team of the SEAU2 unit in EAP and support also the land program of the SEAU1 and SSAU1 (South Asia). The position is based in Seoul, Korea. The incumbent will:
• Support URL’s land and geospatial work in the Korea Office;
• Support the Korea Office’s programmatic projects on Property Valuation and Taxation, as well as Green and Smart Cities;
• Support URL’s lending and knowledge project cycle management and missions to client countries in EAP and SAR regions as a technical specialist, and contribute to technical presentations and publications;
• Incrementally support URL’s Land and Geospatial Cluster in project cycle processing and transactions.
• Support URL’s technical, conceptual and business development in the domains of Smart 3D Cadastre and Digital Twins, 3D Urban Systems on recording, modelling, valuation, planning and permitting.
• Support URL’s strategic partnership building and country level work in EAP and SAR under the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) as part of the World Bank-United Nations Committee of Experts on Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) collaboration;
• Support the land/geospatial work of the Korea Office Innovation Hub activities across Global Practices (URL, Environment and Natural Resources; Finance, Digital Development, Competitiveness & Innovation; etc.);
• Support the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund and Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility activities in the Korea Office and across GPs;
• Liaise with the World Bank Group task teams to link Korean partners, leverage Korean expertise and knowledge, and support knowledge exchanges and capacity building programs;
• Support URL representation and inputs as required by the Korea Country Office and its clients; and
• Undertake other related responsibilities as assigned by the management of URL and the Korea Country Office of the World Bank.
Selection Criteria
• Educational Degree: Master's degree (land administration, geospatial sciences, property valuation, urban planning, information technologies, other) with 5 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Knowledge of land tenure, land administration and geospatial systems and solutions.
• Experience as a technical specialist in digital land administration and/or geospatial information technical assistance or investment operation from a country outside of one’s own;
• Investment/development project experience, strong organizational, research, and oral presentation skills;
• Excellent analytical and communication skills and ability to write clearly and concisely in English, experience with the World Bank project cycle documentation considered as an advantage.
• Operational experience with the World Bank Projects as a technical or operational specialist or a Team Leader considered as an advantage;
• Working experience from a country outside one’s own, East Asia Pacific or South Asia working experiences considered as an advantage;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Additional language skills desirable (Korean or Asian languages).
World Bank Group Core Competencies
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.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
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This vacancy is archived.