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. visit www.worldbank.org
The South Asia Region Context
The South Asia Region comprises eight countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) that range in size from India (with a population of over 1 billion) to Maldives (with 0.3 million people). The region has experienced a long period of robust economic growth, averaging 6% a year over the past 20 years. It was the second-fastest growing region in the world in the aftermath of the global crisis. This strong growth has translated into declining poverty and impressive improvements. The percentage of people living below the poverty line fell in South Asia from 56% to 16% between 1981 and 2013. Still, the region remains home to a third of the world’s poorest, with 216 million people living below $1.9/day.
The South Asia Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar
Sustainable Development Practice Group
The Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (GP) supports the WBG’s twin goals by focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth. It consists of five Global Practices and one Global Theme. The Global Practices (GPs) that belong to the SD PG are: Agriculture and Food; Environment, Natural Resources and the Blue Economy; Urban, Resilience and Land; Social Sustainability and Inclusion; and Water. The Climate Change Group forms SD PG’s single Global Theme. In addition, SD is the Bank-wide steward for the Environment and Social Framework (ESF).
SD’s leadership team includes Regional Directors (RDs) responsible for delivery of SD’s regional and country programs, and Global Directors (GDs) who have a primary role in setting GP strategy, global engagements, promoting the flow of global knowledge, talent management and strategic staffing. The SD PG has four objectives: (i) deliver basic needs; (ii) ensure sustainability; (iii) build social inclusion/cohesion; and (iv) lead on long term issues.
Agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and feed a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050. Visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture. The Agriculture and Food Global Practice (GFADR) of the World Bank Group consists of around 260 staff globally, of which about a third are located in country offices. In South Asia Region (SAR), the Agriculture and Food Unit, SSAA2, serves India and Pakistan. SSAA2 operates as part of the South Asia Region (SAR) Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (PG), which helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy, Environmental and Social Framework, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience & Land, Social Sustainability and Inclusion, and Water.
The SSAA2 Agriculture and Food Unit has a large portfolio across the two countries it serves, and it includes a range of investments and analytical products supporting food system transformation. In India, this covers over 10 states through central and state-led investments (currently 15 investment projects in the amount of over US$3 billion) and a range of policy and analytical engagements which are addressing reforms, policy development and implementation capacities. The Unit is led by a Practice Manager based in New Delhi and the team consists of over 20 staff, over half of which are based in Country Offices.
The Agriculture and Food GP team for India (SSAA2) includes staff based in the New Delhi Office, other Indian cities, Bangkok and the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC. It is headed by a Practice Manager based in New Delhi, who also covers Pakistan. SSAA2 plays the lead role in developing and implementing the World Bank agriculture and rural strategy in India in and Pakistan including supervising the pipeline and active portfolio.
Duties & Accountabilities:
We are seeking a Rural Development Specialist to support our operational work in the India agriculture, food and rural livelihoods portfolio.
The Rural Development Specialist will be part of the India Agriculture and Food Team. The primary responsibility of the Rural Development Specialist will be to provide implementation support, policy dialogue, technical assistance and knowledge management related to the on-going agriculture and rural development program/projects in India. In particular, the Rural Development Specialist will:
(i) Provide pipeline development, LEN and implementation support to agriculture and rural development operations in India, such as (but not limited to) projects on rural livelihoods and rural transformation, agribusiness and rural enterprises, climate smart agriculture, and integrated irrigation and agriculture transformation;
(ii) Proactively contribute to the agricultural and rural livelihoods’ agenda in collaboration with colleagues within and across the Global Practices covering other sectors.
(iii) Contribute to overall policy dialogue and strategic program development within the India rural livelihoods and agriculture and food programs.
(iv) Lead and contribute to monitoring and evaluation and other analytical, advisory and technical assistance activities in collaboration with clients in the agriculture and food/ rural development sector with a focus on issues related to community/farmer institutions, producer aggregation, access to markets, digital technology, enterprise development and allied sectors.
(v) Lead and contribute to the mobilization of and implementation of additional trust funds for building the agriculture and food program in India and across the South Asia Region, including to promote the regional integration agenda.
Selection Criteria
• Master’s in Rural Development/ Agricultural Economics/Agricultural Sciences/Management/ Public Policy or related disciplines.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience in agriculture and food/ rural development.
• Excellent technical and working knowledge in various sectors outlined above; among these, knowledge and experience in agribusiness and community development in the context of the rural development and agriculture sectors is required.
• Proven ability to conceptualize, design and supervise the implementation of major projects, ASAs and TA activities (community-driven development, agribusiness development, climate smart/resilient agriculture, access to rural markets, rural finance, etc.) and contribute to policy-related analysis and related dialog.
• Strong technical and analytical skills in a range of issues of relevance to agriculture and rural development.
• Understanding of green, resilient, and inclusive development (GRID) issues across SD
• Experience with rural transformation, rural livelihoods, rural non-farm enterprises and working with SMES
• Experience with managing official data from India (Union and/or state-level), with strong statistical and analytical skills and data visualization tools.
• Ability to think innovatively and strategically in dealing with policy issues to draw meaningful and practical recommendations for policy and investment priorities.
• Track record of commitment to teamwork and ability to interact effectively and collegially with peers at all levels.
• Excellent interpersonal and team skills with ability to work independently and innovatively when dealing with empirical and econometric issues.
• High degree of discretion, ethics, tact and sensitivity in handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to work under pressure while retaining perspective and a sense of humor.
• Very high level of energy, initiative and self-motivation, coupled with willingness to travel extensively and work under challenging conditions.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English essential.
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.