Senior Partnership Specialist Job #: req34354 Organization: World Bank Sector: Digital Development Grade: GG Term Duration: 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 9/29/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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.worldbank.org.
The Digital Vice Presidency was established on July 1, 2024, and guides the World Bank Group efforts to establish the foundations of a digital economy, builds and enhances digital and data infrastructure, ensures cybersecurity and data privacy for institutions, businesses, and citizens, and advances the digital government services. Digital technologies, including AI and data, present a unique opportunity to accelerate development. The Digital Vice Presidency (VPU) has the critical mission of delivering on this development promise.
The Development Effectiveness unit plays an important role in advising the Digital Vice Presidency (VPU) and the DSO on all matters pertaining to strategic planning and management, market intelligence, partnerships, including trust fund oversight, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, knowledge management, collaboration with Regions and Verticals, and outreach to external partners. The Unit supports the VPU’s engagement on corporate priorities including Knowledge Bank, Operations Efficiency and Effectiveness, Corporate Scorecard and other initiatives aimed at achieving speed, scale and impact.
The Senior Partnership Specialist will report to the Manager of the Development Effectiveness Unit. Key responsibilities include:
Design External Partnership Strategy
Lead the design of Digital VPU’s external partnership strategy around digital transformation, aligned to Digital VPU’s digital strategy and WBG priorities.Identify high-impact, scalable opportunities for collaboration across private sector, civil society, donor institutions, and WBG regional organizations.Contribute to the development and implementation of the digital transformation strategy; and ensure alignment of partnership activities with the overall goals and objectives of the digital transformation vertical.Provide senior leadership and Market Intelligence Lead on ecosystem trends, opportunities, and risks related to digital.Develop and Manage External Partnerships
Identify, develop, and manage strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, including donors, private sector, civil society, and government agencies.Build and foster trusted relationships with key external stakeholders (e.g., Big Tech, development partners, think tanks, telecom operators, digital service providers) to ensure ongoing collaboration and support.Negotiate and formalize partnership agreements including MOUs, co-financing arrangements, and knowledge-sharing frameworks.Organize and participate in meetings, workshops, and conferences to promote the digital transformation agenda.Act as the focal point for external digital partnership for Digital VPU.Support the Market Intelligence Lead Specialist on strategic projects.Capture and disseminate the best practices and lessons learned from partnership activities.Program Implementation and Support
Selectively manage strategic dialogues and joint initiatives with global partners to support country digital strategies and programs:
Internal Coordination and Representation
Serve as the Digital VPU’s focal point for digital transformation partnerships across practices, IFC, and MIGA.Represent the Bank at high-level forums, working groups, and donor coordination platforms on digital cooperation.Ensure systematic knowledge capture, dissemination, and cross-regional learning from partnership initiatives.Facilitate effective communication and coordination among internal and external stakeholders in coordination with business units and ECR.Team Competency Building
Provide technical assistance and capacity building support to partners and stakeholders to enhance their ability to contribute to digital transformation efforts.Collaborate with Senior Knowledge Management Specialist to develop and deliver training programs and workshops for partners.Contribute to the development of knowledge products, including reports, case studies, and policy briefs.
Selection Criteria
Master’s degree in economics, MBA, or MPA with at least 8 years of relevant experience in a similar role, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.Work experience in technology platform companies and/or ecosystem partnership development is preferred.Knowledge and understanding of World Bank’s business model of lending, analytics, knowledge and convening would be a plus.Deep understanding of digital technology landscape, key players, and their partnership mechanism.Excellent communication and relationship skills to engage across a spectrum of partners and stakeholders with good listening and writing skills.Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines, while delivering high quality outputs.Excellent written communication skills as demonstrated in a proven track record of effectively delivering technical information in a clear, easily understandable, and effective manner.Driven, self-starter who can proactively solve problems constructively and effectively and with professionalism.Strong attention-to-detail, creative problem-solving, and coordination/logistics skills.
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of Urgency – Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful Risk Taking – Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.
3. Empowerment and Accountability – Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful results.