Closing date: Thursday, 19 March 2015

Background / General description: An effective and accountable governance framework, in the form of functioning institutions, is a necessary precondition for sustainable poverty reduction.

Furthermore, poor governance and structural deficiencies in public and private institutions are often prevalent in fragile and conflict affected states. On the other hand, cross-country empirics have confirmed that higher institutional quality is correlated with higher levels of per capita income and greater economic growth. Thus, governance mechanisms and institutions are critical to sustained growth and poverty alleviation.

The Governance Global Practice (GGP) comprises a variety of different professional disciplines working on public institutions, including public sector management, governance and anti-corruption, procurement, financial management, social accountability and justice reform. The GGP has the following four thematic areas:

• Public Resource Mobilization and Management to provide policy advice and support to institutions and processes across the entire cycle of public financial management, both to countries and to WBG operations.
• Public Integrity and Openness to provide policy advice, institutional support, assistance and capacity building for more transparent, honest and accountable governments.
• Public Service Performance to support a continuous and sustainable improvement in the delivery of public goods and services both from central government, local governments, SOEs, PPPs and through regulation.
• Governance and Inclusive Institutions to support countries in building sustainable, inclusive and trustworthy governance systems, including institutions beyond the executive branch of government.

  The GGP interventions range from diagnostics, technical assistance and advisory services, knowledge management and sharing, creating peer learning platforms, lending and reform project implementation, and monitoring and reporting. An important part of its responsibilities is to deliver operational support to other Practices, including through inputs for policy-based operations, hands-on implementation advice and direct fiduciary due diligence of investment financing.

  Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities: The Senior Procurement Specialist is expected to contribute to team that provides a complete range of procurement services to the Latin America and Caribbean Region portfolio and works with institutions throughout the region to improve service delivery and public expenditures management through more effective and efficient procurement and contract management.

In addition to performing the above coordination and leadership role, the Senior Procurement Specialist:

1. Works independently on any procurement matter in specific sectors seeking guidance from the Practice Manager, as appropriate in the most complex and sensitive cases.
2. Employs appropriate methodologies for handling simple and complex procurement tasks and/or issues working across countries/sectors, and is responsible for reviewing and handling technical, commercial and legal aspects of procurement (in consultation with Legal and Policy departments as necessary) at all stages of the project cycle, to include analysis of systemic and other procurement issues, procurement planning, design, implementation and management, and training.
3. Provides operational advice to clients and Bank staff on concepts, policies and procedures for international and local procurement.
4. Participates in missions as sole procurement expert on complex projects; assesses procurement implications of project design, evaluates institutional capacity of borrowers and develops suitable procurement plans.
5. Participates in country procurement assessments, prepares background analysis, collaborates on developing appropriate public procurement legislation and practices and tailors instruments to meet specific client needs.
6. Negotiates and resolves difficult procurement issues with Borrower agencies and handles questions/complaints from senior officials and contractors on bidding and award issues.
7. Designs and conducts workshops to educate procurement professionals in the Bank and in borrower agencies on the Bank's philosophy and approach to procurement, the rationale of its policy framework, relevant procedures and processes, as well as on specialized procurement topics.
8. Prepares a range of procurement-related documents and reports.
9. Handles appropriate interaction with country counterparts on sector, organizational, human resources management, financial, economic and regulatory practices.
10. Provides guidance and training to more junior team members.

Selection Criteria: The candidate shall possess the following competencies:

• Strong communication skills and persuasiveness in presenting, negotiating and resolving highly complex issues, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to identify complex issues and to respond innovatively; does not add unnecessary complexity to tasks or projects.
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrix management environment, both as a team leader and team member.
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.
• State-of-the-art knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices which govern international procurement, the contracting of consultant services, technical specifications in design, engineering and construction of facilities, the development of public procurement policies, etc.
• Seasoned knowledge and specialized command of all major facets of Bank procurement policies and practices as applied across a wide range of Bank lending operations at all phases of the project cycle, and ability to address broader issues at sector/country level.
• In-depth understanding of Bank operational policies and practices related to project/sector work.
• Seasoned knowledge of public procurement systems, including legal frameworks and institutions.
• Good understanding of critical linkages and relationships among clients' business drivers, business operations and objectives and Procurement processes.
• Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement major projects.
• Ability to promote client commitment to ensuring implementation and longer-term sustainability of projects/programs.

  Minimum Education and Experience Requirement:

• A minimum of eight years relevant experience in procurement
• An advanced degree (MA/MS/MBA) in a relevant discipline (e.g., engineering, procurement, law, finance, business administration)

  The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

  Note: applicants must be able to travel frequently and based on business needs be relocated to the field.

  Application Information: http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=8454041&piPK=8454059&theSitePK=8453353&JobNo=150369&contentMDK=23158967&order=descending&sortBy=job-req-num&location=ALL&menuPK=8453611