Senior Operations Officer-Forced Displacement

World Bank Group

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? 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 and promoting shared prosperity. 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 World Bank engagement in Forced Displacement:

Forced displacement has reached unprecedented levels, with over 122.6 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide, including 43.7 million refugees, 72.1 million internally displaced persons, and millions of additional displaced people in need of international protection (UNHCR). Addressing the needs of displaced populations and their host communities requires a strong development response to complement humanitarian aid and legal protection. The World Bank Group (WBG) plays a critical role in this effort, aligning with its twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.

In recent years the WBG has significantly scaled up its engagement in forced displacement, particularly through the IDA20 Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR), which provides $2.4 billion to support both refugees and host communities in low-income countries. This financing supports the World Bank's Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) Strategy pillar on mitigating cross-border crises and strengthening long-term resilience.

In the Horn of Africa, refugee-hosting countries have adopted a range of policies, from Uganda's settlement model to Kenya and Ethiopia's camp-based approaches. There is growing momentum toward greater socio-economic inclusion of refugees, as reflected in: The Global Compact on Refugees (2018); The 2019 Global Refugee Forum commitments; The Munyonyo Declaration on Durable Solutions for Refugees (June 2023); Other regional agreements such as the Nairobi and Kampala Declarations.

In this context, the World Bank's engagement through WHR and partnerships such as PROSPECTS (funded by the Netherlands and implemented with UNHCR, UNICEF, IFC, and ILO) presents a unique opportunity to support host governments in delivering on their commitments to sustainable refugee inclusion.

Kenya's Forced Displacement Context:

Kenya hosts over 644,000 refugees and asylum seekers, primarily from Somalia and South Sudan, many of whom have been displaced for generations. Kenya's Refugees Act (2021) strengthens refugee inclusion by integrating them into national development plans, public services, and economic activities, aligning with Kenya's commitments under the Global Compact on Refugees.

To operationalize this, the Government of Kenya is developing the Shirika Plan, a roadmap for integrated refugee settlement focused on policy reforms, service delivery, skills development, climate resilience, economic growth, and durable solutions.

The World Bank is scaling up its support through the WHR and Kenya Country Partnership Framework (2023-2028). Since 2022, three WHR-financed projects have been approved in education, jobs, and urban development, with further initiatives under discussion. This presents a key opportunity to advance refugee inclusion and host community development through policy engagement, financing, and partnerships.

Roles and responsibilities:

The Senior Operation Officer (Forced Displacement) will have a dual reporting – to the GTFS2 Practice Manager (full line) and to the AECE2 Operations Manager (dotted line). - so as to allow for both an effective engagement as part of the Kenya CMU team and a strategic alignment of the Kenya forced displacement program with the Bank-wide forced displacement initiatives. 

In particular, the Senior Operations Officer (Forced Displacement) will provide strategic and operational leadership on the forced displacement agenda in Kenya by:

Supporting Strategic Delivery of WHR, PROSPECTS, and Other Relevant Initiatives

•  Guiding project design by working with the CMU, FCV Country Coordinator, and task teams to integrate learning, evidence, and evolving on-the-ground needs.

•  Advising on project implementation, including leading support missions to refugee-hosting areas, overseeing performance reviews, and monitoring activities (e.g., DPO prior actions under the Shirika Plan), with a focus on timely course corrections.

•  Leading key analytical, knowledge, and advisory activities, including selected country-level studies on forced displacement.

Supporting an Informed and Continuous Policy Dialogue

•  Engaging in strategic policy dialogue, building on country-level policy assessments and partnership efforts, in collaboration with the CMU and relevant GPs.

•  Supporting government planning and implementation, ensuring World Bank programsparticularly WHR-financed projectsare integrated into broader development efforts.

Leveraging and Coordinating Internal and External Partnerships

•  Further strengthening the World Bank-UNHCR partnership to align strategic approaches and support the country-level implementation of the joint action plan.

•  Coordinating the PROSPECTS portfolio and ensuring alignment with the Global Forced Displacement team.

•  Managing engagement with key external counterparts, including UN agencies, humanitarian actors, and bilateral development partners.

•  The Senior Operations Officer may be assigned other tasks and deliverables as deemed appropriate by the Operations Manager and Country Director in consultation with the FCV PM.

Selection Criteria

•  Advanced degree in economics, law, social sciences, or another relevant (Masters or PhD), and a minimum of 8 years of relevant operational experience.

•  Solid understanding of forced displacement issues.  Demonstrated capacity to understand the political economy and local context of forced displacement situations. 

•  Proven ability to think strategically, connect the dots easily across a range of topics to develop a broader coherent approach; ability to analyze and integrate information into conclusions and recommendations.

•  Client orientation and results focus; pragmatism and effectiveness.

•  Sound operational judgment. In-depth understanding of Bank operations, including CMU-GP relationships, SCD / CPF processes, projects, and analytical work, dialogue with clients and other development partners. 

•  Excellent integrative skills, and ability to work with a range of stakeholders, including bilateral and multilateral partners, the private sector, and civil society.

•  Strong organizational skills; ability to prioritize, to deal with frequent and unexpected changes, and to work within tight timeframes.

•  Strong communications skills, both verbal and written, and ability to tailor communication style to meet audience needs and delivers information effectively in support of team or workgroup.

•  Ability to substantively contribute to high-level events (i.e. with Development Partners, Government, and other stakeholders) and to handle requests, and contribute to sector/ country dialogue.

•  Personal integrity, ability to handle confidential matters in a discreet and respectful manner.

COS Competencies 

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.

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Sector: Nonprofit/Community/Social Services/International Cooperation

Role: Other

Working hours (%): 80-100% / 100%

Job type: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)

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