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Europe and Central Asia Region
The Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) is seeking a Senior Transport Specialist for the Transport unit (IECT1) within the INFRA Practice Group, who will report to the Practice Manager and be based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region comprises 30 extremely diverse countries, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Three of our client countries are IDA only and another two are IDA blend countries. The remaining 25 are IBRD eligible. Although ten of our clients have joined the European Union and seven of these have graduated from IBRD, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and/or financing through the WBG’s lending services. ECA has a strong lending pipeline as well as a large and growing portfolio of Reimbursable Advisory Services. Knowledge is critical to the World Bank’s value proposition to client countries in the ECA region in both lending and advisory services.
A predominantly middle- and high-income region, ECA continues to be at the forefront in confronting the numerous development challenges that countries face in the evolving global economy. The region is at the vanguard of building regional connectivity while having to manage the changing structure of the labor market. At the same time, digital technologies are changing the nature of work, populations are aging, and large migration flows have generated social tensions that have contributed to increased political polarization. More recently, the invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath threaten to reverse the region’s achievements in regional integration, poverty reduction and shared prosperity.
Transport Global Practice
Better transport has the potential to improve the lives and livelihoods of billions of people by facilitating access to jobs, markets, and essential services such as healthcare or education. The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to help countries implement sustainable mobility solutions that create real, lasting development benefits. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/transport
The ECA Transport Unit (IECT1)
The ECA Transport Unit (IECT1) has an active portfolio of 21 lending operations with total commitments of about USD5 billion, 10 ongoing ASA and reimbursable advisory services (RAS) and approximately 2-4 new lending deliveries per FY.
The current portfolio is diversified which reflects different client needs, with the following development objectives: (i) improving regional connectivity to enhance trade opportunities through regional integration and efficient freight logistics, enhancing national connectivity and urban mobility to support more inclusive urban development; (ii) strengthening the capacity of clients to plan and implement transport interventions across transport modes through policy and institutional reforms, improving the knowledge-base and feedback loops, strengthening planning processes, managing environmental and social safeguards and mainstreaming social accountability; (iii) leveraging resources through strong partnerships (donor coordination and PPPs), including increasing commercial and domestic financing for connectivity, mobility and logistics projects in the countries, and (iv) ensuring sustainability by improving governance and efficiency in the sector, bringing transformative technologies on transport planning and service delivery, and increasing resilience of transport infrastructure and supporting a low carbon path.
The position in Tbilisi will primarily cover IECT1 initiatives in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The IECT1 unit is looking to recruit a seasoned senior transport specialist with a solid track record in policy dialogue and operations in transport, demonstrated through strong track record in the areas of rail logistics, urban mobility, transport decarbonization, planning, climate, and governance.
Role and Responsibilities
The Specialist will be part of a team responsible for: (i) implementation of the transport program in the region, which includes projects on rural, interurban, urban and global connectivity; (ii) leading the technical dialogue (advisory and analytics) in the transport sector with the authorities in the South Caucuses; (iii) identifying new opportunities and preparing new projects in the region; (iv) leading policy/institutional reforms and mainstreaming key initiatives on road safety, gender, green transport infrastructure, decarbonization and services and the incorporation of the private sector; (v) developing analytical and advisory work and knowledge activities in close collaboration with other Global Practices, leveraging on best practices, international experiences and innovative tools and data analytics; and (vi) in all above activities, contribute to maximizing private sector financing by partnering with IFC/MIGA/WB World Bank Infrastructure Finance and Guarantees Units.
The specific duties will include leadership of and support to project preparation, supervision, analytical studies consistent with the World Bank’s sector strategies, with a particular focus on: