Senior Transport Specialist

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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org. 

Eastern and Southern Africa

Home to about half a billion of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.

The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continues to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future. 

The World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,207 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:

• Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies
• Building up the Digital Economy
• Institutions more Efficient and Accountable
• Investing in People
• Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption
• Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence
• Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent

The World Bank is a dedicated partner for Eastern and Southern African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for Africa is a better future for the world.

The Transport Global Practice

Connectivity is a critical factor of competitiveness, economic growth and inclusion. Yet, a third of the world’s population lacks access to an all-weather road and two-thirds of people live more than one hour away from a large city. The World Bank Group is the largest provider of development finance for transport globally, with an active transport portfolio of US$39 billion in 115 countries.

The Transport Global Practice (GP) seeks to connect people, goods and services to jobs, schools, hospitals, local, regional and international markets, using faster, cheaper, safer and more efficient solutions, while keeping traffic fatalities, congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and local air pollution in check.  It responds to the needs of developing countries and transition economies for modern and reliable transport solutions. These needs are growing exponentially under the combined effect of globalization, population growth, rapid urbanization, economic development, and technological progress – making transport a cornerstone of the global development agenda.

 Transport in the Africa Region has a large and diverse portfolio of about 54 projects under implementation, with an aggregate value of about US$ 8.9 billion. This portfolio is increasing by 5-10 projects per year, with a slightly smaller number closing over the same period. The transport program in Africa consists of four units across two regions each led by a Regional Vice President: a) Africa East (AFE) covering (a) Eastern Africa, and (b) Southern Africa and Ethiopia, Sudan South Sudan and Eritrea, and Africa West (AFE) covering a) the Sahel sub-region and Nigeria, and (d) Central Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The transport units are led by Practice Managers who are decentralized and report to Regional Directors, as well as the Global Infrastructure Practice Group led by a Vice President covering transport, energy, digital development, as well as infrastructure finance, public-private partnerships and guarantees.

The World Bank serves a diverse range of client countries in the Africa region, ranging from middle-income countries to low-income IDA countries. The transport sector strategy includes three key pillars, namely rural connectivity, urban mobility and accessibility, and regional integration to facilitate trade and reduce logistics costs. Through our program the region seeks to support key cross cutting agendas including safety, private capital mobilization, women mobility empowerment and access to opportunities; and climate resilience and mitigation/transport decarbonization.

The transport sector is the second largest contributor to GHG emissions globally and continues to be the fastest growing sector at an alarming rate (estimated to contribute to 8 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year). The transition of the transport system towards one that supports efficient mobility solutions, help decarbonize the transport sector and enhance resilience is key. There are clear entry points to support climate adaptation and mitigation goals along three dimensions: (i) passenger mobility and access; (ii) greener logistics and freight and (iii) resilient systems. The densification of transport flows for urban and inter-urban passenger systems, along with policies that promote non-motorized transport, cleaner fuel standards, fleet modernization, e-mobility, the improvement of commuter rail services, efficient multimodal freight shifting freight from road to rail are just some of the opportunities to support mitigation initiative.

The Transport Unit in Eastern Africa is now seeking to recruit a Senior Transport Specialist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to support the design, preparation, and supervision of lending operations and technical assistance activities and new business development in the sector. The work will require operational and analytical skills across transport modes, with a strong focus on climate resilience across transport modes, along with experience in addressing cross-cutting transport issues such as road safety, gender, procurement, logistics, institution building and governance.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Transport Specialist will be based in Dar es Salaam and will report to the Practice Manager. S/he is expected to work predominantly on transport projects in the Tanzania CMU (covering Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), with support to projects across Eastern Africa and across different modes (road, rail, maritime, and/or aviation). The transport portfolio in Tanzania is substantial and consists of four ongoing projects: namely (i) Tanzania Intermodal & Rail Development Project, (ii) Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project, (iii) Dar es Salaam Urban Transport Improvement Project, and (iv) Tanzania Roads to Inclusion and Socioeconomic Opportunities Project; while there are two ongoing projects in Malawi: (i) Southern Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project and Additional Finance, and (ii) Southern Africa Trade Connectivity Project; one project in Zambia, the Zambia Improved Rural Connectivity Project;  and analytical work in Zimbabwe. Several projects are under preparation across the CMU, with analytical studies and technical assistance provided to further deepen business development. The transport team collaborates closely with other sector colleagues focusing on trade, disaster risk management, energy and digital, agriculture, and urban development to enhance integrated development in Eastern Africa.

The primary objectives of the assignment will be to:

• Lead and/or support task teams in the preparation and implementation of transport projects in the Tanzania CMU, covering the core elements (planning, financial and economic analysis, engineering, maintenance, and operations) and with a particular focus on climate resilience but also incorporating key cross-cutting issues such as gender, safety, and private sector participation;
• Support climate-responsive design, preparation and implementation of new lending and non-lending activities across transport modes;
• Lead and manage advisory and analytical activities on international best practices for the planning and provision of climate-resilient transport infrastructure and services, including economic evaluation, cost efficiency, technical and financial feasibility, implementation planning and sustainability, with attention to issues such as decarbonization and gender;
• Lead and/or participate in the policy dialogue under the guidance of the Practice Manager, the Country Director, Country Managers and/or Operations Manager, Program Leader, with external stakeholders/development partners in the country and region;
• Provide guidance to improve the quality of transport projects in Eastern Africa through peer reviews, technical advice, and quality assurance;
• Advise government counterparts on technical matters associated with transport projects, including the formulation of policy, and measures to strengthen institutional arrangements;
• Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure quality and consistency with World Bank standards;
• Provide procurement and contract management support and advice to the project implementing agencies;
• Participate in cross-sectoral teams responsible for preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics and Country Partnership Frameworks, public expenditures reviews, sectoral studies, and research and policy development activities on the topics/sections pertaining to transport and in particular climate resilient transport;
• Support the World Bank-wide professional community of staff engaged in the transport practice by participating actively on climate resilience and drafting of technical notes, and supporting cutting-edge work in collaboration with other global practices to enhance knowledge creation and dissemination, and expanding the existing knowledge base;
• Stay abreast of recent developments in the transport sector world-wide, and on cross-cutting issues, identifying knowledge gaps and disseminating relevant knowledge to clients; and
• Represent the World Bank as designated by the Practice Manager, the Country Directors, Country Managers and/or Operations Manager at public events relevant to the sector.

Selection Criteria

The position calls for a highly motivated individual who is able to lead teams and work with little supervision. Candidates for the position will be selected based on the following considerations:

• Master’s degree or higher in civil/transport engineering, planning, economics, environment, public policy, finance or other related disciplines;
• Minimum 8 years proven experience in the transport sector or in a related infrastructure field (either with a government’s transport authority, contractor, design or supervision consultant, or development institution), with demonstrated ability to work on developing and implementing transport projects covering the core elements (planning, financial and economic analysis, engineering, maintenance, and operations) and with a particular focus on climate resilience;
• Experience of working with programs financed by multilateral or bilateral development partners;
• Work experience in developing countries, with experience in more than one of the World Bank’s regions and/or in fragile states as an asset;
• Experience in analytical work, such as on international and national transport policy, strategy, institutions and regulation as they relate to the transport sector;
• Knowledge of key developments in related sectors and on cross-cutting issues affecting the performance of the transport sector, in particular climate change but also private sector engagement, environmental and social impacts including gender-based violence, road safety, and operational health and safety issues;
• Strong client and communications skills, with proven experience in providing quality policy and project advice to national and sub-national government clients on transport and mobility issues, and interest in transferring knowledge;
• High degree of dynamism and self-motivation, as well as the ability to work with minimal supervision;
• Ability to identify and develop potential areas for future World Bank transport sector initiatives based on client consultation and analysis;
• Willingness to travel to and work in challenging country environments;
• Excellent written and communications skills in English.

WBG Competencies

• Lead and Innovate - Develops innovative solutions.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions - Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.

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.

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