Senior Transport. Spec., Washington

Senior Transport. Spec., Washington

Closing Date: Saturday, 14 September 2013

  Background / General description:

The mission of the Africa Transport Unit (AFTTR) is to promote growth and reduce poverty in the Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) region by helping countries in SSA formulate policies, prioritize investment and implement programs in the transport sector that directly and indirectly support sustainable economic and social development of those countries. The levels of development among the 40 countries in SSA are diverse ranging from post conflict and fragile states, to poverty ridden LICUS to a smaller group of MICs. The size of the portfolio of over 60 projects with a total loan/credit/grant commitment of over US$6 billion is one of the largest Transport Units in the Bank and one of the largest Units in AFR region. The current portfolio is a challenging one comprising of all modes of transport infrastructure ranging from toll highways to low volume roads, railways, port and civil aviation, as well as transport policy advice. Investment in recent years saw increasing activities in innovative products including regional trade facilitation and transport corridor projects, various PPP-schemes with concessions and guarantees, expansion of the use of performance-based contracting as well as emergency projects in post conflict countries. Hence the range of advice, support and cross fertilization of experiences is broad and challenging.
AFTTR wishes to recruit a Senior Transport Specialist to be based in Washington, DC, USA. The selected candidate will report to the AFTTR Sector Manager. The position seeks candidates with expertise in developing and implementing projects in the Transport Sector. Such projects may be a combination of economics, engineering and/or policy activities. Professional qualifications could be either in the engineering field or in the transport economics field or both. Appreciation of transport sector policy would be an added advantage. The successful candidate will contribute to the overall lending and advisory work program of the Unit by supporting the planning, design, preparation and implementation of projects/programs that meet the transport demand growth and improve transportation efficiency at the country and regional level.
Objectives of Assignment:
The primary objectives of the assignment will be to:

• manage selected Bank's transport portfolio activities in the Unit (with responsibilities for 2 to 3 ongoing projects and 1 or 2 new operations in a given year) and, where required, be responsible for the initiation and completion of economic sector work;
• raise the quality of transport activities in the region by both providing expertise-related support to some teams and supporting quality control over transport- related operations;
• develop capacity in the pertinent implementing entities to plan, develop and manage transport network assets under their jurisdiction;
• provide professional input in AFTTR with respect to formulating sector strategy, with the focus on the road- and railways-subsectors, for implementation through Bank-financed operations in Client countries; and
• Promote the participation of the private sector in provision of road and other transport services. 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 specific duties will include project deliveries, supervision and contribution to analytical studies consistent with the AFTTR and AFR strategies, with particular focus on:

• Providing guidance to improve the professional quality of roads and highways subsector in AFTTR in general and raise professional standards of other unit's staff, through technical advisory quality assurance control of projects and junior staff mentoring
• Coordinating activities related to analytical aspects of road sub-sector in the region including knowledge creation and dissemination.
• Working with the Transport Advisory Group set up at the anchor level, provide guidance and leadership for the development of Bank strategies, particularly with the respect to issues related to institutional design of implementation agencies, infrastructure financing and public private partnerships options;
• Working in teams in other sector units with transport components in projects, enhance the quality of project design, implementation and supervision, and related technical assistance components;
• Supporting formulation and implementation of institutional reforms and capacity building initiatives in the road sector in cooperation with responsible agencies and other partners at country level;
• For projects for which appointed as task team leader, ensuring compliance with the Bank Operational Policies and guidelines, managing fiduciary (especially procurement and financial management) and other corporate responsibilities, including safeguards compliance; In carrying out those duties, the appointee will have to:
  
• work effectively in a diverse and cross cultural environment with the transport team members based in both Washington DC and in country offices;
• ensure effective collaboration and partnership between Governments, the World Bank, and other development partners in the transport sector; and
• improve AFTTR's portfolio performance in the areas of expertise.

  Selection Criteria:

Candidates for the position will be selected based on the following preferred criteria:

• Post graduate degree at Masters' level or higher in transport economics or transport engineering, specializing in road sub-sector, and with good knowledge of Public Sector planning and project implementation including procurement and contract management.
• Minimum eight (08) years proven experience in the transport sector, including in developed countries, with demonstrated ability to work on at least two of the following areas (a) Development of Transport policy and national planning instruments; (b) policy, institutional and financing aspects of road agencies, (c) rural mobility, (d) road and other transport infrastructure planning, construction, maintenance and asset management, (e) detailed road design, design review, and preparation of engineer's cost estimates, (e) value-for-money and the use of cost-benefit analysis to determine efficient design solutions, (f) contract management, site management, material testing, construction (and maintenance) equipment/plant management, and (g) a good working knowledge on the procurement of works, goods and services with experience on the use of performance-based contracting being an added advantage,
• The proven experience should come from employment within or outside the Bank, in large professional organizations or as an individual consultant and shall include both project-related and management level experience in planning, preparing and implementing complex transport sector projects and investments.
• Knowledge of economics of transport including assessment of transport operations and costs.
• Appreciation and knowledge of social and environmental requirements for the sector.
• Demonstrated project/program management skills, aptitude to lead teams, and ability to promote client/beneficiary participation to ensure implementation and long-term sustainability of project/programs, to be demonstrated by the candidate's management position level in governmental or large private sector Organizations. High degree of dynamism and self-motivation, as well as the ability to work with minimal supervision. Proven practical experience in project development and management would be a strong advantage.
• Experience of working on similar programs financed by the World Bank or other development partners. Working experience in several countries, besides his/her country of origin.
• Proven experience in the application of modern methodologies and options for improved management of the transport sector from the use of GIS-applications to more efficient contracting, including PPP and other performance-based concepts.
• Excellent oral and written skills in the English language and similar skills in the French language would be an added advantage. Competencies
  
• General Economic Knowledge and Analytical Skills - Possesses Cross-country knowledge in economic specialty and demonstrates ability to link the macro, institutional, and micro-level behaviors; able to support findings/policy recommendations with credible analysis and tools.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Transport Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Solid understanding of transport policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.
• Transport Engineering and Technologies - Extensive experience with transport engineering and technologies, with ability to apply knowledge to policy-related decisions and advice.
• Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term. It is also highly desirable that candidates should have worked for extended periods in one or more of the Bank's client countries and is familiar with the issues and problems of the transport sector, in particular the roads and railways sub- sectors in these countries.