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Job #:
req23780
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Urban
Grade:
GE
Term Duration:
3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
Local Recruitment
Location:
Ankara,Turkiye
Required Language(s):
English , Turkish
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date:
8/25/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
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. Visit www.worldbank.org.
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE GROUP
The Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (PG) helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy, Environmental and Social Framework, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience & Land, Social Sustainability and Inclusion, and Water.
THE ECA URBAN, RESILIENCE AND LAND UNIT (SCAUR)
Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Cities generate 80% of global GDP and are key to job creation and the pursuit of shared prosperity. Yet one billion city residents live in slums today, and by 2030 one billion new migrants will arrive in cities. This concentration of people and assets will exacerbate risk exposure to adverse natural events and climate change, which affects the poor disproportionately. The absence of secure land tenure underpins deprivation and is a major source of conflict in the urban and rural space. One and a half billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence. In the absence of services, participative planning and responsive institutions, these trends will result in increased poverty, social exclusion, vulnerability, and violence. Finally, avoiding a 4-degree warmer world requires drastically reducing the carbon footprint of cities.
The SCAUR unit covers a wide gamut of issues including: (i) supporting the development of green, inclusive, resilient and productive cities, including harnessing urbanization to contribute to growth and poverty reduction, and strengthening local governments’ capacity to plan, finance and deliver services and infrastructure investments; (ii) promoting efficient, well-coordinated spatial and territorial development processes including strengthening rural-urban linkages and developing lagging regions; (iii) strengthening disaster risk management policies, institutions and regulations and mainstreaming resilience across development sectors including risk assessment and mapping, risk reduction (including urban flood management, stormwater drainage, coastal management, and retrofitting of infrastructure), disaster preparedness (including hydromet services, early warning systems, and civil defense), risk financing, and resilient reconstruction and recovery (including post-disaster damage and needs assessment); (iv) post-conflict reconstruction and recovery; (v) strengthening land tenure, management and information systems; and (vi) supporting the development of national and sub-national spatial data infrastructure and supporting the development of geospatial information.
COUNTRY CONTEXT
Türkiye experienced dramatic urbanization beginning in the 1950s as the urban population grew from 25 to 77 percent. Rapidly growing urban sprawl without proper planning and construction of public and private infrastructure in marginal and hazardous areas put an increasing number of people and assets at risk from disasters and climate change. At the same time, inadequate building codes until around the early 2000s, a mixed track record of enforcing building codes, and the lack of proper maintenance has resulted in buildings and infrastructure vulnerable to damage or collapse in the event of an earthquake. Inadequate protective infrastructure has resulted in limited capacity to effectively manage flood events. The combination of increased exposure and vulnerability has exacerbated disaster and climate risks in Türkiye and threatens the sustainability of investments across sectors.
Türkiye is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural hazards, including earthquakes, landslides, and floods. Among these, earthquakes have claimed the highest number of lives and caused the greatest economic loss. On February 6, 2023, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 hit southeast Türkiye and Syria; these were followed by thousands of aftershocks, and another earthquake of magnitude 6.7 on February 20, 2023. The epicenters of the first two earthquakes were in Kahramanmaraş Province with neighboring provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa all suffering damages. The epicenter of the third earthquake was in Hatay causing further damage to the region. According to official statistics, the earthquakes resulted in over 50,000 casualties, 107,000 people injured including many disabled, 1.9 million housing units damaged or destroyed, 3.3 million people displaced, and almost 2 million in need of shelter in camps and container settlements. Although less dramatic, floods and landslides are frequent events that cause localized losses. Observed and anticipated climate change impacts, such as more intense precipitation and rising sea level, are expected to lead to increasing risks to natural disasters, including more frequent and intense flooding in low-lying areas of river deltas and coastal cities and other extreme weather events.
Against this background, the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy is based around three pillars: improving competitiveness, building inclusion, and ensuring sustainability. Across a substantial program of loans, investments and analytical services, there is a growing focus on strengthening citizen engagement and new initiatives to address emerging social challenges. The Urban, Disaster Risk Management and Land Program in Türkiye covers investment projects and technical assistance focused on sustainable urban investments, reducing risk in priority sectors, post-disaster reconstruction applying building-back-better principles, modernizing land management, building public awareness, and accelerating urban resilience to geophysical and climate hazards.
POSITION
SCAUR is seeking to recruit a highly qualified, experienced and energetic Disaster Risk Management (DRM)/Urban Analyst to work in its Europe and Central Asia unit (SCAUR). The GE term staff position will be based in Ankara, Türkiye.
The DRM/Urban Analyst will work on DRM, climate change, urban development, and land issues through existing and future lending operations, technical assistance, and analytical work. She/he will work closely with other SCAUR staff and consultants based in Ankara on a daily basis, be an integral part of GPURL’s wider work on resilience and sustainable urban development and will report to the Practice Manager of the SCAUR unit (based in Vienna, Austria).
Roles & Responsibility:
Under the supervision of the Practice Manager for Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience, and Land for Europe and Central Asia, the DRM/Urban Analyst will have the following main duties and responsibilities:
- Support the task team leaders and participate in/coordinate with task teams throughout the preparation and implementation of the DRM, urban, and land activities in Türkiye, including but not limited to, implementation support for investment lending operations, monitoring and evaluation thereof, and liaison with government counterparts.
- Contribute to technical assistance and just-in-time advisory work in the areas of disaster and climate resilience, and sustainable urban development as needed.
- Follow up on actions specified in Progress Review Reports, Aide Memoires, and Implementation Status and Results Reports (ISRs).
- Review project-related documents with an eye on ensuring action plans for implementation are clearly identified and agreed with clients and clear responsibilities for such actions are assigned.
- Participate in the task teams’ regular check-in meetings and missions with government counterparts and prepare minutes of meetings, draft Aide Memoires, briefs, reports, action plans and any other documentation or materials required.
- Conduct research, gather data, prepare analysis as needed, and draft presentations, communication/knowledge sharing materials, and other documentation as needed.
- Work independently, seeking guidance and instruction on new, unusual, or complex assignments.
- Coordinate with task teams in the implementation of donor-funded activities supporting the strengthening of disaster and climate risk governance for national and sub-national DRM stakeholders.
- Contribute to maintaining liaison and dialogue with development partners, research institutions, government counterpart, non-Government organizations, the private sector, and other sector-related institutions; and
- Provide any other assistance needed for the day-to-day coordination of activities.
Selection Criteria
- Advanced Degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in science, economics, policy, engineering, or urban planning/regional development (or related field) and at least 3 years of directly relevant professional experience. Professional experience in earthquake risk management or urban planning will be highly regarded.
- Relevant professional experience in research or applied work on disaster risk management, urban development and/or climate change in Türkiye.
- Proven analytical and problem-solving skills and proven ability to apply these in carrying out research and operational tasks, identifying issues, presenting findings/recommendations, defining development policies, and contributing to resolution of sector and country issues; analyzing and identifying portfolio cross-cutting issues.
- Highly organized with understanding of good project management practices.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work sensitively in multi-cultural teams and function effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team, while also being able to work independently.
- Proven capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including, municipalities, national government agencies, international organizations, academics, development agencies, and NGOs.
- Strong oral and written presentation/communication skills, as well as creativity and problem-solving skills. Excellent fluency in English and Turkish is a must.
- A good understanding of the development context in Türkiye demonstrated by professional experience working with government, donors, and development agencies.
Competencies:
- Ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments with various task team leaders and adjust to a variety of complex evolving tasks to meet tight deadlines.
- Outstanding verbal and written communications skills in English and Turkish.
- Ability to support preparation and supervision of investment operations in DRM, urban, land, and related sustainable development work program as it may develop.
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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