Looking for a personalized Interview Trainer who can work with you on a one-on-one call?
“Click here to connect with YLCC Interview Coaches”
About:
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Their vision is to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
They are not a bank in the common sense; we are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 189 member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Each institution plays a different but collaborative role in advancing the vision of inclusive and sustainable globalization. The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world’s poorest countries.
Their work is complemented by that of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Together, they provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture and environmental and natural resource management.
Role:
Senior Counsel
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Qualifications:
Academic qualifications and experience:
• Law degree: JD or LLB, LLM (required), SJD or PhD (optional), with at least 8 years of relevant experience.
• Be admitted/qualified to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.
• Expertise in water law, international water law, and public international law more generally.
• Knowledge of regional, bilateral and transboundary water resources arrangements and agreements.
• Expertise or familiarity in environmental and natural resources law.
• Legal transactional experience.
• Ability to work collaboratively, to build trust among peers and colleagues, to respond quickly and consistently to key issues.
• Demonstrated intellectual leadership and ability to integrate knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives.
• High degree of persuasiveness and diplomacy to generate consensus, especially on divisive legal issues.
• Language skills. Fluency in English, both written and oral, is required, with additional fluency in French, Spanish and/or Portuguese desirable.
General Competencies:
• Ability to communicate and defend, orally and in writing, difficult and complex issues and positions to senior Bank management, government officials and civil society groups
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environment and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues
• Demonstrated ability to effectively mentor/guide staff and design training/skills enhancement initiatives to ensure transfer of knowledge/skills
• Ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries
Other competencies required:
• Deliver Results for Clients: Adds value by constantly looking for a better way to get more impactful results; sets challenging stretch goals for oneself. Immerses oneself in client experiences and perspective by asking probing questions to understand unmet needs. Demonstrates accountability for achieving results that have an impact. Identifies and proposes solutions to mitigate and manage risks.
• Client Orientation: Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
• Flexibility: Able to adapt strategy, and objectives; making corresponding structural or organizational changes as needed, to move the work forward and meet the needs of the situation.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries: Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues in multidisciplinary teams, brings differing ideas into the forefront, integrates and initiates collaboration across boundaries.
• Pressure: Ability to handle demands related to the delivery of multiple tasks within demanding and occasionally conflicting time constraints.
• Lead and Innovate: Contributes to new insights to understand situations and develops solutions to resolve complex problems. Adapts as circumstances require and manages impact on own behaviors on others in context of WBG’s values and missions. Identifies and pursues innovative approaches to resolve issues.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge: Leverage departments and WBG body of knowledge by applying lessons learned and expertise. Actively invests in knowledge and seeks feedback. Builds personal and professional networks within and beyond the work group.
• Make Smart Decisions: Seeks diversity of information and inputs, research possible solutions, and generates recommended options. Identifies and understands risks and proposes recommendations. Based on risk analysis, makes decisions in a timely manner within own area of responsibility, considering the interests and concerns of stakeholders.
• Professional Maturity: Understands others and the reasons for their behavior. Takes the time to clarify others’ points of view so that progress can be made, particularly in situations of stress or conflict. Is never condescending or arrogant.
• Values, Leadership Potential
• Demonstrated commitment to the World Bank Core Values for WBG and a proven track record of fostering a strong and healthy culture of diversity, inclusion, teamwork, honesty, trust, openness, integrity, and accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to be sensitive to issues around race, gender, ethnicity, inclusion, and intersectionality.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and foster a positive working environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to the Bank’s mission, and ability to work towards WBG’s corporate targets for successful outcomes.
• A strong results-oriented mindset.
Responsibilities:
The Senior Counsel will play a key role in providing advice on international water law and guide the Bank and its members in navigating the complexities posed by transboundary water systems. With time, the Senior Counsel will also support the Bank’s portfolio of projects on broader environmental and natural resource law issues as well as environmental and social safeguard policy issues. Working under the supervision of the Chief Counsel, LEGEN the Senior Counsel will:
1. Serve as an advisor on international water law and transboundary water issues including on: (i) all aspects of compliance with the requirements of the Bank’s Operational Policy for Projects on International Waterways (OP 7.50), including riparian notification processes, and advising on the processing of exceptions from the riparian notification requirement when warranted; (ii) broader aspects of international water law, including the Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, as well as the full range of bilateral regional and river-basin treaties and arrangements; and (iii) as needed, prepare and deliver training sessions on international water law, the negotiation of transboundary water arrangement, OP 7.50 and the international legal framework within which it fits, including the relevant principles of customary international law.
2. Enhance the Bank’s engagement with internal and external practitioners and stakeholders on the broader transboundary water agenda. Connect with networks of international water lawyers and public international law experts globally, including through participation in conferences and scientific committees, staying connected with academia through membership on advisory boards and associations, presentations at external conferences, publications and staying connected with other expert networks such as the International Water Resources Association and the International Association for Water Law among others.
3. Serve as the LEGEN Focal Point on dam safety issues. Help in the analysis of regulatory frameworks for the safety of dams and advise teams on what dam safety instruments are needed for different types of operations and ensure that these instruments are reflected in the legal agreements stipulating the obligations of the borrower. Guide teams in translating these requirements into specific provisions in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan or the legal agreement as necessary, and guide implementation and compliance throughout the project cycle.
4. As needed, advise on the World Bank Environmental and Social Safeguards/Standards with a particular focus on Environmental and Social Standard 3 and Environmental and Social Standard 4. In close consultation with the Chief Counsel, Environmental and International Law, the Senior Counsel will provide timely advice on the legal aspects of the Bank’s environmental and social policies, including providing technical and interpretive guidance to Bank staff. In special or high-risk projects, the Senior Counsel would be available to join the task team if so requested.
5. Work across a wide range of Bank units. The Senior Counsel will work and interact frequently with:
• Lawyers and managers in LEG VPU.
• Counterparts within Regional operational units, Vertical units including the Planet Vice Presidency, as well as corporate units including the Operations Policy and Country Services.
• Management and staff at HQ and in the field, as required.
How to apply:
Interested candidates can Apply here
We have taken all measures to ensure that this opportunity, available in the corporate domain, is uploaded/provided/given on our social media platforms, including our website, and is credible, verified and sourced from authenticated/trustable sources.
