Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) 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, www.worldbank.org
Regional Contexts
The Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) Region Context
Home to about 700 million 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.
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 Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region Context
Western and Central Africa is a region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles – marked by contrasts of stability and conflict, affluence, and poverty. Home to about half a billion people, it encompasses 22 countries stretching from the westernmost point of Africa across the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean to the Republic of Congo in the South. The sub-region is rich in resources and brimming with opportunities. It made impressive progress in regional cooperation and includes two monetary unions - the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) which cover 13 countries between them.
Yet these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back to the forefront the risks posed by weak systems and poor surveillance.
The AFW is committed to helping countries realize their considerable development potential and become more competitive in the global economy 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, and Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information, visit
The Middle East and North Africa (MNA) Region Context
Countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MNA) region confront a vast array of development challenges, from an uncertain and uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to the implications of decelerating global economy, deepening geopolitical divisions, protracted regional conflicts, and climate change. These overlapping crises are amplified by longstanding structural relating to economic governance that contribute to an outsized presence of the state in the economy, high unemployment rates among women and youth, and limited intraregional trade and investment.
Overcoming these challenges will allow MNA countries to realize their vast development potential, endowed as the region is with a rapidly growing and highly educated population, geo-strategic location, and abundance of renewable energy potential. To unlock this potential, the World Bank is advancing inclusive, sustainable, and resilient development through a two-pronged strategy that seeks to respond to sudden and severe crises while supporting reforms that spur structural transformation and job creation, advance gender equity, strengthen regional cooperation, and accelerate green transitions. This strategy is operationalized through a differentiated approach that reflects the distinct circumstances of the World Bank’s clients in the region, comprising 20 countries that range from active IBRD borrowers and IDA recipients to recipients of reimbursable advisory services and non-active countries with whom the Bank maintains a policy dialogue.
For more information on the three regions, please visit:
Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/eastern-and-southern-africa
Western and Central Africa (AFW) visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa
Middle and North Africa (MNA) visit www.worldbank.org/en/region/mena
Position Context
The Regional Director, Digital (AFE/AFW/MNA) will cover Digital Transformation in three regions: East Africa (AFE), West Africa (AFW) and Middle East and North Africa (MNA). The position offers a unique opportunity to transform development through digital solutions programs; and work with IFC and MIGA management in ensuring that the totality of WBG efforts is coherent and impactful. The Regional Director will report to AFE, AFW and MNA Regional Vice Presidents.
The Regional Director, Digital, through its global and regional teams and working in collaboration with other teams across the World Bank, will deploy a range of products, services, and partnerships to advance global knowledge around key digital transformation topics and to support countries to define and implement their vision for digital transformation through:
• Building digital infrastructure and data platforms (including AI, cloud computing and digital public infrastructure)
• Protecting institutions, businesses, and citizens through cybersecurity and data protection & privacy
• Developing ICT sectors and supporting digital entrepreneurship, skills, and jobs
• Implementing and digitalizing digital government services that improve accountability and transparency.
• Supporting the Vice presidencies of People, Prosperity, Planet, and Infrastructure in the digitalization efforts of their clients, and in leveraging digital solutions, including building client sectoral digital capacity, defining sectoral specific AI strategies, and designing sectoral AI solutions
• Coordinating the operationalization of the digital Global Challenge Program as well as cross-GP efforts of achieving the new Corporate Scorecard digital indicators.
• Financing to governments in the form of grants, loans, guarantees, and risk management products to support digital investment projects and implement policy reforms.
• Advisory services including targeted policy guidance, technical assistance, and capacity building.
• Knowledge products including data and diagnostics to provide actionable insights at regional, country, and local levels, research and thought leadership to expand the global knowledge base, as well as thematic operational toolkits.
• Convening services that bring together key stakeholders, from both public and private sectors as well as international and non-governmental organizations involved in advancing global digital transformation.
For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digitaldevelopment
Duties and accountabilities
The Regional Director has overall responsibility for the following areas: setting the overall strategic priorities for the Digital program; managing the risks, deliverables, portfolio quality, and achievement of results of the Digital program; coordinating the external dialogue on digital transformation with country clients, development partners, regional organizations and private sector entities; support the Regional leadership teams (RLTs) of AFE, AFW and MNA to ensure regional efforts are mainstreamed in-country
The Regional Director will assume the following duties and accountabilities:
• Working with the regional VPs, Regional Leadership Teams (RLTs), regional organizations, and client countries to identify the strategic direction and priorities for the Digital program and translate this into action.
• Secure and manage resources for preparing transformative and impactful Digital programs.
• Ensure the Digital program's portfolio quality and risk management systems are strong.
• Identify and lead regional ASA related to programs in line with regional priorities.
• Lead overall policy dialogue and coordination of WB efforts on digital transformation with regional organizations, country clients, development partners and private sector entities.
• Work with RLT members, including CDs, to ensure strong alignment and mainstreaming of Digital regional programs in country dialogue and operations.
• Work closely with IFC and MIGA management to ensure there is a coherent WBG effort and integrated solutions on digital transformation.
• As a member of the AFE, AFW and MNA RLTs, contribute to the overall work of both regions. Work collaboratively with the Digital Vice-President and Global Leadership Team (GLT), including the Global Director (GD) for Digital Transformation.
Solutions and Results to Clients
• Leads his/her team to deliver AFE’s, AFW’s and MNA’s key strategic priorities and, in collaboration with other stakeholders, ensures alignment with the WBG Strategy.
• Draws on thought leadership and implementation know-how to ensure high impact solutions.
• Accountable for delivering high-quality and timely results.
• Assist the management team in building and maintaining a balanced portfolio of innovative, cost-effective, demand-driven products and services that reflect corporate priorities.
• Implements quality control processes/inputs to support the delivery of products and services.
• Ensures the availability and maintenance of portfolio, pipeline, staff, and budget information, as well as portfolio quality and performance metrics, to inform WBG management.
• Leads on high-priority initiatives and projects.
• Provides cross-sectoral solutions to clients, working within and across the WBG.
People/ Talent Management
• Models exemplary WBG leadership values and managerial behaviors and reinforces these qualities in own team and staff.
• Drives and inspires technical excellence within the team and the unit by creating an environment of learning and innovation that attracts and develops the best talent reflective of the diversity of our clients.
• Oversees and supports regional management in developing and implementing appropriate strategies for global staffing, deployment, talent, and performance management.
• Along with and on behalf of the VPs, contributes to implementing and monitoring compliance with talent management, diversity, and inclusion plans.
• Encourages and incentivizes staff mobility across units and contributes to career development.
• Works closely with AFE, AFW and MNA Front Office, CDs, PMs and Talent Boards and Talent Council to plan staff needs, including guiding the regional staffing requirements, and providing input into decentralization plans, strategic staffing, and the D&I agenda for the AFE, AFW and MNA Region and the Digital Practice Group.
Resource Management
• Manages the department’s budget (internal and external funds) to support implementing the AFE’s, AFW’s and MNA’s strategies. Helps managers optimize the various sources of funding for better client delivery.
• In consultation with relevant stakeholders within the WBG, decide on the best use of internal and external resources for maximum client and developmental impact.
• Is accountable for delivering the agreed upon work program through cost-effective use of resources (human and budget) within the agreed parameters, in compliance with internal controls and policies, and ensures timely delivery and overall quality of the AFE’s, AFW’s and MNA’s outputs.
Knowledge Management
• Engages with managers and other directors in the AFE, AFW and MNA regions to develop a knowledge and learning strategy and approach that integrates cross-cutting and multi-sectoral links.
• Provides personal leadership in one or more of the areas critical to the implementation of the AFE’s, AFW’s and MNA’s strategies and priorities and helps integrate policy direction and strategic priorities with business development and operational priorities.
• Ensures the timely flow and capture of knowledge and expertise so that clients receive the highest-quality support and knowledge they need, when and where they need it.
• Promotes innovative and cross-cutting research and the dissemination of technical and experiential knowledge and learning.
• Instills a culture of evidence-based yet client-tailored engagement for the highest development impact.
