Job #:
req21778
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Communications
Grade:
GF
Term Duration:
4 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
Local Recruitment
Location:
Kuwait City,Kuwait
Required Language(s):
English & Arabic
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date:
4/14/2023 (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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org
External and Corporate Relations Vice-Presidency (ECR)
The mission of External and Corporate Relations (ECR) is to help deliver
financial and political support for the World Bank Group, strengthen the Bank
Group 's role as a global thought leader in development by enhancing and
safeguarding its reputation, and supporting operational teams to achieve
country outcomes. ECR manages corporate communications and global engagement
with key stakeholders, including media, civil society, foundations, private
sector, and international organizations, as well as employee engagement. ECR
also manages strategic communications for the World Bank's Regions and Global
Practices and leads the management of reputational risk.
GCC Context
The World Bank has maintained strong partnerships with Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries for more than five decades. The World Bank Group (WBG)
has delivered transformational and highly relevant knowledge products to
support the development agenda of the region. The governments of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, State
of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made use of the global
knowledge and development expertise the WBG provides through technical
assistance programs offered as Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS). RAS are
tailored to the specific country context and consist of strategic and policy
advice, implementation support and capacity building.
Supporting the GCC countries has contributed to scaling up the Bank's global
experience of addressing challenges in high and middle-income countries,
producing and customizing development knowledge, and delivering it as global
public goods.
GCC countries are also key shareholders of the World Bank Group, providing
financial resources and active contribution as part of the Bank's governance
structure, to support the WBG's work and goals to end poverty and boost shared
prosperity in developing countries across the world. The World Bank's
relationships with the GCC countries substantively engage around both the RAS
services, as well as their role as key shareholders actively engaged with the
World Bank's strategic directions.
The World Bank Group also partners with multilateral and bilateral
institutions based in the GCC region, including the Islamic Development Bank,
the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Monetary Fund,
Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait Fund, Qatar Fund for Development, and Abu
Dhabi Fund. Such partnerships aim to leverage the financial support for
development extended by GCC countries
The GCC department of the World Bank is managed by four offices: a regional
office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, headed by the Country Director; a country
office in Kuwait, headed by the Country Manager; a country office in Abu
Dhabi, headed by the Resident Representative; and a country management unit at
the headquarters in Washington, D.C.
External and Corporate Relations for the Middle East & North Africa (ECRMN)
ECRMN employs an extended team of professionals located in World Bank
Headquarters and in country offices across the MENA region to support the
overarching goal of advancing sustainable, inclusive growth in the Middle East
& North Africa. Recognizing MENA's complex economic and social context,
effective communications is key to helping shape the debate on development
priorities and trade-offs across the region. ECRMN's work program business
lines encompass traditional and social media; messaging and positioning;
political economy analysis and risk management; stakeholder engagement;
creative content generation and campaigns. ECRMN maintains close alignment
with operations in the region and with the ECR network across the World Bank,
deploying state of the art communications to support country, regional and
corporate priorities.
External Affairs Officer for GCC Countries
The MNA External and Corporate Relations (MNAEC) is seeking a dynamic
communications professional to lead and/or contribute to a range of
communication activities for the GCC countries and the MENA region. The
position is based in Kuwait, with a particular focus on communication and
engagement in Kuwait, but also maintaining cross cutting responsibilities for
communication initiatives across the GCC, part of a one team approach with
other ECRMN colleagues working on GCC based in Saudi and HQ. The officer
should be skilled across a range of communication functionalities and
adaptable with abilities to work across projects, communication business lines
and GCC country contexts. The External Affairs Officer reports to the ECRMN
Manager in Washington DC with dotted lines to the GCC Country Director and the
Resident Representative for Kuwait.
Roles & Responsibilities
Working closely with the ECRMN team and GCC Country Management, design and
implement communication strategies, approaches and activities to effectively
advance the priorities of the World Bank in the region. This involves:
*
Act as a trusted advisor to and member of the GCC management team, providing
timely and strong political intelligence and reputational risk management
advice, and bring this awareness into the design of approaches for effective
outreach and engagement strategies and plans.
* Monitor and analyze, through traditional and social media monitoring, key socio-economic and political developments that can inform and/or affect the Bank's work with the GCC. Provide regular media clippings to the CMU and advise the country management on external developments and dynamics that may impact the Bank and help determine appropriate strategic responses to address them. Provide advice and background for political economy briefs on country developments.
* Nurture and maintain long term strategic relations with key external stakeholders (e.g., civil society, think tanks, academia, parliamentarians, youth groups) and manage a system for stakeholder contacts. Identify opportunities and forge strategic partnerships to improve dialogue and outreach and to promote a better understanding of the Bank. Identify entry points for positioning the World Bank into regional conversations and platforms, and drive forward potential opportunities
* Organize convenings and events, often in collaboration with partners and around our reports/analytics, to further position the Bank as a global thought leader as well as a convener of constituencies seeking to stimulate dialogue and debate around pressing development agendas.
* Manage media relations, responding to media queries, pitching stories, staffing interviews and arranging press briefings.
* Produce both routine and complex outreach products, writing and packaging materials (e.g. press releases, stories, website content, social media posts, talking points) for delivery as effective vehicles of communication to the intended audiences. Create multimedia packages - videos, animations, visuals - as part of this process, recruiting and managing vendors to support the process.
* Leverage the Bank's MENA regional corporate twitter, facebook and related social media channels as an effective vehicle for GCC messaging, positioning and stakeholder engagement. Deliver social media messaging and packages for these channels as part of GCC outreach. Provide guidance and support for the GCC Country Director's leadership voice on social media and related channels.
* Actively engage as part of a one team approach with the ECRMN team, aligning country work programs with regional priorities and ECRMN business lines. Develop professional relationships across the WB's communication network, actively participating in trainings and communities of practice, contributing to and gaining insights on good practices to strengthen our work.
* Regularly report out on GCC communication plans and activities. Work collaboratively with wider ECRMN & GCC team to develop strategies and manage issues. Provide impact assessments at key intervals, drawing on centralized expertise to leverage systems, analytics to do so.
* Be prepared to work on cross regional MENA and corporate priorities. This includes shifting focus as needed to work on region wide priorities and milestones.
Selection Criteria
* Master's degree and at least five to eight years of professional experience in Communications, Political Science, Economics, International Relations/Public Affairs, Journalism, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
* Communications Expertise - Demonstrated experience managing communication programs, based on understanding of needs of various external audiences and possessing experience with development topics and issues.
* Political Economy Awareness - Strong understanding of development political context in the GCC region; ability to grasp and articulate complex political economy and role of political parties, institutions, private sector and civil society players. Ability to recognize potential risks to the World Bank's reputation and act on them accordingly
* Relationship Management - Has experience and/or demonstrates ability to manage relationships with critical constituencies to foster strategic partnerships.
* Written and Oral Communications: Articulates ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels; expertise in writing and/or editing communications products for effective messaging and clarity of thought.
* Social Media - Ability to ensure social media outreach is integrated as part of a cohesive communication approaches.
* Capacity to pull information from multiple sources, analyze data and data, surface insights, strategize and initiate plans to act on it.
* Outstanding inter-personal and teamwork skills, judgment, ability to collaborate with others in a multi-cultural environment.
* Demonstrated ability and the necessary personal organization skills to multitask, take initiative, personal ownership and accountability, identify and respond to needs as they arise, and remain flexible and self-motivated in a dynamic, fast-paced work environment
* Fluency in oral and written in English and Arabic required.
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.