The Deputy General Counsel (DGC) – Finance. The DGC Finance oversees the Corporate Finance Practice Group (LEGFI), which provides legal support for market-facing capital markets and asset management activities, and the Development Finance Practice Group (LEGDF), which provides legal support for IDA and trust fund donor-facing financial and policy negotiations. The DGC Finance is the WBG legal focal point and counterpart to the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, and the Treasury, Chief Risk Officer, Finance and Accounting, and Development Finance Vice Presidencies. In this  WBG-wide role, the DGC Finance will also collaborate closely with IFC Management and MIGA  Management for coordination, lessons learned, and consistency of legal strategies and approaches in cross-cutting finance matters.

The DGC Finance will report directly to the SVP and GGC and will serve as a core member of the Legal Management Team.

Duties & accountabilities:

Solutions and Results for Clients: The DGC provides seasoned legal advice to officials of the Bank across a broad spectrum of legal issues in the area of finance, often involving questions of first impression. The DGC  must be able to work independently and confidentially to analyze the most complex legal and financial issues, and to provide prompt, mature, credible, and reliable advice to Bank officials, including the Bank’s most senior officials, as well as to Board Officials. The DGC must bring demonstrated judgment and ability to balance legal as well as organizational interests so as to enable the Bank to achieve desired outcomes, while mitigating, minimizing, or eliminating legal risk. In particular, the DGC must be able to understand and balance both financial and development objectives, and to assist finance and other teams to structure new initiatives and transactions to obtain optimal, risk-adjusted outcomes.

Board Committees: Under the supervision of the SVP and GGC, the DGC will act as counsel to the Audit and Budget Committees of the Board. In the exercise of these functions, the DGC must demonstrate strong analytical ability, thorough understanding of the Bank’s institutional framework, and a keen appreciation for the balance between Management and Board responsibilities. The DGC must also provide ad hoc legal advice to individual Board Officials, and to the Board on any issues that may come before it, as and when they arise, in a reliable and professional manner.

Management Committees: The DGC will serve as the representative of the SVP and GGC on the Finance and Risk Committee. The DGC will also serve as LEG’s representative on the New Business Committee, Disclosure Committee, and Credit Risk Committee. In these engagements, the DGC will advise senior management on the legal issues involved in new financial initiatives and transactions under consideration. The DGC must be able to explain the financial implications of complex legal arrangements to managers at different levels to ensure that decisions are well-informed and based on a clear understanding of potential risks and rewards.

Key Transactional Responsibilities:

The DGC will organize, manage, and mentor staff in LEGFI and LEGDF in the following core areas:

• Capital Markets: negotiate offering documents and handle all other legal aspects of bond issuance for IBRD and IDA ($83.3 billion in FY26, via 370 individual transactions), as well as for IFFIm and CCMM;  manage relationships with external counsel for underwriters and lead the due diligence process for individual benchmark transactions and the production of annual IBRD and IDA Information Statements for investors; provide expert guidance on legal and governance issues in discussions with credit rating agencies and investors; negotiate related risk management and asset-liability hedging transactions.

• IDA Resource Mobilization and Implementation: provide expert advice on legal, governance, and policy issues in connection with the triennial negotiations of IDA replenishments (most recent IDA21 replenishment of up to $100 billion), and work with cross-cutting finance and operational teams on IDA financial policies, balance sheet optimization, and other IDA innovations.

• Asset Management: handle all negotiations for investments by the WBG pension and benefit plans  (over $40 billion in assets), as invested in a broadly diversified strategic asset allocation including private equity, real estate, venture capital, and hedge funds; handle negotiations and legal aspects of liquidity investments by IBRD, IDA, and trust funds (including IFC and MIGA trust funds), as well as client funds managed by the World Bank Treasury (cumulatively, over $200 billion in assets under management).

• Trust Funds and Financial Intermediary Funds: provide legal, policy, and governance advice in connection with structuring and negotiation of new trust funds and FIFs, and provide continuing advice to legal, finance, and operational colleagues on implementation issues.

• Innovative Finance: assist in the structuring and negotiation of new, innovative financing initiatives that are market facing and/or using  market-based methods, working on a cross-cutting basis with colleagues in finance, operations, and other institutions (both public and private), with particular attention to private capital mobilization and originate-to-distribute initiatives.

• Financial Products and Services: provide seasoned advice to Treasury, CRO, WFA, DFI, and LEG colleagues in connection with existing and new financial products and services for IBRD and IDA clients, including general terms and conditions embedded in loan products, customization of existing products, and development of new stand-alone products and services.

• Financial Reporting: advise on disclosure issues in connection with the financial reporting of IBRD and IDA and interact regularly with the external auditors on matters of governance, financial reporting, and regulatory issues; ensure that prospectuses and financial reporting of IBRD and IDA meet all appropriate legal standards, in recognition that both IBRD and IDA are subject to prospectus liability in connection with bond issuance.

• WBG Coordination: the DGC will actively engage with legal teams at IFC and MIGA on common issues and provide legal and governance advice to enable optimal use of WBG financial capacity.

• Miscellaneous: other key responsibilities handled by the DGC include advice on IBRD capital and financial capacity issues (including hybrid capital, portfolio and other guarantees, and enhanced callable capital), legal and governance technical assistance for external clients provided under the Treasury’s Reserves Advisory and Management Partnership, and guidance on legal aspects of Preferred Creditor Status and debt issues.

People Talent Management

• Model exemplary WBG leadership values and managerial behavior and reinforce these qualities in the management team and staff

• Contribute to and implement and monitor compliance with talent management, diversity, and inclusion plans

• Drive and encourage technical excellence by creating an environment of learning and innovation that attracts and develops the best talent reflective of the diversity of our clients

• Coordinate and support the legal management team in developing and implementing appropriate strategies for global staffing, deployment, staff learning and development as well as career progression and talent and performance management

Knowledge Management

• Engage with Chief Counsels, other DGCs and IFC and MIGA Management and staff to foster an atmosphere of continued knowledge generation and learning.

• Ensure timely flow, capture, codification and dissemination of knowledge and expertise so that clients receive the highest quality support and knowledge.

• Support the coordination of innovative and cross-cutting research, as well as the dissemination of technical and experiential knowledge and learning.

Resource Management

• Manage the budget allocated for the finance units (LEGFI and LEGDF).

• Ensure Legal Management accountability for delivering the agreed-upon work program through cost-effective use of resources (human and budget) within the agreed parameters and in compliance with internal WBG fiduciary and safeguard controls and policies and ensures timely delivery and overall quality of outputs.

• Ensure implementation of the risk management framework for legal.

• At least 15 years of relevant post-qualification legal experience.

• Expertise and in-depth historical knowledge of World Bank Group.

• Strong understanding of the governance structure, business models, and financial reporting of IBRD and IDA, and the ability to explain relevant issues to underwriters counsel, dealers, and other stakeholders.

• Proven ability to provide leadership on a wide variety of Bank financial matters combined with a record of intellectual leadership and accomplishments that demonstrate an ability to provide senior management, internal and external clients with technically excellent, innovative, timely and practical advice and solutions to meet the needs of the Bank’s strategic priorities and particular transactions, and to resolve highly complex legal issues.

• Exceptional leadership skills, including leading transformative change, and highly developed coaching, mentoring and advisory skills, as well as the ability to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and experience across a large, diverse, and complex organization.

• Proven track record of building and managing teams, achieving a mutually supportive, team-oriented mindset across a large unit or units, and creating an enabling work environment that delivers results.

• Proven ability to effectively work with colleagues and integrate the work of multiple business units covering diverse activities.

• Receptivity to feedback and constructive criticism; outstanding written and verbal communication skills in English is required.

• Spanish and French are preferred languages.

• Has the ability to create a thoughtful strategy for generating consensus both inside and outside the Bank on divisive legal issues; remains diplomatic throughout negotiations. Recognizes that there are times when negotiation calls for an approach that is both principled yet flexible. Reaches out to colleagues and others to test strategy. Is seen as trustworthy by all those involved. Is able to lead complex negotiations. all policies and procedures and will enforce consequences if there is non-compliance.

• Mentoring and coaching. Able to hold peer review sessions with colleagues from across the organization and across regions. Acts and is seen as a sounding board or advisor for problem solving and general idea generation. Provides others with relevant on-the-job training and development opportunities. Ability to effectively mentor more junior staff in all the areas of the unit’s work, to empower them to work independently and to think creatively about the problems facing the organization, and to prepare them to take on increasingly large and significant responsibilities.

WBG Managerial Competencies