Senior Social Protection Specialist-Senior Economist

Senior Social Protection Specialist-Senior Economist

Description

At the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd

VPU Context:

Western and Central Africa is a vast region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles. Stretching from the westernmost point of Africa, across the equator, and partly along the Atlantic Ocean till the Republic of Congo in the South, it encompasses 22 countries that spread across semi-arid areas in the Sahel, large coastal areas on the Atlantic Ocean and along the Gulf of Guinea and tropical forest covering many countries from Guinea to the Republic of Congo, through Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Gabon. Read more: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Unit Context:

The Social Policy (SP) Global Practice delivers operational approaches and evidence-based solutions to help individuals and families manage risk, cope with chronic/transitional poverty, and access better livelihoods and jobs. These include:

• Strategy, analysis, financing and design of social programs delivering social safety nets/social assistance in the form of cash transfers, public works programs, and fee waivers.
• Advisory and analytical services on design and delivery of contributory transfers (including old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, disability and survivor benefits), and their fiscal sustainability (including budget support for transitions).
• Analysis, design and delivery of labor market and youth employment programs (with a focus on supply side interventions and intermediation policies), as well as policy advice on labor market regulations and interventions.
• Strategy, analysis, financing and design of integrated social protection delivery systems (e.g., payments, identification, registries, systems assessments) as underpinnings of effective social programs that can help cope with climatic shocks or underpin fiscal reforms.
• Strategy, analysis, policy dialogue, financing and design of social development and social risk management dimensions of operations considering impacts on vulnerable groups, labor and working conditions, community health and safety, stakeholder engagement, and the prevention of, and response to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
  
  SP has a large portfolio in Nigeria and comprises of IDA-funded projects amounting to over US$ 3 billion. There are four major operations currently under supervision, one pipeline project, as well as technical work. 
• National Social Safety Nets Program Scale Up (NASSP-SU) project. A US$800 million credit from IDA. The project development objective (PDO) for NASSP-SU is to expand coverage of shock responsive safety net support among the poor and vulnerable and strengthen the national safety net delivery system. The project supports government in meeting the urgent needs of Nigerian households and mitigate shocks while building a shock responsive safety net system that can help adapt to future climate and other shocks. The project currently supports the Nigerian government’s Household Prosperity and Empowerment (HOPE) program that is providing time-bound cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households adversely affected by the macro-economic reforms implemented from May 2023. The NASSP-SU project supports the strengthening of safety-net delivery systems including the Nigeria Social Register and the digital payments system. The project is national in coverage, with beneficiary households selected from all States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
• NIGERIA: Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES). A US$1.25 billion program-for-results, including an Additional Financing of US$500 million approved in March 2025. NG-CARES was initially designed to support households who were affected by the shocks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has evolved into a sub-national shock responsive platform that provides multisectoral interventions to the poor and vulnerable. The Program is being implemented at subnational level across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), stimulating the local economy through social transfers, labor-intensive public works, livelihood grants, basic community services, agriculture and food security interventions. NG-CARES 2.0 is also supporting the expansion and updating of State Social Registry, which aggregates into the Nigeria Social Registry at federal level.
• Nigeria for Women Program Scale-Up (NFWP-SU). NFWP-SU is a US$500 million IDA-financed Investment Project Financing operation approved by the Board on June 22, 2023. Building directly on the six-state Nigeria for Women Project, its development objective is to institutionalize Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) and other platforms for women's economic empowerment and enhance the economic opportunities of unbanked women, taking the WAG model to national scale. The project is organized around three components: Building Community Institutions, which mobilizes and strengthens WAGs and their federated structures; a Livelihood Program, which provides community investment and livelihoods financing alongside training in savings, financial literacy, enterprise planning and value chain participation; and Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Learning.
• Household Prosperity and Empowerment – Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP, pipeline). This is a pipeline project with the objective to institutionalize regular cash transfer support to extreme poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria, financed increasingly from federal and state budgets and delivered through strengthened state and local government systems. It is scheduled for delivery in FY27.
• Social Protection Programmatic Advisory Services and Analytics (SP-PASA). The SP-PASA seeks to provide support to the Nigerian government through analytics and hands-on technical assistance for building robust SP system. Building on the existing engagements, the goal of the SP-PASA is to help the Government of Nigeria build institutionally and financially sustainable social protection systems to reduce poverty and inequality, enhance opportunities, and build resilience. The SP-PASA has three pillars (i) generate evidence; (ii) support operations and engagements (iii) advance SP policy dialogue.
  
  DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES  
  
  As a core member of the Social Policy team in Nigeria, the Senior Social Protection Specialist will play a key role in advancing the implementation of the World Bank’s current and future operations. The selected candidate will contribute to and lead policy dialogue on and support other operational and ASA tasks that contribute to the Government of Nigeria’s social protection and labor agenda. This will, overtime, entail a combination of operational team leadership, technical assistance and analytical activities, contributing with hands-on, international best practice experience in areas relevant to the country’s social protection systems. The position will require close coordination with the Government, development partners, and other stakeholders.
  
  Major responsibilities would include:
• Leadership / co-leadership of social policy tasks in Nigeria.
• Contribute to and lead aspects of the policy dialogue on Social Policy with key government institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, and Project Implementation Units relevant to NASSP-SU, NG-CARES, NFWP-SU, and other operations and others as relevant to technical and policy dialogue.
• Support current and future social policy operational and analytical engagements at the federal and states level in various capacities as team member, co-lead, and lead.
• In coordination with colleagues from Health and Education and working with colleagues from other Verticals and units, support cross-sectoral approaches to promote investments in human capital and social policy in Nigeria.
• Participate and organize missions to provide implementation support, technical inputs and guidance to counterparts, including improving the monitoring and evaluation of project activities. The candidate will also be expected to participate in developing reports and evaluations on World Bank operations as may be relevant.
• Strengthen the World Bank’s services to clients and donor partners by supporting donor coordination and liaising with NGOs and Government counterparts.
• Work closely with the World Bank’s financial management, procurement, environmental and social teams, and assist the government in matters of project implementation.
• Carry out any other related technical assessments (including the preparation of analytical pieces and/or technical reports on various aspects of ongoing and pipeline Bank projects) and administrative activities as guided and required by the Practice Manager and Country Director.
• Work closely with other relevant stakeholders involved in strengthening the social protection systems including UN Agencies, GIZ, Gates Foundation, etc.
• Keep abreast of and provide technical assistance solutions based on international best practice experience in social protection, particularly with regards to adaptive social protection systems, jobs and economic inclusion, and productive social assistance support to vulnerable households.
• Provide any other type of specialized support and guidance to resolve implementation challenges as needed.
  
  ACCOUNTABILITIES
  
  The Senior Social Protection Specialist is accountable for performing the responsibilities, modeling the behaviors and maintaining the competencies in his or her capacity as a member of the Social Policy Global Practice. Accountability means being answerable for achieving results, managing quality, risks and institutional initiatives, and operating in compliance with World Bank policies and procedures.

Selection Criteria

• Graduate degree and minimum of a master’s level qualification in economics, social policy or related fields.
• Minimum of eight years of directly relevant experience in social protection and labour, and other relevant sectors. Experience and substantive skills in social assistance operations, particularly as they can be applied to adaptive and shock responsive social protection systems.
• Experience working in large-scale development operations (lending and/or analytical).
• Experience working with World Bank operations would be an added advantage.
• Proven technical, analytical, and operational skills and experience.
• Experience in leading analytical and technical assistance activities designed to support the development and strengthening of government systems.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain productive, professional relationships with government counterparts, donors, civil society, academia, and other stakeholders
• Ability to maintain client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions.
• High capacity for organization and coordination, as well as an ability to work with a high degree of independence in a team environment.
• Experience in managing diverse and sometimes competing interests and perspectives to arrive at a durable consensus.
• Knowledge of WB financing instruments and operational policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to provide evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Ability to advise, influence and promote consensus among different stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams. Excellent interpersonal skills, with proven ability to work in a team and intercultural environment, with minimal supervision.
• Proven track record of multi-tasking, managing competing demands and effectively time-manage tasks.
• Proven ability to identify and develop new and creative partnerships with diverse agencies and organizations.
• Ability to work in a collaborative way, delivering cross-support and building relationships around a common goal.
• Evidence of strong interpersonal skills, and solid professional integrity and judgement.
• Evidence of sharing and conveying complex technical issues, in accessible format - written, spoken.
• Native or near-native proficiency in written English.
• Willing to travel to remote areas in Nigeria and field experience in developing countries a plus
  
  Required Competencies
  
  Experience
• Graduate degree and minimum of master’s level qualification in economics, social policy or related sector
• Minimum of eight years of relevant experience in social protection and other related sectors.
• Strong operational experience in social protection and large-scale government led safety nets
• Experience working with clients to build capacity and engage in dialogue on social protection and service delivery, particularly on safety nets and women’s empowerment
• Excellent World Bank operational skills in implementing world bank supported programs.
  
  Technical Ability
• Technical knowledge and skills in key areas of social protection programming including social safety nets, economic inclusion, women’s empowerment, etc.
• Technical knowledge in social protection delivery systems including social registries, payment systems, biometric identification systems, and others.
• Experience in leading technical assistance activities designed to support the development and strengthening of social protection programs.
• Analytical experience in leveraging data to develop policy advisory that is useful for government.
• Demonstrated ability in developing advisory material, analytical papers and policy notes.
  
  Client Orientation
• Ability to maintain client relationships in the face of conflicting demands and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge
• Ability to advise, influence and promote consensus among different stakeholders, particularly other donors and UN agencies
  
  Teamwork
• Demonstrated ability to lead a task team of Bank staff and/or consultants.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with proven ability to lead a team and work in an intercultural environment, with minimal supervision
• Proven track record of multi-tasking, managing competing demands and effectively time-manage tasks
  
  Communication
• Evidence of strong interpersonal skills, judgement
• Evidence of sharing and conveying complex technical issues, in accessible format; written and spoken.
• Proficiency in English
  

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

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.