Senior Water Specialist, Governance and Regulation, Washington DC

Senior Water Specialist, Governance and Regulation Job #: req37859 Organization: World Bank Group Sector: Water/Sanitation Grade: GG Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): English Closing Date: 8/21/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank 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  . The WBG Planet Vice Presidency is leading WBG’s efforts to make the planet livable, as a necessary condition for job creation and poverty elimination. It is responsible for getting the right public and private sector solutions to our operational teams and to our clients, and to produce scalable impact.  Its mandate is to deliver knowledge for impact and business to enable and support the WBG to achieve its goals in support of our mission and specifically: providing guidance on creating more and better jobs, focusing on agribusiness, tourism (nature-based tourism), infrastructure (water) and health (sanitation, nutrition); supporting foundational infrastructure and human capital, policy environment, and private sector mobilization; and supporting and accelerating specific targets and commitments such as Mission AgriConnect, Mission Water, Climate Change Action Plan. The VPU’s objectives in driving outcomes include replicating and scaling effective solutions, enhancing thought leadership and innovation, and delivering timely knowledge to client teams.
WBG Water Department - Water for People, Food, and Planet.  The World Bank Group’s Water Strategy Implementation Plan (WSIP) translates ambition into operational action. Water security is not only about access. It is a foundation of resilient and prosperous societies where sustained water resources, reliable services, and risk management underpin growth, human development, jobs, and livelihoods. Approved in December 2025, the WSIP sets a collective target to improve water security for 400 million people by 2030 and organizes delivery through three outcome pillars: Water for People, Water for Food, and Water for Planet. Delivery is enabled by scalable solutions, knowledge for impact at scale, and programmatic approaches and partnerships. The WBG Water Department works with regions to implement the WSIP through solutions tailored to key client segments, including national and sub-national governments, private sector operators, investors, and financial institutions. Implementation is organized around three core delivery mechanisms: (i) country-led Water Compacts that deploy WBG resources in countries committed to policy and regulatory actions; (ii) coordinated public and private interventions to mobilize capital investments; and (iii) multiphase programmatic approaches that replicate and scale what works. The WBG is also expanding collaboration with partners, including MDBs and philanthropies, through Mission Water to accelerate global water security and reach many more people in developing countries.
This agenda is reinforced by the World Bank Group’s shift toward a more integrated Knowledge Bank that shortens the distance from insight to implementation. In Water, the Knowledge Bank delivery model is structured into two global units that translate knowledge into impact at scale: • Policy and Regulations Unit: Provides global thought leadership and evidence-based policy support to advance water security for people, food, and the planet. It supports regional teams in strengthening water sector governance, in particular on policies, institutions and regulations (PIR), including supporting an enabling environment for private finance.  The team will help ensure the WBG’s leadership in global water and development discourse through evidence-based analytics and hands-on support. The unit drives innovation and knowledge management by advancing research and leading water data and analytics for policymaking. It also supports regional task teams to meet the highest standards on inclusion, climate resilient design, and dam safety. • Solutions and Impact Unit: Scales and replicates high-impact water projects and innovations across WBG operations to deliver results for people, food, and the planet. The Unit leads the consolidation and rollout of scalable water solutions, supports regional teams to accelerate implementation of the WSIP, and provides operational support and portfolio oversight. It drives impact through robust monitoring and evaluation, knowledge sharing, and applied research, while helping country teams adapt global solutions to local contexts and political economy realities.  These global units operate within the WBG Water Department’s leadership structure alongside Global Leads for the three WSIP outcome pillars and cross-cutting areas such as Financing, Governance and Regulation, and Water for Prosperity. Together, they enable a governance and regulation anchored delivery approach that strengthens institutions, improves accountability and performance, and creates the enabling conditions for investment and sustainable service delivery at scale. The WBG Water Department is comprised of 65 staff.
Senior Water Specialist, Governance and Regulation: The Senior Water Specialist, Governance and Regulation, will report to the WBG Manager, Policy and Regulations, who is accountable to the WBG Director, Water.  Key responsibilities:  The Senior Water Specialist, Governance and Regulation, will be responsible for leading on water sector policies, institutions and regulatory (PIR) support to WBG internal and external clients of the WBG Water Global Leadership Team, and being a thought-leader in this space.  Specific duties and accountabilities include the following:

1. Provide just-in-time strategic and hands-on advice and guidance on water sector regulatory issues, based on global lessons learned and fit-for-purpose solutions for the respective country/client context, following-through on support to help lead to tangible results for WBG operations.
2. Provide just-in-time strategic and hands-on advice and guidance on appropriate policy and institutional issues, based on global lessons learned and fit-for-purpose solutions for the respective country/client context, following-through on support to help lead to tangible results for WBG operations.
3. Lead and/or contribute to sharp and concise operations-oriented research and analysis to bring the latest knowledge and innovation to our support to clients, collaborating with others, both inside and outside the Water Global Department, to ensure full synergies. 
4. Lead and/or contribute to papers on PIR for water, blogs and other communication materials, and contribute to global flagship reports, curate lessons learned and case studies, participating in select conferences and events as agreed with management, and the like.  
5. Participate in relevant corporate initiatives and undertake relevant corporate reviews to ensure WBG Global Water contributions reflect the latest and context-appropriate thinking that consider PIR in the water sector.
6. Provide briefings to senior management on complex PIR on an as-needed basis.
7. Be an active participant of the Water Global Department’s Leadership Team and specifically the P&R Unit’s Leadership Team.
8. Work with management to develop a core team of PIR experts to provide hands-on support to task teams on PIR, within existing budgetary and other parameters.
9. Participate in all relevant activities sponsored by the Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership to support and inform WBG Water Global partners.
10. Other related tasks.

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s degree (Ph.D. preferred) in a relevant field including education, economic development or related social sciences field, with at least 8 years of relevant experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility. • Proven and deep expertise on water sector regulatory issues, with hands-on experience working with or for water sector regulator(s). • Demonstrated track record developing and providing hands-on advice related to policies, institutions and regulations in the water sector. • Extensive development experience providing policy advice in WBG client countries. • Operational experience, ideally through extensive work with a multilateral development bank (MDB) or an international financial institution (IFI). • Demonstrated experience working on private sector participation in the water sector. • Demonstrated leadership and people management skills, including experience managing multi-location and virtual teams, and operating effectively with both formal and matrixed authority. • Strong strategic orientation and ability to prioritize, streamline, and rationalize activities to maximize impact. • Adaptability, flexibility, and ability to lead teams for success during periods of change. • Extensive experience working across practices, disciplines, and sectors, and in building partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society, donors, and research institutions to achieve development results. • Knowledge and experience in one or more relevant thematic areas is desirable, though strong managerial, coordination, and influencing skills are paramount. • Excellent communication and representational skills, including proven experience engaging with senior stakeholders, media, and external constituencies.

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.