Job Family
Legal
Sector
Legal
Term Duration
3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type
International Recruitment
Required Language(s)
English
Preferred Language(s)
French or Spanish strongly preferred; Arabic or Portuguese a plus
VPU Background:
The Legal Vice Presidency (LEGVP), under the Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel, is responsible for providing legal support to internal and external World Bank clients on operational, advisory and corporate matters. LEGVP provides legal services required by the World Bank and plays an active role in all the World Bank’s activities. In addition, LEGVP helps to ensure that all World Bank activities comply with the institution’s Articles of Agreement, as well as its operational policies and procedures. Organizationally, LEGVP includes geographically-based regional Operational Practice Groups devoted to the legal and policy aspects of the World Bank’s lending operations, Policy and Advisory Practice Groups which provide advice on operations policy, environmental and international law, development finance, and Corporate Practice Groups, which provide advice on corporate finance, administrative and institutional matters for the World Bank.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3-year term appointment.
Job Description
Lawyers in the Institutional Affairs Practice Group provide legal advice and services throughout the World Bank Group, including for the Regional Vice Presidencies, the Human Resources Vice Presidency, the Information and Technology Solution Vice Presidency, the Internal Justice System Vice Presidency, the Global Corporate Solutions Department Vice Presidency, the External and Corporate Relations Vice Presidency, the Office of Ethics and Business Conduct; the Strategy, Performance, and Administration Vice Presidency, as well as to International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) regarding the institutional affairs of these institutions within the responsibility of the World Bank Group Counsel.
The Senior Counsel position requires demonstrated technical depth, ability to apply rigorous analytical skills, to work harmoniously in a team, and to exercise good judgment on complex projects. The level and quality of these skills will be a determining factor in the selection for the position, and references will be given consideration in this determination.
The Senior Counsel will be expected to maintain good client relations and the incumbent will be expected to demonstrate a proven ability to resolve differences across boundaries, find common ground, and understand the needs and concerns not only of the World Bank as an institution but also of the various units within the Bank, as well as of third parties.
The Senior Counsel will function as a principal legal advisor to one or more assigned internal World Bank clients. The Senior Counsel will be expected to handle at least some of the following areas of responsibility:
• Draft and revise pleadings and submissions to the Bank’s Administrative Tribunal.
• Draft and negotiate establishment agreements, host country agreements between the World Bank Group entities and government counterparts.
• Manage national court litigation and commercial arbitration.
• Identify and address sources of legal risk in the Bank’s corporate and operational policies, including coordinating policy reforms to mitigate risk.
• Handle independently and professionally a diverse variety of other projects, as necessary, relating to transactions, policy issues, and miscellaneous matters coming to the unit, as requested by the supervising Deputy General Counsel.
Selection Criteria
Preferred Education/Experience
• An LLM degree, J.D. or equivalent, with a minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience, and admission to the Bar (or equivalent) in at least one jurisdiction is required.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required. Additional languages (French or Spanish strongly preferred; Arabic or Portuguese.
• Continuous experience in a reputable private sector law firm and/ or with an international financial organization or Government agency is a strong plus.
General Competencies Required
• Excellent legal research, writing, drafting, analytical and communications skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent legal drafting skills, including of agreements, legal memos and/or well-reasoned litigation pleadings and ability to deliver cogent oral arguments, where applicable.
• Preferred experience in international, commercial or contract law, in transactional legal work and/or preparation and negotiation of legal agreements.
• Familiarity in the use of varied legal research sources (including electronic sources on the internet) and other databases.
• Proven ability to operate effectively as a member of one or more teams; must be a self-starter and collaborate well with others; ability to exercise sound judgment in recognizing what issues to bring to the attention of the supervising Deputy General Counsel and/or another supervising Counsel, and which to handle autonomously.
• Proven ability to deal sensitively in multicultural and multi-ethnic environments and build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues.
• Ability to supervise and work with local counsel in a collaborative and collegial way; and
• Ability to work under time pressure and to juggle multiple tasks within tight deadlines.
Other Required Competencies
• Legal Drafting, Research and Communication: Proven expertise in independently drafting transactional documentation (e.g., loan agreements), briefs and a variety of legal instruments and related documents. Conducts research as necessary to acquire insight and information. Is aware of the need for precision and focus on quality. Writes with clarity and precision.
• Independence: Carries out work with due care, preparing accurate documents and reports, ensuring that pertinent facts are fairly presented without seeking to obfuscate (either through too much information or withholding relevant information). Interprets information in an objective manner, exercising professional skepticism when required. Does not divulge or exploit confidential information.
• Professional Maturity: Understands others and the reasons for their behavior. Takes the time to clarify others’ points of view so that progress can be made particularly in situations of stress or conflict. Proven ability to deal sensitively and effectively across organizational boundaries, as a team member, in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.
• Legal Reasoning: Breaks down problems into their component parts. Articulates the implications of situations in a step-by-step way. Remains objective when reviewing problems or situations to understand the issues. Makes sure he/she possesses all the facts.
• Recommends and takes decisive action: Applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG’s strategy. Evaluates risk and anticipates the short and long-term implications of decisions. Commits to a decision and takes action once a decision has been reached.
• Client Orientation: Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
• Flexibility: Able to adapt strategy, and objectives, making corresponding structural or organizational changes as needed, to move the work forward and meet the needs of the situation.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making: Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others’ work.
• Create, Apply, Share Knowledge: Creates, applies and shares knowledge from across and outside the WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions: Ensures systematic sharing of good practice and learning from lessons from across WBG, clients, and partners. Is known across WBG in their subject area and is sought out by WBG colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to knowledge products of others. Seeks mentoring opportunities with more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen their professional knowledge.
• Mentoring: Provides junior staff with guidance and feedback on both routine and new tasks. Identifies others in the organization or from other parts of the Bank to provide guidance and support.
• Deliver Results for Clients: Adds value by constantly looking for a better way to get more impactful results; sets challenging stretch goals for oneself. Immerses oneself in client experiences and perspective by asking probing questions to understand unmet needs. Demonstrates accountability for achieving results that have a development impact and financial, environmental and social sustainability. Identifies and proposes solutions to mitigate and manage risks. Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, and works to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
• Makes Smart Decisions: Seeks diversity of information and inputs, researches possible solutions, and generates recommended options. Identifies and understands risks and proposes recommendations. Based on risk analysis makes decisions in a timely manner within own area of responsibility, considering the interests and concerns of stakeholders.
• Lead and Innovate: Contributes new insights to understand situations and develops solutions to resolve complex problems. Adapts as circumstances require and manages impact of own behavior on others in context of WBG’s values and mission.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries: Appropriately involves others in decision making and communicates with key stakeholders. Approaches conflicts as common problems to be solved. Actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches displaying a sense of mutuality and respect. Integrates WBG perspective into work.
