How salaries compare at the big multilateral development banks

Global and regional multilateral development banks are among the biggest employers in the sector — recruiting both internationally and locally to fill hundreds of positions each year. While the individual banks utilize different grading systems, their clear corporate structure makes it easier to see career pathways — for example, from junior professional to officer to department head. For those just starting their career, most development banks provide junior or young professionals programs. The New Development Bank, for example, categorizes its young and junior professionals by two grades — with a starting salary of $60,180 (grade 4) — and The Asian Development Bank Institute offers a minimum salary of $84,200 through its junior/young professional program. Among other requirements, these programs generally look for nationals of the banks’ member countries, of a certain age, with two or three years of relevant professional experience, and a master’s or equivalent degree. These programs often offer training and mentoring, rotational field placements, and benefits covering at least relocation, travel, and health. Traditional benefit packages cover health, retirement, annual leave, and holidays. International staff can avail of additional perks when relocating their family overseas — including relocation allowance, rental allowance, child care support, education assistance, travel for children of expatriate staff, and spouse/partner career assistance. Some of the less standardized benefits offered by specific organizations include the flexi-time program for staff at the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund’s alternative work schedules, “working mama and papa” programs, fitness center, and lactation room. Just as the benefits vary across the different organizations, so do the compensation packages. Compensation levels are not always published, and they vary depending on education and professional experience. Here’s a look at the salaries across the top multilateral development banks — including salaries for locally recruited professionals, where available. World Bank and International Finance Corporation The World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has more than 10,000 employees across 120 offices worldwide. The group is made up of five institutions — International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; International Development Association; International Finance Corporation; Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes — which are managed by their member countries. Typically, staff are offered renewable term appointments, which is a contract of fixed length — minimum appointment is one year and maximum appointment is up to five years. Open-ended appointments can be offered but are less frequent. Global mobility and international experience is required of internationally recruited staff, whereas country office positions are recruited locally and don’t require this experience. The World Bank Group operates with 11 grade levels (GA-GK) reflecting the varying levels of responsibility, skills, and education required for a role. There are also three career tracks — administrative, technical, and managerial. Administrative roles (GA-GD) are those that support bank operations and typically include team assistants, program assistants, and executive assistants. Jobs within the (GA-GD) range generally require a bachelor’s degree and 2-3 years of professional experience. Salary range for World Bank support/administrative staff: GA: $27,200 - $50,600 GB: $33,200 - $61,800 GC: $40,000 - $75,500 GD: $47,900 - $89,100 Professional roles, including technical jobs (GA-GJ), emphasize technical expertise and knowledge, and require advanced academic achievements and/or technical professional credentials. GE grade jobs and above usually require a master’s degree or PhD and a minimum of five years of relevant experience. Job titles within these grades include operations officer, program manager, knowledge management officer, technical specialist, senior technical specialist, economist, senior economist, and financial specialist. Salary range for World Bank professional staff: GE: $65,200 - $121,000 GF: $85,300 - $158,300 GG: $112,800 - $209,600 Managerial jobs (GH-GJ) are those responsible for the day-to-day management of staff, programs, and budgets. These positions include sector manager, sector director, country manager, country director, senior advisor, and vice president. Salary range for World Bank managerial staff: GH: $153,000 - $284,200 GI: $153,000 - $349,700 GJ: $278,900 - $377,300 GK: $310,000 - $419,400 All salaries are based on the Washington headquarter salary structure and the 2017 figures published by the World Bank. In addition, the bank offers benefits to locally recruited staff depending on the type of post — short term, temporary, indefinite, or localization. Some benefits include relocation grant, hazard pay, education costs, and hardship differential. View job opportunities with the World Bank here. International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund is also headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employs approximately 2,700 staff from 148 countries. The staff are organized into functional, information, liaison, and support responsibilities. The organization’s compensation system involves 20 grades — from A01-A15 and B01-B05. Grades A01-A08 are support staff; A09-A15 are professional positions; and B01-B05 are senior staff positions. Salary range for IMF support/administrative staff: A03 staff assistants: $39,220 - $58,820 A05 administrative assistants in HR, external relations: $49,230 - $73,880 A08 research assistant, senior budget assistant: $69,160 - $103,750 Salary range for IMF professional staff: A10 accountant, research officer: $83,140 - $124,720 A11 economist, counsel, specialist: $95,090 - $142,610 A13 economist, resident representative, and senior specialist: $124,620 - $186,950 A15 division chief, advisor, and assistant to the director: $170,560 - $255,850 Salary range for IMF managerial staff: B02 division chief, senior resident representative: $201,550 - $292,250 B03 assistant department director, senior resident representative: $238,520 - $310,070 B04 deputy department director, senior advisor, and senior resident representative: $274,660 - $350,770 B05 department director: $319,520 - $400,730 All figures are based on the IMF'S staff salary structure for 2017. The organization also offers family benefits and services, including house hunting assistance, spouse travel points, and child care. New Development Bank The New Development Bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China, with a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa. The organization uses a 12-grade system and divides staff into support roles (grades 1,2,3), entry-level roles, professionals, managerial roles, and divisional head roles. Professional staff positions may require a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience. These positions are recruited internationally and include additional allowances and benefits. Salary range for NDB staff: 4 junior professional: minimum $60,180 5 young professional: minimum $77,520 6 professional: minimum $97,920 7 senior specialist, senior professional: minimum $122,400 8 principal specialist, principal professional: minimum $155,040 9 chief: minimum $187,680 All figures above are based on those published on the website. Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank has 2,000 employees across four continents and fills approximately 200 positions each year. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with regional offices in Asia and Europe. Support and technical staff fall under grades 1-11, with additional grading covering the more senior leadership roles such as country representatives (R), managerial staff (E5-E1), and the president (P). Specialist/senior associate roles require four years of experience — although five years is preferred — in previous roles with duties and responsibilities relevant to the position. More senior specialist roles require a minimum of eight years relevant experience. For officer positions, the bank looks for a minimum of seven years relevant experience, or 10 years for lead officer positions. IDB offers benefits for relocation, home-country travel, and an education allowance, among other benefits. Salary range for IDB technical staff: Grades 1-11 covers a wide range of roles from assistants, to senior analysts, to principal technical leaders. 9 analyst: $66,100 - $99,000 8 senior analyst: $74,800 - $112,100 5 specialist: $108,000 - $162,000 3 lead specialist: $134,700 - $215,500 2 unit chief: $159,000 - $246,000 1 division chief, principle technical leader, and advisor: $179,500 - $277,500 Country representatives can earn between $179,500 - $277,500. Managerial positions are divided into five different grades. Salary range for IDB managerial staff: E5 sector manager: $205,600 - $308,700 E4 head of independent office: $231,300 - $347,700 E3 general manager: $268,300 - $389,400 E2 vice president: $293,300 - $395,900 E1 executive vice president: $318,000 - $415,500 P president: maximum $465,554 not including an executive allowance of $83,320 All figures are based on the IDB’s salary structure for international staff 2017. View job opportunities with IDB here. African Development Bank The African Development Bank is headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The bank also had a Temporary Relocation Agency in Tunis from 2003 to 2014 and an office still remains there today, which houses some of the organizations central functions. AfDB publishes separate pay grades for internationally recruited staff and locally recruited staff in Côte D’Ivoire. Salaries are published in units of account — salary conversion during payment is done at a rate determined by the bank, reflecting current market rates. A minimum of three years’ experience is required for internationally recruited officers (grade PL8 and PL7). From there, one additional years of experience is required for each grade. Salary ranges for AfDB professional staff: PL6 officer with four years’ experience: $58,833 - $88,250 PL4 principal officer: $76,624 - $114,935 PL3 chief officer: $85,832 - $128,748 Salary ranges for AfDB managerial staff: Managerial roles are organized by six grades and also depend on years of working experience. PL2 manager: $111,222 - $150,477 PL1 manager: $118,145 - $159,843 EL5 director: $143,601 - $194,284 EL4 director: $153,393 - $207,531 EL3 vice president: $173,463 - $234,686 EL2 vice president: $193,326 - $261,558 Salary ranges for AfDB local staff: Locally recruited professionals need a minimum of four years’ experience to land a job as an officer. LP6 officer: $27,986 - $72,981 LP5 senior officer: $33,023 - $56,139 LP4 principle officer: $42,930 - $72,981 All salaries are according to those published by the bank in 2016. View job opportunities with AfDB here. Asian Development Bank With headquarters in Manilla, the Asian Development Bank works to reduce poverty across the Asia-Pacific region. The organization publishes different salary structures for international and local staff positions and for both headquarters and field offices positions. Salaries for local positions are published in Philippine pesos. There are seven administrative staff job levels and six national staff levels. The administrative positions at headquarters cover general services staff, assistant, and associate positions (AS1-AS5). Salary ranges for local ADB support/administrative staff: These positions are senior administrative positions. AS6 associate analyst, associate coordinator, associate administrator, and executive assistant: PHP 1,069,300 - 2,176,000 ($19,976 - $40,651) AS7 analyst, coordinator, administrator, senior executive assistant, and auditor: PHP 1,243,400 - 2,176,000 Salary ranges for local ADB professional staff: NS1 associate officers: PHP 1,400,100 - 2,450,200 NS2 officer: PHP 1,607,800 - 2,813,700 NS3: PHP 1,839,600 - 3,311,300 NS6: PHP 3,459,600 - 6,227,300 Locally recruited professionals for field office positions are also organized into administrative and national staff. More senior field positions include: AS6 associate analyst, associate coordinator, associate administrator, and executive assistant: PHP 23,800 - 40,500 AS7 analyst, coordinator, administrator, senior executive assistant, and auditor: PHP 28,900 - 50,600 Salary ranges for national ADB professional staff National staff includes officer positions, organized by six grades. NS1 associate officers: PHP 33,500 - 58,600 NS2 officer: PHP 38,100 - 66,700 NS3 senior officer: PHP 45,300 - 81,500 NS7 senior officer: PHP 71,100 - 128,00 Internationally recruited staff are organized into 10 levels with varying responsibilities. Levels 1 and 2 are junior international staff positions, including participants from ADB’s Young Professionals Program and young economists. Levels 3 and 4 are normal entry-level positions and require varying degrees of specialized knowledge, but have limited supervisory responsibilities. Senior level jobs start at levels 5 and 6, which is the normal entry level for jobs involving responsibility for the work of other international staff. Level 7 is the entry point to ADB’s managerial positions and non-managerial lead specialist positions, and heads of departments and offices are level 9 and 10 positions. Salary ranges for international ADB professional staff IS1 young/ junior professionals: $84,200 - $101,000 IS3 specialist, unit head: $103,100 - $139,200 IS5 senior specialist, section head: $135,000 - $189,000 IS6 principal specialist, section head: $159,000 - $222,600 IS7 director: $183,000 - $256,300 IS9 deputy director general: $244,100 - $341,700 IS10 director general: $262,300 - $367,200 All above salaries are effective as of January 2018. ADB offers the standard benefits such as relocation allowance, education assistance, home-country travel allowance, and other benefits for international staff. View job opportunities with ADB here.