Operations Officer (Governance)

Job #: req37119

Organization: World Bank

Sector: Operations

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 2 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: International Recruitment

Location: Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s): French

Closing Date: 6/24/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions driven by a bold vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, we help solve the world’s greatest development challenges. When you join the World Bank Group, you become part of a dynamic, diverse organization with 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide. We work with public and private sector partners, invest in groundbreaking projects, and use data, research, and technology to bring tangible and transformative change around the globe. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Climate change will greatly affect the poorest people in the world, who are often hardest hit by weather catastrophes, desertification, and rising sea levels and least able to respond. In some parts of the world, climate change has already contributed to worsening food security, reduced the predictable availability of fresh water, and exacerbated the spread of disease and other threats to human health.

Helping the most vulnerable countries and communities adapt to increasing challenges of climate change is an imperative for the international community, requiring significant resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Adaptation Fund is an innovative financing mechanism set up by the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with the purpose of financing concrete climate change adaptation projects and programs in developing country Parties. At the request of the COP, the GEF is providing secretariat services to the Adaptation Fund Board (the Board) on an interim basis, through a dedicated team. Since becoming fully operational in 2010, the Board has approved over 190 projects and programs worth more than USD 1.2 billion in over 100 countries.

Launched under the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC, the Adaptation Fund has been formally serving the Paris Agreement since 2019. The Adaptation Fund is implementing its second medium term strategy (2023-2027) that rests on the three pillars of adaptation action, innovation and learning/knowledge management.

The Adaptation Fund supports country-driven projects and programs, innovation, and global learning for effective adaptation. All of the Adaptation Fund’s activities are designed to build national and local adaptive capacities while reaching and engaging the most vulnerable groups, and to integrate gender consideration to provide equal opportunity to access and benefit from the Fund’s resources. They are also aimed at enhancing synergies with other sources of climate finance, while creating models that can be replicated or scaled up.

The Governance and Operations Officer will primarily be responsible for managing and coordinating key aspects of the Adaptation Fund’s governance operations as it concerns Adaptation Fund board and committee meetings and reporting to the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, and managing and coordinating key internal operations of the Secretariat, including HR and procurement processes, real estate and office space management, standardizing internal business operations, and logistics for high level engagements such as UNFCCC events. The Governance and Operations officer will also provide critical business continuity support to the Secretariat’s Finance Officer.

The Governance and Operations Officer will report to Lead for the Governance and Operations team within the Adaptation Fund Secretariat.

Duties And Accountabilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Contribute to key Adaptation Fund board processes and document drafting, such as board meeting preparation timelines for the Secretariat, board and committee agenda, chair’s notes, and meeting reports, ensuring key governance products and outcomes are delivered on time.
• Contribute to the drafting, editing, and completion of reports to the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, including coordination of the process to ensure timely delivery of reports.
• Provide guidance to recruitment and procurement processes within the Secretariat, as well as support the Secretariat’s engagement within its administrative framework for hosting services, including real estate and office space matters.
• Participate in the logistical support for the Secretariat’s engagement with high level UNFCCC events, such as organizing main events, side events, panels, bilateral meetings, and the Fund’s physical pavilion to support engagement with partners.
• Contribute to the development of standard business operating procedures for the Secretariat’s key business processes.
• Serve as a critical back up to the Finance Officer to ensure key finance functions have business continuity support.
• Perform other duties as required to achieve the role’s objectives.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree in finance, international development, public policy, or a related field.
• At least five years of work experience with the work of a fund.
• Strong overall knowledge of the policy and legal challenges, requirements, and implications created by the institutional arrangements for a fund administratively hosted by the World Bank.
• Experience with key governance processes for a board or committee or other governing body, including familiarity with the basics of board and committee governance processes and decision making, meeting preparation, and document management.
• Experience with reviewing, updating, and creating time and motion analyses of business processes and developing standard operating procedures to standardize, codify and elevate the Secretariat’s internal operations.
• Experience with the basics of budgeting and financial management practices.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Fluency in another official World Bank language, such as French, would be a plus.
• Superior analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Basic knowledge of the position of the Adaptation Fund in the international climate finance context.
• Experience working with a wide range of external stakeholders, including government officials, development partners, and/or government agencies.
• Ability to effectively interact with internal and external clients at all levels in a multicultural environment and to exercise judgment and discretion in dealing with sensitive matters. Ability to communicate technical information understandably and concisely to a nontechnical audience.
• Excellent sense of initiative, drive for results and client orientation, coupled with strong planning and organizational skills.

WBG Culture Attributes

• Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
• 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.