Assignment Features

i) World Bank’s participating units

The young professionals are assigned to the World Bank Group’s technical and operations units. Since July 2014, the Bank has had a new organizational model which is structured as follows: 6 (six) regional units focusing on clients, with offices in the majority of the borrowing countries; 15 (fifteen) global practice units and 5 (five) global themes units.

 Regional Units: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean; North Africa and the Middle East; Europe and Central Asia; South Asia; East Asia and the Pacific.

 Global Practice Units: Agriculture; Water; the Environment and Natural Resources; Social, Urban, Rural, and Resilience; Energy; Transport; Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment; Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation; Governance; Digital Development; Education; Social Protection; Poverty; Jobs and Development; Health, Nutrition, and Population.

 Global Themes Units: Climate Change; Gender; Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Infrastructure, PPPs & Guarantees; and Knowledge Management.

ii) IFC’s participating units

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) —a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. IFC applies its financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative thinking to help clients and partners to overcome financial, operational, and other challenges.

Once selected, the IFC young professional join in as an Associate Investment Officer or Investment Officer, depending on the level of experience. The young professional will originally be based in Washington D.C learning about WBG and IFC’s approach to combining financial analysis with financial sustainability.

The participating units of the IFC YPP include:

• Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services

-Agribusiness and Forestry

-Health and Education

-Manufacturing

-Tourism, Retail and Property

• Financial Institutions
• Infrastructure
• Oil, Gas and Mining
• Public-Private Partnerships (Advisory)
• Telecoms, Media and Technology
• Treasury and Syndication (Product)

iii) MIGA’s participating units

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created with the aim of attracting private capital to unfavorable environments, usually countries with a lower level of income and in contexts which are unappealing for investments. This agency works as a complement to the IFC, providing guarantees to foreign investors against so-called “political risks”.

The MIGA Young Professionals Program attracts new and diverse talent to the Agency to work in entry-level professional positions. Opportunities are available in the following working areas:

• Underwriting political risk insurance
• Financial accounting and reporting
• Economics and risk management
• Environmental and social risk mitigation
• Legal counsel

When starting their career at the WBG, the YP will be employed by one of these units depending on the application process the candidate chose. YPs are assigned in accordance with their academic and professional profile and the WBG’s needs at the time.

The Bank has 10 grade levels in its hierarchical structure, ranging from GA (the lowest) to GK (the highest). Responsibilities and requirements increase at each grade level (represented by letters). Young professionals (YPs) enter the World Bank Group in the “Professional and Technical” stream, at grade level GF (the sixth highest level), indicating their importance to the organization. YPs usually have successful careers at the World Bank Group, with many attaining top management roles. Opportunities for professional growth are one of this program’s main differentiating factors.

In addition to their salary, the World Bank Group (WBG) offers the young professionals (YPs) a range of benefits. Some of these are listed below:

Health, Life, Accident and Other Insurance Plans:

The WBG offers the young professionals and their families three private medical and dental insurance alternatives. Basic life and accident insurance is also available free of charge, as well as optional life and accident insurance plans. The organization also offers cover for disability and compensation to staff members at no additional cost.

Relocation Benefits

The young professional’s workplace is the WBG headquarters in Washington D.C. (USA). In order to provide support to new staff members who change their place of residence, the WBG provides a number of relocation benefits, which include: relocation travel, relocation shipment, a relocation grant and a mobility premium. It is highlighted that these relocation benefits are only applicable to new staff members who are not resident in the metropolitan area of Washington-Baltimore at the time of appointment.

Relocation Travel

Relocation travel is the payment of a one-way ticket for a new YP and their dependents from the city in which they reside to Washington D.C. This relocation payment is made for the most direct and economical route, in the following way:

• The trip cannot be made using a first class flight, or

• the trip can be made in first class, by train or bus, when air travel is not possible, or

• per kilometer payment for trips via private or rental car for all or part of the relocation travel.

Relocation Shipment

Young professionals (YPs) can opt for one of the following relocation shipment options:

• Receiving a shipment grant of between USD 8,000 and USD 14,000, depending on the size of their family and place of residence;

• Authorizing the WBG to arrange the dispatch of their personal and domestic belongings. In this case, the following will be made available to the YP and their family: a container of up to 40 feet to transport their personal and domestic belongings, using a more economic form of transport; USD 1,800 to pay for excess luggage; transportation of their car; if necessary, up to 90 days of storage for their personal and domestic belongings, either in their place of residence or at the destination, and insurance for their belongings during transportation and/or storage. The WBG will not pay for any customs charges, import or export fees which they may incur from the transportation of the YP’s belongings from their place of residence to Washington D.C.

Relocation Grant

This is a financial benefit which assists a young professional with the costs associated to their relocation to the new place of work. It is a one-time grant and is included in the young professional’s first salary.

Mobility Premium

The mobility premium is a financial compensation specifically for expatriate staff members to help them maintain cultural, professional and personal links with their countries of origin. This benefit is not awarded to US citizens or permanent residents of the country.

The mobility premium is paid quarterly to expatriate YPs for five years. Its annual value is calculated according to the sum of the staff member and their dependents individual percentages (staff member 11%; spouse/domestic partner 5%; each dependent child 4%) multiplied by the mid-point of grade GG. Hence, the value of the mobility premium is approximately USD 15,000 per annum for a young professional with no dependents and approximately USD 32,000 per annum for a married young professional with two children.

Tax Allowance

World Bank Group staff members (except for US nationals) are employed by an intergovernmental organization and are not liable for income tax in the United States. For US nationals, the WBG makes an additional quarterly payment to cover “federal, state, and local income tax liabilities on their World Bank Group income”.

Financial Assistance:

The World Bank Group offers various financial assistance programs to its staff members, such as: loans for settling-in expenses; loans in connection with leave or external services without pay; emergency loans; education loans and housing loans (headquarters staff). Each of these programs has eligibility requirements and specific interest rates but they all offer special conditions.

Other Benefits:

Other benefits for World Bank Group staff members are: a private pension plan; 26 days annual leave; a health services department; a fitness center and child care, among others.