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 consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.
About the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral financial mechanism created in 1991 to provide grant and concessional funds to recipient countries for projects and programs that address biodiversity loss, climate change mitigation and adaptation, degradation of international waters, land and forests, ozone depletion, elimination or reduction of persistent organic pollutants and mercury, all within the framework of sustainable development.
The GEF unites 186 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. An independently operating financial organization, GEF is the designated financial mechanism for five international environmental conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Minamata Convention on Mercury. GEF is also a designated financial mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
In the years since its establishment, the GEF has funded over 4,500 projects in 170 countries, and many thousands more through the GEF Small Grants Program, providing $20.5 billion in grants that leveraged $112 billion in co-financing. The GEF Secretariat, construed for administrative purposes as a Vice Presidential Unit (VPU) within the World Bank, has approximately 70 professional and administrative and client support staff.
The GEF Secretariat is looking for a dynamic and experienced Manager to lead its Programming Division overseeing a multi-disciplinary technical team of environmental specialists that provides timely assessments of the quality and eligibility of proposals across all focal areas of the GEF submitted by countries through GEF-accredited agencies for funding, along with upstream guidance to project proponents. The Manager will also coordinate the engagement with the private sector and the blended finance approach as well as manage the staff associated with these functions.
The ideal candidate would have had experience with overseeing the provision of high-quality technical input to peers and colleagues related to environmental projects and programs, ideally with exposure to private or public funding mechanisms. The candidate would also have solid managerial experience supervising large teams, departments or divisions, a deep appreciation for the new directions of the GEF, its increasing global mandate, and its vision for 2030, and a significant understanding of the complexity of the GEF partnership arrangement.
The candidate should have strong interpersonal skills, political acumen and the capacity to work
effectively on sensitive issues as part of the senior management, with the GEF Council and across different agencies of the GEF.
The Manager has the responsibility to supervise and manage the daily project cycle operations of
the Programming Division, including overseeing the work of about 30 technical staff responsible for upstream guidance to proponents, project processing, project reviews and approval of recommendations for funding of proposals coming from the different GEF countries and
regions, and spanning the various GEF focal areas and investment windows.
The Manager will also work with other Division leads on functions that require cooperation and collaboration related to the programming of GEF resources. This will also require managing cross-division work of the technical staff in the Division.
The Manager oversees the preparation of the GEF Work Programs and associated council documents twice a year to be presented to the GEF and GBFF councils. The Manager also works with the Director of Strategy and Operations to manage the overall budget with special focus on the travel and variable costs expenses.
Duties and Accountabilities

• Lead the monitoring of the Division’s work program and individual staff deliverables and facilitate resolution of issues related to performance.
• In close collaboration with the Director, coordinate the development of the Programming Directions Strategy for the GEF Trust Fund and GBF Trust Fund, for every replenishment cycle and as needed.
• Lead and coordinate the workflow of the project cycle and recommend technical clearance of projects and programs in collaboration with the technical staff and regional coordinators.
• Coordinates GEF programming across the different funds with relevant colleagues and GEF Division heads.
• Manages the Country Engagement Strategy and its budget as well as oversees elements of the CES that are implemented by other Divisions.
• Coordinates the GEF Portal and its technical specifications including defining the proper workflow for project clearances.
• Works closely and in collaboration with the Manager of Integration and Knowledge to ensure the programming and implementation of the Integrated Programs and the role of the technical and focal area teams in the review of projects and programs related to IPs.
• Coordinates the organization, composition, and priorities of the regional teams in their engagement with countries and duties related to the programming of GEF resources.
• Work regularly with the Director and other senior staff in the Division to ensure coordinated delivery of the main responsibilities of the GEF Programming Division.
• Maintain productive relationships with the GEF network, including GEF agencies, national governments, and other stakeholders to promote the role of GEF on the international environmental agenda.
• Lead or assist with the preparation of Council papers and reports to the conventions and other bodies as needed.
• Design and or oversee the administration tools, methodologies, and instruments for project review management, internal unit operations, implementation, and other relevant policies, taking into account the environmental drivers-based approach and the integration strategy of GEF Programming.
• Undertake other duties as required, including assisting the Director of Strategy and Operations and the CEO as appropriate in activities that support the successful management of the GEF.