Operations Officer - Rural Development

The Rural Development (RD) Team at the World Bank office in Vietnam supports the Government of Vietnam in the fields of (1) agricultural development and non-farm rural employment; (2) natural resources management (land, water, forestry, fisheries), (3) social inclusion in rural space (community driven development such as Program 135 Phase II); and (4) natural disaster risk management (avian influenza, storms and flood control).  The main counterparts on the part of Government are the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the affiliated provincial level DARDs (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), commercial banks, and Provincial People’s Committees.  The primary clients of the RD team are small holder farmers and the rural poor of Vietnam.

This support is provided through lending supporting Government public investment program and projects; and policy dialogue through evidence-based analysis and knowledge sharing.  The RD team manages a portfolio of some ten operations implemented by Government with commitments in the order of US$1.0 billion. Each year two to three new projects are appraised by our team, negotiated with our counterparts and approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors. 

The successful candidate will need to be able to support and manage operational work across a broad range of sectors, including agriculture, rural development, land, water, forestry, fisheries, natural disaster management, etc.  No one single area of specialization is being sought here. Rather, the ability of translating policy responses and public investment requirements into Bank operations will be a key demand. Similarly, the practical application of Bank fiduciary requirements (procurement, financial management), and safeguards (environmental and social) in a changing sectoral context is a further important ability for the successful candidate to develop.  

The Operation Officer will work within the Rural Development Team as a core team member, under the supervision of SD Sector Manager, with the guidance for SD Sector Coordinator, on the implementation of the Bank’s work on the RD sector in Vietnam, including project appraisal and supervision, and will also work closely with the Bank’s staff, located both in Hanoi and in Washington D.C.

Operations:  Working under the general supervision of the SD Sector Manager, with the guidance of the Rural Sector Coordinator, and in direct collaboration with specified Task Team Leaders – TTLs, the successful candidate will support the RD team’s work across the investment cycle by:

• actively contributing to the identification, preparation, appraisal and negotiations of new lending operations and programs assigned to the RD team;
• actively carrying out supervision activities for operations under implementation
• directly contributing to the Implementation Completion Reports for investments that have been completed and for which funding has been brought to closure. 

Analytical Economic and Sector Work. The successful candidate will also contribute to the preparation and dissemination of knowledge products in his/her area of expertise, ranging from just-in-time policy briefs to more elaborate analytical contributions.  This work aims at providing inputs to current policy issues in Vietnam as well as to inform the Bank on the future orientation of its investment support.  The successful candidate will be expected to support analytical work in one or two areas, reflecting his / her professional and academic expertise.  In these areas, the successful candidate will be expected to gradually take the lead on managing and maintaining a policy dialogue with key stakeholders, with support of senior colleagues from HQ as well as consultants.  

Maintaining Partnerships. In carrying out operations related work as well as policy dialogue related activities, the successful candidate will maintain professional working relationships with many Government counterparts, both in line ministries, but also amongst ministries and agencies with more horizontal mandates, such as MPI, Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Vietnam, Office of Government, etc.  The successful candidate will also interact with the private sector, as well as academia and think tanks in Vietnam. The successful candidate will also seek to develop communications and partnerships with the full range of international donors in Vietnam including the community of national and international NGOs.

Knowledge Management. To ensure that the best and most relevant knowledge and advise available world-wide is provided to Vietnam, the successful candidate will actively engage in searching and sharing knowledge through various networks within the World Bank at large (within the East Asia Region, and more globally), amongst the SD and RD team in Hanoi, and stakeholders in Vietnam