WBG Young Professional

The World Bank Group’s Young Professionals Program (YPP) offers exceptional professionals the opportunity to apply their specialized technical expertise and contribute to development challenges. The position is within the Legal Vice Presidency, providing legal advice and support on operational, advisory, financial, administration, and institutional matters across the World Bank Group.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, negotiate and finalize project legal agreements
• Cover a broad operational portfolio of countries, providing risk-based advice to clients on legal and policy issues in operations
• Provide legal advice to ongoing projects and programs, including reviewing project and program documents, for adherence to World Bank policies, procedures and business objectives
• Conduct comparative legal analyses on a range of issues, identify legal and policy issues, research relevant precedents, and propose appropriate solutions to colleagues and clients
• Engage in policy discussions and negotiations with government officials internally and externally
• Protect the World Bank's interests and promote its goals and values
• Write and review policy papers, undertake legal research on topics in an area of concentration and contribute to dissemination of policy and best practices in a given field
• Prepare legal briefs on diverse topics, as required
• Perform ad hoc assignments as requested by the Chief Counsel or designated Lead/Senior Counsel

Requirements

• A minimum of an LLM degree, J.D. or equivalent
• 2-6 years of relevant experience and be admitted in at least one jurisdiction
• Excellent legal research, writing, drafting, analytical and communications skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Experience in international, commercial or contract law, in transactional legal work and/or preparation and negotiation of legal agreements
• Excellent legal drafting skills, including of agreements, legal memos and/or well-reasoned litigation pleadings
• Familiarity in the use of varied legal research sources (including electronic sources on the internet) and other databases
• Proven ability to operate effectively as a member of one or more teams; must be a self-starter and collaborate well with others; ability to exercise sound judgment in recognizing what issues to bring to the attention of the Chief Counsel and/or another supervising Counsel, and which to handle autonomously
• Proven ability to deal sensitively in multicultural and multi-ethnic environments and build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues
• Ability to supervise and work with local counsel in a collaborative and collegial way
• Ability to work under time pressure and to juggle multiple tasks within tight deadlines
• Solid experience in a reputable, preferably international, law firm, will be a strong advantage
• Proven ability to draft transactional documentation (e.g., loan agreements), briefs and variety of legal instruments and related documents independently
• Conducts research as necessary to acquire insight and information
• Carries out work with due care, preparing accurate documents and reports, ensuring that pertinent facts are fairly presented without seeking to obfuscate
• Interprets information in an objective manner, exercising professional skepticism when required
• Does not divulge or exploit confidential information
• Understands others and the reasons for their behavior
• Takes the time to clarifying others' points of view so that progress can be made particularly in situations of stress or conflict
• Proven ability to deal sensitively and effectively across organizational boundaries, as a team member, in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues
• Engage in policy discussions and negotiations with officials internally and externally, developing relationships with members of the legal profession and lawyers working in development partner agencies
• Breaks down problem into their component parts
• Articulates the implications of situations in a step-by-step way
• Remains objective when reviewing problems or situations to understand the issues
• Makes sure he/she possesses all the facts
• Applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG’s strategy
• Evaluates risk and anticipates the short and long-term implications of decisions
• Commits to a decision and takes action once a decision has been reached
• Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success
• Able to adapt strategy, and objectives, making corresponding structural or organizational changes as needed, to move the work forward and meet the needs of the situation
• Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work
• Leverages department’s expertise and body of knowledge across WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions
• Seeks to learn from more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen their professional knowledge and helps others to learn
• Builds personal and professional networks inside and outside the department
• Adds value by constantly looking for a better way to get more impactful results; sets challenging stretch goals for oneself
• Immerses oneself in client experiences and perspective by asking probing questions to understand unmet needs
• Demonstrates accountability for achieving results that have a development impact and financial, environmental and social sustainability
• Identifies and proposes solutions to mitigate and manage risks
• Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, and works to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success
• Seeks diversity of information and inputs, researches possible solutions, and generates recommended options
• Identifies and understands risks and proposes recommendations
• Based on risk analysis makes decisions in a timely manner within own area of responsibility, considering the interests and concerns of stakeholders
• Appropriately involves others in decision making and communicates with key stakeholders
• Approaches conflicts as common problems to be solved
• Actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches displaying a sense of mutuality and respect
• Integrates WBG perspective into work
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of other languages may be an advantage.

Skills

• Legal Research
• Legal Writing
• Legal Drafting
• Contract Law
• Commercial Law
• Transactional Legal Work
• Agreement Negotiation
• Litigation Pleadings
• Use of Legal Databases
• Team Collaboration
• Supervision of Local Counsel
• Time Management
• Risk Evaluations
• Policy Negotiation
• Critical Thinking
• Client Relationship Management
• Multicultural Sensitivity
• Legal Document Drafting
• Confidentiality Management

Languages

English