Country Operations Officer - World Bank - Kuala Lumpur

The World Bank Group is establishing a new office in Malaysia to promote and share the country’s remarkable development success story and its experience in poverty eradication and its development of a world class financial sector. A skilled Country Operations Officer will promote and disseminate lessons from Malaysia to global audiences, including other developing countries and promote ongoing research and analysis produced about the country’s success including the flagship Malaysia Economic Monitor reports. The Country Operations Officer will also develop strong relationships with key stakeholders and promote ongoing engagement to ensure the WBG is positioned as a preferred strategic partner with Malaysia.

The Southeast Asia Country Management Unit (SEA CMU) includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. The CMU's six countries present a mix of low- and middle-income countries, some resource rich (such as Laos, Malaysia, and Myanmar), some affected by conflict and fragility in parts of the country (Thailand's south, Myanmar's border regions), some with a vibrant private sector, others where the private sector is either facing major challenges or just beginning to emerge. Political and social divisions and governance pose critical development challenges through much of the region. Myanmar's triple transition to peace, democracy, and a market economy brings major opportunities for the World Bank Group and indeed the global development community.  The unit currently has offices in Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Yangon, with a planned new office in Kuala Lumpur, and is headed by the Country Director for South East Asia, based in Bangkok.  

The Country Operations Officer is based in the new Malaysia Office and is a member of the SEA CMU team and the SEA Communications team.  The Country Operations Officer supports the development and implementation of the WBG’s Malaysia country strategy; contributes to planning, developing and implementing effective communications and outreach strategies to support the WBG’s corporate, internal, and operational activities in Malaysia;  manages the day-to-day operation of the Malaysia country website and Facebook pages (and contributing to regional and corporate social media channels); and leads the development and implementation of the Malaysia Office’s knowledge management strategy.

Duties and Accountabilities:

Country Strategy Development and Implementation:

• Contributes to the formulation of the country strategy in collaboration with operational colleagues.

• Contributes to the monitoring and implementation of WBG-supported activities in the country.

• Provides upstream review of project documents and knowledge products for consistency with the country strategy and risk management.

Communications:

• Plans, designs, implements and monitors strategies to promote effective communications with external and internal audiences.

• Analyzes and advises on risk identification and mitigation; monitors current events, public opinion, social and political issues, etc. related to the WBG activities in Malaysia, and helps determine strategic responses.

• Writes, edits, and disseminates routine and complex communication products (e.g., media packets, news releases, brochures, Q&As, presentations, briefing notes, online and social media content, speeches, etc.) about the WBG’s activities in Malaysia.

• Manages media outreach and engagement and maintains relationships with influential journalists and opinion leaders across the full range of outreach channels including social media.

• Plans, implements and integrates relevant social media outreach and audience engagement using blogs and other social media platforms.

• Publishes content to appropriate content management systems in compliance with WBG standards and policies; ensures that all online content is optimized for search engines and complies with WBG standards (editorial and technical); establishes key performance indicators and reviews web metrics reports; conducts user research to determine audience needs; acts on audience feedback to improve online content.

Knowledge Management (KM):

• Leads the development and implementation of a knowledge management strategy for the Malaysia office, in collaboration with SEA CMU and Global Practice (GP) teams.

• Facilitates coordination and exchange of information among units within   the Malaysia Office, Global Practice teams, and other internal and external parties contributing to or seeking knowledge on Malaysia’s experience with economic and social development, and on Malaysia’s current and expected future economic and social development opportunities and challenges. 

• Builds and maintains up-to-date databases of the Bank’s knowledge products, contacts in relevant government agencies and recipient countries; and develops knowledge products (distilling lessons learned, capturing tacit knowledge so it can be shared).

Desired Skills and Experience

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Political science, Communications, International Relations/Public Affairs, Journalism, Marketing, Political Science or other related disciplines, with a minimum of 5 years (with Master’s) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s) of relevant experience.
• Strong, comprehensive knowledge of Malaysia country context, including political landscape, history, economy, and social issues.
• Thorough knowledge of and practical experience in full range of communications approaches essential to planning, executing, and monitoring communications strategies, with specialized knowledge on working with media, civil society and social media.
• Proven track record with designing, planning and implementing knowledge management-related initiatives, including cross-team implementation of programs and events that involve knowledge creation and sharing.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with a strong command of English and an ability to convey complex ideas in a clear, direct, and lively style; fluency or proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia is essential.
• In-depth knowledge of international trends and political/economic issues related to development; prior work experience with both local and international media is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to methodically and efficiently synthesize large volumes of information from diverse sources to compile data and metrics, prepare quantitative and qualitative reports for senior managers and executives.
• Excellent communication skills, with ability to interact diplomatically with clients and staff at all levels; strong diplomatic, interpersonal, and teamwork skills; demonstrated client orientation and ability to build effective working relations with internal and external partners; sensitivity to working in a multicultural environment.
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks under tight deadlines.

This is a local hire term appointment for 2 years, with the possibility of renewal depending on need and performance.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in race, gender, nationality, culture, and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

For further details and to apply, please go to www.worldbank.org/careers and under “current job openings” seek vacancy number 151090. Deadline for applications July 1, 2015.