Chief Counsel
Washington D.C.
- Organization: World Bank Group
- Location: Washington D.C.
- Grade:
-
Occupational Groups:
- Legal - Broad
- Managerial positions
- Closing Date:
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
To ensure that countries can access the best global expertise and help generate cutting-edge knowledge solutions, the World Bank Group is constantly seeking to improve the way it works. Key priorities include delivering measurable results, promoting openness and transparency in development, and improving access to development information and data.
Legal Vice Presidency. In the context of the WBG’s broad development agenda, the Legal Vice Presidency (LEG), under the Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel (SVP-GC), is responsible for providing legal advice and support to internal and external WBG clients on operational, advisory, financial, administration, and institutional matters.
LEG Institutional Affairs. Lawyers working in the Institutional Affairs function of the LEGVP provide legal advice and services throughout the World Bank Group. Among other things, lawyers in the group advise on the following:
• Governance of the World Bank Group entities, including the interpretation of their constituent documents, the interpretation and drafting of their governance documents, providing advice to the corporate secretary and boards of directors and governors and their various committees;
• Legal status and application of privileges and immunities by and in member countries;
• General legal advice to more than 140 country offices, including with respect to host country relations and the negotiation and application of host country agreements, corporate security in fragile environments, evacuations, staff safety, and other issues arising from the Bank’s global footprint;
• Fraud and corruption in World Bank programs, including advice to the department that investigates fraud and abuse and applies the World Bank’s sanctions and debarment system and appeals mechanism;
• Claims resolution against the Bank, both pre-litigation, litigation, and arbitration, and in particular claims challenging jurisdictional and other immunities enjoyed under the constituent documents of the Bank, other agreements, or domestic law;
• Corporate procurement, tax, real estate, insurance, human resources, cybersecurity, health and disability programs, intellectual property, copyright and trademark issues, and other traditional in-house matters that arise in an organization of 30,000+ staff;
• The deployment and use of technology, particularly AI, data management, data privacy, and other information control issues; and
• Internal justice and ethics, including support of formal and informal resolution of staff misconduct, investigations, and employment cases heard by the World Bank Group’s internal court, the World Bank Administrative Tribunal.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Chief Counsel’s responsibilities will include the following:
• Provide management and oversight of staff advising in the areas of the office, including the core areas set out above, ensuring the delivery of timely, high-quality legal advice
• Organize and oversee practice groups of lawyers in each of the functional areas, ensuring coordination on substantive issues
• Provide substantive review of complex legal analysis performed by the team
• Provide strategic direction for the institutional affairs function, shaping the work of the office to address new and emerging challenges
• Mentor lawyers in their career development and growth
• Represent the team at all levels of management across the World Bank Group entities and in their governing bodies
• Coordinate application of resources – staff time and funding – to ensure the efficient achievement of objectives
• Develop relationships with counterparts across the IFI and other international organization community to coordinate efforts on common legal issues
• Take on such other responsibilities and as may be designated from time-to-time by the Deputy General Counsel.
The Chief Counsel will be expected to maintain good client relations and to demonstrate a proven ability to resolve differences across boundaries, find common ground, and understand the needs and concerns not only of the World Bank Group but also of the various units within the World Bank Group entities, as well as of third parties.
We do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.