Senior Economist-Sovereign Risk Unit

Senior Economist-Sovereign Risk Unit

Job # : req35104 | Organization : World Bank | Sector : Economics | Grade : GG | Term : 4 years | Recruitment Type : International | Location : Washington, DC, United States | Required Language(s) : English | Preferred Language(s) : | Closing Date : 1 / 2 / 2026

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.

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Vice Presidency of the World Bank is the core unit responsible for institutional risk oversight, including establishment and monitoring adherence to risk policies and guidelines and risk assessment and reporting to the Board and executive management. Its mission is to enable and support the institution to achieve its goals in a financially sustainable manner. The VPU assists management with identifying and managing group-wide cross-cutting risks, enhancing risk response decisions, reducing financial and operational surprises and losses, seizing opportunities and improving deployment of capital. The CRO Vice Presidency comprises four Departments : Credit Risk (CROCR); Market & Counterparty Risk (CROMC); Operational Risk (CROOR); and Environmental and Social Risk (CROES).

The Credit Risk Department (CROCR) ensures that the Bank's credit risk exposure is commensurate with the risk appetite of stakeholders and strikes the appropriate balance between financial and development objectives. CROCR manages the credit risk inherent in IBRD's loan portfolio. CROCR's core functions include, among others : assessing and rating sovereign credit risk for all IBRD and IDA borrowers; assessing and rating sovereign credit risk for IFC and MIGA; assessing and scoring economic / country risks to the private and financial sectors for IFC; assessing country eligibility for IBRD resources; influencing IBRD’s lending strategy and assessing lending plans against lending allocations as established through the exposure management framework; anticipating countries that are vulnerable to crises; participating in arrears workouts for IBRD borrowing countries; engaging with the Paris Club of bilateral creditors; ensuring IBRD is adequately provisioned for loan losses; and assessing / monitoring the size of credit shocks (unexpected losses) as part of IBRD’s capital adequacy framework.

Responsibilities

• Have primary sovereign risk ratings responsibility for a portfolio of IDA and IBRD borrowing countries, including periodic presentation of country risk notes and ongoing monitoring.
• Have primary responsibility for assessing and rating country / economic risks to the private sector and financial sectors of these countries.
• Lead the dialogue with World Bank country operational teams on macroeconomic and debt risks and exposure management, including contributing to corporate reviews of country engagement products and lending operations, engaging on exposure reallocation requests and debt macro issues, and collaborating with other relevant units across the Bank.
• Contribute to CROCR work on the IDA Sustainable Development Financing Policy (SDFP).
• Lead the preparation of key inputs to CROCR written products, such as the Annual Risk Report, Board papers, and ad‑hoc management briefings.
• Contribute to the department’s continual efforts to improve risk assessment approaches and innovate.
• Depending on business needs, the candidate could also assume responsibilities on ESG influences on credit risk, stress testing, Paris Club representation, short‑term risk monitoring, and strengthening quantitative approaches.

Selection Criteria

WBG Culture Attributes

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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