World Bank Career Opportunity: Manager, Disaster Risk Finance, Solutions & Impact

The World Bank Group is recruiting a Manager for Disaster Risk Finance, Solutions & Impact to lead its global efforts in strengthening financial resilience against climate and disaster-related shocks. Based in Washington, DC, this senior leadership role sits within the Financial Services Sector and plays a strategic role in shaping how countries prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters.

This international recruitment opportunity offers a four-year term and is designed for experienced professionals seeking to influence global development outcomes at scale.

About the World Bank Group and Prosperity Vice Presidency

The World Bank Group is a global partnership of five institutions working with 189 member countries to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity through sustainable development. Operating across more than 120 offices worldwide, the organization combines financing, policy advice, research, and innovation to address the world’s most urgent challenges.

The role is housed within the Prosperity Vice Presidency, which leads global engagement on growth and jobs, debt sustainability, domestic resource mobilization, resilient financial systems, trade policy, and effective governance. A core mandate of this Vice Presidency is to deliver scalable solutions and actionable knowledge that drive measurable development impact.

Financial Services Sector and Disaster Risk Finance Leadership

The position sits within the Financial Services Sector I Global Department, which focuses on financial resilience, financial inclusion, capital market development, and disaster risk finance. The selected Manager will lead the Crisis and Disaster Risk Finance Team, a multidisciplinary group of experts supporting countries in designing financial protection systems against climate and disaster risks.

The team works across the full disaster risk finance spectrum, including policy design, regulation, investment, insurance solutions, and market development. Its work directly addresses the global insurance protection gap that leaves households, businesses, farmers, and governments vulnerable to disaster losses.

Core Focus Areas of the Role

The Manager will oversee solutions that enhance both household-level and sovereign financial resilience. This includes:

• Expanding access to disaster-resilient financial services for households and small and medium enterprises
• Supporting governments in implementing sustainable disaster risk financing and insurance strategies
• Designing innovative public–private insurance solutions, including agricultural and index-based insurance
• Establishing pre-arranged disaster risk financing mechanisms to enable rapid crisis response
• Strengthening insurance markets and climate risk financing frameworks

The team also contributes to global policy dialogue and thought leadership through engagement in international forums and partnerships.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

As Practice Manager, the role combines strategic leadership, operational delivery, and people management responsibilities.

Solutions and Impact
The Manager leads delivery of strategic priorities aligned with World Bank Group objectives and country partnership frameworks. This includes promoting technical rigor, innovation, and high-impact public–private solutions while ensuring timely, high-quality results across a diverse portfolio of operations and advisory services.

People and Talent Management
The role requires strong leadership to build high-performing, diverse teams. The Manager fosters a culture of learning, innovation, and excellence, while contributing to strategic staffing, career development, and talent deployment decisions across the institution.

Knowledge Management
The Manager ensures the department remains at the forefront of global development debates in disaster risk finance. This includes promoting research, capturing operational knowledge, and ensuring clients receive timely, evidence-based and tailored solutions.

Resource and Program Management
The role includes accountability for budget, staffing, and resource allocation to maximize development impact while complying with institutional policies and controls.

Communication and Representation
The Manager represents the department internally and externally, contributes to institutional branding, and communicates effectively with governments, partners, and global stakeholders.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Candidates must hold a Master’s degree in finance, economics, or financial economics, with a PhD preferred, and have at least 12 years of relevant professional experience. Strong technical expertise in disaster risk finance, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies, is essential.

Applicants should demonstrate deep knowledge of international financial systems, strong leadership experience, strategic thinking, and a proven ability to work across institutional and sectoral boundaries. Excellent communication, partnership-building, and policy dialogue skills are critical for success in this role.

Why This Role Matters

Climate change and natural disasters pose growing risks to economic stability and development progress. This leadership position directly influences how countries protect lives, livelihoods, and public finances against these shocks. By advancing innovative disaster risk finance solutions, the role contributes to long-term resilience, inclusive growth, and sustainable development worldwide.

Conclusion

The Manager, Disaster Risk Finance, Solutions & Impact role at the World Bank offers a rare opportunity to lead global efforts at the intersection of finance, climate resilience, and development policy. For experienced professionals committed to large-scale impact and global leadership, this position represents a career-defining opportunity within one of the world’s most influential development institutions.