Financial Analyst – World Bank, Washington DC, US

World Bank Financial Analyst

Based: Washington, DC

Background / General description:

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. The World Bank works in more than 100 developing economies to improve living standards and fight poverty. For each client, the World Bank uses financial resources and extensive experience to help our client countries to reduce poverty, increase economic growth, and improve quality of life.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the original member of the World Bank Group and is owned by 189 member countries whose views and interests are represented by a Board of Governors and a Washington, DC-based Board of Directors. There are five World Bank Group institutions, each of which specialize in different aspects of development: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The World Bank has twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Its capacity to fulfill these goals is underpinned by a Treasury Vice- Presidency (Treasury) that is widely recognized for its dynamic professionalism and its record of innovation in obtaining outperformance for its clients in all of the Treasury’s functions.

Treasury is the Vice Presidency performing treasury functions for the IBRD and IDA and, to varying degrees, for other members of the World Bank. Its activities are organized and grouped into six departments: Capital Markets, Investment Management, Pension and Endowments, Quantitative Solutions and Analytics, Treasury Operations and, Financial Advisory and Banking.

Treasury has been a large and significant player in the international financial markets for more than fifty years and has achieved a global reputation as a prudent and innovative borrower, investor and risk manager.

Treasury is responsible for: (i) managing approximately $150 billion in assets for the World Bank and other official-sector investors; (ii) leading the World Bank’s triple-A rated financing program in international and domestic bond and derivatives markets; (iii) conducting asset and liability management for the World Bank’s balance sheet; (iv) overseeing the development and outreach related to the financing and hedging products the Bank provides for its developing-country clients; and (v) collaborating with the World Bank member countries to help build their capacity. Staff in Treasury regularly interacts and collaborates with the other departments across the Bank and Finance Teams.

The Treasury Operations Department (TRO) provides a full range of support functions for Treasury’s asset management, capital markets and banking businesses. These include transactions settlements (approximately 25,000 individual transactions per month), cash management, foreign exchange, management of custody relationships and collateral management for Treasury’s extensive activities in the derivatives markets. Treasury Operations also provides accounting and financial reporting services to Treasury and its clients.

For IBRD and other World Bank Group clients, this includes internal management reporting as well as “books and records” accounting, Financial Statement disclosures, and other required reporting. Treasury Operations also collaborates extensively with IBRD members seeking to build capacity in transaction processing and accounting associated with public-sector asset management. Since Treasury’s work involves dealing with the global markets, staff may be: on call, required to work on public holidays, required to work on days when markets are open but the Bank is closed, or required to work during London business hours.

TRO is organized in four operational divisions following Treasury’s business line operations:

(i) Banking and Pricing (TROBP); (ii) capital markets (TROCM); (iii) fixed income asset management (TROIM); and (iv) multi asset class service (TROMC).   TRO staff is typically assigned to a particular business line/team and may be reassigned within TRO in response to other business priorities. This structure enables the Department to take advantage of synergies between the respective functions and provides a diversified work program for staff. It also represents a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic team of finance and accounting professionals.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The Financial Analyst will have responsibilities for specific individual tasks/projects as well as for working as an integral part of the team in executing TRO’s work program, while maintaining close relationships with the other Treasury departments. His/her primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, some combination of the following activities to support any of the business lines in TRO’s operational division.

• Ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of cash accounting data, systems and reporting deliverables; working with the team to perform cash reconciliation for bank accounts, investigating differences stemming from cash processing and/or bank account issues, and communicating findings promptly to ensure proper follow-up and timely resolution of any identified differences and exceptions
• Work effectively with Chennai staff in performing daily and monthly cash, custody and NAV reconciliation for the asset management business i.e. money market transactions, repos, foreign exchange, buys and sells of fixed income, government and euro bond transactions and asset/mortgage backed securities, supporting both WB and RAMP investment portfolios
• Liaise with Settlement Operations team, and external custodians to resolve queries related to asset management cash and securities differences
• Support the RAMP program by acting as the TROIRA team’s primary contact for implementing new and changing RAMP mandates, ensuring that all necessary reference data set-up, additional reconciliation procedures and tasks are performed
• Work effectively within the team, as well as with colleagues across business units in applying technical skills and knowledge to support and implement process improvements to the team’s risk management and operational processes
• Serve as the team lead’s second in command, represent the team in meetings and function as the subject matter expert and first level escalation contact for the team and clients for any cash, custody and NAV reconciliation issues
• Act as the team’s main contact person for supporting and implementing system and infrastructure changes in the bank that involve the team’s processes and systems

Other Accountabilities:

• Participating in Treasury Operations projects and business initiatives as requested;
• Assisting in the development and implementation of changes to TRO procedures, processes, and standards. Ensure that all business processes, procedures and internal controls in the unit are properly documented and complied with;
• Providing assistance for internal and external audits; and
• Handling ad hoc duties that may be assigned by the supervisor of the team, or which may arise from other areas of the Treasury Operations Department.
• Effectively manage ad-hoc reporting and audit requests for the team’s processes and deliverables

Selection Criteria:

• Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration with 1-2 years relevant experience in the finance industry or Bachelor’s Degree in the same fields with a minimum of 4 years relevant experience in the finance industry
• Having a qualified accounting qualification is a strong plus. Strong accounting background with an ability to understand how cash flows and financial instruments flow into and are reported in bank’s financial statements, as well as the relationships between the different balances/line items in the financial statements
• Good understanding of financial markets processes, and the ability to read and interpret financial reports including holdings, valuation, performance, compliance, account reconciliations, position and settlement reports
• Established track record of developing and supporting process improvements and innovations that enhances the control environment and/or drives more impactful results
• Proven experience in working collaboratively across different teams and staff levels, managing projects and initiatives, and making smart decisions that incorporate diverse opinions and inputs and risk analysis
• Strong Excel as well as the ability to work through large data sets and analyze, present, and derive trends and insights from the data; Excel VBA skills a plus.
• Experience with transactions processing systems and reconciliation systems, and a good fundamental understanding of relational databases
• Good understanding of ICFR process, risk management and control framework, including the ability to identify risk and control issues and develop mitigating solutions
• Highest ethical standards.

Competencies:

• Financial Market Literacy – Can understand financial market processes; reads and analyzes financial reports and data such as holdings, valuation, performance, compliance, account reconciliations, position, margin, and settlement and risk reports.
• Client Services (TRO) – Contributes successfully to on-site missions or workshops for Treasury clients.
• Process and Infrastructure Development – Makes recommendations to improve efficiency of the accounting, business risk or operations process.
• Operational Risk and Control – Understands the basic concepts of risk management and internal control frameworks.
• Treasury Operations – Adept or expert in processing a suite of transactions such as bonds, FX, or structured transactions, or managing country or transactional bank accounts and reference data.
• Deliver Results for Clients – Sets challenging goals that align with the organization mission and is always looking to improve; understands clients’ most pressing challenges and contributes to solutions; takes personal responsibility for producing high quality work, identifying and informing of risks, and delivering results for clients

For further information and to apply, please visit www.worldbank.org/jobs and search for job # 162066

Closing Date 9 January 2017

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