Lead Procurement Specialist

The World Bank Group; Manila; On-site; PHP 7,486,000 - 9,981,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Equal opportunity employer

Job summary

The World Bank Group is seeking a Lead Procurement Specialist based in Manila to lead procurement strategy, policy compliance, and portfolio performance across PMB and CMU operations. You will provide technical leadership, manage complex procurement activities, and drive modernization through digital tools and cross-country collaboration.

Ideal candidates bring 12+ years in procurement, a Master’s degree, and strong stakeholder management skills to support inclusive growth and development

Qualifications

• Masters degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• At least 12 years of progressively responsible procurement experience, including leadership in complex operations.
• Advanced knowledge of procurement policies, instruments, and project cycle processes.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical procurement authority and strategic problem-solver for complex projects.
• Lead procurement support across PMB and CMK CMUs, coordinating with governments and partners.
• Promote modernization, digital tools, and knowledge sharing to improve portfolio performance.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Strategic advisory

World Bank procurement policy

Portfolio management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Master's degree in a relevant field

Job description

Job Description:

Lead Procurement Specialist

Job #: req38181

Organization: World Bank

Sector: Procurement

Grade: GH

Term Duration: 5 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: International Recruitment

Location: Manila, Philippines

Required Language(s): English

Closing Date: 9/14/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank 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, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. 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.

Why Join the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region?

The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region has made strong progress in reducing poverty and expanding opportunity, yet important challenges remain, including uneven access to basic services, infrastructure gaps, and vulnerability to climate and disaster risks. In the Philippines, these challenges are heightened by the country’s archipelagic geography, which raises the cost and complexity of delivering services and infrastructure at scale. To learn more about the EAP region visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap.

Country Management Unit (CMU) Context

The position will be based in Manila and will primarily support the World Banks program in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei (PMB) Country Management Unit (CMU), while also providing secondary support to operations and knowledge activities in China, Mongolia, and Korea (CMK) CMU and other countries in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region as required.

The World Bank Group maintains a large and longstanding engagement in the Philippines, mobilizing financing, knowledge, and partnerships to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity. Guided by the Country Partnership Framework (CPF), the program focuses on strengthening human capital, creating more and better jobs, enhancing climate and disaster resilience, and improving public sector effectiveness, with digital transformation serving as a key cross-cutting theme. The Philippines portfolio comprises a substantial and diverse pipeline of investment financing, development policy operations, and advisory engagements, creating significant demand for procurement support throughout the project lifecycle.

Within the same CMU, the World Bank Groups engagement in Malaysia and Brunei is more selective and primarily knowledge- and advisory-oriented. These programs focus on supporting inclusive growth, public sector modernization, sustainable finance, institutional strengthening, and the sharing of development experience across the region. Procurement support in these countries requires close collaboration with government counterparts and multidisciplinary teams to ensure quality implementation and knowledge exchange.

As a secondary area of responsibility, the position will provide leadership support to the team in the China, Mongolia, and Korea CMU. In China, the World Banks engagement increasingly emphasizes knowledge services, institutional reform, climate action, productivity growth, and the generation and dissemination of development knowledge. Mongolia maintains a more operations-intensive portfolio, with support focused on economic resilience, infrastructure development, service delivery, climate adaptation, and institutional capacity building. In the Republic of Korea, the World Bank partners on knowledge, innovation, digital transformation, and South-South learning initiatives that contribute to regional and global development outcomes.

Prosperity Global Practice | East Asia and Pacific Region

The position is part of the Prosperity Global Practice (GP), one of the World Banks core operational units dedicated to advancing inclusive and sustainable economic development through stronger institutions and improved public sector performance. The Prosperity GP brings together expertise in procurement, governance, public sector management, anti-corruption, and financial management to help client countries strengthen institutional capacity, improve service delivery, and achieve development results.

East Asia and Pacific Procurement Team

The position forms part of the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Procurement Team, a regional team of approximately 38 procurement professionals located across seven country offices. Operating through a decentralized model, the team provides procurement oversight, advisory services, implementation support, and capacity building across a portfolio of approximately 225 active World Bank-financed operations with total commitments exceeding US$32 billion. The Manila-based position will play an important role in supporting the delivery of high-quality procurement services across the PMB CMU portfolio while contributing, as needed, to broader regional priorities and cross-country initiatives within the EAP Region.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the EAP Procurement Manager, the Lead Procurement Specialist is expected to serve not only as a technical procurement authority, but also as a strategic problem-solver, change leader, and trusted advisor who helps clients, task teams, and management address complex operational challenges, remove implementation bottlenecks, and improve project delivery and development outcomes.

Additionally, the incumbent Lead Procurement will support operations, knowledge programs and country policy engagement across the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea under the PMB and CMK Country Management Units (CMUs).

The role requires the ability to diagnose procurement and implementation constraints, identify root causes, evaluate risks and alternatives, and develop practical, fit-for-purpose solutions that balance fiduciary requirements with timely delivery. Support CMU and Regional Management in implementing the D-Ready agenda, Procurement Change Program, and related corporate transformation initiatives, ensuring that procurement contributes to improved project readiness, implementation performance, operational efficiency, portfolio quality, and client outcomes. Lead the adoption of new business processes, operating models, digital tools, and performance-management approaches across PMB and CMK portfolios. The successful candidate will actively promote innovation, modernization, and digital transformation by identifying opportunities to improve processes, strengthen decision-making, enhance portfolio management, and generate measurable operational efficiencies.

The position demands strong leadership and collaboration across sectors, CMUs, government counterparts, and development partners. The incumbent will be expected to foster an inclusive and high-performing team environment, encourage constructive challenge and continuous learning, promote knowledge sharing, and support adoption of new technologies and ways of working that improve quality, efficiency, transparency, and development impact.

The position forms part of the EAP Procurement Management Team and contributes to strategic leadership, operational performance, and modernization of procurement across the East Asia and Pacific Region.

Note

This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

Selection Criteria

• Masters degree in a relevant field (e.g., Engineering, Law, Procurement, Finance, Business, Commerce) or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• At least twelve (12) years of progressively responsible experience in World Bank operational procurement, including leadership in applying the 2016 World Bank Procurement Framework in complex operations.
• Experience across multiple regions and/or a combination of regional and corporate assignments.
• Advanced knowledge of World Bank procurement policies, instruments, and operational processes throughout the project cycle, including the ability to address complex procurement issues.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing large and complex operational portfolios, identifying systemic risks, prioritizing interventions, allocating resources effectively, and improving portfolio performance across multiple countries or sectors.
• Proven ability to provide strategic advice to senior management on operational priorities, fiduciary risk management, implementation effectiveness, organizational capability, and portfolio performance.
• Demonstrated ability to improve development outcomes through sound judgment, analytical rigor, practical problem solving, and effective use of data, market intelligence, digital tools, and implementation evidence.
• Demonstrated experience leading institutional change initiatives, business transformation programs, policy reforms, or organizational modernization efforts, while providing thought leadership and strategic direction in complex operational environments.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, build consensus, and lead initiatives and organizational change across institutional and organizational boundaries.
• Demonstrated expertise in market analysis and early market engagement strategies to enhance competition, bidder participation, and procurement outcomes.
• Strong understanding of borrower procurement systems and public procurement reform, including sustainable, green, gender-responsive, and data-driven procurement approaches.
• Demonstrated experience supporting post-award contract management and facilitating effective transition from procurement to implementation in collaboration with TTL-led teams and implementing agencies.
• Strong record of introducing or scaling innovative procurement practices, digital solutions, analytics, or business process improvements that deliver measurable operational and development results.
• Demonstrated commitment to knowledge management, institutional learning, capacity building, and professional development.
• Strong partnership and relationship-management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across cultures, disciplines, and organizations.
• Ability to balance operational delivery, fiduciary oversight, risk management, and innovation while maintaining effectiveness in complex and evolving operational environments.

Success in this role requires a combination of advanced technical procurement expertise, strategic thinking, operational problem‑solving, professional judgment, innovation, leadership, and relationship management. The Lead Procurement Specialist will be expected to demonstrate the World Bank Groups core values of impact, integrity, respect, teamwork, and innovation through their actions and decisions, while fostering a culture characterized by urgency, thoughtful risk-taking, empowerment, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning. The position will champion procurement modernization and responsible digital transformation, working across institutional boundaries to translate policy, technology, market knowledge, data, and experience into practical solutions that strengthen fiduciary performance, accelerate project delivery, and improve development outcomes at scale.

WBG Culture Attributes:

• Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
• Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

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.

Learn more about working at World Bank and IFC including our values and inspiring stories.

Requirements: