Voice Secondment Program

Eligibility criteria:

1.  Candidates from Low and Middle-Income countries with an active engagement with the World Bank Group (WBG) as well as from RAS-only (Reimbursable Advisory Services) countries that are willing to fund the participation of their candidates. Priority will be given to candidates from countries affected by Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS);
2. Government officials in a focal government agency (such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Central Bank), who are considered early or mid-career professionals, with potential for career-growth and advancement;
3. A minimum of a Bachelors degree (a PhD is scored as 3 points, a Masters degree is scored as 2 points; and a Bachelors degree is scored as 1 point);
4. A reasonable level of English language proficiency;
5. Fluency in any other WBG language would be an advantage (e.g. Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian); and
6. Work experience relevant to the work of the WBG, especially if the nominee has had some operational experience with a WBG team or the offices of the World Bank Executive Directors.     

 Other considerations:

1. Greater consideration is given to countries that have had the least number of VSP Secondees participate in the Program;
2. Only one nominee per country will be considered for participation in the VSP each year;
3. A nominee for the VSP should be someone who is expected to continue working in the focal government agency for the next two (2) years following his or her secondment to the WBG;
4. Diversity and inclusion in the selection of VSP Secondees shall apply, regarding not only gender parity, but also the selection of people with different abilities and those from under-represented groups;
5. A reserve VSP candidate will be selected by the WBG for each region in the event that a selected candidate for that region is not able to take up his/her slot ;
6. Where the candidate selected as a VSP Secondee is an expectant parent, the candidate is allowed to defer his/her admission to the Program for one year so that he/she can join the subsequent VSP cohort, without being subject to another selection process; and
7. Where the candidate selected as a VSP Secondee is not very proficient in English, the releasing focal agency is encouraged to fund an English language course before the Secondee joins the Program in Washington, DC.

Administrative aspects of the selection process:

1. Thirty-five (35) VSP Secondees are selected on a competitive basis from a pool of nominees, with priority given to those coming from FCV and SIDS;
2. To bring the total number of each VSP cohort to thirty-seven (37) participants, two (2) additional VSP Secondees will be selected, following the same competitive process, from non-FCV countries that have no lending portfolio with the WBG but receive Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) from the WBG, and are willing to fund the participation of their candidates;
3. Unless the selection committee agrees that a nominating country has had very limited participation in the VSP, in comparison to other countries, no country is allowed to have two or more VSP Secondees participate successively in the Program for two or more years in a row; and
4. The distribution of slots on the VSP each year shall be as follows:

• Africa – 11 slots
• MENAAP – 5 slots
• ECA – 5 slots
• South Asia – 5 slots
• East Asia – 5 slots
• LAC – 5 slots
• RAS countries – 2 slots

To improve the relations and strengthen the ability of the capitals to provide timely and adequate feedback through increased knowledge on WBG procedures, products and operations, as well as  to increase the "voice of the eligible participating countries" in the WBG’s decision making processes.

6 months with no extension, no exception rule. One group is inducted with approximately 35 participants starting the first week of January each year.

Program Covers:

• Home country-DC round trip ticket (AMEX, or other WBG-authorized travel agents);
• $500 settling-in grant;
• Accommodation;
• Living allowances;
• One operational trip as part of the VSP assignment;
• Limited health insurance coverage.

Host Unit Covers

• Office space, computer and communication costs.

Releasing Agency Covers:

• Participant salary and benefit.

All travel, housing, allowance payments and other administrative arrangements are managed by the Program Secretariat.

Voice Secondees are placed in various WBG units with a mentor who provides coaching.

To avoid any potential conflict of interest, VSP Secondees work on assignments other than their own country (unless there is a very strong business case to do so).

The Program is managed in the Corporate Secretariat of the WBG under the oversight of a Steering Group, comprising high level staff from WBG management and offices of Executive Directors.

The Steering Group is responsible for the finalization of the selection of VSP Secondees.