Lead Procurement Specialist

**Lead Procurement Specialist**

**Job #**:

- req34340

**Organization**:

- World Bank

**Sector**:

- Procurement

**Grade**:

- GH

**Term Duration**:

- 4 years 0 months

**Recruitment Type**:

- International Recruitment

**Location**:

- Sydney,Australia

**Required Language(s)**:

- English

**Preferred Language(s)**:
**Closing Date**:

- 9/30/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

**Description**

**Build a Career with Purpose at the World Bank Group**

Are you passionate about using your expertise to tackle complex development challenges and drive meaningful reform? The World Bank Group (WBG) is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Lead Procurement Specialist to join its East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region, focusing on the Pacific Island Countries and Papua New Guinea (PNG). With 189 member countries and over 120 offices worldwide, the WBG is one of the world's largest sources of development, financing and knowledge. We work with governments, the private sector, and civil society to create innovative, evidence-based solutions that promote sustainable development, shared prosperity, and the end of extreme poverty.

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

The EAP region has made impressive progress in reducing poverty and driving economic growth. Yet, challenges persist: institutional weaknesses, climate vulnerability, geographic isolation, and growing inequality. The Pacific Islands are a group of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, PNG, and others—spread across a vast ocean and facing development constraints that demand tailored and innovative solutions.

The World Bank supports the region through regional platforms and instruments such as the IDA Small States Program, investing in climate and disaster resilience, human capital, digital transformation, and governance reform.

**Pacific Islands Subregion Context**

The World Bank's Pacific Island member countries (The Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu - for Papua New Guinea see this page) have a combined population of about 2.3 million people, spread across a vast ocean, these countries face unique development challenges such as geographic isolation, limited institutional capacity, vulnerability to climate change, and narrow economic bases. The populations in these countries are small, ranging in size from 12,000 (in Tuvalu and in Nauru) to about 900,000 in Fiji. Pacific Island countries have substantial natural resources and extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity. They are also among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

**Prosperity Global Practice | East Asia and Pacific Region**

The Prosperity Global Practice—often referred to as the Prosperity Vertical—is a strategic pillar within the World Bank's operational structure that aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, resilience, and good governance. It integrates global practices across procurement, public sector management, governance and anti-corruption, and financial management to help client countries build capable institutions and deliver impactful results.

**EAP Procurement Team Overview**

The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) procurement team, comprising 38 staff and short-term consultants, operates through a decentralized structure based in seven country offices. The team supports 244 active World Bank-financed operations across the region, with a total commitment of $3.38 billion.

**Job Duties and Responsibilities**:
Under the guidance of the Accredited Practice Manager for East Asia and Pacific, the Lead Procurement Specialist will provide strategic leadership across the two Pacific CMUs, steering procurement on operational, policy, and institutional matters while navigating complex geopolitical dynamics. The role will focus on accelerating project preparation and delivery across a $3.38B portfolio of 90 active projects, advancing initiatives such as hands on expanded implementation support (HEIS, BFP), aggregation of demand, and the Procurement Change Program. The Specialist will manage key relationships with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and other partners, strengthen capacity through support to procurement coordinators and national institutions, and contribute to the Bank's broader operational and advisory agenda in MICs, IDA countries, small states, and FCV contexts. This position requires strong diplomatic and relationship management skills to position procurement as a strategic enabler of faster, higher-quality development outcomes.

2. Advance APM's regional procurement integration by increasing adoption of uniform approaches (e.g., MPAs) and facilitating cross-CMU resource and knowledge sharing—resulting in greater efficiency, harmoni