Senior Communications & External Relations Officer, East Asia and Pacific

Senior Communications & External Relations Officer, East Asia and Pacific

Job #: req37649 Organization: World Bank Sector: External Affairs & Corporate Relations Grade: GG Term Duration: 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 7/29/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It is 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 for the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Communications and External Relations (CER)
The mission of Communications and External Relations (CER) is to help deliver financial and political support for the World Bank Group, strengthen the Bank Group’s role as a global thought leader in development by enhancing and safeguarding its reputation, and supporting operational teams to achieve country outcomes. CER manages corporate communications and global engagement with key stakeholders, including media, civil society, foundations, private sector, donor countries, and international organizations, as well as employee engagement. CER also manages strategic communications for the World Bank Group’s Regions and technical units and leads the management of reputation risk. 

Regional Stakeholder Engagement in CER (CERRS)
The Regional Stakeholder Engagement team manages strategic communications across the seven regions of the World Bank Group driving engagement across regions and country offices to align local efforts with our global strategy.

The work aims to build support and understanding for World Bank Group (WBG) priorities across a range of stakeholders; enhance and protect the reputation of the WBG as a leading development organization; support operational effectiveness and social accountability by sharing development progress, knowledge, and results.

Recognizing that economic and social contexts evolve rapidly, and that communications technologies have revolutionized the ways that information travels, we are building a team of dynamic and innovative professionals prepared to use innovative engagement strategies, traditional and digital tools, including social media and artificial intelligence to shape the debate on development priorities and tradeoffs.

East Asia and Pacific 
East Asia and Pacific (EAP) is among the world’s fastest growing, most dynamic regions. The World Bank partners with countries across EAP to promote economic growth and job creation, strengthen human capital, and advance sustainable energy, water, and agriculture for a resilient and prosperous future for all. Over the past two decades, EAP has sustained strong growth, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and transforming economies and lives. Many countries have reached upper middle income status and are aiming for high income status. Poverty rates continue to fall, with 24 million people in the region projected to escape poverty between 2024 and 2025 (based on the upper middle income poverty line).

Despite this progress, major challenges remain. About 320 million people will reach working age over the next decade, while only around 110 million new jobs are projected—making job creation an urgent priority. Widening inequality within and across countries underscores the need to expand access to education, healthcare, and social safety nets, particularly for the urban poor and rural communities. Rapid urbanization increases demand for transport connectivity, water and sanitation, and pollution management. Meeting rising electricity needs at affordable cost—without sharply increasing greenhouse gas emissions—requires accelerating the energy transition. Adaptation and resilience to extreme weather and natural disasters are critical in a region that includes 13 of the world’s 30 most climate vulnerable countries. Since 2000, EAP has experienced 70 percent of the world’s natural disasters, affecting more than 1.6 billion people.
 
East Asia and Pacific Regional Stakeholder Engagement Team (CEREA)
The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Regional Stakeholder Engagement team (CEREA) manages strategic communications and