The World Bank Lead e-Learning Specialist

Background / General
description:

World Bank Institute:

The World Bank Institute (WBI) underwent a far-reaching renewal over the past three years, transforming itself from a retail training institute to a modern institution providing innovative services.  WBI’s new mission is to catalyze change for development results, leveraging WBG finance.  It does this by strengthening the capacity of government and non-government stakeholders to collectively solve development challenges through three interlinked clusters of support:  Open Knowledge, connecting them to global knowledge & learning on the “how” of reform; Innovative solutions, scanning & incubating innovations to help them tackle key development challenges; and collaborative governance, enabling them to mobilize and coalesce for collective action.  Programs mobilize different combinations of the three clusters to galvanize & inspire stakeholders to achieve results.

The renewed WBI occupies a unique position in the WBG offering direct services to external clients and a range of services that cut across and connect all regions, networks, DEC and IFC. WBI provides key support to corporate priorities including the Knowledge Strategy, Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy, Open Development and the Modernization Agenda.

Some program highlights include the following: • Geo-coded 30,000 project locations in 142 IBRD and IDA countries comprising 1,600 active Bank projects for greater accountability. Launched the Open Aid Partnership to geo-map all donor projects in pilot countries. Now incorporating citizen feedback through use of ICT in Bank projects • Launch of the e-institute in FY12 as WBG’s virtual learning platform, turning cutting edge global knowledge into accessible and interactive content. • Delivering a program of support to the MICs to establish knowledge hubs for development, including a major conference in Bali, Indonesia in July 2012 • Helping signatories of the Open Government Partnership & others achieve greater standards of transparency and participation, including through mapping of public spending. Launching the open contracting initiative to increase stakeholder capacity to monitor the award and implementation of public contracts. • Incubating the new Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) to scale-up the Bank’s engagement with civil society to improve the quality of governance and service delivery at country level. Strengthening networks of non-state actors – CSOs, parliamentarians, media, youth, and business – mobilizing them as accountability partners.

e-Institute for Development:

This job announcement concerns the position of Lead e-Learning Specialist who will be responsible for growing the e-Institute for Development as a premier virtual learning platform for capacity building within the development community. The e-Institute for Development is already operationalizing the Open Knowledge idea through its Structured Learning program; one that takes global development content that is mature, and codifies the knowledge into easily accessible, multimedia based training programs to help World Bank group clients acquire development know-how.

The e-Institute is a small and dynamic group with about _ staff and consultants who work closely with subject matter experts in the various WBG networks and with the technical staff in the Information Solutions Group. Since its launch in 2011 the e-Institute has provided affordable and accessible learning to development practitioners on the “how-to” of reform in thematic areas such as Health Systems, Urban Development and Governance. It has successfully established itself as a Bank-wide “go-to” place for e-learning, and offered a wide range of knowledge and learning services (including 55 courses, 15 webinars since its launch in FY2012, which have reached more than 6,000 people, with 65,000 portal views, and 11 e communities of practice among course “alumni”).

After the successful initial phase of conceptualizing approaches and developing the business model, the e-Institute's focus is now shifting to scaling up the virtual engagements in capacity development, at a time when the global learning community is witnessing an explosion of interest in the 'massification' of learning through the web and internet. In the next phase of the e-institute, the focus will be on scaling up through external and internal partnerships, through high quality, cutting edge content on frontier areas of development and use of innovative pedagogies and tools for dissemination. For this next phase of the e-Institute development, WBITL is seeking a Lead e-learning specialist, who will lead the e-Institute program both at the strategic level (because of the rapidly evolving developments taking place in the global e-learning practice), and at the program level (in order to scale up content while improving the quality of the learning experience).  In addition, the incumbent will also serve as the lead advisor to the VPU and Bank as a whole on e-learning issues.

Duties and
Accountabilities:

Responding to a Strategic Opportunity:  E-learning is currently undergoing a global ‘makeover’ as more and more academic institutions are seeking to leverage the power of the web to ‘massify’ learning and operationalize the open knowledge idea.  Within this context, the lead e-learning specialist will perform a leadership role, based on both the above trends and the initial successful pilots in FY2012, to take e-learning to the next level within the Bank group and with WBI client institutions in developing countries.  This would involve, inter alia the following:

1. Strengthens the vision of the e-institute, so that this global virtual platform: • provides all participants with affordable, accessible and high quality e-learning; • leverages the Bank group’s operational knowledge and experiences to package and disseminate to clients in a just-in-time manner; • works with a strategic network of partners (universities, national and regional training institutions) to scale up practitioner know-how with customized messages • disseminates free and open learning for all.

2. Positions the Bank group in an increasingly crowded e-learning market by being: • fully engaged with the proponents of open learning and open courseware through the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that are being piloted by leading academic institutions • customizing learning solutions for the development community.

3. Sharpens the Bank’s e-learning focus by: • incorporating the latest advances in pedagogy, technology and social media • branding the courses, and developing a communication strategy for dissemination of courses on a variety of frontier topics, dealing with the ‘how to’ of reform • designing new courses that capture the content and experiences of various Bank Analytical and Advisory service products such as Word Development Reports and other Flagship products

4. Scaling up the reach of knowledge and learning products by building a network of external partners including academic institutions, bilateral and multilateral organizations, national and regional centers of excellence.  This includes developing a business model for working with partners that provides guidance on all aspects ranging from branding, copyrights, cost recovery etc.

5. Functions as the Program Manager for the e-Institute providing leadership and day-to-day management ensuring: • quality of products including pedagogical design • timely delivery of e-courses and other activities • efficient deployment of the learning management systems and other technology • proactive marketing and communication (including branding) • management of budget, fund raising etc. • a well-functioning team of learning and multimedia specialists that includes coaching, mentoring and creating an enabling work environment that facilitates teamwork and collaboration

6. Advises the Bank group on e-learning issues such as:  • Prepares briefings for senior management and the Bank directors • Responds to queries from senior management that requires sophisticated analysis and/or address sensitive topics, including assessment of risks, benefits, impact and strategic intent in decision making • Participates in technical workshops and represents the Bank in International seminars, conferences, etc.

Specific Job Accountabilities  Within this strategic context the incumbent: • Serves as e-learning advisor to WBI and the Bank group • Designs and develops the Bank-wide e-learning strategy, building upon recent industry advances (such as MOOCs), customized to specific client capacity development needs • Oversees and facilitates the implementation of e-Institute program and activities in accordance with the strategy • Manages staff, budget and resources of the e-Institute unit, help desk/advisory services, and the learning management system • Coaches, mentors and provides professional development opportunities for team • Conducts and updates learning needs assessment for WBI, other parts of the World Bank Group and external clients • Develops indicators, together with the WBI management team, to assist in monitoring and evaluating e-learning activities • Mainstreams e-learning into the learning and knowledge management activities in the Bank group. • Ensures quality and accuracy of e-learning products through reviews of documents, databases, web sites and portals for pedagogical quality and effectiveness • Creates and maintains networks of high level experts in e-learning and related fields • Provides oral and written responses to queries requiring sophisticated analysis and/or address sensitive topics • Prepares briefings for management and the Bank directors.

To see full Job Description please visit www.worldbank.org/careers .

Interested candidates are invited to apply to vacancy #130490 on www.worldbank.org/careers.    

This vacancy closes on 12 Mar 2013  Only online applications submitted through our careers site will be admitted. The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background.  Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.  All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence