External Affairs Associate (ECRGR)

External Affairs Associate (ECRGR)

Job # : req33677 Organization : World Bank Sector : External Affairs & Corporate Relations Grade : GE Term Duration :  3 years 0 months Recruitment Type : Local Recruitment Location : Tokyo,Japan Required Language(s) : English, Japanese Preferred Language(s) : Closing Date : 7 / 15 / 2025 (MM / DD / YYYY) at 11 : 59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group 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. Please visit The External and Corporate Relations (ECR) Unit is an expert team of communication and external engagement advisors working with WBG leadership to secure political and financial support and strengthen its role as a global leader in development. Our team manages the WBG’s reputation and brand, focusing on relations with donors, clients, partners, key stakeholders, our senior management, and staff. ECR promotes an integrated WBG story and protects our license to operate.ECR Government Relations (ECRGR) works to build and maintain support for the Bank and its mission among key donor government and political stakeholders through the delivery of strategic messaging and effective, consistent, timely, and professional interaction. This includes building and nurturing relationships with government and political stakeholders; creating opportunities to highlight how the Bank’s knowledge and operational work supports donor country development priorities; engaging with communications counterparts in development and government agencies; and managing reputational risk.  External Affairs Associate (ECRGR), Tokyo The external affairs associate will support the government relations team for Japan. She / He supports developing and executing the government relations strategy that positions the WBG with the Japanese authorizing environment to enhance the WBG’s presence and support government and parliamentarian engagements for IDA and Trust Funds, disseminating strategic messages, and monitoring reputational risk. She / He also supports managing relationships with counterparts at key development partner agencies in Japan, as appropriate. This position requires a deep understanding of the Japanese development priorities and political sentiment to the development agenda, an established network in Japan, and excellent written and verbal communications skills in Japanese and English to deliver key messages. Furthermore, the position requires sound judgement, the capacity to juggle multiple priorities, apply tact and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive issues and risk, and the ability to make informed decisions on the spot if needed, to ensure that an issue is dealt with in a timely manner.The position is based in Tokyo and entails working closely with the wider ECRGR team in Europe and Washington ., and with the broader ECR family. The position reports to the ECR Special Representative, Japan. Responsibilities Specifically, the external affairs associate is responsible for :

• Supporting senior GR staffs for the WB government relations engagement including supporting meeting briefs and conducting research on Japan’s ODA environment as well as managing relationship with the ministries and developing partner agencies.
• Supporting developing and implementing strategies for all key stakeholders including the private business society, academic organizations and CSOs to disseminate the Bank’s publication launches, key initiatives, and WB Senior Management visits, as well as for high level events taking place in Japan (. TICAD, UHC).
• Managing social media in Japanese including SNS, websites or the production of multimedia products such as video production, in order to increase the visibilities of WB’s priorities and Japan-WB partnership.
• Translating to the local language the published reports and other publications.
• Actively contributing to the planning, coordination, scheduling and logistics, often across multiple teams, roundtables, major conferences and seminars in Japan.
• Support handling the government and MPs requests, ensuring close collaboration with relevant teams.
• Supporting the recruitment activities to attract Japanese talents including hosting career seminars in universities and high schools.

Selection Criteria

WBG Culture Attributes :

1. Sense of Urgency – Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

2. Thoughtful Risk Taking – Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.

3. Empowerment and Accountability – Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful results.

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.