Senior infrastructure Specialist

The Senior Infrastructure Specialist will support the design, development, and piloting of irrigation finance options and optimize centralized irrigation schemes. The role involves facilitating knowledge exchange, innovation, and supporting regional teams with Water for Food operations and investments to improve water security and sustainable irrigation practices.

Responsibilities

• Support the design, development, and piloting of irrigation finance options for privately led irrigation (Farmer Led Irrigation Development, FLID), as well as optimizing centralized irrigation, in IBRD and IFC investments support of Water Forward and AgriConnect, including results-based financing facilities and digital platforms.
• Guide development of blended finance models—such as first-loss guarantees, and technical assistance facilities—to catalyze private investment and address affordability for smallholders.
• Provide expertise in FLID approaches, including asset ownership and Irrigation-as-a-Service models, farmer segmentation, and market analysis; promote integration of agronomy, and market knowledge into advisory and digital platforms.
• Support the design of incentive structures, eligibility criteria, and capacity-building programs to enable smallholder adoption of certified irrigation equipment and practices, including equipment and service supplier accreditation, after-sales service standards, and performance monitoring.
• Lead development and implementation of irrigation-related results-based financing mechanisms, including monitoring, reporting, and verification frameworks, e-payment systems, and transparent disbursement procedures.
• Work across the World Bank Group to advise on structuring blended finance instruments, guarantee facilities, and repurposing subsidies; support financial service providers in adapting loan products for irrigation investments, leveraging alternative data sources and digital innovations to improve credit assessment and risk management.
• Oversee integration of digital tools for farmer targeting, advisory services (agriculture, water, and market), monitoring, and risk mitigation, ensuring technical soundness, operational efficiency, and robust data governance (including privacy, security, and interoperability).
• Support institutional capacity building for government counterparts to manage results-based financing and farmer-led irrigation development programs, including technical, financial, and digital competencies; facilitate institutional integration of result-based financing mechanisms with national platforms to ensure sustainability and country ownership.
• Support policy dialogue, regulatory reform, and stakeholder engagement to strengthen enabling environments for irrigation finance and service delivery, coordinating with agriculture, water, energy, and digital authorities, private-sector actors, aggregators, and banks.

Requirements

• Master’s degree (or higher) in agricultural engineering, irrigation engineering, public policy, water resources engineering, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in irrigation operations, management, policy development, and service delivery.
• Demonstrated expertise in irrigation system design, institutional strengthening, and high-quality service delivery to smallholders farmers.
• Strong understanding of digital platforms, data analytics, and advisory for smallholder agriculture.
• Proven track record in institutional capacity building, policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development across public and private actors.
• Demonstrated experience working across at least two regions, or a combination of regional, global, and corporate assignments in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Substantial experience in Africa preferred.
• Strong organizational, research, and oral presentation skills; proven ability to work in a team and intercultural environment, with minimal supervision; hands-on and action-oriented approach.
• Computer skills: proficiency with MS Office 365; familiarity with data analytics/visualization tools and geospatial/remote sensing tools is desirable.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; additional languages desirable (Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish).

Skills

• Irrigation Operations
• Irrigation System Design
• Institutional Strengthening
• Service Delivery to Smallholders
• Policy Development
• Digital Platforms
• Data Analytics
• Advisory for Smallholder Agriculture
• Institutional Capacity Building
• Policy Dialogue
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Partnership Development
• Multi-stakeholder Environment
• Regional Experience
• MS Office 365
• Data Visualization
• Geospatial tools development
• Remote Sensing Tools
• Oral Presentation
• Research Skills

Languages

English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish