Background / General description
The World Bank Treasury (“Treasury”) provides asset management, banking and debt management, and capital markets services to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“IBRD”) and its affiliates and member countries, and to other official-sector institutions. Treasury also collaborates extensively with finance officials of member countries and their agencies with the objective of building members’ capacity in public wealth and debt management.
The scale of these activities is substantial:
• Treasury currently manages more than $100 billion in assets for over 45 clients, carries out about $30 billion per annum in debt issuance in international bond markets for IBRD and for the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), and is engaged in capacity-building partnerships in more than 40 countries.
• Treasury is responsible for the development and dissemination of IBRD’s menu of financial products and services, including loans, credit lines, guarantees, hedging products, and catastrophe risk financing.
• Treasury’s financial practitioners work directly with the Bank’s country teams to structure and deliver custom financial solutions for IBRD clients.
• Treasury staff are organized into seven departments operating in the asset management, banking and debt management, and capital markets business segments.
• The Treasury Operations Department provides a full range of support functions for Treasury’s asset management, capital markets and banking businesses.
• These include transactions settlements (approximately 25,000 individual transactions per month), cash management, foreign exchange, management of custody relationships and collateral management for Treasury’s extensive activities in the derivatives markets.
• Treasury Operations also provides accounting and financial reporting services to Treasury and its clients.
• For IBRD and other World Bank Group clients, this includes internal management reporting as well as “books and records” accounting, Financial Statement disclosures, and other required reporting.
• Treasury Operations also collaborates extensively with IBRD members seeking to build capacity in transaction processing and accounting associated with public-sector asset management.
• Since Treasury’s work involves dealing with the global markets, staff may be: on call, required to work on public holidays, or required to work during London business hours.
TRO is organized in four operational divisions following Treasury’s business line operations:
1) banking;
2) capital markets;
3) fixed income asset management; and
4) pension operations.
TRO staff is typically assigned to a particular business line/team and may be reassigned within TRO in response to other business priorities. This structure enables the Department to take advantage of synergies between the respective functions and provides a diversified work program for staff. It also represents a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic team of finance and accounting professionals.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 year renewable term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities
The TRO Chennai Operations is an integral part of TRO and is responsible for a variety of duties providing vital support across all the 4 operational divisions. The Financial Analyst will have responsibilities for specific individual tasks/projects within the Fixed Income Asset Management business line as well as for working as an integral part of the team in executing TRO’s work program. Selected candidate will be responsible for, under the general guidance and supervision of the Team Leader, some combination of, but not limited to, the following activities:
• Review and monitor daily system-to-system reconciliations and controls reviews, investigate reconciliation differences, perform analysis, post necessary adjustments for resolution of any differences, prepare commentaries on results / findings, and suggest solutions in a pro-active manner;
• Prepare Preliminary and Final Client Trial Balances;
• Prepare detailed analysis of Net Asset Value day-to-day, month-to-month changes at the Company, Portfolio, and Security level;
• Plan and implement new Client, new Accounts, and new Portfolio set-up and testing procedures;
• Prepare and/or review Monthly Investment Income Allocation, Asset Allocation, and Investment Holdings reports;
• Prepare and/or review monthly reconciliations of Investments and Net Asset Value per World Bank’s records to corresponding records of the Custodian;
• Stay abreast and perform and/or assist in research activities related to the application of US GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as they apply to our Investments;
• Assist other team members to ensure that the daily, monthly, quarterly and year-end deliverables and reporting requirements for Treasury’s worldwide clients are properly and promptly met;
• Ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of accounting data, systems and reporting deliverables;
• Assist in coordinating with internal and external auditors;
• Effectively communicate with TRO staff and Management both in Chennai and in Washington, D.C. headquarters on the status of all assigned activities;
• Assist in developing and implementing changes to TRO procedures, processes, and standards and help ensure that all business processes in the unit are properly documented and complied with; and
• Participate in various SIP Accounting Missions and Workshops both in Chennai and on-site at various Central Banks World-wide.
Selection Criteria
1. Masters in Commerce, Accounting Finance or Business with 3 to 5 years of relevant work experience with investment operations.
2. Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including excellent Excel spreadsheet skills including key data manipulation functions as VLookups, Pivot tables, etc. Ability to develop macros and prior knowledge of Bloomberg API functions will be an advantage.
3. Demonstrated ability to learn new technology quickly and effectively for maximum productivity. Knowledge of SAP and/or Summit will be an advantage.
4. Excellent communication and presentation skills – both verbal and written.
5. Quick learner with high level of initiative, self-confidence and a self-starter; ability to apply a practical matured approach to problem solving with minimum supervision.
6. Diplomacy and strong interpersonal skills with commitment to work in a respectful, team-oriented, and multi-cultural work environment.
7. Flexibility to overlap with U.S. hours will be required to meet reporting deadlines along with willingness to travel to Washington DC for training and team projects.
8. Highest ethical standards.
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.
Closing Date: Monday, 13 February 2012
