World Bank Junior Professional Associate Program

The World Bank Junior Professional Associate program is a unique opportunity to gain entry-level professional experience and first-hand exposure to the challenges and rewards of international development. Are you a recent graduate? Do you have passion for and commitment to helping others? Are you looking for solid, two-year entry-level work experience in a multicultural environment? If so, you may be interested in the World Bank’s JPA program.

In your Junior Professional Associate (JPA) assignment, you’ll use your strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, your knowledge of technology, and your research abilities working with more senior colleagues and project teams in their work both in operations and in corporate functions. You’ll have an opportunity to hone your skills and acquire new ones while gaining first-hand exposure to the challenges of reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Your experience as a JPA may be used as a stepping stone to a career in government, consulting, the private sector, academia, or other development agencies.

The program is looking for candidates whose academic achievements are superior and placing them in the top portion of their graduating class. Your analytical and research skills extend to areas of specialization such as: economics, finance, human development (public health, education, nutrition, population), social sciences (anthropology, sociology), agriculture, environment (climate, blue economy), infrastructure, private sector development, as well as other related fields, including corporate and administrative functions (IT, legal, accounting, communications, etc.).

Program Details

• Host Institution: The World Bank Group, Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.
• Number of awards: Not specified.
• Duration: up to two years.
• Eligible countries: All nationalities.

World Bank Junior Professional Associate Program Benefits

Selected candidates for this World Bank internship program will be provided with the opportunity to gain entry-level professional experience in a premier development institution, on a two-year, non-renewable Extended Term Consultant (ETC) contract with benefits.​

Since this employment program is highly competitive, applicants under active consideration for employment may be asked to submit academic records as well as references. The World Bank will contact only those applicants whom hiring managers wish to interview. ​Positions may be located in any of the World Bank’s offices across the world. ​

World Bank Junior Professional Associate Program Eligibility

To be considered for the JPA program, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Be 28 years of age or younger on your first day of service
• Hold the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree
• Be fluent in English
• One or more of the Bank’s working languages is a plus: Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. 

You are fluent in English and, preferably, in at least one other Bank language (French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, or Chinese). You love technology and integrate it in your work.​

You may also be eligible for the:

1. OIST Internship in Japan;
2. Internship Program at FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization);
3. World Trade Organization Internship Program.

Application instructions

Candidates who are interested in applying for the Internship Program need to click on the apply button below. You will be redirected to a page where you need to click on the “APPLY NOW” button, located at the top left side of the page.

Please note that applications will be kept active in the database for a period of six months. Should you still be interested in the JPA program after six months, you will need to re-apply. Only those identified for an assignment will be contacted to discuss their interest and availability. Candidates are selected by the hiring manager on a highly competitive basis.​

A JPA assignment is not an entry point for a career at the World Bank, and employment beyond the two-year contract will be prohibited for a period of two years after the end of the contract. However, some former JPAs may rejoin the organization later in their careers after gaining experience elsewhere and becoming experts in their professional fields.

There is no specific deadline. Candidates are selected all year round on a need-based. For more details on the World Bank Junior Professional Associate Program, please visit the official page. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.