Multilateral bureaucracy struggling to become a think tank
Pros
The bank is a great learning place for those who working with clients directly, and gives you access to funds to frame innovative proposals. Some colleagues are excellent, supportive people.
Cons
Poor management focused on short term goals; professional development is contingent to personal sympathies and hidden agendas that make it hard for professionals to be in a predictable career path. More specifically, the matrix system (countries/themes) subjects staff to contradictory instructions from two different tiers of supervisors, who have their own individual agendas. That undermines the success of any program. On top of that, the bureaucratic culture of the bank makes it hard to promote cutting edge programs, except for the work done at BID-LAB. Some colleagues are very uncooperative and extremely "territorial".
