Mr. Saroj Kumar Jha is the Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice (GP). In his current assignment, Mr. Jha is a core member of the GP’s senior management team, which drives the policy direction of the GP, oversees a portfolio of $24 billion in water-related investments, analytical work, multi-donor trust funds and global partnerships. Mr. Jha supports an integrated approach to water security and inclusive service delivery, accelerated climate action and food security through Bank’s Global Water Strategy, and providing policy advice and operational support in response to specific country needs.

Before this appointment, Mr. Jha was World Bank’s Regional Director of the Middle East Department, Senior Director for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Global Practice at the World Bank Group, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia based in Almaty. In addition, Mr. Jha served as the Bank’s Global Manager for the Disaster Risk Management Practice and as Head of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), which he founded in 2006.
Mr. Jha, an Indian national, joined the World Bank in 2005 as a Senior Infrastructure Specialist in the Sustainable Development Network, after working for the Government of India (1990-2005) and United Nations agencies (1999-2004) as a senior executive in the field of public sector management, infrastructure financing, natural resources management, natural disaster prevention, and environmental sustainability.