WASHINGTON (AP) – Fighting to keep his job, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is offering to make management changes at the institution, officials close to the situation said Thursday.

The overture – which came during a meeting of bank vice presidents on Wednesday – was made as Wolfowitz is facing mounting calls for his resignation. The controversy is over Mr. Wolfowitz’s role in arranging a high-paying job for Shaha Riza, a bank employee who he has dated.

The World Bank’s 24-member board is expected to meet behind closed doors on Thursday to discuss the matter. It is not clear what action, if any, the board might take. Mr. Wolfowitz has said he made a mistake and has apologized.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Mr. Wolfowitz stated anew that he did not intend to step down, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to speak on behalf of the bank. They said Mr. Wolfowitz spoke in general terms for the need to improve the bank’s management, including that of his inner office, and to soften his management style. He also invited recommendations.

America – the bank’s largest shareholder – has been standing by Mr. Wolfowitz. The White House and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have repeatedly expressed confidence in him.

Documents released last week showed that Mr. Wolfowitz had a direct hand in securing a State Department job for Ms. Riza in September 2005 that pays her $193,590. Before the transfer, Ms. Riza was earning close to $133,000 as a communications adviser in the bank’s Middle East department.

Ms. Riza remains on the World Bank’s payroll even though she left the State Department job in 2006 and now works for Foundation for the Future, an international organization that gets some money from the department. “I have now been victimized” for agreeing to the arrangement, Ms. Riza said in a memo to the bank last week.