Senior Investment Officer-Infrastructure – GG  

IFC a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Blended Finance (BF) is a key tool in the execution of IFC’s strategy. The Blended Finance – New Business and Portfolio (CBFNP) division sits in the Blended Finance and Partnerships Department and manages a pool of concessional donor funds of over $5 billion dollars focused on accelerating IFC’s engagement in the most developmentally impactful areas: IDA and FCS countries, gender, climate, SME and agriculture and food security.

The BF facilities managed by CBFNP are structured to co-finance, along with IFC funding, investment projects to address market barriers in private sector projects. These funds are deployed alongside IFC’s own resources, thus enabling IFC to invest in projects that would not proceed without a co-investment on concessional terms or a performance-based incentive structure that encourages the achievement of additional development outcomes. CBFNP’s role is to optimize the co-investment of funds from donors on concessional terms, considering the donor’s strategic priorities and return expectations, in line with IFC’s BF governance framework.    

Within CBFNP, there are Investment Officers focusing on BF co-investments supporting IFC’s Operations. These transactions may use different BF facilities, including the IDA Private Sector Window (PSW) or multilateral or bilateral BF facilities. The goal of this work is to enable industry and regional departments of IFC to have a much deeper impact and footprint in the most difficult countries and sectors, primarily but not exclusively in IDA and fragile countries. Investment officers in the Department also promote engagement in more upstream work to generate more deal-flow and impact in the hardest to reach sectors and countries.

CBFNP seeks a Senior Investment Officer (SIO) to work primarily on Infrastructure (INR) sector investment projects across Africa which need BF solutions to proceed. Being part of the CBFNP leadership team, this position will also provide the successful candidate with an opportunity to get exposure to different industry groups through internal joint venture projects within a creative and results-oriented environment. The position will be based in Dakar (Senegal) or other IFC business hub in Africa and will report to the Global Blended Finance Sector Lead for Infrastructure (INR).

Duties and Accountabilities:

Investment and Portfolio management:

Financial structuring: Technical ability to translate return expectations of individual donors across a wide spectrum ranging from returnable capital to consumable capital to a financial structure and model needed for an investment, which neither the client nor IFC could complete without a BF co-investment.

Business development: Help project teams put IFC’s best foot forward in front of clients to help origination in areas of strategic importance for IFC investments, particularly related to themes under Climate and Sustainability, in the INR space. Attend relevant pipeline meetings of industry departments. Screen projects where use of BF could be seen as a race-to-the-bottom.

Deal processing: Maintain accountability to the BFC with clear, unbiased presentation of the financial and impact rationale of the BF co-investment(s). Attend IFC project appraisals where necessary, especially if the BF co-investment has significantly different interests from IFC’s own account investment. Attend IRM, pre-IRMs, etc., as needed. Focus on parallel processing of the BF co-investment from PDS-Concept to Commitment and Disbursement. 

Supervision: Liaise with project teams to fulfill reporting requirements to donors (both financial outcomes and impacts).  In addition, particularly for projects benefiting from a de-risking tranche from BF, monitor early warning signals of cascading risks with assistance from the project’s supervision team, including on existing projects. Process disbursements, waivers, amendments pertaining to the BF co-investment etc.

Fund-raising assistance: Contribute to new concessional fund-raising efforts by providing color and nuance on projects benefiting from a BF co-investment. Gather lessons of experience for shaping future fund-raising activities and impact stories to be shared with donors and other internal and external stakeholders.

Knowledge Management: Develop an understanding of the competitive landscape in the region, especially regarding the use of BF co-investments for challenging MAF sector projects. 

Proactively creating and regularly disseminating case studies and other materials on emerging lessons with respect to the usage of concessional finance and lessons learned on investment and advisory projects, internally and externally as appropriate.

Selection Criteria

•  MBA or Master’s degree, specialization in finance/investment strongly preferred.  

•  15+ years of relevant experience in working on cross-border emerging market investments for Real Sector projects with a track record of structuring / executing investment transactions.

•  Track record of having originated, committed and/or supervised long cycle INR projects

•  Deep understanding of INR competitive positioning in Africa, investment practices with knowledge of current issues, challenges, and opportunities in implementing BF co-investments. Knowledge of and familiarity with other sectors is a plus.

•  Experience with IFC’s investment and portfolio management processes, IFC’s loan and investment documentation, accounting and financial statement analysis is preferred.

•  Strong knowledge of IFC products, operations, and IFC’s loan pricing model, preferably also its approach to blending concessional finance alongside IFC’s investments for its own account.

•  Experience dealing with donors and/or managing a donor-funded facility or Trust Fund is a plus.

•  Ability to grasp details, problem solve, identify key issues for action and manage/incorporate stakeholder interests, and explain issues clearly and confidently.

•  Clarity in the presentation and delivery of information, ability to manage and complete multiple projects simultaneously, and to meet deadlines under pressure, with minimal supervision.

•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Fluency in other languages, such as French, would be a plus.

•  Experience in low-income countries or frontier markets and/or significant experience developing frontier market projects is a plus. 

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.

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