Operations Officer

 

Description

 

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.

IFC has embarked on an ambitious new growth strategy (IFC 3.0) to stimulate more investment activity, especially in Low-Income Countries (LICs) and Fragile and Conflict -affected Situations (FCS). This strategy calls for generating our opportunities by proactively working “Upstream” to create, deepen, and expand markets and imagine, design and implement investment projects. It requires taking a systematic approach to understanding the regulatory and sector bottlenecks that prevent the flow of private capital into productive investment in our member countries and addressing these bottlenecks through the World Bank Group (WBG) engagement on policy reforms and programmatic interventions at the client, country and sector levels. It also requires the capacity to leverage WBG programs and projects to develop our own proactive sector interventions and to imagine and design projects even in the absence of reforms.

The Financial Institutions Group (FIG) is one of three major industry groups at IFC, responsible for managing roughly 40% of IFC’s overall business in terms of volume and capital at risk.  IFC is seeking an Operations Officer for the Upstream and Advisory Services department within FIG, with deep operational and/or investment expertise in the financial sector, which could include Banking, Digital Banking/Fintech, Microfinance, Housing Finance, and/or Insurance. Experience or expertise in the Climate and/or Capital Markets industry/sectors is highly desirable.

The selected candidate will be based in Manila, the Philippines, and will focus on leading and supporting the development of a high-quality Upstream and Advisory pipeline in the country. S/he will also support policy work and other interventions across WBG to prioritize various initiatives and maximize the impact of Upstream and Advisory efforts.

Roles and Responsibilities:
•  Design, develop, and convene suitable teams/functions across the IFC and the WBG to implement high-quality Upstream and Advisory initiatives and interventions, engaging suitable external stakeholders to convert Upstream and Advisory efforts into new investment opportunities. These can include large and/or complex projects, financial sector Upstream initiatives, firm-level Advisory mandates and replicable and scalable approaches that can be implemented in the Philippines and the Asia and Pacific region.
•  Manage human and financial resources efficiently across initiatives for optimal impact.
•  Disseminate knowledge across teams based on both successful and proven initiatives.
•  Conduct sector-specific data analysis and stress testing of various operating and investment models to help generate ideas for new projects, products, and platform businesses.
•  Design analytical approaches to generate and test new ideas for market or project opportunity creation and feasibility, as well as new products and platform approaches.
•  Develop feasibility studies and implementation plans for Upstream and Advisory projects that lead to IFC investments.
•  Connect expertise from investment, upstream and advisory staff and external partners to drive the conversion of Upstream and Advisory initiatives to investment opportunities.
•  Contribute to the regional/departmental Upstream and Advisory budgeting process, including coordinating and aligning with the head of the country office.
•  Manage Upstream and Advisory project budget preparation and approval processes.
•  Manage project financial management (i.e., administer and manage trust funds and related activities, and ensure that all disbursement documentation is properly prepared and recorded).
•  Work with the IFC partnership teams on raising donor funding for Upstream and Advisory activities (i.e., identifying priorities for fundraising, preparing donor proposals, and managing relationships with the donors and their country representatives).
•  Determine scope of work and budgets for external consultants.
•  Supervise selection and contracting processes.
•  Review and approve deliverables and payments to consultants and supervise contracts (e.g., timely extensions, modifications, closings).
•  Facilitate knowledge flow across IFC and the WBG and promote new approaches and best practices.
•  Help build IFC’s recognition in the Philippines to catalyze flows of investment opportunities.
•  Help generate ideas about new investment opportunities, products, and platform businesses by leveraging sector-specific data analysis, stress-testing various operating models, dialogues with stakeholders, and sharing information across the WBG.
•  Help prioritize Upstream and Advisory programs and contribute to ensuring that identified early-stage project development engagement activities are properly staffed.
•  Oversee analysis of timelines, milestones, resource use (time/budget) and progress for efficient oversight and project management of Upstream and Advisory projects.
•  Collaborate with stakeholders and form partnerships with staff across IFC and the WBG, sponsors, clients, and other external parties to enable the delivery of Upstream and Advisory projects and programs.
•  Prepare legal agreements.
•  Engage the legal team on developing legal agreements based on the nature of a given project or client requests.
•  Obtain the necessary approvals from the legal and finance teams.
•  Spot game-changing trends, technologies, and business models that can bring solutions to the Philippines and emerging markets.
•  Source projects and initiatives by engaging with relevant stakeholders and by uncovering needs through strategic analysis, including country strategies and Country Private Sector Diagnostics.
•  Work with the WBG to identify and help implement sector and regulatory reforms that are needed to unlock opportunities for private investment.
•  Partner with sister organizations in the WBG and others to provide input when developing sector-specific development strategies, from diagnostic to implementation stages.
•  Identify and assess Upstream and Advisory opportunities based on country and sector strategies and market creation potential.

 

Selection Criteria

•  Master’s degree in a related field and at least 8–12 years of relevant experience. Related fields of education include banking, business, finance, or economics or an area of expertise specific to the financial or banking sectors. Relevant experience could include a proven track record in banking, business consulting, investment banking, or operational experience in the financial sector.
•  Capacity to understand, enable, and participate in market creation opportunities for the Philippines by demonstrating long-term perspective, open-mindedness, persistence, innovation, and ability to leverage all available tools (including de-risking tools); good understanding of the roles and value-add of IFC and the WBG in the Philippines.
•  Understanding of relevant country strategies and obstacles.
•  Has a reputation for listening carefully to clients and stakeholders and asking targeted questions to understand their needs and determine the viability of a business opportunity.
•  Build long-term engagement with clients and credibility in the Philippines by demonstrating knowledge of their business, sector, and culture; maintain an ongoing dialogue on their business needs, operations, and strategies, as well as opportunities for strategically aligned business deals.
•  Ability to maintain client engagement during the portfolio stage to identify growth opportunities, address emerging problems, and focus on actions that promote sustainability and ensure that overall IFC development impact objectives are met.
•  Build and maintain extensive networks in the financial and public sectors in the Philippines to bring new engagements and business opportunities for the IFC.
•  IFC/WBG: Ability to interact effectively with working-level WBG staff and participate in collaborative interventions or /projects that enable private sector investment by exercising sensitivity to differences in corporate cultures, priorities, and operating practices and requirements.
•  Public Sector: Ability to participate and constructively contribute in meetings with mid-level government officials on the constraints to private sector investment in the Philippines.
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to describe complex issues, approaches, and lessons in a relevant and understandable manner to clients/stakeholders.
•  Ability to comment effectively on documents, develop junior staff as writers, and lead the writing process of business-specific documents.
•  Ensure final products are aligned with the needs and expectations of intended audiences.
•  Able to clearly articulate IFC’s requirements, value-add, financial and non-financial risks, development impact, and sustainability measurement in a way relevant to and understandable by clients and stakeholders.
•  Ability to guide, advise, mentor, and coach junior staff and peers to develop and broaden their scope of skills, including providing on-the-job learning opportunities.
•  Proactively seek input from peers and leaders to deliver objectives and identify where to eliminate delivery roadblocks.

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.

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