Operations Officer – GF

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 in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record US$43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

The Financial Institutions Group (FIG) is one of the major industry groups at IFC, responsible for approximately 40% of IFC’s overall business in terms of volume and capital at risk.  FIG engages in a wide range of thematic areas including MSME Finance, Gender Finance, Climate Finance, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, and others, supporting financial institutions with both investment and advisory/upstream services to provide much-needed access to finance for millions of individuals and enterprises that we would never be able to reach directly. 

FIG Upstream/Advisory in Asia Pacific, the unit where this job is based, leverages on IFC’s global presence, to drive thought leadership and deliver expert advice to our clients, mainly banks, NBFIs, Micro finance institutions and Fintechs, towards alleviating development challenges in our priority markets in the region.   

 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
FIG is looking to recruit an Operations Officer to that will be responsible for supporting the generation and implementation of advisory engagements primarily in the Philippines and in the East Asia Pacific region, with a key focus on SME Banking and Microfinance. 

The Operational Officer will report to the Philippines FIG Upstream and Advisory Country Anchor and will work closely with IFC staff in the Philippines and the FIG staff in the Asia Pacific region and globally. The main responsibility of this jobholder is to identify business opportunities and lead the design and delivery of advisory service projects that operationalize the WBG/IFC country strategy and regional priorities in promoting climate finance and financial inclusion in Asia Pacific, and contribute to knowledge building, sharing and capacity building. 

The jobholder should manage the FIG advisory projects throughout the project lifecycle, including pre-implementation phase to identify the right partner and design the project, implementation phase to deliver the service, and post-implementation phase to monitor the performance and close the project. The jobholder should also design the project budget and monitor the expense, mobilize resources including hiring the consultants and manage the project team. Moreover, the jobholder should also actively contribute and participate in initiatives to strengthen IFC brand and franchise in the Philippines and the region/ globally as a recognized knowledge leader in thematic areas of Financial Inclusion – SME Banking and Microfinance. Participating as speakers in key events and learning forums these thematic areas in the Asia and Pacific region and regionally contribute to advisory engagements in this space.

Duties and Accountabilities:
•  Contribute to drafting strategies for sectors, countries, or regions for business development in line with the IFC and WBG country strategy; and develop and execute strategies for assigned client engagements with the objective of building a robust investment or advisory pipeline.
•  Identify and generate new business opportunities and lead the structuring and design of upstream and advisory service projects that operationalize country and thematic mandates on Climate Change & Disaster Resilience, Financial Inclusion through Innovation with a focus on Digital and MSME Finance, Productive Agribusiness and Sustainable Banking and Capital Markets Development, incorporating lessons of project evaluations and portfolio management experience. Understand IFC and its core product areas and actively asses/ present solutions that deliver value to clients working in close coordination with investment and client relationship managers. 
•  Participate and support business development efforts in the Philippines in close coordination with the country investment teams and the global industry and regional FIG Upstream and Advisory Services (US/AS) team. Collaborate in the design, pitch and negotiation of client solutions. Lead in presenting and explaining the related advisory proposal to clients. 
•  Lead in executing and implementing the advisory projects and ensuring that all inputs and deliverables adhere to internal and client processes, ensuring impactful development results, with a focus on consistently high-quality delivery. Ensure high quality of project supervision and provide quality control over client deliverables. Support client in implementing recommendations and help trouble shoot as needed.  
•  Take a leading role in monitoring and assessing progress of strategic initiatives and recommending corrective action where necessary.
•  Develop and manage budgets for projects and be accountable for delivering against established business goals/ objectives. Negotiate project pricing with clients, prepare official pricing tool and pricing letter. 
•  Monitor the expenses and work with Finance team for accurate budget tracking and reporting. Work with Partnership team to identify donor support as needed. Manage waivers, amendments, and rescheduling, and help prepare restructuring memos for approval during life of project.
•  Mobilize and/or leverage cross regional leads, relevant upstream/ advisory staff and hire consultants with the requisite experience and expertise needed for business development and project delivery. Manage the project team and review the quality of the work completed on a regular basis to ensure that it meets project standards, quality delivery and client satisfaction, and is consistent with agreed terms. 
•  Assess and articulate the development impact and IFC additionality of moderately complex projects and transactions at the sector or subsector level. Engage with IFC economics team to build AIMM story including any market creation impact. Evaluate the outcomes of the program as established during the planning phase.
•  Demonstrate deep technical capability and professional knowledge of thematic areas of Financial Inclusion – Digital and MSME Finance – in a broad range of technical areas. Ability to articulate this in front of senior executives and members of the Board of Directors (BOD). 
•  Manage client expectations in terms of benefits and stay abreast of the current and latest emerging trends in business and industry trends that could have broad impact on a country or subsector portfolio.
•  Develop project management internal documents, including concept notes, implementation plans, project supervision reports, project completion reports, in an accurate, thorough, and timely manner. Prepare advisory committee materials focusing on strategic impact, financial and nonfinancial risk assessments and project design applying knowledge of risk appetite, policy and procedures and assessing exceptions where relevant. 
•  Develop long-term relationships and manage engagement plans with key local clients, and other stakeholders (government, industry associations, development partners, WBG) to identify and act on opportunities for developing immediate and future business opportunities and promote strategic partnerships on development agenda.
•  Supervise and conduct quality control over work performed by support staff and more junior upstream and advisory officers. 
•  Use networks to keep projects moving and collaborate with key internal stakeholders to obtain buy-in on projects and negotiate risk mitigation strategies.
•  Actively engage in discussions with FIG Investment and Operations Officers (and external partners, as needed) to to gather insights for lessons learned on important topics and to identify additional areas where lessons learned could improve business development and upstream advisory structuring. Maintain, develop and share expertise and identify opportunities for collaboration.
•  Actively contribute, both externally and internally, to knowledge management of IFC’s Advisory activities, including capture, development and dissemination of information and knowledge, best practices, solutions and project delivery tools in areas of expertise. 

 

Selection Criteria

The successful candidate should have relevant project management and financial technical experience with demonstratable expertise in climate finance and / or financial inclusion, in emerging markets. The required qualifications and skills are as below:  
•  At least a master’s degree, or equivalent professional qualification, in the field of business, banking, international finance, or preferably with a strong background in SME Banking and Microfinance. Additional certifications in related fields would be an advantage.
•  At least 8-10 years’ experience working with the financial sector. Having a role of leading a business unit or a team in a financial institution is a plus.
•  At least 6 years of senior level experience in banking – preferably in SME Banking and Microfinance. Possess sound knowledge of SME Banking and Microfinance and the operations of financial intermediaries.  
•  Track record in a leading role working with the different types of financial institutions and innovative digital challengers (such as fintech, digital-only bank). 
•  Should have a successful track record in a leading role in creating, launching and scaling SME Banking and Microfinance businesses; experience working in leading consulting firms is a plus.
•  Experience in a leading role in product development, especially in the space of digital banking and MSMEs products/ Climate Finance would be desirable.
•  Knowledge of policies, laws and regulations governing SME Banking and Microfinance specially in the Philippines, and generally in other countries would be an advantage.
•  Deep understanding of the financial industry and ability to link policy reforms, advisory interventions, investment, and mobilization to deliver solutions at a country level.
•  Experience in leading firm-wide corporate change management initiatives; showcase introducing, defining, and practicing agile methodologies in the organization, while ensuring that change control is executed through approved governance model of the organization.
•  Strong client engagement experience on climate finance and / or financial inclusion and ensure that overall development impact objectives are met.
•  Ability to think strategically, combined with excellent data driven decision making; excellent communication skills – ability to communicate ideas clearly, confidently, and credibly and influence others. 
•  Strong leadership and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively with and engage multiple stakeholders across matrixed business unit and external entities to work towards a common vision and facilitate consensus and decision making.  
•  Business and financial acumen to oversee and manage multiple complex projects with key clients while continuing to develop and manage a strong new business pipeline.

 

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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