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.

Private sector financial development is essential to the promotion of successful and sustainable economies in low and middle-income countries around the world. Sound and efficient financial markets can ensure that resources are allocated where they are most productive, assisting job creation and spurring economic growth. IFC’s goal is to prioritize investment in the financial sector because it promotes development in all other sectors.

The Financial Institution Group (FIG) is one of IFC’s key Departments responsible for a significant portion of IFC’s business volume, profitability, and development reach, approximately 40%. FIG engages in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, and other areas, with both Investment and Advisory/Upstream services.

The FIG’s Latin America and the Caribbean team (FIG LAC) is based across the LAC region with main hubs and locations in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. The team members work on both new business development and processing, and portfolio management across the region.

FIG LAC Regional Industry Team is seeking an Operations Officer with significant market and industry experience to help grow and develop its business and oversee portfolio in LAC. The position will be based in Panama City, Panama.

ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES:

•  Actively participate in identifying and creating FIG market opportunities to help formulate both investment and advisory strategies to pursue these opportunities, in coordination with the IS and country teams.
•  Actively participate in the scoping, business development, and design of innovative FIG AS/US projects, leveraging IFC’s Regional and Global Technical Experts in topics related to financial inclusion (gender, MSME and agrifinance), climate and digital finance.
•  Develop and contribute to top quality client appraisal reports, client project proposals, donor reports and internal project documentation such as Implementation Plans, Project Supervision and Completion Reports.
•  Negotiate project scope, targets, work plan details and legal agreements with clients, and provide inputs to the investment negotiations with clients wherever needed.
•  Actively participate in the implementation of FIG AS/US projects, taking on both project management as well as technical roles to provide the best possible high-quality service and value to IFC clients in an effective and timely manner.
•  Identify appropriate consultants for advisory/upstream assignments, from drafting terms of reference to taking part in the evaluation and selection of proposals.
•  Work closely with the Results Measurement team to develop indicators and tools that collect the necessary data for evaluating the impact of the projects, to ensure high quality Development Effective (DE) and AIMM ratings.
•  Monitor the progress and impact of projects through regular reporting and evaluation of consultants and project performance.
•  Ensure close and effective collaboration with FIG IS, Global Technical Teams, Regional and Country Managers, and other relevant IFC divisions.
•  Ensure knowledge sharing; prepare presentations and communication materials to disseminate results and accomplishments. Represent IFC in selected regional conferences, workshops, and training seminars.

•  Lead structuring of moderately complex investment or advisory transactions incorporating lessons of project evaluations and portfolio management experience. Ensure timely processing, thorough due diligence and client satisfaction.

•  Maintain relationships with clients and other stakeholders (government, development partners, WBG) who are at a level where they can influentially participate in developing immediate and future business opportunities.
•  Participate as part of teams led by senior investment officers in putting together sector interventions and client engagement plans for IFC’s strategic and top tier clients to develop new IFC investment opportunities.

Selection Criteria

•  Master’s degree in a related field and at least 8 years of relevant experience. Related fields of education include business, finance, or economics or an area of expertise specific to a sector, subject matter, or industry specialty. Relevant experience includes a proven track record in project management consulting or investment banking, and operational experience in the sector or technical or professional field. Relevant experience in topics related to diversity and financial inclusion (gender, MSME and agrifinance), climate and digital finance.
•  Capacity to understand, enable, and participate in market creation opportunities for multiple countries at various levels of market sophistication, 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 WBG in new markets.
•  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.
•  Ability to build long-term engagement with clients and credibility by demonstrating knowledge of clients’ business, sector, and culture; maintain an ongoing dialogue on business needs, operations, and strategies as well as opportunities for strategically aligned business deals.
•  Ability to maintain client engagement during portfolio stage to identify growth opportunities, address emerging problems, and focus on actions that promote sustainability and ensure that overall development impact objectives are met.
•  Ability to convince clients to embrace new development goals and paths, gain corporate priority, and build sponsors within the client structure.
•  Ability to build long-term engagement with sophisticated and less sophisticated clients in middle income and low-income LAC countries.
•  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.
•  IFC/WBG: Clear understanding of IFC’s products and instruments to identify opportunities for cross-business line collaboration.
•  Public Sector: Ability to participate and constructively contribute in meetings with mid-level government officials on constraints to private sector investment in their countries.
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skill. Ability to describe complex issues, approaches, and lessons in a manner that is relevant and understandable to clients/stakeholders.
•  Excellent conceptual and solution design skills to assess business operations, formulate innovative recommendations for improving performance, and successfully implement those recommendations with clients.
•  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.
•  Excellent understanding of strategic sectors within an industry group, industry drivers, latest trends and changes, and standard market transaction arrangements; particularly related to the gender, climate and agrifinance industries. Excellent ability to convey market best practices to existing and potential clients.
•  Market recognition as expert in the gender or climate finance field, and proven track record of speaking at events and conferences to share knowledge and expertise.
•  Ability to review the financial analytical work performed by team members for moderately complex transactions based on in-depth analytical and financial modeling skills and experience to know what to look for in efficiently ensuring quality control and directing the appropriate analysis to understand risk factors in a project
•  Build advanced structuring expertise for moderately complex investment or advisory transaction based on experience with diverse IFC financial instruments, a range of clients in different countries, and projects with different complexity factors.

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.