Industry Specialist at International Finance Corporation (IFC)

IFC is seeking an Industry Specialist as the Value Creation Specialist for the CDF team, with a primary focus on the SME Ventures Program to be based at IFC’s Nairobi, Kenya office. The successful candidate will work across all geographies where CDF invests. The role assists IFC investees to strengthen GP and portfolio company capabilities, ultimately resulting in sustainable, commercial returns for the funds and growth of their portfolio companies. The role includes implementing the SME Ventures advisory strategy and the value creation initiatives for SME funds, supporting the development of nascent private capital markets, developing relevant IFC corporate initiatives, partnerships, and engagements to enhance IFC’s strategic position in the SME financing space in IDA-PSW countries, and working closely with the broader CDF and relevant IFC teams. 

S/he will be based in Nairobi, Kenya and will report to the Lead of the SME Ventures Program.  

Duties and Responsibilities

This is a dynamic role that requires a high-level of interest in private equity, international business, operations, emerging markets, and development impact. Responsibilities of a Value Creation Specialist include, but are not limited to:

• Apply operational expertise in evaluating projects (i.e., investments or advisory engagements), providing advice to teams as required (including some in challenging frontier markets) and producing clear and comprehensive assessments of how to support fund managers and companies;
• Work with select IFC invested fund managers and companies to design, structure, and execute value addition plans that lead to increased profitability of funds’ portfolio companies and ability for fund managers to successfully exit these companies; 
• Guide select IFC invested fund managers and companies on how to identify, assess and prioritize operational improvement activities;
• Create and run relevant programming for IFC invested fund managers and companies to teach them how to become better at identifying and driving value creation; 
• Identify and incorporate global operating best practices into engagements with local SMEs; 
• Coordinate a platform of sector and function expert networks to enable rapid solution sharing and performance recommendations for fund managers’ portfolio companies; 
• Oversee the implementation of technical assistance with SME Ventures fund managers;
• Lead the assessment and reporting of performance improvements and development impact resulting from the value addition activities driven by technical assistance including monitoring progress against KPIs and preparing regular reports at the fund and investee level;
• Proactively convene stakeholders, form partnerships, and connect expertise from investment and advisory staff, industry specialists, and other external parties to enable delivery of value addition activities;
• Actively monitor market trends in operational support to private equity investees and SMEs at large, and engage with internal and external stakeholders to lead discussions and provide recommendations on fund managers’ needs and operational strategies;
• Analyze macroeconomic data, corporate financial data, and other industry information to identify and monitor issues that may affect IFC’s investments and recommend actions where necessary;
• Support the identification of market creation and deepening initiatives to foster private capital markets and SME investing in relevant frontier markets in alignment with country, sector, and IDA-PSW strategies; and
• Represent IFC at select external industry events and build global relationships with external experts.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree or MBA in operations management or similar relevant focus, from leading international institutions preferred;
• 8-12 years’ work experience of which at least 5-8 years is in an operations role at a company, at a management consulting firm, or in a value creation/operational role at a private equity fund;
• Proven track record of unlocking company value through implementing viable commercial growth strategies, instituting operational controls, implementing impact strategies, and maximizing business efficiency;
• Ability to quickly understand the primary drivers of a variety of businesses, diagnose problems, and think through solutions, in a context of private equity investing;
• Extensive experience and familiarity working with/in SMEs in frontier markets to drive operational improvements and value creation;
• Proven knowledge of the private equity landscape in emerging markets;
• Strong communication skills, including the soft skills needed to influence and garner trust from CEOs;
• Experience in private equity portfolio management, including facilitation of exits, with prior experience as an investee company board director a plus;
• Ability to listen to and interact effectively with clients and colleagues from various cultural backgrounds;
• Experience working with both public and private sectors, with extensive experience in emerging markets strongly preferred;
• Experience implementing advisory work, including managing budgets of advisory services, developing and tracking metrics to assess the effectiveness of advisory services, and overseeing reporting and audit requirements for advisory projects;
• Proven track record of publishing insightful analysis and reports in operational and process improvements;
• Strong organizational skills with an ability to work under time pressure, deal with conflicting priorities, and respond to ad-hoc shifts in client priorities, unstructured situations and unexpected events while maintaining order and delivery;
• Ability to work successfully in a matrix organizational structure and lead and motivate a multicultural team across geographies; 
• Strong analytical, financial, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills and sound business judgment to identify issues and present creative and practical solutions; 
• Strong client service orientation with an openness to feedback and new ideas;
• Fluency in English required and fluency in other languages a plus;
• Interest in the World Bank Group and IFC’s mission, strategy and values; and
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively and work across time zones.