Industry Specialist at World Bank Group

Job #: req7280

Grade: GG

Term Duration: 3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s): French

Closing Date: 5/25/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is full of meaning and impact? The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities where they are needed most. Visit www.ifc.org

IFC's Disruptive Technologies and Funds Group (CDF) invests in private sector companies globally and has a track record of successful investments in private equity and venture capital: investing and co-investing alongside growth equity, SME-focused funds (SME Ventures) and venture capital funds, directly investing in technology companies and startups across many sub-verticals, and investing in accelerators (Startup Catalyst). IFC is unique for both its regional and global prospective on the venture capital and private equity space, long-term approach to investments, ability to leverage the resources of the entire World Bank Group, as well as its commitment to maximizing the value of its portfolio companies through sustained assistance. IFC seeks to create impact across all aspects of the private equity and venture capital industry and has worked with the private equity industry to develop the impact investment principles.

CDF’s SME Ventures program is a funds investment program and is designed to increase the availability of risk capital to SMEs in emerging markets through strong locally-based fund managers. SME Ventures’ aims to support in the value creation activities of the fund managers including support to: i) fund manager skills and systems; ii) value addition to the investees of the funds; and iii) governance, environmental and social compliance.

CDF is seeking a Value Creation Specialist with a global focus to be based in Nairobi, Kenya to deliver in depth operational support to the fund managers and portfolio companies. The role is expected to assist the fund managers deliver portfolio performance through significant value creation for the portfolio companies. Ultimately resulting in sustainable commercial returns for the fund and growth of the portfolio companies. The position will report to the Global Head of SME Ventures and work closely with the global investment and advisory team.

Duties And Accountabilities (include But Not Limited To)

• Be the global value creation specialist to work with SME ventures funds and fund investees to identify, assess and prioritize operational improvement activities and help the fund manager in the development of value creation plans
• Focus on building value through operation improvements (supply chain, organization structure, pricing, sales strategy, etc.) at the investees and at the fund management institutions
• Work with both fund manager and the CEOs of the investees on operational issues to enable enhanced speed of delivery; access to specialist functional expertise; and instill best practice business processes, impact principles and operations that might be familiar to larger companies but less so in the SME market
• Design and structure value addition activities that lead to increased profitability of the fund portfolio companies;
• Coordinate a platform of fund manager and expertise networks to enable rapid solution sharing and performance recommendations for portfolio growth.
• Lead the administration of, assessment and reporting of performance improvements and development impact resulting from the portfolio value addition activities including monitoring progress against KPIs and preparing regular reports aggregating at: i) fund; ii) sector; and iii) investee level.
• Apply operational expertise in evaluating projects (i.e. investments or advisory engagements), providing advice to teams as required (including some in challenging markets such as FCS) and produce clear and comprehensive assessments
• 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 in particular and SMEs at large, and engage with internal and external stakeholders to lead discussions and provide recommendations on investment needs and operational strategies;
• Help define and support Upstream initiatives related to value creation;
• Leverage industry expertise to actively support early stage project development (Creating Markets), especially in markets with nascent or challenging regulatory environment;
• Represent IFC at select external industry events and build global relationships with external experts;
• Mentor and coach less-experienced staff and help build talent and grow skill base of staff.
   

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree, MBA or PhD in industrial engineering/operations research/operations management/optimization degree or similar relevant education;
• Experience in an operations/operations improvement role at a company, at a management consulting firm or in a value creation/operational role at a private equity fund. (8-12 years)
• 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
• Strong communication skills, including the soft skills needed to influence and garner trust from CEOs
• 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
• Proven track record of publishing insightful analysis and reports in operational and process improvements;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving 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;
• Capacity to deal with conflicting priorities and deliver high quality work on schedule; facility to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries;
• Highly motivated and proactive; committed to highest ethical standards;
• Interest in the World Bank Group and IFC’s mission, strategy and values;
• Fluency in English required; fluency in other languages are a plus.
• Willingness to travel extensively

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.