Principal Investment Officer at World Bank Group

DUTIES AND RESPOSIBILTIES:

The Sector lead, PIO will work closely with colleagues in the region and in Washington, DC, on sector strategy, business development, transaction execution, portfolio supervision, and client relationship management. The responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Lead the TRP business in Africa by deepening the strategic approach across the different sub sectors and in alignment with the overall strategies in Africa and countries across the continent in close collaboration with the team and across relevant WBG units.
• Work closely with the regional hub leads of the MAS team to jointly develop a strong business pipeline.
• Support the team in developing strong relationships with key counterparts in the private and public sector as well as development partners and manage key strategic TRP client relationships.
• Proactively identify potential investment partners and opportunities based on industry experience, reputation, market potential, financial capability, and strategic fit. 
• Assess the attractiveness of specific investment opportunities with a strong focus on credit quality and development impact and make recommendations to IFC’s management in order to build an overall strong TRP portfolio in Africa. Periodic knowledge management sessions to develop team capacity in assessing TRP opportunities.
• Execute loan, equity, and mezzanine financings including processing mandates, conduct due diligence, structuring deals, negotiate terms and documentation, arrange syndications, and process internal approvals. 
• Work closely with IFC’s specialists to manage environmental, social, technical, legal, insurance, corporate governance, and other risks in projects and champion IFC’s sustainability offerings to clients. 
• Monitor clients’ compliance with the terms of investment agreements, prepare timely supervision reports, identify early warning signs, and, when necessary, formulate/implement strategies for work-outs, restructurings or rescheduling. 
• Provide high quality client service throughout the project cycle from transaction sourcing and processing to supervision.
• Supervise and mentor more junior colleagues.

Selection Criteria

• MBA, Master’s degree in Finance or equivalent.
• At least [12-15] years of work experience for a major commercial or investment bank with significant emerging markets presence, an international financial institution, or a private equity firm.
• Experience in investment transaction, with proven success in developing client relationships as well as sourcing, negotiating, structuring and closing quality investments and strong knowledge and prior experience in the tourism, retail and property sectors.
• Knowledge of and experience in emerging markets a plus (particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa).
• Strong business judgment in identifying potential business partners.
• Strong financial and credit skills; sound business judgment and demonstrated ability to structure a variety of financial instruments (debt and equity).
• Client relationship skills, track record and ability to focus on client needs effectively.
• Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of clients, financial and technical partners as well as senior government officials.
• Strong people management, interpersonal and leadership skills, ability to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries and to build networks across the region, including the ability to mentor and coach others to achieve results.
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and time management skills.
• Proven ability to work independently and deliver promptly and efficiently under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Willingness to travel extensively and geographic flexibility.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.  Fluency in other languages, particularly French, Arabic, Portuguese, a plus.