Vacancies at World Bank Group

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

Innovative Transactions and Products:

• Identify and support the development of innovative gender and inclusion transactions and products, integrating cutting-edge gender and inclusion approaches into project design and advisory services.
• Design and implement scalable solutions and platforms like “Banking on Women” that can be replicated across markets, increasing the impact of IFC investments and advisory services toward the WBG Gender and Inclusion Strategy KPIs and Corporate Scorecard.
• Experiment with and test new investment structures, including using blended finance, aimed at promoting gender and economic inclusion in partnership with industry teams.
• Develop and implement pilot projects to assess the feasibility and impact of innovative investment and advisory delivery models.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to refine and scale gender and inclusion investment advisory structures.

Crowdsourcing and Co-Creation:

• Inform and lead select crowdsourcing and co-creation processes to identify and enable gender and inclusion-focused investment and advisory opportunities.
• Spot game-changing trends, technologies, and business models that can help bring gender and inclusion solutions to emerging markets.
• Conduct sector-specific data analysis and stress-testing of various operating models to help generate ideas for new projects, new products, and platform businesses, in collaboration with Thought Leadership Unit, Corporate Strategy, and industry departments.
• Enable investment transactions that intentionally seek to address social inequalities (including gender gaps) across debt and equity in emerging markets.
• Contribute to due diligence, financial analysis, risk assessments, project/facility structuring, and client/partner negotiations for potential investments, as relevant to innovation GEI solutions. 

Innovation Process and Solution Lifecycle Management:

• Oversee the development and management of innovation processes and create an agile environment that encourages entrepreneurial thinking and seeks creative programming.
• Foster collaboration across departments, especially industries, and ensure the efficient deployment of staffing and resources, with a rigorous selection of solutions to pursue.
• Oversee the lifecycle of Inclusive Capital projects from ideation to scaling, ensuring rigorous evaluation and refinement.
• Ensure successful implementation of flagship programs by managing project teams and maintaining high standards of quality.
• Incubate high-impact projects and initiatives that require upstream development before investment.

Strategic Development of Innovation Center:

• Work closely with the Principal Innovation Officer to develop and execute strategic initiatives that drive Innovation Center goals and metrics in line with WBG/IFC Gender KPIs and overall IFC business KPIs.
• Contribute to the development of policies and frameworks that support inclusive investment practices.
• Collaborate closely with thought leadership unit, especially the Data/Impact team to define pathways from research to solutions. 
• Collaborate closely with regional operations teams to identify pathways/destinations for innovation solutions.

Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration:

• Foster a culture of collaboration with internal and external partners, ensuring diverse participation in inclusive capital innovation initiatives.
• Monitor and support standard-setting activities, including gender-lens investing criteria and disclosure approaches, to ensure alignment with market best practices and new investment mechanisms.
• Collaborate with cross-industry teams to support gender and inclusion-related project execution and upskilling initiatives.
• Engage with regional and industry teams to incorporate their insights and ensure alignment with needs.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders, including clients, partners, and donors.

Knowledge Sharing and Upskilling:

• Facilitate knowledge flow across GEID, IFC and the World Bank Group, and promote the adoption of new approaches and best practices.
• Help build external recognition of IFC’s distinctive capabilities in innovation and gender and inclusion to catalyze a greater flow of investment and advisory opportunities in gender and inclusion.
• Mentor and support junior team members working on Innovation activities, providing guidance and expertise in investment transactions and innovative structures.
• Contribute to bespoke gender and inclusion-related training sessions and external events. 
• Facilitate the development of gender and inclusion-related case studies, tools, and publications to enhance institutional capacity on inclusive capital topics and best practices.

Resource Mobilization:

• Contribute to fundraising efforts to secure financial support for innovation projects and the innovation center operations, including concessional seed funding to stimulate market-moving solutions. 
• Allocate resources effectively, prioritizing initiatives with the highest potential impact on gender equality.

Monitoring and Evaluating Performance:

• Contribute to the development of Innovation Center performance metrics, value proposition and strategic communications to establish the unit under the guidance of Principal Innovation Officer. 
• Establish robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess the impact of inclusive capital innovation initiatives. 
• Use data and evidence to inform decision-making and improve program outcomes.
• Report on progress and impact on GEID Leadership Team, internal and external stakeholders.
• The selected candidate should be seasoned with in-depth investment and consulting experience working with the private sector and across institutional structures to deliver inclusive investment solutions. They routinely lead staff, initiatives, programs, projects, and integrate the work of others (often multi-disciplinary). They confidently deliver quality output and can work and inspire others with a sense of urgency. They can proficiently interact with companies’ senior management (and/or Boards of Directors), development partners and communicate with senior government counterparts and other organizations with confidence on the topic at hand.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in economics, finance, business, or other relevant discipline required.
• At least eight years of professional experience in private sector development in emerging markets with decision-making responsibility, ideally with a focus on gender and inclusion.
• At least 8 years of experience in investment structuring with strong financial analysis skills.  Understanding of different asset classes and investment strategies.  Strong experience with equity or equity-like instruments would be a plus.
• Experience designing advisory projects, including results frameworks to capture gender/inclusion outcomes and impacts.
• Broad experience across gender and economic inclusion topics with the demonstrated ability to engage with credibility and confidence.
• Proven track record in developing, successfully implementing, and scaling high-impact initiatives.
• Strong experience in emerging markets in at least one region; additional experience or exposure to emerging markets in other region(s) would be a plus.

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Specific Duties and Accountabilities 

• Early Screening, Due Diligence, Portfolio
• Lead and assess complex social issues/risks in new and portfolio investments, advisory and upstream engagements related to stakeholder engagement, labor and working conditions, gender concerns, land acquisition and involuntary resettlement, community health and safety, security,  Indigenous Peoples issues and cultural heritage, and tailor risk management and mitigation measures and solutions to support clients in addressing identified issues; 
• Provide clear technical advice and guidance on social aspects in accordance with the IFC Performance Standards requirements while effectively working with IFC industry teams in project decision-making and proposing practical solutions in light of social risk issues, including clear communication to internal and external stakeholders throughout the investment cycle, determination of social legal conditions for the project legal agreement, public disclosure, etc.;
• Proactively monitor portfolio clients that require significant support in social performance and engage with clients to develop a pathway to achieve compliance over time;
• Contribute to portfolio reviews on selected social risk and social development issues while flagging key issues and risks emerging in the region;
• Closely work with E&S Policy and Risk Teams on project reviews and addressing social issues in line with IFC requirements; 
• Coordinate with the stakeholder grievance response teams, in responding and tracking project grievances as well as engaging with civil society organizations (CSOs);
• Support portfolio teams and clients in response to CAO (Compliance Advisor Ombudsman - the independent accountability mechanism for IFC) and Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) requests, leading discussion with CAO and IEG officers; and
• Develop and build relations within IFC and with clients and contribute to supporting new investments as well as building capacity with clients on social risks and related issues to the IFC Performance Standards.
• Upstream and Advisory Services
• Identify, assess and guide key social risk aspects existing at the market and client level in order to unlock future investments and address them early on as part of project development;
• Participate in strategic decision making regarding IFC role in advisory and upstream support to enhance social risk management performance and, where relevant, support the development of appropriate solutions; and
• Work proactively to identify opportunities for advisory engagements that result in greater development impact and value for the client and provide expert input into new IFC advisory and upstream offering. 
• Stakeholder Management
• Manage complex technical, institutional and program implementation issues regarding social risk management and enhance operational support while leading the pertinent dialogue with internal and external stakeholders; and
• Lead and guide the management and ongoing dialogue with civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in requesting information, raising concerns and providing training on the implementation of IFC Performance Standards in IFC investment projects.
• Knowledge Management
• Lead and participate in cross-regional and global teams responsible for the preparation of policy interpretation notes on social topics and contribute to the corporate knowledge base by analyzing and disseminating lessons learned and emerging social issues in the Africa region;
• Identify and participate in forums or conferences to showcase IFC experience, approach and value proposition, which includes serving as a panelist or moderator for internal and external events related to thematic area; and
• Prepare management briefs of relevant regional social issues as needed.
• Supervision and Support
• Provide guidance to more junior staff and Short-Term Consultants (STCs) working on social risk management and supervise the timeliness and quality of their work, in coordination with the Regional ESG Manager.

Selection Criteria

• Minimum of a Post-graduate/Master’s degree in social sciences, anthropology, sociology or other related relevant discipline;
• Minimum of 12 years of proven experience working on social due diligence in the international context, with strong preference for experience in the private sector working across different industries (for example, agribusiness, infrastructure, manufacturing and services, etc.);
• Proven track record working in developing and implementing risk management measures in accordance with the social aspects of the IFC Performance Standards, other international financial institutions and/or World Bank Group E&S Policies and Standards;
• Demonstrated experience working on social issues related to stakeholder engagement, labor and working conditions, land acquisition and resettlement, indigenous peoples, cultural heritage, community health and safety, security and influx;
• Working experience in emerging markets and a good understanding of the context and dynamics of the Africa region, experience working in fragile and conflict environments is an added advantage;
• Willingness to travel regularly to countries and remote areas in the Africa region;
• Experience of mentoring and guiding junior staff and consultants on social risk management, identifying key issues, clearly establishing social requirements throughout the project cycle, and advising on the application of the IFC Performance Standards to the realities of each of the projects and the environment in which they operate;
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English are essential.  Additional language skills relevant to the region(s) of interest (e.g. French) are advantageous;
• Pragmatic, solution-oriented, problem solver with a high degree of responsiveness and proactivity with demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances, organize and prioritize deliverables, and maintain attention to detail while managing multiple tasks under tight deadlines;
• Excellent interpersonal, listening, communication and presentation skills including the ability to relate well with a wide range of internal and external parties (including senior staff, management, IFC’s accountability mechanism and clients) and seek solutions in potentially tense or conflict situations with ability to influence and negotiate within teams and with clients;
• Experience in working effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team, influence and negotiate point of view within teams; and, 
• High personal integrity and emotional intelligence, with demonstrated ability to handle sensitive matters in a discreet and respectful manner, diplomatic approach and calm under pressure.