(Associate) Operations Officer - Gender Inclusion in Employment

(Associate) Operations Officer - Gender Inclusion in Employment Job #: req33079 Organization: IFC Sector: Advisory Services Grade: GF Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Lagos,Nigeria Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 5/22/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

 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. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. 
Gender is a cross-cutting corporate priority for IFC, as highlighted in the World Bank Group’s Gender Strategy. Gender equality is not only a social and moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. Across the world, countries are losing $160 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between women and men.
IFC’s Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services (MAS) department covers sectors which cater to basic human needs such as food, shelter, jobs, and health and education. They play a critical role in providing goods and services to consumers, create jobs, contribute to government revenue, and stimulate growth through SMEs. The MAS department of IFC also offers advisory services to help clients improve sustainability and productivity in agricultural supply chains. 
MAS’ work on Gender Inclusion in Employment is designed to support to clients who seek gender-smart solutions to workplace management challenges, or who are interested in improving their performance in recruiting, retaining and promoting women as employees so as to achieve the business case benefits associated with investing in gender equality in the workplace. For example, the Women’s Employment Program, Workforce and Labor & Hotels programs have provided MAS clients with preliminary employment assessments and support to strengthen their women’s policies and practices, drawing on the extensive experience base in IFC and good practice elsewhere.  These advisory programs will also provide clients with further customized advisory and support to obtain international gender certifications. In doing so, the programs will generate additional empirical evidence for the business case for gender and inclusive workplaces and employment practices, which will also be compiled and disseminated as part of the program’s operations. Since its inception in 2017, MAS’ gender programs have been successful at increasing client interest in corporate gender assessments. Based on increasing client demand and workplace adaptations to post-pandemic operations, clients are seeking new assessments and advisory solutions.
MAS has also been implementing solutions for Women in Agricultural Value Chains since 2012. This initiative has benefitted more than 500,000 farmers, producers, and SMEs globally through gender mappings and thoughtful gender integration into IFC’s agribusiness advisory solutions.  MAS Gender continues to evolve by exploring, adapting, or creating new tools such as Rapid Corporate Gender Assessments for Agribusiness clients, Gender Equality and Returns (GEAR) for Agribusiness Clients, Gender in Education, Employability, regional gender initiatives and others.
MAS is seeking an experienced Associate Operations Officer/Operations Officer to expand and scale its work on gender in the private sector, specifically through employment and inclusive workplaces, agricultural value chains, entrepreneurship/ women-led SMEs, education, employability, and client service delivery. The scope of the role includes research and thought leadership; delivery of high-quality gender advisory delivery to private sector clients, peer learning and partnerships; corporate support and capacity building; project management including reporting and fundraising; and knowledge management and communications.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Corporate Strategy & Program Management:•   Support the implementation department’s Gender Strategy by collaborating with GEIG, IOs and other colleagues and MAS team members.•   Ensure adequate Gender Flagging and quality gender integration into project documentation such as Concept Notes, Implementation Plans, Board Papers, Anticipated Impact Measurement and Monitoring (AIMM) system reviews and communications publications.•   Monitor the Corporate Gender KPIs, prepare quarterly gender flagging reports, manage the quality of gender flagging across MAS pipeline and portfolio and other reporting as needed. •   Create tools, resources and trainings to support MAS strategic gender initiatives, including support to MAS Investment Services, Upstream and Advisory project teams on gender flagging and quality delivery. As required, review project documentation (Board papers, concept notes, Implementation plans, etc.) to provide input on the gender flag to project teams. •   Ensure projects move smoothly through the project cycle, including compliance with WBG internal systems, Upstream-Advisory project governance, iPortal, IBIS, legal documentation, and compliance with all procurement processes and financial reporting•   Monitor, measure and report on project results using IFC reporting systems (iPortal), track performance indicators against targets, and support the program lead in producing periodic project supervision reports and donor reports.•   Support initiatives to strengthen the business case for gender smart solutions, in collaboration with GEIG and Results Measurement teams. •   Support program leads in the development of new tools and gender advisory solutions in new sectors (e.g., Education) and as per client and project needs, as well as to maintain and update existing gender tools as required. •   Collaborate with other IFC and WBG colleagues (i.e., other department Gender teams, Results Measurement, Communications, client relationship managers, project/country teams, global specialists) for innovation and program success.•   Liaise with support departments such as Legal and Environment & Social to ensure projects adhere to IFC’s policies and standards•   Monitor the work plan, budget, human resources, timeline, and deliverables.
Client Advisory Delivery:
•   Design and deliver corporate gender workforce diagnostics, peer learning initiatives and activities, customized advisory solutions, and other Gender advisory support to MAS clients in collaboration with other team members for Workforce, Labor & Hotels, agribusiness clients and other programs that may be developed.  •   Develop and adapt tools for delivery to other MAS Advisory, Upstream and Investment clients, such as Agribusiness, Education, Employability and others, as needed.•   Conduct business development efforts in partnership with Investment, Advisory, Upstream and Gender and Economic Inclusion Group teams and other colleagues.•   Coordinate regional delivery with STCs and other colleagues, as needed.
Research, Innovation & Thought Leadership:
•   Help expand MAS Gender team’s thought leadership and strategy beyond gender to include research, client needs, guidance and project delivery on Intersectionality (LGBTQ, Race, Disability) and Gender-Based Violence in collaboration with the Gender and Economic Inclusion Group and in line with growing client interest and demand.•   Support the development of new advisory initiatives in Gender.•   Collaborate on new and innovative research with colleagues across IFC, World Bank, research firms, and other implementing partners to highlight the business case and good practices for gender in the private sector as needed.•   Coordinate initiatives to continue to build the business case evidence and capture development impact of gender advisory to individual clients, in partnership with Results Measurement.
Communications & Knowledge Management:
•   Maintain and prepare presentations, pitchbooks, case studies, webinar materials, press releases and other marketing materials, in collaboration with Communications colleagues, ETCs and STCs.•   Oversee the development of specific learning materials, reports, case studies, BBLs and internal training initiatives. •   Systematically consolidate and analyze lessons learned from project implementation experience and share with team members and colleagues across IFC. •   Support with event organization, including logistics and administration.

Selection Criteria

•   Master’s degree in international development, Gender Studies, Economics, or Business Administration.•   At least 5 years of work experience delivering gender analysis, gender-smart solutions private sector gender equality and/or women’s employment required context in several emerging markets.•   Proven track record of managing projects with and delivering evidence-based, innovative solutions to private sector companies is required.•   Proven ability to design and implement gender engagements for private sector clients and experience in translating analytical work into policy advice and recommendations required.•   Strong project management skills with proven ability to support execution of projects, management of resources and delivery against timelines. •   Ability to develop research, innovative solutions and communications on gender issues in employment (strategy development implementation, childcare, gender-based violence, recruitment), employability (school to work transition), digital solutions and other areas.•   Demonstrated ability to manage teams and collaborate in matrix organizations.•   Strong ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend solutions.•   Ability to work effectively under time pressure with high capacity to produce quality work.•   Excellent communication skills in English, proficiency in French and/or Portuguese preferred•   Highly collaborative, curious, innovative and entrepreneurial while flexibly able to adapt to working in a large development financing institution. •   Familiarity with WBG and IFC processes, systems, and initiatives is preferred.•   Ability to travel and work across time zones required.•   Highly collaborative, curious, innovative, and entrepreneurial while flexibly able to adapt to working in a large development financing institution.•   Strong interpersonal skills demonstrated ability to lead, expert capacity to leverage internal and external relationships to foster innovation and work effectively across boundaries in a fast-paced multicultural and virtual environment.