ย
ย Description
IFCโa member of the World Bank Groupโis 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 in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises.ย For more information, visitย www.ifc.org.
IFC has embarked on an ambitious new growth strategy (IFC 3.0) to business develop and stimulate more investment activity. This strategy calls for generating unique opportunities by proactively working โUpstreamโ to create, deepen, and expand markets and to imagine, design and implement investment projects. It requires taking a systematic approach to understanding the regulatory and sector bottlenecks that prevent the flow of private capital into productive investment in our member countries and addressing these bottlenecks through World Bank Group engagement on policy reforms and programmatic interventions at the country and sector level.
IFCโs Infrastructure Department is looking to hire an Investment Officer to join IFCโs infrastructure investment team covering primarily the MCT Region (Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan). The selected candidate will be based in Karachi, or Amman and will be an integral part of the investment team working across the business cycle (business development, โupstreamโ, new investments, and portfolio), but with a focus on business development, processing and managing IFCโs investments throughout the life of IFCโs investments.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The role and responsibilities of the position will include but not be limited to the following:ย
โขย Help develop and implement, in consultation with the IFCโs regional and industry teams, an integrated investment and advisory/upstream strategy that will enhance IFCโs engagement on priority sectors such as infrastructure, agribusiness and manufacturing.
โขย Help develop a strong pipeline of investment and advisory opportunities by following market trends, employing sector and country knowledge, and using market intelligence.
โขย Contribute to drafting strategies with a focus on real sectors and help develop and execute effective implementation plans.
โขย Proactively engage with clients with a focus on demonstrating and delivering IFCโs value-add, optimizing risk-return profile and development impact of IFCโs investments as well as exploring future business possibilities.
โขย Cultivate and maintain senior level relationships with key real sector public and private sector stakeholders in Pakistan. Participate in putting together sector interventions and client engagement plans for IFCโs strategic clients.
โขย Keep abreast of macro-economic developments that can impact IFCโs activities in Pakistan and provide regular inputs to regional and industry teams. Gather market intelligence, analyze strategically important portfolio trends, and emerging risks and opportunities.
โขย Provide business intelligence to investment teams to enable them to identify integrity issues, devise appropriate investment structuring, and to inform them adequately in the management of portfolio projects.
โขย Help develop innovative and appropriate financial structures for complex transactions. Participate in structuring of moderately complex investment or advisory transactions incorporating lessons of project evaluations and portfolio management experience.
โขย Actively participate in negotiation/documentation teams; use strong negotiation skills to develop solutions and overcome impasses in new business and portfolio transactions.
โขย Help perform credit risk rating assessments, covenant compliance reviews, and development impact assessment. Review the quality of portfolio review work performed by more junior staff.
โขย Collect insights and lessons learned from IFCโs portfolio experiences, connect trends from different areas of the business and portfolio, ensure portfolio experience and perspective is fed into strategy development and make recommendations on how these could improve business development and transaction structuring.
โขย Collaborate closely with IBRD colleagues and other IFIs working in relevant sectors and help develop and implement joint sector engagement strategies.
โขย Provide strategic input into โupstreamโ initiatives that create, deepen, and expand markets, and require the imagination, design and implementation of investment projects.
โขย Coordinate closely with global colleagues, social, environmental, and technical assistance colleagues to add value to our clients' businesses, find pragmatic solutions to the specific sector challenges, and achieve sustainable development impact.
โขย Mentor and coach more junior team members and help provide leadership in actively managing the portfolio and client relationships.
Selection Criteria
โขย Master's degree or equivalent professional qualification in Business, Finance, Economics, or another relevant field.
โขย At least eight years of relevant experience in infrastructure project investment and financing activities.
โขย Prior working experience in Pakistan and IFC/World Bank operational countries in the MCT Region (Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
โขย Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of potential clients, financial and technical partners as well as senior government officials. Prior experience of working with IBRD and MIGA will be a plus.
โขย Genuine commitment to development and to the World Bank Group and IFC's mission, strategy and values.
โขย Understanding of IFCโs strategic priorities and changing business model against the backdrop of IFCโs 3.0 strategy.
โขย Capacity to innovate and challenge the status quo. Proven track-record of sourcing, structuring and closing investments in real sectors.
โขย Strong understanding of infrastructure sectors, such as power, transportation, utilities, natural resources, telecoms, and technology.
โขย Strong business development, asset management and client relationship skills demonstrated by track record and ability to focus on clientsโ needs effectively.
โขย Sound business judgment in identifying potential business partners.
โขย Experience across a number of financial products, including project finance, corporate debt, and equity a plus.
โขย Excellent people skills, openness to feedback, new ideas, and ability to guide, and motivate others.
โขย Strong inter-personal skills, ability to interact effectively with clients and colleagues from various cultural backgrounds.
โขย Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English are required; fluency in other languages such as Urdu, or Arabic is a plus.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
Learn more about working at theย World Bankย andย IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.