Operations Officer - Environment and Social / Upstream Advisory

Operations Officer - Environment and Social / Upstream Advisory Job #: req34436 Organization: IFC Sector: Environment Grade: GF Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: New Delhi,India; Colombo,Sri Lanka; Nepal,Kathmandu Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 10/20/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Build a career with impact. Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) provides a unique opportunity to help countries solve their greatest development challenges. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, the WBG is a unique partnership of five global institutions dedicated to ending poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the WBG works with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.
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. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2025, IFC committed a record $71.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions, and mobilizing private capital to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
IFC’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory activities include offers a range of expertise to help IFC’s Investment and Advisory clients identify and solve complex ESG risk-related challenges, and to find value-added opportunities in their business operations. Through our experts, we deliver to our clients by: (i) partnering with IFC’s investment departments to manage ESG risks associated with their investments and find solutions to client issues and (ii) leveraging our ESG expertise and operational experience in emerging markets to maintain IFC’s leadership in sustainability through ESG standards – the Environmental and Social (E&S) Performance Standards (www.ifc.org/performance standards) and the Corporate Governance Methodology (www.ifc.org/corporate governance) – and to encourage the effective adoption of these standards by companies and investors across the emerging markets. IFC’s standards have been widely adopted in emerging markets by development banks, project finance banks (www.equator-principles.com), and export credit agencies such that over the last decade US$4.5 trillion have been invested adhering to them.
IFC’s ESG Upstream and Advisory programs lead projects in South Asia and East Asia Pacific (EAP) and works inside our industry led teams advancing ESG at regulatory, market, financial intermediary, and real sector firm levels. For more details www.ifc.org/sustainability.
The position will report to the ESG Regional Manager for South Asia and be supervised by the Senior ESG Advisory Lead for South Asia and East Asia Pacific. The position will focus on South Asia but will also support projects in EAP.
Roles and Responsibilities
Upstream / Advisory Delivery •   Lead or contribute to ESG Upstream and Advisory projects.•   Lead or contribute to the assessment of environmental and social risks, management of these risks and identification of solutions through upstream and advisory.•   Define tailored measures to manage the identified E&S risks and value-added solutions for the upstream and advisory projects and formulate E&S input throughout the project cycle.•   Develop new concept notes, implementation plans, project supervision reports and project completion report as required.•    Coordinate E&S firm level consultants and/or individuals as needed to successfully implement the projects.•   Provide capacity-building training courses for clients or groups of clients including consultants to build their expertise in the IFC Performance Standards and various E&S thematic areas.•   Develop and maintain relationships with project clients including governments, market associations, financial institutions, and corporates.•   Prepare draft Terms of Reference, select, and oversee quality of project outputs.•   Produce project case studies highlighting the business case for action, lessons from implementation and results.•   Keep abreast of industry, national and sub-area developments, and research to ensure that IFC’s ESG Upstream and Advisory services continuously benefit from emerging best practices. Ensure that international good practices are included in developing and implementing projects.•   Foster innovation and knowledge exchange between IFC colleagues involved in the program and other key partners.
Project Coordination and Monitoring•   Working closely with the Senior ESG AS Lead, develop annual workplans andconduct bi-annual project supervision reports which track progress against project log frame targets, assess lessons learned and update and manage risks. •   Coordinate closely with ESG Analyst on project pipeline and portfolio management aligning work with the Advisory Services Project Governance and Environmental and Social Review Procedures. •   Provide day-to-day budget oversight, report on financial performance according to plan. Control expenditures according to IFC policies and guidelines and within approval thresholds.•    Produce formal reports on project progress for donors; informally update donors periodically through briefings or informal reports as needed and in coordination with the Senior ESG AS Lead.•   Travel as necessary through South Asia and EAP and undertake ad-hoc tasks assigned by ESG Regional Manager and ESG AS Lead.•   Work with the ESG AS Lead and Communication consultants to contribute to the programs innovative communication materials for awareness raising and sharing of outputs. These include videos, podcasts, newsletters, feature stories, website articles, etc.

Selection Criteria

The candidate should have expertise in environmental and/or social risk management and the IFC Performance Standards working with the private sector, preferably in South Asia. Although the position will cover all E&S areas, particular expertise in agribusiness, manufacturing and services (e.g. tourism) would be helpful. The expertise should focus on providing advice and guidance to clients and capacity building training. S/he should have experience in managing projects and integrating the work of other (often multi-disciplinary) professional staff. S/he must be able to interact with clients, government officials, development partners and staff from other organizations with confidence and a high degree of professionalism.
Minimum requirements
•   Master’s degree in relevant discipline (e.g., environmental management,science, social sciences, or another related field) with eight years of relevant or related work experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.•   Strong theoretical base in environmental and social sciences/management, in either infrastructure, manufacturing, agribusiness or services sectors with private sector and ability to translate theory into practical applications in context of IFC Upstream and Advisory projects.•   Work experience in an emerging market environment required.•   Good understanding of good international industry practices for environmental and social standards (e.g., IFC Sustainability Framework and supporting documents such as Guidance Notes, EHS Guidelines (www.ifc.org/ehsguidelines) and commitment to development impact and experience applying the IFC Performance Standards.•   Excellent project management skills including work planning, budgeting; monitoring and evaluation.•   Driven initiative-taker with a high degree of responsiveness and proactivity; collaboration skills and commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within IFC, the program and with the private sector companies and governments.•   Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize, deal with frequent unexpected changes, and manage multiple tasks under tight deadlines. Submission of deliverables and attention to details are expected.•   Ability to communicate effectively and concisely in spoken and written English is essential. Knowledge of local languages will be advantageous.•   Good collaborator with strong people skills, including the ability to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team, work effectively in and influence a team, and network effectively across boundaries.•   Ability to travel regularly to and work effectively in Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India and elsewhere in EAP.•   Familiarity with IFC/World Bank operations, procedures, and culture will be advantageous.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

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 the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.