Investment Officer / Operations Officer - Inclusive Capital Lead - GG

international finance corporation

Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet.

These areas aim to (1) Allocate Capital that Drives Inclusion, (2) Make Supply Chains Inclusive, and (3) Remove Barriers to Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Leadership (including addressing gender-based violence). Equally important are three cross-cutting themes that are foundational to achieving sustainable results across the priority areas and require action: (4) Bridging the Digital Divide; (5) Accelerating Inclusive and Gender-Smart Climate Action; and (6) Ending Gender-based Violence and Harassment.

GEID leads strategy development and implementation for the organization, provides tailored operational solutions and client advice, innovates, and incubates novel approaches, serves a thought leader and disseminator of knowledge on GEI issues, supports mobilization through impact investing and sustainable financing; and forges public and private sector partnerships with the aim of creating economic opportunities and development for all.

The Innovation Center will focus on solutions that accelerate gender equality and economic inclusion while deepening and scaling impact in alignment with the priorities of IFC's 2030 Roadmap on Gender and Economic Inclusion.

The Inclusive Capital Lead will be responsible for generating new opportunities and identifying investment linkages for existing solutions, considering the full spectrum of debt and equity instruments in emerging markets.

Topics of focus will vary based on business needs and market opportunities and may include:

• Developing alternative fund and advisory structures to unlock equity capital for women entrepreneurs.
• Integrating incentivization schemes into supply chain financing projects to enable access to working capital for underserved women-led MSMEs.
• Addressing binding constraints, such as the lack of benchmarkable data, to advance the use of sustainable finance for social issues, including gender equality.

Each Lead will manage the sourcing, incubation, and piloting of select solutions in deep collaboration with cross-departmental teams across IFC including industry, regional, GEID, and other department staff as relevant including the World Bank colleagues.

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 to GEID Leadership Team, internal and external stakeholders.

Selection Criteria

They confidently deliver quality output and can work and inspire others with a sense of urgency. They can proficiently interact with companies' senior management, development partners and communicate with senior government counterparts and other organizations with confidence on the topic at hand.

Minimum requirements

Education:

• 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.
• 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.

• Innovative strategic thinker with a proven track record in developing and successfully implementing and scaling high-impact initiatives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound business judgment to identify issues and present creative and practical solutions.
• Ability to self-manage, multitask, and work under time constraints.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills in English, including the ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues, and recommend solutions.
• Seasoned communicator with experience as a strategic advisor to the C-suite within a global organization.
• Proven collaborator with the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of a complex organization.
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, and set and achieve strategic objectives.
• Professional agility to easily adjust to the rapidly changing dynamics within and outside the organization.
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to business planning.
• Excellent business acumen and analysis skills; strong pattern recognition; horizontal thinker and synthesizer.
• Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed.

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.

This is how cinfo can support you in the application process for this specific position:

• Application preparation: Before you apply for this position: Improve your application documents by registering for a Job Application Support. Our coaches are here to help tailor your application to the requirements of the job (service provided at your own cost).
• Interview preparation: When invited to the interview: Prepare for the interview by registering for a Job Application Support.
• Additional services for Swiss nationals who get invited to the selection process (written test, interview, assessment centre, etc.):
• Let us know by writing to recruitment@cinfo.ch. We flag matching applications to HR partners and SDC/SECO for visibility.
• Benefit from free interview/assessment preparation by registering here : Interview and Assessment Centre Preparation for Jobs in Multilateral Organisations. Our coaches stand ready to help prepare for upcoming interview/assessment centre.

Job type: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)