Senior Operations Officer
Job #: req6055
Organization: IFC
Sector: Advisory Services
Grade: GG
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Islamabad,Pakistan
Required Language(s): English, Mandarin
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date: 2/29/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
IFC’s Financial Institutions Group (FIG) works through financial institutions to provide much-needed access to finance for millions of individuals and micro, small, and medium enterprises that we would never be able to reach directly. This is an important part of the World Bank Group strategy to end extreme poverty and build shared prosperity.
FIG Asia Pacific provides the strategic investment and advice needed by financial institutions to build a strong, engaged private sector and tackle the region’s most pressing development challenges. We account for about 32 percent of FIG’s Global investment portfolio, and our projects support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), climate-smart projects, housing, insurance, supply chains, and digital finance. We demonstrate the business case for greater financial inclusion, particularly for women and other under-served segments of the community. Our tailored advice helps clients build capacity, strengthen risk management, and diversify and scale their product offerings. Stretching from the Pacific to South Asia, our projects are delivering on the IFC 3.0 agenda and enabling the region to fulfill its potential.
FIG Advisory in Asia Pacific leverages on IFC’s global presence, to drive thought leadership and deliver expert advice to our clients towards achieving greater access to finance in our priority markets in the region. Thematic areas of specialization include SME Banking, Microfinance, Agrifinance, Supply Chain Finance, Risk Management, Capital Markets, Digital Financial Services, Climate Finance, Gender Finance and Housing.
The jobholder will play a leading role in the Supply Chain Finance Practice and SME Banking. He would also be the Country Anchor for FIG Advisory Services (AS) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He/she will drive the FIG AS business in Pakistan, and lead delivery and thought leadership, quality control, product innovation in the designated thematic area in Asia i.e. mainly Supply Chain Finance, as per IFC’s expert-based model. As Country Anchor, he/she will be an integral member of the Country Leadership team and will work closely with key stakeholders, particularly the country managers, in shaping and executing the WBG/IFC country strategy.
The jobholder will report directly to the Manager, FIG Advisory Services Asia. The jobholder will be the direct supervisor of all country advisory staff and the co-supervisor of all Asia staff working in the same thematic area.
Role & Responsibilities:
As a leading member of the Supply Chain Finance practice, the jobholder will be responsible for the technical oversight of Supply Chain Finance linked advisory in the region and within Pakistan work across Practices (in addition to Supply Chain Finance such as Agrifinance, Digital Financial Services, SME Banking, Risk Management, etc) to deliver market-leading client solutions by leveraging local and regional resources. IFC’s FIG Advisory Services aims to deliver innovative solutions to support target clients’ objectives to expand and grow their business, in line with IFC’s country strategies to address development challenges. The jobholder would also make close collaborations with the Upstream, Investment and World Bank teams for better synergies and integrated firm level as well as market level solutions. Founded on comprehensive diagnostics and knowledge resources IFC designs and implements capacity building to strengthen clients’ business model, organization, products and services, risk management framework and/or digital capabilities to better serve underserved market segments.
Client and Stakeholder Management:
• Communicate with top management of the bank, and ability to articulate institution level as well as segment level solutions especially in Supply Chain Finance and SME banking segment.
• Hold knowledge transfer sessions, lead diagnostics with the client, and also be the technical lead for advisory project executions as per thematic areas concentration.
• Provide oversight especially to Supply Chain Finance banking projects in the Asia and Pacific region for quality and consistency of approach.
• Work collaboratively with Investment Anchors in the designated countries (mainly Pakistan and Afghanistan) to align advisory to help close pipeline investment projects and provide solutions to key portfolio clients.
• Engage with the relevant teams at the World Bank and IFC for reforms needed to unlock new markets and work collaboratively with Upstream teams
• Support country priority initiatives such as SME Banking, Gender, Supply Chain Finance, Agrifinance, Digitization, Housing and Inclusion linked initiatives.
• Play a key role in developing digital Supply Chain Finance solutions for the Asia Pacific Region.
• Anchor development of investment linked structured SCF products.
Design and Operationalize Solutions:
• Collaborate with Client Engagement staff as well as industry specialists in the design, pitch negotiation of client solutions. Review and contribute to development and approval of relevant project documents and client deliverables for moderately complex projects to ensure standards and objectives within a thematic area are met.
• Participate in senior level client meetings to provide technical advice and monitor progress in implementing thematic recommendations.
• Improve the design and delivery of client solutions by incorporating global best practices and lessons from past. Partner with results team in developing appropriate theories of change and results frameworks and indicators to strengthen the development impact and sustainability of client solutions and continuously learn from client projects/ engagement.
Create and Share Knowledge:
• Identify and participate in /conferences to showcase IFC offerings and value proposition, which includes serving as panelists/ moderator for internal and external events related to thematic area.
• Conduct research to shape on-going and future offerings in thematic area and develop new tools and guidance to incorporate internal and external best practices.
• Conceptualize and lead knowledge management initiatives
Build Capacity:
• Design and deliver training and communication strategy for Investment and Advisory staff to better enable them to be champions of thematic area, and for external stakeholders to generate interest in thematic areas and understanding of why it is important/ advantageous to businesses, business climate, community and/or economy.
• Build tools and methodologies for enhancing the Advisory delivery capacity in the country and the region
• Strengthen capacity for staff mapped to chosen thematic areas by collaborating with the regional and global teams
Staff Supervision:
• Oversee/ supervise assigned staff and consultants
• Develop assigned staff and members of the broader team through mentoring, coaching and by providing on-the-job learning opportunities.
• Ensure quality control of work products.
• Determine resources needed to support projects, and ensure efficient/ effective use of resources.
• Manage project budgets.
Selection Criteria
• A master’s degree in Business and/or Finance, or a closely related field;
• At least 15 years’ experience primarily in financial sector and having done leadership roles with a good understanding of development finance
• Strong working experience in the area of Supply Chain Finance and retail/commercial/SME banking and knowledge of Housing Finance, Digital Banking and Agri finance.
• Strong credit skills and strong practical understanding of credit approval process within a Bank
• Past experience of having led transformation initiatives and change management during a client engagement cycle and/or an internal project management cycle
• Understand how business models in development finance work and able to conceptualize how those models apply in designing client solutions that incorporate thematic mandate.
• Strong understanding of banking sector, its market factors and terminology to converse with clients.
• Understanding of IFC and WBG products/ instruments and where there are opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration.
• Understand the implications of different policy and regulatory frameworks governing the thematic areas.
• Able to design, negotiate and lead efforts to develop client offerings that reflect in-depth knowledge of thematic area and understanding of business case for how thematic focus will help client to improve their business.
• Strong understanding of industry, sector and region to talk intelligently to clients about their specific challenges in implementing thematic mandates. Able to identify how changes in markets, business climate, regulations or emergence of new/successful innovators/ disruptors may create new opportunities for IFC to accelerate its mandate in a thematic area.
• Thorough understanding of IFC products, what is likely to be approved, and how long it will take. Good understanding of WGB and how to initiate collaborative efforts to leverage its products/ instruments.
• Successful experience in at least two countries, one being outside of the individual’s home country, that provided practical experience in emerging markets.
• Able to design research and analytical projects or major portion of complex project to credibly produce new understanding of a thematic issue and/or potential opportunities to unlock new markets or new streams of business.
• Ability to conceptualize and lead research and analytical projects that could ultimately lead to the opening of new markets and/or reframe thinking on thematic approaches to better meet IFC and WBG mandates.
• Able to develop the research storyline that is relevant to and engages targeted stakeholders and mobilizes needed expertise.
• Able to move research proposals and results across functions to ensure relevant aspects becomes anchored and integrated with the work in those functions.
• Excellent knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and aptitude to learn new systems is a must. Ability to use project management systems is a plus.
• Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills plus fluency in English is must. Ability to speak a second language, e.g. Mandarin is a plus.
Application Instructions:
• Only online applications are accepted: do not email your application to the hiring manager or the HR contact (even if you have applied online), as it will be neither acknowledged nor accepted.
• The hiring manager will contact only short-listed candidates for interviews.
• Do not call/email to find out the status.
Should you have difficulties submitting your application online, please contact the World Bank HR Help Desk at hrweb@worldbank.org
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