Description

IFC is deeply committed to advancing gender equality and inclusion as laid out in IFC’s 3.0 strategy which also underpins the Corporation’s Capital Increase. Recently, IFC has established a new 2030 Gender and Inclusion Vision to deliver game-changing private sector partnerships and programs to accelerate gender equality and inclusion in emerging markets, aligned with the new World Bank Group (WBG) Gender Strategy (2024-30). Five priorities have been identified as offering high potential for gender and inclusion impact in and through the private sector. 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 two 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. 

As part of its mandate, IFC’s Cross-Cutting Vice Presidency includes a dedicated team, the Gender and Economic Inclusion (GEI) Department (GEIDR), that works with IFC’s investment and advisory teams to support private and public sector clients in providing all genders and underserved communities with equal economic opportunities as leaders, employees, entrepreneurs, consumers, and community members. GEID leads strategy development and implementation for the organization, provides tailored operational solutions and client advice, supports mobilization through impact investing and sustainable financing, and forges public and private sector partnerships to create economic opportunities and development for all. In addition, GEIDR develops global thought/research pieces, research on the business case and solutions for reducing gender and inclusion gaps.

IFC is implementing a two-pronged approach to (i) positioning IFC as a thought leader in data and data-driven research on gender and inclusion in the private sector and (ii) generating rigorous evidence on IFC’s impact in alignment with corporate priorities.  In this context, a private sector gender and economic inclusion data hub will be created. The Private Sector Gender & Inclusion Data Hub would help position IFC as the go-to resource for data on gender and inclusion in the private sector. Given IFC’s extensive convening power and network of private sector clients across EMDEs, it can collect, analyze, and present data that can add value to existing institutional and global knowledge, benefitting IFC teams, clients, MDBs, DFIs, and other private sector stakeholders. IFC would also use this data hub to launch and strengthen collaborations between IFC and leading think tanks and universities. 

The Data Hub Specialist within the GEID Global Thought Leadership function) will spearhead IFC’s Private Sector Gender & Inclusion Data Hub in close collaboration with IFC’s Development Impact Reporting (CDI), Economic Research & Industry Departments (CER), IFC’s Information Technology (CIT) team as well as with WB’s Gender portal Team, DEC, Data Development team and relevant units including the Gender Innovation Labs. The consultant will work collaboratively and consult with the proposed internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement a plan of action for the roll-out of a new state-of-the-art Data Hub that will aggregate existing data sources and/or conduct primary data collection to design a go-to platform for gender and inclusive data on the private sector. This hub will be a global public good for any stakeholder interested in private sector data on gender and inclusion, as well as a resource for IFC teams in the design of new projects and tracking the progress of existing ones on gender inclusion goals. The Data Hub Specialist will confirm collaborating partners and formulate data governance procedures and data architecture in collaboration with IFC’s CIT, IT Data and Platform Engineering unit within the IT Global Directorate. The consultant is expected to bring deep expertise in data science/analytics, especially on gender data, with strong project management, and problem-solving skills to generate innovative solutions and strategies in the context of the IFC’s 2030 Gender and Inclusion Vision in alignment with the WBG Gender Strategy 2024-2030. The position is based in Washington D.C., and reports to the Data, Research, and Impact Leader (a senior level staff) under the Global Thought Leadership Leader (a principal level staff) who in turn reports directly to the IFC Director for Gender and Economic Inclusion (GEI).

Duties and Accountabilities:  

As the coordinator of the Data Hub for GEI, the Data Hub Specialist will spearhead the creation and enhancement of the Private Sector Gender and Inclusion data platform, enabling IFC to leverage insights for strategic decision-making and impact measurement in gender and economic inclusion efforts. This role also requires being available for general data-related queries as and when needed in relation to the GEID department operations, innovation, research & impact activities, and in relation to IFC and WB deliverables in the gender and economic inclusion space. This role will have responsibilities that include, but are not limited to: 

Product Strategy & Vision: Develop and articulate the vision and strategy for the Data Hub, aligning it with broader organizational goals and D&I initiatives. Data collected through the Hub would be open access to the public, enabling researchers, partners, and private sector stakeholders to analyze data through user-friendly interfaces and dashboards. To date, no such consolidated private sector data resource exists. Some aspects of the data portal, however, may need to be only internal for IFC teams. 

Develop a strategy that will allow IFC to stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies to inform product development and maintain a competitive edge. Further support is needed for data-driven research and the overall data needs of operations, innovation, and impact activities within GEID and across IFC and the WB with regard to private sector GEI data.  

Roadmap Development: Create and manage the product roadmap, prioritizing features and improvements based on user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility. 

Study the data landscape on gender and economic inclusion and identify gaps and data sources. In close collaboration with IFC’s Impact Reporting, Economic Research & Industry Departments and with inputs from WB Data/DEC and Gender teams. Conduct a detailed landscape analysis of data sources available, examine their robustness, and identify gaps where more systematic efforts may be needed to develop new datasets. An effort will be made to especially identify new and non-traditional data sources for gender, e.g. mobile phone data, GSM data etc., and opportunities to include state of the art AI tools. 

Identify and evaluate relevant data sources: Develop a standardized framework to identify internal and external data sources, assess data quality, and determine suitability for the platform. This framework will ensure consistency in decision-making for data selection, classification, extraction, and integration processes. This also involves creating comprehensive documentation of the data collection, compilation, and publication protocols, and establishing a streamlined process from data acquisition to data archival and publication. Integral to this process are encryption protocols, and access controls to ensure data integrity and confidentiality. 

Finalize the design of the Data Hub, (both internal and external facing components), the sources of data (both internal and external), the types of analytical reports possible from the data and the data visualization tools needed. The process also included well-defined procedure for the harmonization of various data sources, survey instruments, data dictionaries, timelines, spatial coverage, sampling procedures, and so forth.

Collaborate closely with the data engineering team to systematically collect data from all its clients on direct female employment and from its financial sector clients on loans to women-owned enterprises and on the representation of women in leadership and senior management for selected companies.

Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including D&I leaders, data analysts, and IT teams, to gather data, paying special attention to all data privacy and regulatory requirements including client confidentiality agreements.  Stakeholder engagement will onboard both data producers, custodians and users including those who serve women and marginalized communities. Such engagements are useful to better understand their needs and tailor the data hub’s content in a more participatory way. 

Identify emerging thematic areas: Distinguish the data hub from other existing data hubs and platforms by focusing on thematic areas where its additionality is the highest. This could include data compilation and presentation on less explored private sector topics, such as care and climate, or underserved geographical regions where IFC’s advisory and investment portfolio is expanding. 

Technical Oversight: Work closely with ITS engineering teams to oversee the technical development of the Data Hub, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance. Provide technical expertise to support contextualized data aggregated in one place would also enhance IFC analysis and ability to influence markets.

Data Quality Assurance: Develop and implement accepted methodologies and global standards for gender data collection, compilation, and publication. This will be informed by a clear, standardized process guiding the choices on acceptable survey methodologies used to produce the data that can potentially feed into the platform. Data quality assurance also requires an in-depth understanding and assessment of how variations in survey methodologies impact data quality and the ability to construct and interpret relevant indicators. This also involves ensuring the comparability of data from various sources across different sectors and locations.

Data confidentiality and protection: Build a safeguarding mechanism against data risks while making the data available to multiple users. A thorough examination of the bank’s current data protection system is necessary to check if additional safeguards are warranted.

User Experience: Ensure the Data Hub is user-friendly, providing intuitive interfaces and meaningful insights, with state-of-the-art visualization methods for data, that drive actionable outcomes.

Data Management and Updates: Oversee data integration, governance, and quality, ensuring the platform provides accurate and comprehensive data for analysis and reporting. Establish mechanisms for maintenance and data update of the gender statistics database through regular review of original and new sources to ensure that the Data Hub is updated with the latest available data, check data to be added to Hub through indicator research and preparation, compile metadata, disseminate data via multiple platforms such as DataBank, API, and bulk downloads. Coordinate with ITS as required. Address gender data-related queries from external users and requests from internal colleagues. 

Metrics & Reporting: Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and develop mechanisms to track and report on the impact of D&I initiatives through the Data Hub.

Competencies:
•  Relevant experience: The candidate is a data science/economist who should have in-depth experience conceptualizing, developing, managing, and maintaining a public data hub with multiple sources of internal and external data. Experience with gender-smart and inclusive solutions in emerging markets would be a plus.
•  Data and analytical skills: Proficiency in data generation software, visualization tools, data collection methodologies, and management systems. The candidate is also expected to have familiarity with the latest data science tools that can help track gender outcomes. Skills in statistical analysis are a plus.
•  Familiarity with data sources: the candidate should have knowledge of various data sources including administrative, national statistics and census, and surveys with important sex-disaggregated information. The latter often include labor force and enterprise surveys.
•  Data governance: The candidate should have a good understanding of regulatory issues on data sharing and compiling.
•  Stakeholder Engagement:  The candidate has the ability to lead a dialogue with counterparts (external and internal) to the WBG, integrate the work of others (often multi-disciplinary professional staff), and has sound judgment. The candidate will have strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills and the ability to represent IFC in high profile data-related networks
•  Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion: The candidate have strong team orientation, with the ability to work harmoniously and effectively with diverse set of partners and colleagues. The candidate possesses the ability to interact with development partners and communicate with senior government counterparts and other organizations with confidence on the topic at hand.
•  Client Orientation – The candidate assumes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
•  Quality and on time delivery: The candidate should deliver quality output and can work and inspire others with a sense of urgency. 

Selection Criteria

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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