Description

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. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Private sector financial development is essential to the promotion of successful and sustainable economies in low and middle-income countries around the world. Sound and efficient financial markets can ensure that resources are allocated where they are most productive, assisting job creation and spurring economic growth. IFC’s goal is to prioritize investment in the financial sector because it promotes development in all other sectors.

The Financial Institution Group (FIG) is one of IFC’s key Departments responsible for a significant portion of IFC’s business volume, profitability, and development reach, approximately 40%. FIG engages in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, and other areas.

The FIG’s Latin America and the Caribbean team (FIG LAC) is based across the LAC region with main hubs and locations in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Panama. The team members work on both new business development and processing, and portfolio management across the region.
FIG LAC Regional Industry Team is seeking an Investment Officer with significant market and industry experience to help grow and develop its business and oversee portfolio in LAC. The position will be based in Mexico City, Mexico.

ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES:

•  Contribute to drafting strategies for sectors, countries, or regions for business development; and develop and execute strategies for more complex client engagements with the objective of building a robust investment or advisory pipeline.
•  Contribute to internal knowledge building activities and maintenance of a lessons learned database and relevant industry benchmarks.
•  Draw comparisons with other industry projects across the region to determine fit with current portfolio and conduct quality control to ensure accuracy and adequacy of analytical work completed by junior staff.
•  Assess and articulate the development impact and IFC additionality of moderately complex transactions at the sector or subsector level. Engage with IFC economics team to build AIMM story including any market creation impact.
•  Lead structuring of moderately complex investment or advisory transactions incorporating lessons of project evaluations and portfolio management experience. Ensure timely processing, thorough due diligence and client satisfaction.
•  Thoroughly review work provided by clients and prepared by team members to ensure solid structure and consistency of legal documents with agreed upon terms.
•  Maintain relationships with clients and other stakeholders (government, development partners, WBG) who are at a level where they can influentially participate in developing immediate and future business opportunities.
•  Participate as part of teams led by senior staff, in putting together sector interventions and client engagement plans for IFC’s strategic and top tier clients.
•  Prepare investment or advisory committee materials focusing on financial and nonfinancial risk assessments and deal structuring in moderately complex transactions, applying knowledge of policy and procedures and assessing exceptions where relevant.
•  Use networks to keep projects moving and collaborate with key internal stakeholders to obtain buy-in on deals and negotiate risk mitigation strategies.

Selection Criteria

•  Master’s degree in a related field and at least 8 years of relevant experience. Related fields of education include business, finance, or economics or an area of expertise specific to a sector, subject matter, or industry specialty. Relevant experience could include a proven track record in business consulting or investment banking, or operational experience in the sector or technical or professional field.
•  Capacity to understand, enable, and participate in market creation opportunities for multiple countries by demonstrating long-term perspective, open-mindedness, persistence, innovation, and ability to leverage all available tools (including de-risking tools); good understanding of the roles and value-add of IFC and WBG in new markets.
•  Has a reputation for listening carefully to clients and stakeholders and asking targeted questions to understand their needs and determine the viability of a business opportunity.
•  Ability to build long-term engagement with clients and credibility by demonstrating knowledge of their business, sector, and culture; maintain an ongoing dialogue on their business needs, operations, and strategies as well as opportunities for strategically aligned business deals.
•  Ability to maintain client engagement during portfolio stage to identify growth opportunities, address emerging problems, and focus on actions that promote sustainability and ensure that overall development impact objectives are met.
•  IFC/WBG: Ability to interact effectively with working level WBG staff and participate in collaborative interventions or /projects that enable private sector investment by exercising sensitivity to differences in corporate cultures, priorities, and operating practices and /requirements.
•  Public Sector: Ability to participate and constructively contribute in meetings with mid-level government officials on constraints to private sector investment in their countries.
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to describe complex issues, approaches, and lessons in a manner that is relevant and understandable to clients/stakeholders.
•  Ability to comment effectively on documents, develop junior staff as writers, and lead the writing process of business specific documents.
•  Ensure final products are aligned with the needs and expectations of intended audiences.
•  Broad understanding of sectors within an industry group, industry drivers, latest trends and changes, and standard market transaction arrangements; or deepening knowledge within one sector.
•  Ability to review the financial analytical work performed by team members for moderately complex transactions based on in-depth analytical and financial modeling skills and experience to know what to look for in efficiently ensuring quality control and directing the appropriate analysis to understand risk factors in a project.
•  Build advanced structuring expertise for moderately complex investment or advisory transaction based on experience with diverse IFC financial instruments, a range of clients in different countries, and projects with different complexity factors.
•  Fluency in English, both verbal and written skills. Proficiency in Spanish preferred.

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.