Associate Investment Officer, Upstream & Advisory, FIG LAC Region

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 has embarked on an ambitious new growth strategy (IFC 3.0) to stimulate more investment activity in frontier markets. This strategy calls for generating our own opportunities by proactively working “Upstream” to create, deepen, and expand markets and to imagine, design and implement investment projects. It requires taking a systematic approach to understanding the regulatory and sector bottlenecks that prevent the flow of private capital into productive investment in our member countries and addressing these bottlenecks through World Bank Group engagement on policy reforms and programmatic interventions at the country and sector level. It also requires capacity to leverage WBG programs and projects to develop our own proactive sector interventions and to imagine and design projects even in the absence of reforms.

At the same time, IFC has pledged to significantly increase its investments in climate-related projects and to promote digitalization across industries and sectors, to further sustainability and inclusiveness in emerging markets. IFC plans to deliver on these commitments by working with clients to help them develop and implement their own climate and digitalization strategies and projects. Key areas of focus include the promotion of low-carbon solutions, including renewable energy, green buildings, circularity, and resource efficiency, and increased use of technology and artificial intelligence.

The Financial Institutions Group (FIG) is one of the industry groups at IFC responsible for managing roughly 40% of IFC’s overall business in terms of volume, capital at risk, profitability, and development reach. FIG engages in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, Global Trade Finance, and other areas. FIG provides investment and advisory solutions to hundreds of financial intermediaries in emerging markets to enable them to play a positive role in economic growth. FIG’s Upstream Advisory Services are closely coordinated with investment operations and help banks and Financial Institutions (FIs) to build or improve their operations in several areas, including development of local Capital Markets.

The FIG Upstream Advisory Team provides specialized support to guide public and private institutions to leverage opportunities for private sector led investments made possible using distinct tools and interventions, including investment structuring, advisory and policy reform. The objective of the unit is to enhance the next generation of FIG investments across priority sectors in the region that help to promote new and/or improved jobs. The team seeks an Associate Investment Officer (AIO) with expertise in sustainable financial markets to support innovative and impactful engagements that increase and improve sustainable job generation across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Duties and Accountabilities

The AIO will be part of the FIG Upstream Advisory Team in the LAC region. Reporting to the Regional Upstream Advisory Services Manager, the AIO will be primarily responsible for enabling investment opportunities in the LAC region by: (1) incubating high-impact projects and initiatives that require upstream project development to reach the point of investment, and (2) getting potential clients ready for IFC investment through client preparation and development.

•   Work with the FIG Upstream Advisory staff to leverage opportunities with key partners in the region based on country/sector strategies and client/market needs, and market creation potential; 
•   Monitor pipeline and portfolio projects, actively supporting in deal origination and project supervision, reporting to management whenever needed;
•   Develop project proposals/client pitches and meet with potential clients and other market stakeholders to discuss business opportunities;
•   Originate Advisory/Upstream projects that align with IFC’s strategic pillars, drawing from strong client relationships and technical expertise;
•   Conduct targeted research, data analysis, and stakeholder interviews to enable appropriate project design, including assessment of sector dynamics, identification of market gaps/barriers, and market analysis;
•   Apply human-centered methodologies to establish the desirability of new business concepts;
•   Conduct appraisals and/or workshops as part of business development or Advisory/Upstream project design that lead to IFC investments;
•   Design projects that address key clients’ needs, in a sustainable way, aiming for capacity building and leveraging existing client resources;
•   Develop and provide knowledge management through case study documentation, internal training, and participation in relevant finance working groups;
•   Work and interact closely with IFC’s Upstream Advisory staff to build technical capacity for project delivery;
•   Support the FIG Upstream Advisory team in the designing and developing of projects in close contact with the FIG Investment team to support the structuring of financial products and services;
•   Cross-collaboration within the team to ensure alignment between Advisory/Upstream outputs and potential IFC investments across the region;
•   Support the processing of Upstream Advisory projects as well as investments enabled by Upstream work;
•   Support engagement with the World Bank to identify and contribute to sector and regulatory reforms that support opportunities for private investment;
•   Plan, organize and carry out the project-related activities in conjunction with stakeholders and clients.
•   It is anticipated that the AIO will need to frequently travel within the region to implement project activities.

Selection Criteria

As the role requires a strong understanding of local capital markets, sustainability frameworks, and financial institution operations in the LAC region, the successful candidate should demonstrate a combination of technical expertise, regional experience, and strategic acumen aligned with IFC’s upstream and advisory mandate:

•   Minimum 5 years of experience in consulting to financial institutions or banking in emerging markets;
•   Master's Degree in Economics, Business, Social Sciences, Development, or related fields;
•   Experience in helping companies to develop new products/concepts/business models, piloting, measuring success and learning lessons from them for future roll-out plans;
•   Understanding of the relevant sectors and ability to link policy reforms, advisory interventions, investment, and private capital mobilization to deliver solutions at a country level;
•   Ability to support engagement with private sector clients, local and national governments and other stakeholders to encourage pioneering business and market development;
•   Experience in project/program management, including executing against implementation plans with defined business development milestones;
•   Experience in monitoring and reporting on a portfolio of projects/programs/initiatives.
•   Outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills;
•   Strong project management, sales and client relationship management skills, including the ability to develop and maintain mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships and ensure timely and appropriate follow-up;
•   Highly motivated, energetic, team player with excellent interpersonal skills and client service skills with the ability to multi-task, deal with conflicting priorities and deliver high quality work on schedule; 
•   Ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, and credibly represent IFC with clients and stakeholders, including at the senior executive level;
•   Sound business judgment and problem solving, negotiation and commercial skills; 
•   Ability to interact directly and independently with the management of potential clients and of financial and technical partners; 
•   Strong organizational skills with an ability to work under time pressure, respond to ad-hoc shifts in client priorities, unstructured situations and unexpected events while maintaining order and delivery;
•   Solid people management and organizational skills;
•   Capacity to innovate and challenge the status quo and experience in new idea generation, business development, and crafting projects/programs from scratch;
•   Ability to respond to situations of high demand and pressure in a timely manner;
•   Willingness to travel as needed;
•   Genuine commitment to sustainable development;
•   Excellent communication skills in Portuguese, Spanish and English;
•   Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
•   High motivation, adaptability, and teamwork with the ability to manage multiple priorities in cross-functional teams;
•   Willingness and ability to travel and work across time zones.

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.

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