(Associate) Investment Officer; Blended Finance – New Business and Portfolio

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.

Blended Finance is a key tool in the execution of IFC’s 3.0 strategy Creating Markets. The Blended Finance Department now manages a pool of contributor funds of over $7 billion focused on accelerating IFC’s engagement in the most developmentally impactful areas: IDA and FCS countries, climate, SME, and agriculture. The blended concessional facilities overseen by the Blended Finance team are designed to co-finance investment projects alongside IFC funding, with the aim of addressing market barriers in private sector initiatives. These funds are deployed alongside IFC's own resources, thus enabling IFC to invest in projects that would not otherwise take place without a co-investment on concessional terms.

The Blended Finance team’s role is to optimize the co-investment of funds from contributors, on concessional terms and consider the contributors' risk appetite, and in line with IFC's blended finance approach, governance, and principles. Such concessional funds can accept higher risk / lower return than commercial funds while not providing pure grants.

The Blended Finance – New Business and Portfolio (CBFNP) division sits in the Partnerships & Blended Finance Department. Within this division, there are investment officers that work on blended finance transactions supporting IFC’s regional and industry departments. These blended finance transactions may use different blended finance facilities, including the IDA Private sector Window (PSW), Concessional Capital Window (CCW), the Frontier Opportunities Fund (FOF), and other Blended Finance for Climate facilities, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), SME-, or agriculture-focused blended finance facilities. The goal of this work is to enable IFC to have a much deeper impact and footprint in the most difficult countries and sectors through blended finance investments.

CBFNP seeks an Investment Officer to focus primarily on long-cycle blended finance projects within Africa to support INFRA as well as other industries as needed. This Investment Officer position is an exciting opportunity to work on some of the most high-impact projects. Being part of CBFNP, this position will also provide the successful candidate with an opportunity to work across different industry groups and regions within a creative and results-oriented environment. She/he will report to a Blended Finance H-level Technical Lead.

Role & Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Work with teams to identify and assess potential Blended Finance projects (including projects to be funded by the IDA PSW, CCW, FOF and BFF and LCF, the various Blended Finance facilities for Climate, GAFSP Private Sector Window, the Gates Foundation partnership, the Global SME Finance and the Women Entrepreneur Financing Facility (We-Fi) and other blended finance facilities.

• Liaise with staff to monitor and support the expansion of Blended Finance pipeline.

• Contribute to investment structuring related to the blended finance funded investment in projects, platforms & programs, including modeling of respective risks and subsidies, and to assess the products/structure that meets the project needs and has an adequate risk/return for the contributor.

• Work closely with IFC investment teams to prepare and take responsibility for documentation and processing of blended finance co-investment to Blended Finance Committee/Director and for contributing to the IFC investment proposal, Board documentation, and client legal agreements.

• Have a keen interest in financial engineering for derisking projects and enhancing PCM

• Work with colleagues in the Unified Guarantee Platform / MIGA on customized political risk mitigation products where IBRD / MIGA products are not available.

• Understanding of local currency solutions offered by development banks

• Attend appraisal on an as-needed basis depending on transaction team need for additional skills and analysis to be provided by the blended finance investment officer or if proposed co-investment structure has significantly different interests than the IFC investment requiring independent judgement on behalf of the donors.

• Liaise with relevant staff and identify and monitor weaknesses, risks, and early warning signals in the portfolio of contributor-funded projects to assess progress and performance.

• Analyze and process client requests, including disbursements, waivers, and amendments related to the contributor-funded co-investment.

• Assist in the preparation of analytical reports, strategy documents, briefs, and project profiles.

• Contribute to team's knowledge management initiative, including communication products to share information and lessons of Blended Finance co-investments with internal and external stakeholders, in particular contributing partners.

• Prepare reports and presentations on the portfolio's performance for internal and external audiences.

• Engage with donors and support fundraising and new initiative development as needed.

• Participate in Departmental initiatives to bolster the practice and business case for blended finance.

Selection Criteria

The candidate should be someone with:

• MBA or Graduate degree, specialization in finance/investment strongly preferred.

• [6]+ years relevant experience in working on cross-border emerging market investments with a track record of structuring/executing and supervision and portfolio management of complex investment transactions, including in local currency, capital markets, and structured finance.

• Experience with IFC’s investment and portfolio management processes, equity, quasi-equity, loan, guarantee, and other investment documentation, accounting, and financial statement analysis.

• Knowledge of IFC products, operations and, preferably also, its approach to blending concessional finance alongside IFC's investments for its own account a plus.

• Understanding of IFC’s investment practices with knowledge of current issues, challenges, and opportunities in implementing blended finance investments a plus.

• Ability to grasp details, solve problems, identify key issues for action and manage/incorporate stakeholder interests, and explain issues clearly and confidently.

• Clarity in the presentation and delivery of information, including gathering lessons of experience and impact stories to be shared with contributors and other internal and external stakeholders, and resilience to work well under time and workload pressure with minimal supervision.

• Ability to manage and complete multiple projects simultaneously and to meet deadlines under pressure.

• Commercial interest in development issues and strengthening sustainable development.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and other languages, such as French or Portuguese a plus.

• Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients' stated and unstated needs.

• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective, and willingly receives diverse perspectives.

• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.

• Make Smart Decisions - Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.

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.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.