Investment Officer - Financial Institutions Group (Colombo)
World Bank
Full-time Job Expired 3 Jan 2026
Investment Officer - Financial Institutions Group (Colombo)
| Job #: | req35147 |
| Organization: | IFC |
| Sector: | Investment |
| Grade: | GG |
| Term Duration: | 3 years 0 months |
| Recruitment Type: | International Recruitment |
| Location: | Colombo,Sri Lanka |
| Required Language(s): | English |
| Preferred Language(s): | |
| Closing Date: | 1/2/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC |
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: https://www.ifc.orgThe Financial Institutions 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, with both investment and advisory services delivered globally to IFC’s clients through IFC’s global network. FIG has the following main objectives: 1) financing climate risk mitigation and adaptation; 2) advancing financial inclusion; 3) promoting gender equality; 4) servicing the real economy; and 5) mobilizing third-party resources. FIG is recruiting a Investment Officer (IO) to join its South Asia Regional Team which originates, manages and monitors IFC's financial sector investments. The IO will help grow and develop the investment business and manage the investment portfolio in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The pipeline of new investment opportunities in the region includes bilateral and syndicated debt, publicly and privately issued bonds, equity/Tier-2 investments, and structured finance products. Duties and Responsibilities: • Develop long-term relationships with key clients and other stakeholders (e.g., government officials, regulators) at the working level to identify and act on business opportunities and engage effectively with other syndicate lenders at the working level.• Work with clients to identify how IFC can add more value to their company and improve the quality of IFC’s investment.• Supervise the gathering of lessons learned on essential topics across the portfolio, connect trends from different portfolio areas, and recommend how these could improve business development and transaction structuring.• Help shape upstream market creation approaches or interventions for a sector, product, or region and engage with senior officials across the WBG and government offices to identify viable market and regulatory reforms that may involve IDA or FCS countries and influence outcomes of the Country. Private Sector Diagnostics.• Lead formulation and coordinate the implementation of a business development strategy.• Collaborate across IFC, World Bank and MIGA to support business development for the IDA PSW and other blended finance facilities and maximize the value of strategic partnerships.• Lead quarterly assessments of ratings, loan loss reserves, or valuations for country, region, or sector portfolio; and conduct quality control over work performed by analysts and junior investment officers.• Analyze strategically important portfolio trends to identify where they are most concentrated and the contributing factors. Take a leadership role in discussing findings and their implications at quarterly review meetings.• Lead teams in structuring deals that strike a balance between clients’ expectations and protecting IFCs and other lenders’ rights.• Compare projects across the region to determine their fit with the current portfolio. Conduct quality control to ensure the accuracy and adequacy of analytical work performed by junior staff to assess transactions.• Assess and articulate the development impact of more complex transactions at the sector or subsector level.• Maintain high-level relationships (CEO and other C-suite levels) with clients in a region or large country to understand industry trends and create new short-term and future business opportunities.• Oversee or supervise assigned staff and consultants.• Develop assigned staff and members of the broader team through mentoring, coaching, and providing on-the-job learning opportunities.• Ensure quality control of work products.• Ensure efficient/effective use of resources.• Oversee or supervise assigned staff and consultants.• Develop assigned staff and members of the broader team through mentoring, coaching, and providing on-the-job learning opportunities.• Perform complex credit risk rating assessments, covenant compliance reviews, and development impact assessments. Review the quality of portfolio review work performed by more junior staff.• Oversee the portfolio management work of analysts and investment officers for assigned portfolio to identify gaps and create a macro view of the financial, compliance, and risk status of the portfolio, anticipating emerging risks.• Prepare investment committee materials focusing on financial and nonfinancial risk assessment and deal structuring.• Use networks to keep project moving and collaborate with key internal stakeholders to obtain buy-in on deals and negotiate risk and mitigation strategies. Ensure seamless communication flow and cooperation among all IFC team members and external stakeholders.• Shape business leads into actionable concepts ready for mandate by identifying and screening potential investment opportunities, preparing the investment thesis, and leading the pre-concept review structuring of those opportunities.
Selection Criteria
• Master's degree in a related field and at least 8 to 12 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, as well as operational experience in the sector or technical or professional field. Accreditation as a CFA or CPA is considered a plus.• 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 and local currency solutions); good understanding of the roles and value-add of IFC and WBG in new markets.• Understand relevant country strategies and obstacles or how to achieve them.• Capacity to lead successful negotiations with clients and different stakeholders based on an in-depth understanding of IFC requirements, policies, and practices, as well as client and stakeholder interests. Ability to offer alternative solutions to capitalize on opportunities and overcome impasses.• 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 the 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.• Build and maintain extensive networks in sectors, country, and region to bring new engagements, and business opportunities.• 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 /or requirements.• Public Sector: Ability to participate and constructively contribute to meetings with mid-level government officials on constraints to private sector investment in their countries.• Networks: Possesses an extensive internal and external network with key players in the sector, country, region, or specialization (e.g., legal, credit industry specialists) and an ability to leverage those networks to maintain expertise, identify and capitalize on business opportunities, bring deals to closure, and obtain approvals.• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to describe complex issues, approaches, and lessons in a relevant and understandable manner to clients/stakeholders.• Ability to comment effectively on documents, develop junior staff as writers, and lead the writing process of business-specific documents.• Ability to ensure final products are aligned with the needs and expectations of intended audiences.• Ability to clearly articulate IFC’s requirements, value-add, financial and non-financial risks, development impact, and sustainability measurement in a way relevant to and understandable by clients and stakeholders.• Ability to communicate technical information understandably and concisely to a nontechnical audience.• Ability to clearly illustrate the long-term financial and economic benefit of IFC/WBG offerings and how those benefits align with client and government needs and priorities, including in more complex contexts (IDA and FCS).• Ability to supervise staff in business development, processing, portfolio management, or specialty areas by providing technical guidance and delegating work to build and effectively use the talents of staff and balance workloads.• Ability to guide, advise, mentor, and coach junior staff and peers to develop and broaden their scope of skills, including providing on-the-job learning opportunities. • Ability to serve as a point of reference on portfolio guidance from a commercial and process standpoint based on an in-depth understanding of portfolio operational policies, practices, and procedures.• Ability to balance details of individual assets with a big-picture portfolio view to lead the supervision of individual assets and play an important role in formulating and implementing portfolio strategies.• Restructuring expertise that includes a thorough understanding of financial instruments and main investment agreements for optimal structuring.• Capacity of problem-solving to effectively articulate options and recommend actions for distressed assets and emerging issues for strategic and top-tier clients to achieve outcomes that benefit both IFC and its clients.• Ability to identify systemic risks and integrity issues in the sector.• Ability to synthesize and present information effectively and tailored to different audiences.• Demonstrated strong written, presentation, and business level communications skills in English.
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.
