Program Assistant - Administrative & Client Support

Program Assistant - Administrative & Client Support

Description

At the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. In fiscal year 2026, IFC committed a record $105.6 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

o  Duties and accountabilities

• Provide end-to-end administrative and executive support, including complex calendar management, meeting scheduling, agenda planning, correspondence, travel arrangements, and coordination of competing priorities.
• Maintain a forward-looking view of commitments, deadlines, missions, events, approvals, and follow-up actions; proactively flag conflicts, dependencies, and emerging requirements.
• Prepare meeting packs and ensure that agendas, participant details, background materials, logistics, and follow-up arrangements are complete and timely.
• Monitor agreed actions and deliverables, maintain practical trackers, and follow up respectfully with responsible colleagues to support timely completion.
• Process administrative transactions, expenses, invoices, payment requests, consultant- or event-related documentation, and other routine workflows accurately and in line with applicable policies and controls.
• Provide dependable office coverage and backup support to other ACS colleagues, particularly during missions, peak periods, and staff absences.

• Serve as a professional first point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, including senior officials, clients, partners, visitors, and WBG colleagues, exercising tact, sound judgment, and discretion.
• Coordinate appointments and official engagements with government entities, private sector clients, diplomatic and development partners, and other external counterparts, while ensuring accuracy of titles, protocol, contact details, and logistical arrangements.
• Manage invitations, confirmations, participant lists, correspondence, and follow-up for high-level engagements; maintain accurate stakeholder and contact records in accordance with data-protection requirements.
• Handle sensitive or confidential matters with appropriate judgment, escalating issues when required and avoiding commitments on behalf of management without authorization.

• Plan and deliver the administrative and logistical aspects of missions, senior-management visits, workshops, conferences, roundtables, signing ceremonies, retreats, and other office engagements.
• Develop detailed run-of-show documents, schedules, checklists, guest lists, seating plans, briefing folders, vendor requirements, and contingency arrangements as appropriate.
• Coordinate with security, facilities, IT, travel, protocol, communications, procurement, and external service providers to ensure seamless delivery.
• Capture decisions and action items, arrange timely clearance and circulation of minutes when requested, and ensure that follow-up is documented.

• Draft, edit, format, proofread, and quality-check routine correspondence, briefing notes, minutes, reports, presentations, talking-point packs, and other materials in English and Arabic.
• Apply consistent document standards, version control, naming conventions, records management, and filing practices; ensure that materials are complete, accessible, and stored in the appropriate systems.
• Maintain institutional memory through well-structured trackers, contact lists, event records, mission files, decision logs, and handover documentation.
• Undertake basic research, retrieve and consolidate information from credible sources, and present it in concise, decision-useful formats.
• Support translation and bilingual quality assurance, ensuring meaning, tone, titles, and institutional terminology are accurately preserved.

• Use Microsoft 365 and approved WBG digital tools effectively to organize work, collaborate, track actions, manage information, and prepare high-quality outputs.
• Identify repetitive administrative processes that can be simplified, standardized, or responsibly automated, and propose practical improvements to the supervisor and relevant colleagues.
• Use approved AI-enabled tools responsibly for tasks such as first-draft preparation, summarization, formatting, and information organization, while applying human review, protecting confidential information, and complying with WBG information-security and records-management requirements.
• Maintain awareness of new office systems, procedures, and digital practices; support colleagues in adopting efficient and consistent ways of working.
• Help develop reusable templates, checklists, dashboards, trackers, and standard operating notes that improve quality, resilience, and continuity.

• Contribute to a respectful, inclusive, and solutions-oriented office culture; collaborate across the CMU, industry teams, WBG institutions, and ACS networks.
• Participate in office planning, retreats, administrative working groups, onboarding, and other initiatives that strengthen team effectiveness.
• Maintain clear desk instructions and handover notes for critical recurring processes, and support continuity during absences or changes in responsibilities.
• Undertake other duties consistent with the role and grade, including occasional travel or out-of-hours support during exceptional business needs, in line with applicable policies.

• Reliable execution: calendars, travel, meetings, missions, events, payments, and routine transactions are accurate, timely, and policy-compliant.
• Anticipation and responsiveness: emerging needs, conflicts, and deadlines are identified early, with practical options brought forward.
• Quality and professionalism: correspondence and materials are clear, well presented, accurate, and appropriate for senior-level engagement.
• Follow-through and accountability: actions, decisions, and commitments are tracked and closed, with risks or delays escalated promptly.
• Stakeholder service: internal and external counterparts experience responsive, respectful, and well-coordinated engagement.
• Knowledge continuity: records, contact information, templates, trackers, and handover materials remain current, accessible, and usable.
• Continuous improvement: the incumbent contributes practical improvements that reduce avoidable friction, strengthen controls, and improve team productivity.

Selection Criteria

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, international relations, public administration, communications, or another relevant field.
• At least five years of relevant experience in program, executive, administrative, operational, or coordination support. Experience in an international organization, development institution, financial institution, government-facing environment, or multinational organization is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior staff and coordinating high-level meetings, missions, events, travel, and multiple concurrent workflows.
• Familiarity with IFC/WBG procedures is an advantage; otherwise, demonstrated ability to learn and apply complex institutional policies, systems, and controls is required.

• Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic, including drafting, editing, proofreading, and accurate handling of institutional and official terminology.
• Advanced working proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive, and related collaboration and document-management tools.
• Strong organizational and project-coordination skills, with the ability to prioritize, sequence work, maintain oversight of details, and deliver under pressure.
• High level of accuracy, service orientation, discretion, judgment, and reliability in handling confidential and time-sensitive information.
• Ability to synthesize information, conduct basic research, prepare concise summaries, and convert inputs into clear and usable materials.
• Demonstrated digital curiosity and ability to learn new systems and use approved technology responsibly to improve productivity and quality.
• Ability to operate effectively in a multicultural environment and engage diplomatically with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

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.