Operations Officer/Senior Operations Officer (Program Manager)- Kyiv, Ukraine

Job #:	130410
Title:	Operations Officer/Senior Operations Officer (Program Manager)
Job Stream:	Technical Assistance & Advisory Services
Location:	Kyiv, Ukraine
Closing Date:	03/11/2013
Background / General description:
The Organization  IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.  The Program Developing the agrisector is one of IFC’s strategic goals for Ukraine. Improving the access to finance for agri-producers one of the key challenges to overcome. IFC has currently two advisory services projects that work with financial institutions towards this goal albeit from different angles. The two projects are the Ukraine Agri-Insurance Project and the Ukraine Agri-Finance Project, collectively named Ukraine Agri-Financial Services.  Ukraine Agri-Insurance: IFC is implementing the Ukraine Agri-Insurance Development Project in partnership with CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency. The Project is based in Kyiv and will run until June 2013, with an extension of a further 18 months being discussed. The Project facilitates the development of agri-insurance in Ukraine and addresses improvements in the regulatory environment, strengthen sector representative structures, improve technical capacity in agri-insurance through training in best practices, improve risk management through public education of farmers, banks, and insurance companies, and conduct practical pilot program to demonstrate agricultural risk management. Based on the expertise and know-how built up this project, it is aimed to establish a regional platform for advisory services for agri-insurance over the course of 2014. IFC has a global program working with insurances to support agri-producers, the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF). There are strong synergies and links between GIIF and the Ukraine Agri-Insurance.  Ukraine Agri-Finance: The objective of the Project is to promote further development of agricultural sector in Ukraine by increasing access to finance for farmers through financial institutions. The project will run at least until November 2014, with the possibility of a further extension (Austrian funding). The project has developed an agronomy-based credit risk management tools for banks to better understand agricultural production process, ensuing risks, and corresponding funding needs for farms. The project has now entered the phase of advising banks on agri-lending and corresponding credit policies and procedures, and providing training for bank loan officers on the above-mentioned tools/product/policies and procedures.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The Program Manager will provide strategic and technical oversight to the Ukraine Agri-Financial Services, with time equally split between both projects, with occasional travel within the country and abroad.  • Manage the Project to achieve project objectives; • Identify, evaluate, recommend, and implement approaches to key project issues, opportunities and needs, and consult with management to address them; • Develop new projects in ECA n agri-financial services; • Prioritize tasks, set goals and develop project implementation plans (with support from the IFC ECA AS management team); • Recruit and supervise the project team of specialists and support staff; • Recruit and supervise consultants where needed; • Manage the budget and be accountable for all expenditure; • Develop and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, donor, finance and market institutions, government authorities and other key players (including other relevant CIDA projects in Ukraine); • Provide regular reports on the project to management, the donor and others; • Provide support to/coordinate with other departments within IFC as may be required from time to time; • Ensure compliance with IFC and CIDA / Austrian Government policies and procedures in the conduct of the Project. • Ensure a coordinated approach and relationship management with client banks, government, and IFIs
Selection Criteria:
• Successful track record in management, preferably in private sector development • Strong commercial orientation • Project management experience - preferably in transition economies • At least 10 years of relevant work experience in agri-finance, or banking • Training/teaching/consulting skills, preferably in comparable conditions • Excellent communication skills • Proficient in English (written and oral); Ukrainian or Russian language skills is desired  • Able to work in a multicultural team, self-confident and energetic • Excellent time management skills, ability to travel *LI-EB1