| Job #: | 112410 |
| Title: | Operations Officer - Access to Finance Advisory |
| Job Stream: | Technical Assistance & Advisory Services |
| Location: | Washington, DC |
| Closing Date: | 12/20/2011 |
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| Background / General description: |
| The International Finance Corporation: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. In addition to its investment work, IFC provides a number of advisory services funded through different donors as well as its own income-generating activities, by developing targeted programs and projects to strengthen financial institutions and markets. IFC & Access to Financial Services: Financial inclusion encompasses the range, quality and availability of financial services to the underserved and the financially excluded. Some 3 billion adults – almost 70 percent of the population in developing countries – have little or no access to formal financial services. IFC’s financial inclusion efforts focus not only on the financially excluded but also on the underserved micro-and small enterprises and low-income populations in developing countries through supporting a wide range of products and services. Formal financial services such as savings, loans, money transfers and insurance enable poor families to invest in enterprises and improve their nutrition, living conditions, and the health and education of their children. IFC is a leading global investor in terms of volume. In FY11, IFC committed US$382 million in 42 projects with financial institutions. Combining investment capital, strong governance and Advisory Services, IFC’s focuses on creating and supporting commercially viable financial institutions that can attract the private capital needed to scale up and respond to unmet demand. As part of IFC’s strategy to provide access to finance services to undeserved communities, the Global Retail and Micro cluster supports regional teams to develop, design and implement projects that address the financial needs of the poor, micro and retail segments across the globe. This is done by extending technical and operational support to regional teams and clients. A key mechanism that IFC uses to provide advisory services in access to finance is the IFC’s Performance Based Grants Initiative (PBGI). Through the PBGI program IFC has approved projects in more than nineteen countries across the six regions of the globe and across a range of product lines including microfinance, housing finance, retail payments. PBGI incentivizes and supports clients to develop new products and venture into new underserved markets, which would otherwise be difficult for client institutions in developing countries to do. This approach has been established as an important mechanism for increasing client outreach through implementation of best practices and client accountability. As of September 30, 2011, IFC has signed twenty grant agreements supported by PBGI, with a committed value of over $10.5 million. In addition, IFC is actively promoting the development and rollout of advisory initiatives across the micro and retail sector in areas such as insurance, housing finance and retail/electronic payments. The focus is to make available for the micro and household segments a suite of products that support access to financial services for the poor in areas such as housing finance, retail payments and insurance. The broad objective of the housing finance program is to support micro and low income housing in regions where there is a lack of access to housing finance for the underserved. The retail/electronic payments program enables cost effective and easy transfer of payments through mobile phones and/or electronic cards, particularly helping the poor who traditionally do not have access to bank accounts and bank branches. A key focus of IFC’s insurance program is to develop and implement appropriate insurance products for the poor that transfer and mitigate everyday risk, such as the loss of capacity to generate income due to sickness or accident, the loss of property, or the extra cost of living to recover from a natural disaster. IFC actively supports the implementation of its micro and retail programs including insurance, housing finance and retail payments/e-banking programs across the regions by providing expertise in the design of advisory interventions; facilitating cross-learning and the sharing of best practices; and supporting innovation of new products in collaboration with other product areas in the SME Financing and Financial Infrastructure clusters. |
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| Duties and Accountabilities: |
| IFC’s Access to Finance Advisory Services Department (A2F), under the Vice Presidency of Business Advisory Services, caters to both policy and project related advisory work on financial markets, financial institutions and financial infrastructure. The Micro and Retail Finance cluster works to address gaps in access to financial services for households, through key areas such as microfinance, retail payment channels including mobile banking, housing finance, responsible finance, and insurance. IFC is seeking to recruit a highly-motivated Operations Officer, with extensive hands on experience in designing and managing advisory services programs and projects for developing countries. The Operations Officer will (i) be a key resource to support IFC’s regions in the Micro and Retail cluster in Access to Finance, in particular through a close working collaboration with regional staff on the management of PBGI projects and (ii) as a specific task focus on ramping up IFC’s advisory capacity in global programs for Insurance, Housing Finance and Retail/electronic payments. He/she will support the global programs through program management and contribution to its knowledge management agendas. In addition, he/she will work closely with the regional A2F project teams through client related work, focusing on innovative approaches in project identification and project design. The Operations Officer will be based in Washington, DC an IFC Hub (which is yet to be determined) and will be part of the Access to Finance Micro and Retail Cluster. He/she will report to the Global Head, A2F Micro and Retail Cluster. Specific tasks/responsibilities related to the management of the PBGI Program include: Manage the PBGI Program by coordinating closely with regional teams to ensure project implementation and achievement of program targets, program spending and governance. Work closely with regional teams and product specialists to develop a pipeline, support project design, implementation and supervision, to ensure quality design and successful implementation of projects. Coordinate closely with the PBGI Committee in obtaining project concept approvals, reporting on programs and projects progress and maintaining dialogue around key issues and areas of interest in access to finance. Prepare presentations and raise awareness about the program for IFC’s regional teams, stakeholders (both public and private institutions) and clients. Drive knowledge management through harnessing and disseminating lessons learnt generated from PBGI supported projects Ensure that all reporting requirements, in particular to the Board/EDs and management team are met. Specific tasks/responsibilities related to global programs in the Retail and Micro cluster include: Work with the Global Product Specialists to establish IFC’s position as a knowledge leader in Insurance, Housing Finance and Retail/Electronic Payments, to promote and support IFC’s programs in this space and contribute to the design and implementation of knowledge management tools and standards. Provide support to the Product Specialist and Project teams for project design, implementation and supervision to ensure quality design and successful implementation. Work with the Product Specialist and across product lines to develop the product strategy and overall approach for the micro-retail program, specifically focusing on Insurance, Housing Finance and Retail/Electronic Payments. Work with the regional teams to develop a pipeline of projects and identify implementing partners. A key focus of the role will be the innovative application of ideas and approaches to help regions identify projects design and develop concepts and implementation plans. Prepare presentations and organize awareness raising events for potential clients and stakeholders (both public and private institutions) and regional IFC staff. Assist in developing a Knowledge Management approach, standards and tools and support cross learning and sharing of best practices. Develop and maintain strong relationships with the products’ respective industries and industry experts across the regions. |
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| Selection Criteria: |
| Masters Degree in Business Administration, Economics, International Relations, Agriculture, Finance and Accounting or other relevant area Demonstrated experience in at least one of the following areas is necessary: SME Banking, Agriculture/agribusiness finance, Insurance/Micro-insurance, Microfinance, Housing Finance, and/or Leasing. Eight years of relevant work experience is required. Proven working experience in designing advisory services projects in developing countries is highly desirable. Familiarity with Project Management, including identification, appraisal, implementation and supervision of advisory services projects Must be a self-starter, willing to take initiative and be resourceful and imaginative in providing solutions to clients Excellent communication skills, including written and oral presentation skills Excellent oral and written communication in English is essential. Fluency in Arabic, French or Spanish desired. Certain familiarity with donor funding processes is desirable. Some knowledge of IFC systems would be an asset (including ASOP, SAP, IBIS) Readiness to travel for extended period whilst visiting projects usually in remote locations and across the regions. Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. |
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