The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is a global investor and advisor committed to promoting projects in its developing member countries that are economically beneficial, financially and commercially sound, and environmentally and socially sustainable. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses in the developing world.

POSITION : Investment Officer

Job Description

• The MAS department is recruiting an Investment Officer to join the Manufacturing Team, who are responsible for sourcing and executing transactions in the manufacturing sectors/sub sectors in Sub Saharan Africa.
• IFC Investment Officers are an integral part of multidisciplinary teams of highly qualified professionals, who have expertise in the regions and/or sectors in which we do business. Investment teams consist of lawyers, environmental and social specialists, and economists, as well as technical specialists.
• The selected candidate will be based in Lagos, Nigeria, and will work under the oversight of the Industry Manager, Manufacturing, for MAS based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Duties and Accountabilities

• The Investment Officer’s primary responsibilities will be to:
  • Work with other team members to generate, structure and negotiate solid and well balanced investments;
  • Evaluate, structure, negotiate, new equity transactions, portfolio restructurings, rescheduling, capital increases, equity sales, etc.; and
  • Coordinate closely with social, environmental, and advisory services colleagues in order to add value to clients' businesses, and achieve sustainable development impact.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop a strong pipeline of good quality investment opportunities by anticipating market trends and employing sector/country knowledge;
• Evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close new transactions, portfolio restructurings, rescheduling, capital increases, equity sales, etc;
• Develop innovative and appropriate financial structures for complex transactions;
• Execute IFC s project development investments with a strong focus on achieving bankable projects;
• Use strong negotiation skills to develop solutions and overcome impasses in straightforward and complex transactions;
• Maintain and nurture good relationships with existing clients. Understand and proactively manage client needs while looking out for IFC’s interest;
• Liaise with support departments such as Legal, Credit and Environment & Social to ensure the existing projects are adhering to IFC’s policies and standards;
• Understand and apply IFC’s Operational Procedures and New Business Operations and Supervision processes;
• Independently process disbursements, waivers and other ongoing project related activities;
• Prepare quarterly internal supervision reports for the assigned projects;
• Monitor and ensure compliance of existing investments with the investment agreements;
• Effectively value existing equity investments (strong financial modeling skills are required);
• Identify early warning signals for the assigned projects and where necessary, formulate and implement intervention strategies for work-outs, restructuring or rescheduling;
• Monitor equity holdings and develop and implement sales strategies to maximize IFC’s return and development impact;
• Ensure any downside risk is mitigated via relevant strategies, appropriate management actions, or through use of market based risk management instruments and strategies;
• Identify opportunities for further business with existing clients in the areas of investment, technical assistance activities (e.g., sustainability) and financial services (e.g., clean technology) ;
• Conduct sector and market research and assist in the preparation of country and sector strategy papers, briefs and project profiles. This would require working closely with the World Bank country and sector teams;
• Extract and feedback lessons of experience from IFC’s earlier investments.

Selection Criteria

• MBA, masters degree in Finance or equivalent;
• At least 8 years of work experience for a major commercial or investment bank with significant emerging markets presence, an international financial institution or a private equity firm;
• Experience in investment transaction, with proven success in developing client relationships as well as sourcing, negotiating, structuring and closing quality investments;
• Knowledge of and experience in emerging markets; knowledge of the manufacturing sector/sub-sectors a plus;
• Strong business judgment in identifying potential business partners;
• Strong financial and credit skills; sound business judgment and demonstrated ability to structure a variety of financial instruments (debt and equity);
• Client relationship skills, track record and ability to focus on client needs effectively;
• Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of clients, financial and technical partners as well as senior government officials;
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills, ability to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries and to build networks across the region, including the ability to mentor and coach others to achieve results;
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and time management skills;
• Proven ability to work independently and deliver promptly and efficiently under pressure and meet tight deadlines;
• Willingness to travel extensively and geographic flexibility;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; fluency in other languages (French, Portuguese or Spanish) a plus;

Note

• If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 4 year term appointment.
• No paper mail or faxes please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Applications (in English only) should be submitted by the deadline. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
• IFC’s Recruitment and Employment Policies reflect its strong values for cultural, racial and gender diversity. Citizens of Sub-Saharan African countries are particularly encouraged to apply.