Investment Officer - Agribusiness at International Finance Corporation (IFC)

IFC is seeking an Investment Officer for its Upstream Advisory with deep expertise in the Agri sectors (agriculture, agribusiness and forestry). The selected candidates will focus on developing high-quality Upstream and Advisory project pipeline in Africa with a particular focus on the West and Central Africa region under the supervision of the West Africa Agri Upstream Advisory Lead. S/he will also support policy work and other interventions across the World Bank Group to prioritize various initiatives and to maximize the impact of Upstream efforts. Please visit our website for more information on IFC’s work in Agri.

Duties & Accountabilities

The role and responsibilities of the position will include but not be limited to:

• Identify and assess Upstream opportunities that will connect to investment in 6-24 months based on country and sector strategies and market creation potential.
• Develop feasibility studies and implementation plans for Upstream projects that lead to IFC investments.
• Spot game-changing trends, technologies and business models that can bring solutions to emerging markets.
• Produce regular reports on the assigned Upstream Advisory portfolio including monitoring progress against project milestones and key performance indicators.
• Conduct sector-specific data analysis and stress-testing of various operating models to help generate ideas for new projects, new products and platform businesses.
• Work with the World Bank to identify and help implement sector and regulatory reforms that are needed to unlock opportunities for private investment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and form partnerships with staff across IFC and the World Bank Group, sponsors, clients and other external parties to enable delivery of Upstream Advisory projects.
• Facilitate knowledge flow across IFC and the World Bank Group and promote adoption of new approaches and best practices.
• Help build external recognition of IFC’s distinctive capabilities in working Upstream to catalyze greater flow of investment opportunities in the sector.
• Mentor more junior staff working on Upstream Advisory activities.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree or equivalent professional qualification in Business, Finance, Economics, International Relations, Science, Engineering, or other relevant field.
• At least 8-10 years of relevant experience in investment, project development, producing feasibility studies, hands-on advisory and/or consulting functions and deep understanding of investments in emerging markets.
• Genuine commitment to development and to the World Bank Group and IFC's mission, strategy and values.
• Understanding of IFC’s strategic priorities and changing business model against the backdrop of IFC 3.0.
• Strong financial, credit and equity skills; demonstrated ability to structure debt and equity instruments.
• Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of potential clients, financial and technical partners.
• Capacity to innovate and challenge the status quo and a proven track record in new idea generation, business development, and creating projects/programs from scratch.
• Sound business judgment in identifying potential investment opportunities.
• Strong understanding of the Agribusiness sector and ability to link policy reforms, advisory interventions, investment, and mobilization to deliver solutions at a country level via the Cascade approach.
• Experience engaging with private sector clients, local and national governments and other stakeholders to encourage pioneering business and market development.
• Experience in project/program management, including executing against implementation plans with defined business development milestones.
• Experience in monitoring and reporting on a portfolio of investment and/or projects/programs/initiatives.
• Outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills; demonstrated ability to synthetize complex information and make concrete strategic and tactical recommendations.
• Excellent people skills, openness to feedback, new ideas, and ability to guide and motivate others.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills in English. French, Arabic or Portuguese will be a plus.