Associate Operations Officer E&S Advisory Services, Cairo, Egypt 261 views0 applications

Associate Operations Officer E&S Advisory Services

Job #: req7358

Organization: IFC

Sector: Advisory Services

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Location: Cairo,Egypt

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s): French

Closing Date: 6/8/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is full of meaning and impact? The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities where they are needed most. Visit www.ifc.org.

The ESG Sustainability Advice and Solutions department (CEG) is IFC’s center of excellence in the area of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and offers a range of expertise to help IFC’s Investment and Advisory clients identify and solve complex environmental, social, and corporate governance risk-related challenges, and to find value-added opportunities in their business operations. CEG includes approximately 290 staff and consultants based in Washington DC and globally, many of whom are considered experts in their respective fields. More details can be found at http://www.ifc.org/sustainability.

IFC is unique among Development Finance Institutions to have this cadre of in-house environment, social and corporate governance experts. It is through this expertise that CEG delivers on the two goals of its strategy: (i) partnering with IFC’s investment departments to manage ESG risks associated with their investments and find solutions to client issues and (ii) leveraging our ESG expertise and operational experience in emerging markets to maintain IFC’s leadership in sustainability through ESG standards – the Environmental and Social (E&S) Performance Standards ( http://www.ifc.org/performancestandards) and the Corporate Governance Methodology ( http://www.ifc.org/corporategovernance) – and to encourage the effective adoption of these standards by companies and investors across the emerging markets. IFC’s standards have been widely adopted in emerging markets by development banks, project finance banks ( http://www.equator-principles.com/), and export credit agencies such that over the last decade US$4.5 trillion have been invested adhering to them.

In addition to its investment support activities, IFC provides ESG Advisory Services (AS) both to its clients and at the market level. The AS team responsible for the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa (MEA) region is currently implementing and preparing several AS programs supporting both individual IFC clients with enhancing their ESG practices and getting them investment ready, as well as complementary market-level programs engaging with regulators and industry associations on developing sector-wide ESG standards and guidelines, training market level institutions (training institutes, consultants) and providing awareness raising and capacity building activities.

IFC is looking for dynamic, motivated, and detail-oriented professional with strong E&S experience and excellent project management, communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills to join IFC’s team of advisory specialists to be located in Cairo, Egypt. The Operations Officer will report to the ESG Advisory Lead for the Middle East and Africa.

Duties and Accountabilities

The position will support the design and implementation of E&S related aspects of IFC’s ESG Advisory Services projects in Sub-Sahara Africa focused on clients and markets. The Associate Operations Officer’s tasks will include the following:

ESG Advisory Services Project Delivery (preparation and implementation)

Independently manage as Project Leader (PL) the preparation and delivery of a select number of ESG AS projects (including CEG-led projects, or ESG components of engagements led by other units in the region) and provide E&S cross-support to other PLs and projects. This will include:

• Support the preparation of new ESG AS projects including identification of project countries and key areas of support, undertake baseline assessments, design project components and activities, develop project budgets and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) frameworks, and draft high-quality project documents including concept notes and implementation plans.
• Lead on technical implementation of all project activities (e.g. led engagement with all project partners, prepare technical inputs and feedback on ESG guidelines and regulations, develop course materials and deliver workshop/trainings, undertake diagnostics of client’s ESG practices, preparation of AS proposals and taking the lead on AS support delivery) and oversee all tasks supported by consultants, ensuring highest levels of product quality and client service at the project level.
• Engagement and follow up with local partners including leading discussions on activities to be supported, preparation of project implementation plans, development of cooperation agreements and execution of all project activities.
• Draft and process all program related documents including workplans, terms of reference, Integrity Due Diligence – IDDs, project budget updates, extension memo’s etc. in line with IFC’s AS governance procedures.
• Identify and anticipate financial project needs, develop detailed project budgets, and manage and report on financial performance according to plans, and undertake procurement for all project related activities.
• Identify, recruit, monitor and manage additional consultants and/or technical firms needed to support implementation.
• Monitor development results, collect and enter all relevant evidence to substantiate project results in Advisory Services Operations Portal (ASOP), and ensure legal agreements are filed.
• Prepare Project Status Reports (PSRs) and ensure supervision reports for all projects managed, including ASOP and M&E Framework updates are submitted in time in accordance with IFC’s AS operational guidelines.
• Prepare Project Completion Reports (PCRs) that are of high quality and adhere to the Independent Evaluations Group – IEG evaluation criteria.
• Work with donor team to manage current project donor relationship, including (but not limited to) preparing donor reports, attending meetings, and managing donor relationships in local country offices.
• Ensure MEA Regional AS Lead and ESG Manager are adequately informed on program implementation and key issues across all projects.
• Manage internal and external reporting, communication and ESG AS Program promotion across key stakeholders.
• Support Regional AS Lead identify and mobilize funding sources to deliver on the ESG AS Program, including active regional fundraising and proposal writing for development partners.
• Closely liase with ESG Specialists providing Investment Support including Regional Team Leads – RTLs and staff to identify AS opportunities at the client and market level, and support preparation of respective AS projects.

Support to Knowledge Management and other Regional and Global Initiatives

• Stay abreast of regional ESG market trends, industry, national and sub-area developments and research to ensure client products are current and relevant, seeking input from ESG advisory and investment colleagues as necessary.
• Consolidate and analyze lessons learned from project implementation experiences and sharing with Regional AS Lead, team members and colleagues across the region, fostering innovation and knowledge exchange between IFC colleagues involved in the program and other key partners.
• Contribute to ESG KM initiatives led by ESG Regional and Global Advisory, Knowledge and Learning teams.
• Support Regional AS lead on other initiatives and projects that are cross-cutting as needed.
• Work with the Regional AS Lead and communication consultants to contribute to the programs’ communication materials (brochures, case studies, videos, pod-casts, newsletters, feature stories, website articles, etc.)

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in relevant discipline (e.g. environmental management, social sciences, or another related field)
• 5-10 years of experience working with IFC’s Performance Standards and understanding of good international industry practices for environmental and social standards (e.g. IFC Sustainability Framework and supporting documents such as Guidance Notes, EHS Guidelines (www.ifc.org/ehsguidelines)
• 5-10 years of practical experience working with Financial Intermediaries (FIs) on environmental and social risk management, including demonstrated understanding of the concept of management systems for FIs and familiarity with financial sector products, financial institutions, private equity funds and how these operate, as well as sustainable finance opportunities
• Demonstrated track record of designing and delivering training on E&S
• Experience and proven ability to work with senior management of firms and regulators
• Familiarity with IFC’s Advisory Services operations, policies and procedures, and systems a plus
• Excellent project management skills including work planning, budgeting; monitoring and evaluation. Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize, deal with frequent unexpected changes, and manage multiple tasks under tight deadlines. Attention to detail a must
• Driven self-starter with a high degree of responsiveness, proactivity and excellent collaboration skills
• Good team player with strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team, work effectively in and influence a team, and network effectively across boundaries
• Ability to communicate effectively and concisely in spoken and written English is essential. French a plus
• Experience working in Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa critical

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.