Operations Officer

Job #:	req11321
Organization:	IFC
Sector:	Other
Grade:	GG
Term Duration:	3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:	Local Recruitment
Location:	Hanoi,Vietnam
Required Language(s):	English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date:	4/5/2021 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Private sector development is essential to the promotion of successful and sustainable economies in low and middle-income countries around the world. Sound and efficient markets can ensure that resources are allocated where they are most productive, assisting job creation and spurring economic growth.

Economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) has lifted millions out of poverty over the past decades. Yet income inequality remains a challenge. Supporting inclusive growth is one of IFC’s priorities in the region—where our long-term investments totaled $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2018, including $1.4 billion in funds mobilized from other investors. IFC aims to help Indonesia’s private sector attract investments, create jobs, and boost sustainable economic growth with the highest overall exposure in the financial markets, chemicals and power sectors. IFC’s Advisory Services portfolio comprises 18 advisory projects and $34.7 million in funds under management.

IFC’s Creating Markets Advisory (CMA) team works to improve the enabling environment to support both IFC and private investments. Our global experience shows that challenges in the business environment mean that countries lose significant amounts of investment annually, and so our team works proactively contribute to creating effective and efficient market conditions for increased investment. We leverage relationships with the public sector, private sector and the World Bank Group in our client countries to identify, design and implement legal and regulatory reforms and strengthen capacity to address key bottlenecks to private sector engagement and investment.

CMA currently operates across the EAP region, with an active portfolio in Fiji, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Role & Responsibilities

In this role, the selected candidate will serve as an Operations Officer for the CMA team in Hanoi, Vietnam. He/she will work closely with IFC Upstream, Investments and Advisory staff as well as World Bank staff to design and ensure implementation of reforms that address bottlenecks faced by investors in IFC’s priority sectors, using a variety of WBG tools and offerings. He/she will play a leading role executing strategic initiatives to enhance the CMA practice in Vietnam, innovate new projects and build new business in line with the WBG/IFC country strategy and business plan, and deliver high quality advisory engagements to the Government and private sector.

The selected candidate will report directly to the CMA Regional Manager for EAP.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The selected candidate will be responsible for delivering market-creating client solutions by leveraging local and regional resources. In this respect, the focus will be to ensure the existing CMA portfolio is responsive to IFC’s upstream and investment priorities, as well as to build new business given the potential market and client needs, aligned with the IFC strategy and business plan for Vietnam.

Client and Stakeholder Management:

• Provide technical advice and monitor progress in implementing investment climate reforms. Develop new business development in line with client and market needs as well as IFC priorities.

• Communicate with senior level clients of the Government and private sector and articulate the case for investment climate reform that can unlock investment potential.

• Work collaboratively with IFC Investment/Upstream/Advisory colleagues to align advisory to help build a pipeline of investment projects and provide solutions to key portfolio clients.

• Engage with the relevant teams at the World Bank and IFC for reforms needed to unlock new markets and work collaboratively with Upstream teams.

• Engage pro-actively with donor partners to report progress on donor funded programs and develop new fund-raising proposals.

Design and Operationalize Solutions:

• Collaborate with CMA as well as Upstream/industry specialists in the identification and design of investment climate reforms to unlock investment potential and create markets in Vietnam.

• Develop and contribute to the development and approval of relevant project documents (Concept Notes and Implementation Plans) and client deliverables to ensure standards and objectives are met.

• Leverage relationships with Government officials, private sector and World Bank Group staff to design and implement reforms using existing or new projects and tools to support reform implementation.

• Improve the design and delivery of client solutions by incorporating global best practices and lessons from past. Partner with results team in developing appropriate theories of change and results frameworks and indicators to strengthen the development impact and sustainability of client solutions and continuously learn from client projects/ engagements.

• Ensure high quality of project supervision and completion documents and provide quality control over client deliverables. Moreover, support client in implementing recommendations and help trouble shoot as needed.

Create and Share Knowledge and Build Capacity:

• Support peer to peer knowledge exchange sessions across the region.

• Conduct research to shape ongoing and future offerings in investment climate reform and develop new tools and guidance to incorporate internal and external best practices.

• Design and deliver training and communication strategy for Investment and Advisory staff to better enable them to be champions for investment climate reform, and for external stakeholders to generate interest in investment climate reforms and understanding of why it is important/ advantageous to businesses, community and/or economy.

• Proactively strengthen the value proposition of advisory products through embracing new trends and partnerships.

• Help build a bench strength of experts and consultants in the thematic areas of leadership in the country.

Staff/Consultant Supervision:

• Oversee/ supervise assigned staff and consultants.

• Develop technical capabilities of the assigned staff and members of the team through mentoring, coaching, and by providing on-the-job learning opportunities.

• Ensure quality control of work products and outputs.

• Determine resources needed to support projects and ensure efficient/ effective use of resources.

• Manage project budgets and align staffing needs.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in Law, Finance, Business, Economics, or a closely related field, or professional certification (CPA, CFA).

• At least 12 years’ experience in private sector development, with a focus on delivering investment climate, investment facilitation and sector reforms in Vietnam, and across countries in the region.

• Strong skills and demonstrated track record in delivering advisory engagements in the area of investment climate reform both economy wide and sector level reforms.

• Strong technical knowledge and demonstrated track record in delivering advisory engagements in several of the following thematic areas: economy wide reforms (business regulations, investment policy, competition policy, industrial and special economic zones, climate, gender, entrepreneurship); and/or sector regulatory reforms in agribusiness, manufacturing, health, education, energy, infrastructure, PPP, financial sector, digital economy and disruptive technology.

• Understanding of Vietnam business environment and key issues critical for the private sector development, and great knowledge of key stakeholders in this area. Understanding Vietnam’s government structure, at both national and sub-national levels, and able to work/communicate independently with senior government officers.

• Understanding of IFC and WBG products/instruments and where there are opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration. Demonstrable experience working on IFC and WBG products will be an advantage.

• Understanding the implications of different policy and regulatory frameworks governing the thematic areas.

• Able to design, negotiate and lead efforts to develop client offerings that reflect in-depth knowledge of thematic area and understanding of business case for how thematic focus will help client to improve their business.

• Able to identify how changes in markets, business climate, regulations or emergence of new/ successful innovators/ disruptors may create new opportunities for IFC to accelerate its mandate in a thematic area.

• Thorough understanding of IFC products, what is likely to be approved, and how long it will take. Good understanding of WBG and how to initiate collaborative efforts to leverage its products/ instruments.

• Able to design research and analytical projects or major portion of complex projects to credibly. produce new understanding of a thematic issue and/or potential opportunities to unlock new markets or new streams of business.

• Strong drive for results and impact, great responsiveness and team work.

• Excellent knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and aptitude to learn new systems is a must. Ability to use IFC project management systems such as Iportal is a an additional advantage.

• Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills in English is a must. Relevant work experience in Vietnam, engaging with governments and knowledge of Vietnamese will be an additional asset.

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.

APPLY HERE.

DEADLINE: 5th April 2021