Background / General description
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development.
IFC’s Sustainable Business Advisory (SBA) teams work with companies to adopt responsible business practices which transform markets and improve people's lives. We work with a range of industrial sectors including agribusiness, infrastructure, oil, gas, mining, services and manufacturing.
Our work covers agribusiness, manufacturing, infrastructure, oil, gas, mining, services, and other sectors. Our programs promote good corporate governance and strategic community investments; advance women in business, small scale farmers, and small firms, and engage the private sector in climate-change solutions.
IFC’s SBA portfolio in Sub-Saharan Africa includes projects that in the pipeline, others in the mobilization or implementation phases, and yet others are approaching close out. Each phase places unique needs to the project management team, and requires to continually ensure the portfolio is aligned to, and on target towards achieving global SBA and IFC strategic objectives. SBA is recruiting a Portfolio Management Officer who will coordinate these activities and standardize the way the portfolio is managed.
The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya and reports to the SBA Business Line Manager through the Sector Lead for Portfolio and Operations.
Duties and Accountabilities
The SBA Portfolio Management Officer will monitor and propose project amendments for the SBA portfolio that ensures that the strategic business line and corporate objectives are achieved. He/she is expected to approach project teams and clients, as well as investment, advisory and IFC support staff with a clear value proposition in the broad context of operational sustainability.
The role of Project Management Officer is broken down into the following workstreams:
Africa SBA Portfolio Management:
Work with Sector leads to ensure compliance with quality at entry requirements regarding: i) budgets; ii) indicators and targets; iii) IDD and other relevant areas prior to Concept Review discussions.
Coordinate a schedule of upcoming project discussions – pre CRM, pre PSR, and pre PCR.
Provide high-level review of pipeline projects to ensure key elements to project success are included during design, and managerial review. Such elements include baseline survey, budget, work plan, monitoring framework, risk and mitigation plan.
Implement an effective system that identifies real time portfolio maintenance tasks on: i) Periodic monitoring reports on budgets and performance; ii) Project Supervision Reports (“PSRs”); iii) Client Survey reports; iv) Project Completion Reports and v) Project termination/droppage as needed.
Work with project teams to ensure approved projects remain aligned to SBA strategic objectives.
Monitor project approaching closure and provide tactical support to transaction leaders to ensure project close out smoothly. Moreover, ensure financial and operational closure requirements are satisfied.
Portfolio Quality Assurance:
Collate quarterly data from COGNOS or other corporate sources for RBLM and region review to ensure timely response to current and future portfolio, region and global business line needs.
Collate the current data quality requirements, standardize requirements and communicate with SBA team to ensure consistent application.
Work with Task Leaders to ensure that at project level, accurate data facilitates timely project review and meaningful interpretation.
Set up and maintain a comprehensive SBA portfolio database linked to a similarly current IFC investment client portfolio in CAF.
Design an alert system that identifies and monitors projects that fall out of Process and Information Quality (PIQ) requirements. Work with task leaders to remedy the shortcoming.
Portfolio Reporting:
Coordinate and recommend quarterly SBA portfolio reviews and ensure lessons drawn are effectively shared for real time portfolio improvements.
Monitor on a monthly portfolio performance against projected targets. Business Line score card should be designed and used to track among other attributes financial and development impact achievement.
Prepare scheduled portfolio reports as well as occasional adhoc reports as required, and electronically publish reports on icollaborate, ASBAN and others as needed.
The candidate may be required to undertake occasional field visits for portfolio monitoring purposes.
Selection Criteria
Masters degree in a relevant field.
6+ years of experience in project development and management, demonstrating strong skills in financial projections and scenario analysis, as well as in project monitoring and evaluation.
Ability to work with minimal supervision and to demonstrate autonomy and initiative.
Exceptional ability to rapidly gain knowledge about IFC’s programs, to function in a fast-paced high-performance environment, to manage multiple tasks, and to deliver under tight deadlines with very short notice.
Excellent communication skills in English, and the ability to present ideas and information clearly and concisely; candidates with French or Portuguese language skills have a competitive advantage.
Excellent organizational and people management skills.
Ability to operate successfully in a fast-paced, multicultural environment, to manage multiple tasks, to deliver under tight deadlines with short notice, and to develop and maintain effective relations with a large and diversified group of internal and external stakeholders.
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