Senior Operations Officer – Regional Gender Hub Lead – Africa Full Time

• Master’s degree in economics, finance, business, or other relevant discipline required.
• Eight to twelve years of professional experience in private sector development in emerging markets (required) with decision-making responsibility, ideally with a focus on gender and inclusion.
• Experience in structuring investment and advisory projects, including results frameworks to capture gender / inclusion outcomes and impacts.
• Broad experience across gender and economic inclusion topics and the demonstrated ability to engage with credibility and confidence.
• Ability to self-manage, multitask, and work under time constraints.
• Successful record of managing staff/consultants/temporaries in a project, monitoring project issues and tasks, meeting deadlines and setting priorities.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, sound business judgment to identify issues, and present creative and practical solutions.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills in English, including strong ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend solutions. Fluency in French is a plus.
• Demonstrated commitment to IFC core values, including excellence, mutual respect, collegiality, teamwork, diversity and inclusiveness, integrity, innovation, transparency, and accountability.

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. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

IFC is deeply committed to advancing gender equality and economic inclusion as laid out in IFC’s 2030 Roadmap for Gender and Inclusion to deliver game-changing private sector partnerships and programs to accelerate gender equality and inclusion in emerging markets. Aligned with the new World Bank Group (WBG) Gender Strategy (2024-30): Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet, IFC’s Roadmap is built on six priorities offering high potential for impact in and through the private sector. These areas aim to (1) Allocate Capital that Drives Inclusion, (2) Make Supply Chains Inclusive, and (3) Remove Barriers to Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Leadership (including addressing gender-based violence). Equally important are three cross-cutting themes that are foundational to achieving sustainable results across the priority areas and require action: (4) Bridging the Digital Divide; (5) Accelerating Inclusive and Gender-Smart Climate Action; and (6) ending Gender-based Violence and Harassment.

As part of its mandate, IFC’s Cross-Cutting Vice Presidency includes a dedicated team, the Gender and Economic Inclusion (GEI) Department (GEID), that works with IFC’s investment and advisory teams to support private and public sector clients in providing all genders and underserved communities with equal economic opportunities as leaders, employees, entrepreneurs, consumers, and community members. GEID leads strategy development and implementation for the organization, provides tailored operational solutions and client advice, innovates, and incubates novel approaches, serves a thought leader and disseminator of knowledge on GEI issues, supports mobilization through impact investing and sustainable financing; and forges public and private sector partnerships with the aim of creating economic opportunities and development for all.

GEID is establishing a new operating model built around Global Operations in four Regional Gender Hubs and two new units focused on Thought Leadership and Innovation. The Regional Gender Hubs will serve as comprehensive “one-stop shops” providing dedicated knowledge, expertise, and resources on gender and economic inclusion to IFC regional operations. The Hubs are designed to enhance closer collaboration with regional industry leadership and investment officers and expand the presence of gender experts closer to the clients.

Each Gender Hub will also host a Center of Excellence focused on the most pressing gender and inclusion issues / opportunities of the region and provide leadership on that theme globally. The Center of Excellence in Africa focuses on ending Gender-based Violence and Harassment. Rates of Gender-based violence in East and Southern Africa are among the highest globally. Impacts of violence and harassment may have spillover effects on employment and access to capital, necessitating holist gender solutions.

Each Hub will be led by a Regional Gender Hub Lead, who reports to the GEID Manager for Global Operations. The Head will also have a dotted reporting line to IFC’s Regional Director responsible for the country where the Hub is located. The Lead will supervise a team including Program Officers and their teams  working at the sub-region level.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Regional portfolio and business development 

• Portfolio: Manage the delivery of regional gender portfolio ensuring provision of high-quality services to internal (industry/regional) and external clients.
• Accelerate Opportunities to include Gender and Inclusion Solutions: Support regional and industry leadership to identify and to embed gender and economic inclusion solutions in their existing and pipeline investment and advisory projects by supporting the screening of the project pipeline and identifying opportunities and helping implement solutions.
• Strategic Initiatives and Country Programs: Identify, develop, and support initiatives aligned with IFC’s 2030 Roadmap and projects that advance gender and economic inclusion in the region. Oversee the design of Country Programs to address gender barriers through a coordinated, country-level set of interventions to deliver measurable gender outcomes. The program’s specific themes, activities and targets are co-designed and implemented in collaboration with IFC Industry teams.

Regional strategy, KPIs reporting, fundraising and partnerships: 

• Advise IFC regional and country management on gender issues.
• Coordinate and provide to IFC regional and country management consistent inputs in regional, country, and industry/sector projects, programs, and strategies.
• Coordinate monitoring and tracking of gender results and outcomes/impacts in alignment with IFC Gender KPIs and the World Bank Group Corporate Scorecard and provide IFC regional and country management with regular updates.
• Manage in coordination with the regional IFC Partnerships Team relationships with regional development partners and donors.
• Support the regional communications team and regional and country management on gender and economic inclusion topics externally, such as at regional events, with partners, and in the media.

Innovation and Thought Leadership 

• Ensure a consistent feedback loop to share stories of impact and lessons learned with GEID’s Thought Leadership and Innovation Units and in turn, share best practices when piloting and scaling solutions and tracking outcomes.
• Foster innovation, encouraging new private sector solutions that help accelerate equality (gender, disability, SOGI/LGBTQ, base of pyramid, anti-racism, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, etc.), based on client demand and market opportunities.
• Represent IFC on gender and economic inclusion topics externally, such as at regional events, with partners, and in the media.

Regional team 

• Recruit, oversee and mentor regional operations staff and consultants, including staff performance management and effective onboarding of new hires.
• Recruit the thematic lead and develop the Center of Excellence in Africa focused on ending Gender-based Violence and Harassment.
• Build, convene and nurture a community of gender experts across regional industries.

Selection Criteria

• The candidate should be a seasoned candidate with in-depth experience working with the private sector and across institutional structures to deliver impactful solutions. S/he routinely leads staff, initiatives, programs, projects, and integrates the work of others (often multi-disciplinary). S/he confidently delivers quality output and can work and inspire others with a sense of urgency. S/he can proficiently interact with companies’ senior management, development partners and communicate with senior government counterparts and other organizations with confidence on the topic at hand.