Climate Operations Officer at World Bank Group

Job Description

• The Operations Officer will be responsible for supporting MAS Africa teams in sourcing and implementing climate finance projects across the Africa region; enhancing the impact and development outcomes of such projects; and maintaining compliance with the IFC corporate guidelines on climate finance and Paris Alignment.
• In this role, the Operations Officer will work closely with Investment, Upstream & Advisory, and regional teams to support IFC’s business objectives.
• The position will report to the MAS Africa Upstream & Advisory Manager and work closely with the MAS Africa Regional Climate Lead.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The roles and responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Identification and assessment of Climate Finance investment opportunities with existing and potential private sector clients.
• Leading and supporting the implementation of upstream and advisory engagements aimed at identifying, enabling, and de-risking climate investment opportunities, including provision of technical inputs within the relevant area of expertise.
• Supporting business development for climate finance opportunities including writing concept notes, preparing budgets, brief presentations, or other materials.
• Provide guidance to transaction teams on the climate-related impact and Paris alignment of transactions including recommendations on optimal structuring of investment transactions.
• Maintaining data on client engagements to track identified pipeline projects, completed transactions, status of climate and Paris alignment assessments, as well as climate-related upstream and advisory engagements. 
• Contribute to IFC internal portfolio reporting and quality control activities on climate business results and Paris alignment.
• Contribute to internal and external communications materials on specific climate-linked transactions, climate business results, trends, and opportunities.
• Contribute to relevant diagnostic assessments and sector-level initiatives conducted by the World Bank Group including Climate Change Development Reports (CCDR), Climate Strategies, Country Partnership Frameworks etc. 
• Develop strong relations with internal clients, other World Bank Group units, and development partners on climate-related matters.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree or equivalent professional qualification in Business, Finance, Economics, Environmental science/Policy or another relevant field.
• Qualifications in engineering; project management; or environmental, social and governance (ESG) will be an advantage.
• Over 8 years of experience working on climate change mitigation and adaptation and/or sustainable finance.
• Proven track record of climate finance project development and/or origination and structuring climate finance transactions, including managing teams and workflows.
• Solid understanding of the global context climate mitigation and adaptation, climate and environmental finance, prevalent methodologies, framework and principles for project development and assessment.
• A good understanding of the climate-related trends and opportunities in Africa and key regional markets.
• Technical expertise in any of the following areas: Sustainable finance instruments; Climate-smart agriculture and food value chains (including climate resilience and adaptation); Carbon markets; Renewable energy; Deep industrial decarbonization technologies (such as carbon capture, green hydrogen, etc.)
• Experience in project and program management including executing implementation plans with defined business development milestones.
• Ability to engage with private sector clients, local and national governments, and other stakeholders to encourage pioneering business and market development.
• Proven track record in nurturing client relationships, resolving challenging issues and ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results under tight timetables; strong organizational, administrative, project and task management skills.
• A genuine commitment to development and to the World Bank Group and IFC's mission, strategy, and values.
• Outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills in English.