E T Consultant at The International Finance Corporation (IFC)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the world’s biggest development organisation dedicated to the private sector in emerging nations. We operate in over 100 countries, utilising our cash, experience, and influence to help developing countries establish markets and opportunities. IFC pledged a record $43.7 billion to private enterprises and financial institutions in developing countries in fiscal year 2023, using the strength of the private sector to eradicate extreme poverty and increase shared prosperity as nations cope with the effects of global mounting crises.

Title: E T Consultant

Job ID: req24873

Location: Lagos

Grade: EC3

Sector: Gender
Term Duration: 1 year 0 months
Contract type: Locally Engaged

The Program

• She Wins Africa takes a holistic approach towards supporting the growth of women’s entrepreneurship in Africa.
• The project targets to reach at least 500 startups through investment readiness interventions and connections to investors; build capacity among accelerators, incubators, and other start ecosystem players; and raise awareness and train VC funders on why and how to do gender lens investing.  The program has four standalone projects:
  • Project 1: Women-led Startups: Round 1 of She Wins Africa Pitches and Investment Readiness Training: This component will provide investment readiness training in preparation for pitch events for at least 100 women-led startups from across sub–Saharan Africa.
  • Project 2: The IFC Africa Startups Academy: This work will set up a bootcamp for 200 early-stage, pre-seed women-led startups that are not able to access acceleration services. The main aim is to build capacity and enable them to enter acceleration.
  • Project 3: She Wins Africa Sub-regional Scaleup: This is the scale up phase where the project will reach an additional 200 women-led startups through building the capacity of accelerators in the region. Learning from child project 1, CDF’s Startup Catalyst program, as well as that of StartMaghreb and StartMashreq, this project will roll out the investment readiness and pitch competitions through selected partners across the region. This component will aim to scale up support for women entrepreneurs in selected countries especially where access to relevant support is not easily available for women-led businesses.
  • Project 4: Accelerating gender-lens investing momentum in Africa: This project will bring together a coalition of funds and VCs and other gender-lens investors to work together to accelerate access to finance for women and women-led startups in Africa.
• The position is based in Dakar or Lagos. The consultant will work as part of IFC’s Gender & Economic Inclusion Department.

Scope Work
The Program Lead will play two key roles:

• Overall program coordinator for the delivery of She Wins Africa and;
• Program Lead for the Gender & Economic Inclusion-led work streams:
• The Program Lead will work closely with IFC’s internal teams and external implementation partners, vendors and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the program.

Duties and Responsibilities
Program Management and Coordination (30%):

• Coordinate, facilitate, and support efficient operation of the overall She Wins Africa Program, working closely with key delivery units (GEI, CDF, FIG)  and support units (communications, partnerships, results management, etc)
• Coordinate and meetings across internal teams and monitor that child projects are implemented on time and within budget;
• Support the team with on time reporting to management, corresponding with donors or partners, including monitoring, measuring and reporting on project results (outputs, outcomes, impact) according to the project monitoring and evaluation plan using IFC reporting systems (iDESK, ASOP), track performance indicators against targets, and produce semi-annual project supervision reports;
• Monitor program-level stakeholder engagement plans, respond to stakeholder enquiries in a timely manner and represent IFC in key stakeholder engagement events;
• Communication and branding, overall quality assurance.

GEI Project Delivery (40%):

• Project design and implementation
• Lead the project design of the three GEI-led work streams including leading scoping activities, integrating internal and external reviews and drafting implementation plans;
• Work with M&E teams to ensure project targets are accurate, data correction tools are developed and aligned to anticipated project results, results are tracked as per IFC’s reporting cycle and evidence are documented and filed as per IFC’s guidelines;
• Maintain project management systems closely monitoring key project milestones and risks and put in place mitigation measures as may be required;
• Work across investment and advisory teams to ensure collaboration and coordination between client management teams;
• Work with the Program Lead to develop fit-for-purpose TORs and lead the recruitment of project implementation partners;
• Maintain an updated project plan and monitor project milestones including donor reporting and production of regular internal reporting documents;
• Track project budgets, track utilization and ensure that projects are deliver on time and within budget;
• Manage and ensure seamless execution of project events including budget stewardship and engagement with high level to profile the project.

Communications (10%):

• Lead the development of project communication plans, key messages documents, talking points and collaterals such as fliers, posters, templates etc;
• Develop a stakeholder engagement plan to raise the profile for the project across the region;
• Identify key partners and alternative channels to amplify and raise the program profile in addition to existing interventions led by IFC;
• Coordinate all project communication activities with IFC Regional and Global Communications teams and maintain communications calendar up to date for all activities related to the project;
• Work with the communications team to measure and report on the impact of communications on the project brand.

Knowledge Management (~15%):

• Develop specific reference, learning materials, case studies and training initiatives, toolkits etc. in response to internal and external demand;
• Document results and lessons learned and support their dissemination;
• Other knowledge management activities, as needed.

Other (~5%):

• Play an active role as part of the regional gender team;
• Perform other duties and take on other responsibilities upon the request of the team lead.

Deliverables / Specific Outputs Expected From the Consultant
The consultant is expected to deliver:

• GEI-led projects within the stipulated contract period;
• Satisfactory program coordination and support across other work streams led by or co-implemented with other IFC teams.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced Graduate Degree in Business or Finance, Economics, or International Development. Specific studies on international development project management, entrepreneurship would be an advantage
• Experience working with gender and private sector is required; The candidate should have expertise in gender engagements with the private sector, preferably on technical assistance delivery, and women’s entrepreneurship programs, including experience in working directly with the private sector clients;
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience, preferably with at least 3 years in international development consulting, or advisory/technical assistance with clients. Overall experience of at least 5 years is a required;
• Significant project management skills with proven track record of successfully managing a private sector project life cycle from end to end;
• Knowledge and technical expertise in designing entrepreneurship capacity building programs with a specific focus on the needs for women-owned enterprises;
• Ability to communicate and engage at senior levels;
• Demonstrated experience in office software packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint.).
• Understanding on Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem with existing networks to enrich the program;
• General knowledge of private sector development topics and a good understanding of World Bank Group activities is a plus;
• Bi-lingual: English/French

Behavioral Competencies:

• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively and proactively across internal and external partners in a multicultural;
• Strong team player with a collaborative, results-oriented mindset;
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders across seniority levels with varying needs;
• Strong networking skills;
• Positive attitude and dedication to excellence and professionalism;
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment and consistent with delivery;
• Excellent communications skills including writing and public speaking skills.

Deadline: 11th November, 2023 at 11:59pm UTC

How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should Click Here to apply online