Job: Operations Analyst - Access to Finance

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa 
Deadline: Monday, 21 October 2013 

Description

Background / General description

Background / General description The International Finance Corporation: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. In addition to its investment work, IFC provides advisory services to a number of its clients to support them in meeting specific development goals. IFC’s support to the financial sector is implemented via its Access to Finance Business (A2F) Line and is organized around the following main themes:

Micro/Retail Sector - including Microfinance, Mobile Financial Services, Rural Finance, Insurance, Responsible Finance.

Core Banking Advisory - including SME Finance, Sustainable Energy Finance, Agrifinance, Leasing, Gender Targeted Financial Services, Risk Management and Corporate Governance.

Financial Infrastructure - Credit Reporting, Collateral Registries and Secured Transactions, Securities Markets These services are delivered through regional Advisory Services (AS) facilities, with support from global product specialists, and in partnership with IFC’s Investment Services (IS) teams. If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

 

Duties and Accountabilities

Operations Analysts support project teams in the preparation, administration and supervision of client projects, working in close collaboration with Project Leads and Senior Specialists managing client relationships. Operations Analysts work as part of a pool supporting the A2F Business line with specific responsibilities for key admin functions at the business line level (finance, budgeting, IDGs, communications, etc), but with responsibilities on projects for implementation teams to encourage focus and professional development. Analysts will report in to Regional Coordinators for their business area, with a secondary reporting line to the Program Manager for the pillar to which they are mapped. IFC A2F is recruiting an Operations Analyst for its Johannesburg office. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: I. Research, Project Development and Fund-Raising:

Background research on market and client-related issues, support project teams to organize and manage scoping and appraisal missions, support appraisal mission follow-up as needed;

Based on appraisal mission findings, support development of proposals for clients (including budget and costing research);

Assist in processing internal documentation for project approval, by helping to conduct IDD on clients, schedule CRMs, calculate and report on IDGs, and contribute to the drafting of concept notes, implementation plans and legal agreements;

Support identification of appropriate consultants for advisory assignments by helping to manage the procurement, consultant selection and contracting process;

Assist in the preparation of concept notes and donor proposals. II. Project Implementation Support:

Assist in the preparation of project supervision and completion reports, particularly tracking of key performance indicators against targets established at the outset of the project;

Monitor project timelines to ensure objectives updates are completed within the one year allowable timeframe;

Ensure adequate data quality in all project documents and provide supplementary data gathering support for evaluations;

Assist in the organization of events such as conferences, workshops, etc;

Work in partnership with PLs and the donor relations team to prepare initial drafts of semi-annual donor reports, based on project supervision documents. III. Finance and Budgeting

Monitor and update project budgets in ASOP regularly to ensure that financial reporting is accurate, timely and aligned with SAP/PTMRS reports produced by the finance team;

Manage interface with finance team on timely collection of client fees in line with legal agreements and submission of consultant invoices to ensure accurate financial reporting within a quarterly period;

Manage allocation of consultant and other project costs to correct WBS elements;

Monitor charging of staff time to ensure accurate cost allocation against correct WBS elements;

Work with the Regional Coordinators to monitor and update budgets and spend at both the project and aggregate levels and contribute to the financial projections reports submitted to the Program Manager and RBLM on a quarterly basis;

Track Trust Fund spend and availability on a monthly basis. Alert program manager or regional coordinator when funds are running low and support process of topping up trust funds;

Liaise with donor team and A2F backbone team on establishing new trust funds and WBS elements to ensure optimal TF structure. IV. Communications and Reporting

Work closely with the Communications team to prepare presentations and communication materials to disseminate project results and accomplishments to external audiences;

Maintenance, updating and electronic document management of client pitch books, PowerPoint and related team publications;

Respond to ad hoc requests for information on portfolio and budgets from headquarters.

Attend regular team meetings.

 

Selection Criteria

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with specialization in finance/accounting, economics or business

2 to 4 years’ experience in operations analysis, market research and/or project management with a major financial institution, consulting company or large blue-chip corporation required

Ability to multi-task, establish priorities and be organized

Advanced competency in IFC platforms and key documents necessary to carry out tasks: ASOP, IBIS, eConsult2, Cognos, SAP, IDG Methodology, E-Trust Fund, Procurement guidelines, grant agreement template, cooperation agreement template, etc

First class writing and communications skills

Attention to detail, to factual accuracy and to professional presentation of data

Fully competent in Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint and Word

Familiarity with IFC procedures (project cycle, recruitment, invoices, Trust Funds, IDDs, IDGs) will be a plus. IFC’s Recruitment and Employment Policies reflect its strong values for cultural, racial and gender diversity: IFC encourages women to apply

More Info and Application