Country Officer

Job #: req38359
Organization: IFC
Sector: Operations
Grade: GG
Term Duration:  Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP)
Recruitment Type: International Recruitment
Location: Lagos,Nigeria
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date: 10/2/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

At the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. In fiscal year 2026, IFC committed a record $105.6 billionto private companies and financial institutions in developing countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. 

The IFC Country Office in Lagos is seeking a Country Officer to join its team in Nigeria. Reporting to the Nigeria Country Head, the Country Officer will promote and coordinate IFC's investment and advisory activities in Nigeria. This role requires close interaction at a high level with the private sector, government, and international development organizations, as well as key counterparts in the World Bank Group (WBG) to develop new business and support the structuring and negotiation of deals.

Duties and Accountabilities:

• Assist the Nigeria Country Head in overseeing IFC activities in the country and the smooth running of the office.
• Work with the Nigeria Country Head to implement the IFC’s strategy in the country including preparation of business plan updates.
• Participate to the preparation of WBG strategy documents such as Country Strategies, Country Private Sector Diagnostics, and Country Partnership Frameworks.
• Develop and maintain a good understanding of the country and key economic and political issues.
• Work with IFC’s investment, advisory, upstream, World Bank and MIGA teams to continue to roll out the IFC 3.0 strategy and develop the project pipeline.
• Build and maintain strong high-level relationships with the private sector, relevant government officials, key development partners, and WBG colleagues to support business development and portfolio management.
• Participate in client selection, including KYC process to ensure that IFC is working with the right sponsors.
• Assist in project structuring and implementation using local market intelligence.
• Track the project pipeline and assist in moving transactions forward.
• Help manage development partner relations to support the raising of funds for advisory and upstream projects.
• Track and oversee the preparation of visiting missions/trips to the country
• Contribute to the preparation of board papers and other documents, as needed.
• Develop a good understanding of the portfolio, assist with resolving issues, and maintain good relationships with existing clients.
• Prepare/coordinate high-quality briefs for WBG management.
• Represent IFC externally and provide visibility for IFC through organizing/participating in high profile events (high-level visits, seminars, and conferences).
• Ensure internal and external requests are addressed on time.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree, in finance, business administration, management, economics, or a similar field.
•Minimum 8 years of relevant experience, in areas such as investment or commercial banking, public-private partnerships, management consulting, or operational experience in an investment and/or advisory role.
• Experience and/or a strong interest in the Africa region is required, and experience in the country and/or in other FCS countries would be an advantage.
• Ability to assess the viability of business opportunities and risks.
• Ability to think creatively about potential investment opportunities, and to use business development skills to translate such opportunities into bankable projects.
• Strong analytical, finance, financial modeling, credit, and transaction structuring skills is an advantage.
• Good understanding of IFC’s investment and advisory business lines, their products, how they complement each other, and how they may be leveraged to match the long-term needs of clients and open new markets.
• Track record in developing and maintaining strong high-level relationships in the private sector, government, and development institutions.
• Ability to represent IFC externally with the private sector, government, development partners, media, and other stakeholders.
• Team management experience including supervising, mentoring, and training staff.
• Team player with strong leadership and influencing skills, and track record in working in a matrix structure.
• Strong client service orientation with an ability to resolve challenging issues.
• Excellent critical thinking, analytical and presentation skills, and ability to work with or supervise the use of data utilizing standard office software Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English is required.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

  • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
  • Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
  • Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

World Bank Group Core Competencies 

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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