(Senior) Industry Specialist - Strategy & Innovation Lead - Tourism, Retail & Property

Tags: finance English Environment
  • Added Date: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
  • Deadline Date: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
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(Senior) Industry Specialist - Strategy & Innovation (TRP) Job #: req34155 Organization: IFC Sector: Investment Grade: GG Term Duration:ย 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 9/16/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

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ย Description

Build a career with impact. Working at the World Bank Group (WBG)ย provides a unique opportunity to helpย countriesย solve their greatest development challenges. Asย one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, the WBG isย a unique partnership of five global institutions dedicated to ending poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the WBG works with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.

ย The International Finance Corporation (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 in developing countries. In fiscal year 2025, IFC committed a record $71.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions, and mobilizing private capital to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

The Global Tourism, Retail and Property (TRP) team at IFC is responsible for delivering investment and advisory programs related to retail, hospitality, commercial and housing real estate players globally. Sustainability and Innovation are key pillars of the TRP teamโ€™s growth and value-addition strategy. ย 

The Global Tourism, Retail and Property (TRP) team is seeking an experienced Senior Strategy and Innovation Specialist to join its Washington, D.C. based team. The role will be central to driving innovation, developing new programmatic approaches, positioning the TRP work both internally and externally and help in building strategic partnerships that expand TRPโ€™s value proposition.ย 

The incumbent will play a cross-cutting role, working closely with the sector manager in coordination with sector leads to identify emerging opportunities, design new investment and advisory offerings, advance and shape the TRP playbook, lead the teamโ€™s knowledge management and position TRP as a thought leader in areas of impact, innovation and growth in emerging markets. This is an exciting opportunity to join a proactive and energetic team operating in a fast-changing global environment.ย 

In addition, the position will actively support collaboration with global and regional staff across IFC, the World Bank (IBRD/IDA), and MIGA, ensuring alignment and synergies across the World Bank Group.ย 

Duties and Accountabilities

ย The duties and accountabilities for this position include but are not limited to the following:

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Industry Expertise, Product Development and Innovation:

โ€ข ย  Lead the design and roll-out of innovative investment and advisory offerings and new program development.ย 
โ€ข ย  Identify emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges that inform product and strategy development in close collaboration with the sector leads and specialists.ย 
โ€ข ย  Provide insights to strengthen TRPโ€™s pipeline and portfolio through clear assessments and recommendations.
โ€ข ย  Lead deep dives and benchmarking exercises to capture best practices and ensure IFC remains at the forefront of innovation.ย 
โ€ข ย  Partner with colleagues across IFC to shape and advance TRPโ€™s strategic roadmap, ensuring alignment with IFCโ€™s broader priorities.ย 

Strategic Partnerships and Organizational Support

โ€ข ย  Build and manage relationships with global stakeholders, clients, and partners to expand TRPโ€™s influence and support business development.
โ€ข ย  Represent TRP in contributing cross-cutting perspectives while complementing sector-specific initiatives.
โ€ข ย  Lead TRPโ€™s thought leadership and communications agenda, producing knowledge products and positioning IFC as a leader in innovative and sustainable models.ย 
โ€ข ย  Monitor global developments, policies, and regulations, sharing insights that inform decision-making and strategy.ย 
โ€ข ย  Support organizational effectiveness by ensuring strong project management and helping the team manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.ย 

Selection Criteria

โ€ข ย  Masterโ€™s degree in a related field (e.g., real estate, business management etc.) or a closely related field.
โ€ข ย  At least 10 years of professional experience, in strategy consulting, investment advisory, or a related field with a track record of driving innovation and product development.
โ€ข ย  Experience working across multiple industries particularly real estate, tourism or retail with an emphasis on private sector development and emerging markets.ย 
โ€ข ย  Quick learner with the ability to research/come up to speed very quickly on new sub-sectors, business models etc.
โ€ข ย  Strong business sense with ability to (a) judge what motivates private sector strategic and investment priorities and implementation decisions and where to focus IFC resources to deliver results and impact through innovation; and (b) advance IFCโ€™s thought leadership.
โ€ข ย  Strong understanding of private sector development: Ability to formulate compelling narratives and define initiatives for IFC in the context of private sector development challenges in emerging markets.ย 
โ€ข ย  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills: Capable of leading large meetings, facilitating workshops, engaging with senior leadership and their front offices, and liaising with external partners and clients.
โ€ข ย  Excellent analytical, presentation and writing skills: Ability to translate complex issues into engaging and high-quality insights tailored to public and private sector audiences, including WBG Senior Management and key clients/stakeholders.
โ€ข ย  Project management skills:ย 
ย  ย  oย  Experience leading and coordinating projects. A demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks, set timelines, and ensure timely completion of deliverables, and a demonstrated capability to handle logistics, coordinate communication, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously,
โ€ข ย  Team player: Demonstrated experience collaborating with a diverse team in terms of background and seniority, contributing to a cohesive and productive working environment.
โ€ข ย  Motivated and entrepreneurial self-starter.
โ€ข ย  Knowledge of IFC mission, products and services is a plus.
โ€ข ย  Travel internationally as needed.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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.

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.

Learn more about working at theย World Bankย andย IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.

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