(Senior) Environmental and Social Development Specialist
Vienna
- Organization: World Bank Group
- Location: Vienna
- Grade: Level not specified - Level not specified
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Occupational Groups:
- Social Affairs
- Environment
- Climate Change
- Closing Date: 2025-08-04
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. Our mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org.
IFC is seeking a dynamic, motivated and detail-oriented (Senior) Environmental & Social (E&S) Specialist with strong communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills to provide support to infrastructure, manufacturing, services and agribusiness transactions in Europe. This professional will provide E&S guidance to clients and investment and advisory teams on E&S matters vis-à-vis IFC Performance Standards (PS) and Sustainability Policy, with the aim of promoting compliance and enhancing the impact and additionality of IFC-supported business activities.
The position will report to the ESG Regional Manager for the Europe region.
Duties and Accountabilities:
• Lead or contribute to review of E&S issues and risks in new investments and select advisory engagements in the infrastructure, manufacturing, services, and agribusiness sectors.
• Prepare concise public disclosure documents for new investments as well as internal documentation.
• Lead or contribute to identification and development of E&S risk mitigation measures and value-add solutions that support clients in addressing identified issues.
• Provide clear and responsive guidance to IFC investment teams on E&S risk management in project decision-making and processing throughout the investment cycle, including clear communication to teams.
• Support formulation of E&S legal conditions for IFC projects.
• When leading E&S assessments, ensure effective and efficient use of staff, consultants, and resources, ensuring the timely completion of deliverables. Provide guidance and support to team members.
• Proactively monitor portfolio clients and engage with these clients and investment departments to achieve compliance with contractual E&S requirements, clearly documenting and communicating any outstanding or emerging gaps between client performance and IFC requirements, and related risks and opportunities.
• Contribute to portfolio analysis to identify systemic issues and assess trends; or of policy nature and propose policy adjustments as needed.
• Contribute to regional supervision program reviews and periodic reports.
• Support industry teams and clients in response to Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) and Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) requests where needed, including discussion with CAO and IEG officers as needed.
• Support clients’ E&S capacity building.
• As needed, participate in cross-regional and global teams responsible for the preparation of policy interpretation notes on E&S topics and contribute to the corporate knowledge base by analyzing and disseminating lessons learned from project work.
• Prepare management briefs of relevant E&S matters.
• Provide guidance to Short-Term Consultants (STCs) working on E&S risk management and supervise the timeliness and quality of their work, in coordination with the Regional Manager.
• Contribute to regional supervision program reviews and periodic reports.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.