Principal E&S Risk Officer – Public-Private Partnerships

Principal E&S Risk Officer – Public-Private Partnerships Job #: req38567 Organization: IFC Sector: Environment Grade: GH Term Duration: Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP) Recruitment Type: International Recruitment

Location:
Paris,France Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): French, Spanish Closing Date: 10/13/2026 (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 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. The WBG Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Vice Presidency is the core unit responsible for Group-wide institutional risk oversight, including establishment and monitoring adherence to risk policies and guidelines and risk assessment and reporting to the Board and executive management. Its mission is to enable and support the WBG to achieve its goals in a financially sustainable manner. The VPU assists management with identifying and managing Group-wide cross-cutting risks, enhancing risk response decisions, reducing financial and operational surprises and losses, seizing opportunities and improving deployment of capital. The WBG CRO Vice Presidency includes the IBRD/IDA, IFC, and MIGA risk teams and covers a wide range of financial and non-financial risks. To enhance accountability and credibility, the World Bank Group (WBG) has established an independent second line of environmental and social risk oversight within its Chief Risk Officer (CRO) function called CROES. While operational teams at the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA are responsible for designing and implementing projects in accordance with E&S policies, the newly formed E&S Risk Department—led by the WBG Global Director for Environment and Social Risk—oversees, monitors, and evaluates E&S risk and performance. CROES seeks a seasoned, dynamic, and motivated Principal E&S Risk Officer – Public-Private Partnerships with strong technical judgment and substantial experience in PPPs, infrastructure finance, concession arrangements, risk allocation, and portfolio-level risk monitoring. The selected candidate will support independent second-line oversight of PPP-related operations and portfolios across the World Bank Group, with particular attention to complex infrastructure, concession, guarantee, advisory, and private participation arrangements. Duties and accountabilities The Principal PPP Risk Officer will work in collaboration with the Manager, Lead E&S Risk Officers, regional teams, and relevant WBG technical specialists. Key duties include: Independent PPP Risk Oversight
• Lead independent review of PPP-related operations across the WBG, with a focus on material strategic, environmental, social, contractual, governance, fiscal, affordability, implementation, and reputational risks.
• Assess the adequacy of risk identification, allocation, mitigation measures, monitoring arrangements, and escalation pathways proposed by operational teams.
• Provide independent technical opinions on PPP project structures, concession arrangements, risk-sharing mechanisms, financial sustainability, implementation readiness, and risk mitigants.
• Review project documentation, operational risk assessments, concession frameworks, advisory products, and relevant legal arrangements from a risk perspective.
• Lead or support quality assurance reviews of selected PPP operations, with emphasis on risk allocation, implementation feasibility, stakeholder impacts, and institutional capacity. Portfolio Monitoring and Analytics
• Lead portfolio-level monitoring and assessment of PPP-related risks across sectors and regions.
• Develop and maintain a PPP Risk Watch List highlighting projects with elevated implementation, governance, fiscal, stakeholder, E&S, reputational, or development outcome risks.
• Conduct thematic and sector-specific portfolio reviews to identify systemic risk trends, recurring implementation challenges, and emerging risk patterns.
• Analyze risk events and lessons learned to strengthen institutional risk practices and contribute to enterprise-level reporting and integrated risk dashboards for senior management and governance committees.
• Recommend improvements to risk management practices based on portfolio experience, independent assessments, and international good practices.
• Monitor PPP projects subject to accountability mechanism reviews, CAO or Inspection Panel processes, integrity investigations, significant stakeholder complaints, disputes, or public controversy.
• Advise on risk implications of complaints, disputes, compliance findings, and corporate management responses.
• Coordinate with operational teams, regional ESG specialists, and other relevant functions to assess potential impacts on implementation, development outcomes, and WBG reputation.
• Support independent reviews and lessons-learned exercises arising from major PPP-related disputes, restructurings, compliance cases, or implementation failures. Strategic Risk Advice
• Advise CROES management and senior leadership on significant PPP-related risk developments, emerging trends, and implications for WBG operations.
• Support escalation of material PPP risks that may affect development outcomes, financial sustainability, compliance, institutional reputation, or stakeholder confidence.
• Provide independent perspectives during corporate discussions on high-profile PPP transactions, restructurings and complex implementation issues.
• Assess implications of evolving regulatory, policy, market, and socio-political economy conditions for PPP operations and portfolios. Knowledge Leadership and Capacity Building
• Serve as a trusted senior advisor on PPP risks across the institution and contribute to building CROES capability in PPP risk oversight. Selection Criteria
• Master's degree or higher in Environment, Social or related discipline.
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant professional experience in PPPs, infrastructure finance, project finance, concessions, PPP program management, or related risk oversight functions.
• Demonstrated experience structuring, evaluating, supervising, or advising PPP transactions in emerging markets and developing economies.
• Strong understanding of PPP contractual frameworks, concession models, risk allocation principles, infrastructure governance, and implementation risks.
• Experience in sectors such as transport, energy, water, urban infrastructure, telecommunications, health, education, or other social infrastructure.
• Familiarity with World Bank Group operations, guarantees, private sector investments, advisory services, and environmental and social risk management frameworks would be highly desirable.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize diverse information sources and identify systemic risk issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex risk issues clearly and concisely to senior audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to influence decisions and work effectively with multidisciplinary, multicultural teams.
• Strong project management capabilities and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
• High professional integrity, sound judgment, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive matters respectfully.
• Willingness and ability to undertake international travel.
• Experience working in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS/FCV) is desirable 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. 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 the World Bank and IFC including our values and inspiring stories.