Principal Investment Officer - Global Sector Lead, Manufacturing

Principal Investment Officer - Global Sector Lead, Manufacturing

Description

At 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. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org  

The Knowledge Bank is the WBG’s platform for generating, curating, and applying global knowledge to support development impact at scale. It connects operational experience, analytical work, data, and global expertise to inform policy dialogue, country programs, and investments across the World Bank Group.

The WBG’s Prosperity Vice Presidency, which includes the Bank’s Manufacturing and Manufacturing Services expertise, works to connect our operational teams with clients by providing public and private sector solutions to expand Manufacturing opportunities in emerging markets. 

Within this structure, the Manufacturing and Services Solutions and Impact Department (WKPTM) focuses on supporting investments in Manufacturing value chains including but not limited to those in Construction Materials (steel, cement, glass, etc.), Chemicals, Fertilizers, Automotive, Electronics, Batteries, Machinery, Textiles and Apparel, Packaging and other sectors involved in industrial production, value enhancement, and processing.

WKPTM is seeking an experienced and respected senior professional to serve as Global Sector Lead (GSL) for two or more manufacturing sub-sectors. The coverage sector will be assigned based on institutional priorities and the selected candidate's depth of expertise. The GSL will provide strategic leadership, business and investment judgment, sector credibility, and practical guidance across the WBG's public- and private-sector engagements.

The GSL will work closely with other Global Sector Leads, Industry Specialists, regional and country teams, investment staff, upstream and advisory teams, economists, and technical colleagues. The position will help translate global industry knowledge into country-level strategies, market creation, executable investment opportunities, and stronger portfolio outcomes. It will also connect policy and regulatory reform, public investment, private capital, and firm-level competitiveness across relevant value chains.

The role carries shared accountability for: (i) sector strategy and positioning; (ii) business development and project generation; (iii) quality and consistency of operational support; (iv) market creation and investment-enabling reforms; (v) global knowledge, partnerships, and thought leadership; and (vi) development and deployment of sector talent and resources.

Duties and Accountabilities

1. Sector Strategy and Global Leadership

•  Lead the formulation, periodic refresh, dissemination, and implementation of WBG approaches for the assigned sectors, aligned with country and regional priorities and the broader Manufacturing strategy.
•  Represent and articulate the WBG's role, value proposition, and support offer for the assigned sectors with governments, private companies, industry associations, development partners, investors, and other stakeholders.
•  Maintain a forward-looking view of structural shifts, technologies, trade and supply-chain dynamics, resource and energy constraints, circularity, decarbonization pathways, and evolving business models that affect investment opportunities in emerging markets.
•  Define a focused set of strategic themes, priority markets, client segments, and scalable interventions for each assigned sector, with clear links to development impact and operational delivery.
•  Lead regular global sector reviews covering market outlook, pipeline, commitments, portfolio performance, emerging risks, lessons learned, and opportunities for replication or scale-up.

2. Business Development, Origination, and Market Creation

•  Identify and proactively support business and project origination in close coordination with regional and country teams, drawing on country strategies, sector diagnostics, client coverage, and market-creation potential.
•  Develop global and regional client engagement plans; identify strategic companies, investors, technology providers, and value-chain partners; and manage selected high-priority relationships where this adds institutional value.
•  Use sector expertise and networks to source, assess, and pitch investment opportunities, including greenfield capacity, modernization, resource efficiency, localization, supplier development, processing, and value-addition platforms.
•  Conduct systematic value-chain diagnostics to identify realistic country and regional entry points, binding constraints, investment gaps, competitive advantages, and opportunities to increase productivity, complexity, resilience, and sustainability.
•  Support the design of investment acceleration platforms, industrial or processing zones, supplier-development initiatives, technology-partner outreach, demand aggregation mechanisms, and other scalable approaches where commercially and developmentally justified.
•  Work across the WBG to identify and help address policy, regulatory, infrastructure, skills, standards, trade, and other constraints that limit public and private investment in the assigned sectors.

3. Transaction and Operational Quality

•  Provide authoritative sector, commercial, and strategic input throughout the project cycle, from early business development and screening through appraisal, decision review, commitment, implementation, and portfolio supervision.
•  Help teams identify suitable clients and projects, test business fundamentals, and screen out proposals that lack a credible market position, technology pathway, operating model, execution capacity, or route to commercial viability.
•  Ensure that project documents and decision materials reflect current industry conditions, relevant benchmarks, portfolio lessons, key commercial and technical risks, and appropriate mitigation measures.
•  Advise on market demand, competitive positioning, input and utility requirements, technology and process choices, scale, capital intensity, ramp-up, operating assumptions, supply-chain arrangements, and other sector-specific drivers of project viability.
•  Provide parameters and challenge assumptions for financial and scenario analysis, and, in consultation with relevant risk and credit colleagues, help develop sector-informed project selection and deal-acceptance criteria.
•  Support the structuring and delivery of upstream, advisory, and investment engagements, promote consistency across comparable projects, and advise regional management and teams on early-stage project development.
•  Partner with portfolio teams to assess material changes in client operations and markets, identify implications for WBG engagements, and design timely responses to risks or opportunities.

4. One WBG Solutions and Partnerships

•  Connect policy dialogue, analytical work, public investment, private investment, guarantees, mobilization, advisory support, and firm-level solutions into coherent sector and country engagements.
•  Build effective partnerships across WBG institutions and with governments, sponsors, investors, industry participants, research organizations, and development partners to enable project delivery and market development.
•  Support government engagements aimed at developing competitive manufacturing and processing value chains, while applying disciplined commercial judgment about which value-chain stages a country can credibly host.
•  Facilitate collaboration across regions and practices so that global knowledge, tested approaches, and relevant client relationships are deployed quickly and consistently.

5. Knowledge, Innovation, and External Positioning

•  Lead or sponsor high-quality sector diagnostics, guidance notes, conceptual frameworks, case studies, benchmarks, and operational tools that respond to concrete business and policy needs.
•  Facilitate knowledge flow across the WBG and promote adoption of effective approaches and lessons from investments, portfolio experience, upstream work, advisory engagements, and public-sector operations.
•  Develop thought leadership on themes relevant to the assigned sectors, including private-sector-led industrialization, supply-chain resilience, critical-materials value addition, sustainable manufacturing, circularity, low-carbon production, advanced manufacturing, and emerging-market participation in global value chains.
•  Help strengthen external recognition of the WBG's capabilities by representing the institution at selected industry forums and engaging credibly with senior public- and private-sector stakeholders.
•  Promote fact-based analysis and practical knowledge products that identify industry shifts, clarify the WBG's comparative advantage, and generate actionable opportunities rather than stand-alone research.

6. Management, People, and Institutional Responsibilities

•  Anticipate the information needs of senior management and the Board and maintain readiness to respond to questions on sector strategy, country and regional programs, pipeline, commitments, portfolio performance, development impact, and barriers to growth.
•  Mentor and coach junior and mid-career colleagues; strengthen sector skills across operational teams; and contribute to recruitment, onboarding, learning, and succession planning.
•  Coordinate effectively with other GSLs and Industry Specialists, clarify accountabilities, and ensure that sector expertise is deployed against the highest-value institutional priorities.
•  Oversee or supervise staff and consultants assigned to relevant work programs, as appropriate, and support the disciplined use of administrative, analytical, upstream, and advisory resources.
•  Foster a culture of collaboration, practical problem solving, technical rigor, inclusion, accountability, and constructive challenge.

Selection Criteria

•  Master's degree or equivalent advanced qualification in engineering, business, finance, economics, international development, or another field relevant to the assigned sector portfolio. A combination of strong technical and commercial training is desirable.
•  At least 15 years of relevant experience across manufacturing, private investment, development finance, commercial or investment banking, private equity, industry operations, strategy, or related fields, with substantial responsibility for complex business and investment decisions.
•  Demonstrated depth in at least two manufacturing sectors or value chains, together with the ability to transfer commercial and strategic judgment across adjacent sectors. Relevant sectors may include critical and advanced materials; chemicals and fertilizers; automotive, electronics and machinery; batteries and clean technology products.
•  Strong record of business development, investment or project generation, client engagement, and delivery of commercially grounded solutions. Experience with emerging markets and with greenfield, expansion, modernization, or turnaround situations is highly desirable.
•  Ability to evaluate business plans, market positioning, technology choices, project design, capital programs, execution plans, operations, and commercial strategies, and to identify the assumptions most material to viability and development impact.
•  Strong understanding of how policy, regulation, infrastructure, trade, skills, finance, and firm capabilities interact in manufacturing value chains, and demonstrated ability to connect public- and private-sector interventions.
•  Excellent analytical skills, sound business judgment, and the ability to synthesize complex technical, commercial, financial, and policy information into clear strategic and operational recommendations.
•  Demonstrated capacity to lead across organizational boundaries, influence without relying on formal authority, build trusted relationships, and work effectively with senior public- and private-sector counterparts.
•  Proven ability to generate new ideas, challenge assumptions constructively, build consensus, and convert knowledge into executable programs and investments.
•  Excellent people leadership, mentoring, communication, and presentation skills; openness to feedback and diverse perspectives; and a strong commitment to collaborative delivery.
•  Genuine commitment to sustainable development and to the WBG's mission, strategy, and values, with sensitivity to working in multicultural environments.
•  Excellent written and spoken English. Additional languages relevant to emerging markets are an advantage.
•  Willingness and ability to travel as required.

Core Competencies
•  Strategic leadership and delivery orientation
•  Client and stakeholder influence
•  Business judgment and investment acumen
•  Sector depth and cross-sector perspective
•  One WBG collaboration
•  Knowledge leadership and innovation
•  People development and inclusive teamwork

Note: This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.
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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.