Senior Industry Specialist - Insurance

The World Bank; Johannesburg; On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The World Bank seeks a Senior Insurance Industry Specialist to drive their insurance investment strategy, focusing on both established firms and innovative Insurtechs. The role requires building strong partnerships, leading investment initiatives, and influencing market trends to enhance investment in emerging markets. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in insurance investments, a strategic mindset, and excellent communication skills.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits including retirement plan

Medical, life and disability insurance

Paid leave including parental leave

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in insurance or investment banking.
• Strong portfolio in leading investment transactions.
• Ability to engage in strategic advocacy for insurance investments.

Responsibilities

• Build relationships with insurance and reinsurance companies.
• Provide oversight and expert support for insurance investments.
• Influence and guide teams on insurance deal due diligence.

Skills

Investment Management

Business Development

Insurance Industry Knowledge

Stakeholder Influence

Risk Management

Education

Masters in Finance, Accounting, Business or Economics

Professional Actuary Designation

Job description

Job # : req33435 Organization : IFC Sector : Investment Grade : GG Term Duration : 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type : International Recruitment Location : Washington, DC,United States;Johannesburg,South Africa Required Language(s) : English Preferred Language(s) : Spanish, French Closing Date : 7 / 21 / 2025 (MM / DD / YYYY) at 11 : 59pm UTC

Description

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.

IFC has embarked on an ambitious strategy to stimulate more investment activity, especially in Low Income Countries (LICs) and Fragile and Conflict affected States (FCS). This strategy aims at creating our own opportunities for private investments in riskier markets by proactively working in these countries to create, deepen, and expand the markets themselves.

The Financial Institutions Group (FIG) is one of the major industry groups at IFC, responsible for managing roughly 40% of IFC’s overall business in terms of volume and capital at risk. FIG is split across two departments : (a) Banking and Capital Markets and (b) Non-Bank Financial Institutions. Together the two departments engage in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, and other areas, with both investment and advisory services delivered to IFC’s clients through IFC’s global network.

The Insurance sector is one of our key priorities as IFC has been and continues to be an active equity investor in traditional insurance companies (global and regional) as well as early stage Insurtech companies leveraging technology to improve insurance products and reach. IFC also collaborates with global insurers on credit insurance (and unfunded risk participations or guarantees) for our own loan book.

Specifically in the Insurtech space, we have seen the emergence of an ecosystem of companies that are transforming the insurance industry, by leveraging technology and new business models to innovate across the insurance value chain and doing so independent of or in partnership with traditional players. This space attracted between US$5 and US$10 billion of investments on average from 2019 to early 2024.

As IFC seeks to build up its expertise in the insurance / Insurtech space and to scale up our investments, we are now hiring a Senior Insurance Industry Specialist who will join FIG’s insurance team to help develop and implement IFC’s insurance investment strategy, including in the Insurtech space. The Senior Insurance Industry Specialist will have primary responsibility for business development, investment technical due diligence and value creation initiatives at our investee companies. He / she should have extended experience in equity investments in insurance companies with a deep understanding of insurance company operations and financial statements. A strong track record in M&A activities and investing in early stage fintech / insurtech companies will be a plus. She / he is expected to have strong relationships with insurance / Insurtech companies to open doors and thus develop a pipeline of viable investments in mature as well as early-stage companies.

She / he will also have a good track record of influencing people, promoting programs based on international best practices pertaining to insurance, risk management and company equity valuation.

She / he will be part of FIG’s Global team of financial sector specialists and will work globally with regional FIG investment teams as well as the global equity and fintech teams.

Duties & Accountabilities

• Build senior management relationships with regional and international insurance and reinsurance companies to develop a robust pipeline in traditional insurance business and support the closing of transactions on a consistent basis;
• Be aware of trends and developments in the Insurtech space, especially in Emerging Markets, provide thought leadership and support business development for IFC’s investments strategy in this space;
• Provide oversight and expert technical support to processing and portfolio management of all IFC's insurance / Insurtech equity investments, including financial modeling and valuations;
• Provide thought leadership and technical expertise to the development and deployment of climate and disaster risk management instruments, index insurance and platforms supporting FIG investments and advisory services to institutions working with SMEs, women and smallholder farmers;
• Contribute to the expansion of FIG investments product offerings (beyond equity and subordinated debt) to the (re)insurance / insurtech sector in emerging markets, by actively participating in research, development, testing and deployment of new products such as guarantees and risk sharing facilities;
• Influence the activities of all teams and oversee the technical due diligence involved in insurance deals;
• Provide guidance and training for regional investment officers to build up IFC’s internal capacity for insurance investments; in addition, provide learning materials for the World Bank Group Training Academy for the benefit insurance / insurtech and other private sector entities; and
• Manage external relationships in the insurance sector with other parts of the World Bank Group.

Selection Criteria

• Masters or other graduate level education in finance, accounting, business or economics, or attained designation of a professional actuary;
• At least fifteen years of experience working in insurance, investment banking, private or early-stage equity with a solid track record leading, and closing investment transactions relating to insurance / Insurtech and / or financial institutions;
• A strong strategic thinker with the ability to see the big picture of where subsegments of the insurance sector are headed in emerging markets, and where IFC can lead investments and / or play a role in their development;
• Ability to advocate credibly for insurance / Insurtech investments, both at a strategic and at a deal-specific level;
• Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements and compliance practices in the insurance / Insurtech sectors;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal with strong and persuasive communication abilities with a high level of convincing power, capable of effectively influencing stakeholders, driving decisions, and advocating for strategic initiatives;
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships within multi-disciplinary teams, with internal and external stakeholders, and with senior management;
• Capacity to deal with conflicting priorities and deliver high quality work on schedule; facility to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries;
• Strong record of managing complex relationships and building businesses in emerging markets;
• Willingness to travel extensively and / or be based in one of IFC’s hubs in Africa;
• Excellent oral and written presentation skills in English are required; additional major language such as French or Spanish would be a plus; and
• Highest standards of ethical integrity, transparency

WBG Culture Attributes :

1. Sense of Urgency – Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

2. Thoughtful Risk Taking – Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.

3. Empowerment and Accountability – Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful 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.