(Senior) Industry Specialist – AgTech

The (Senior) Industry Specialist – AgTech will assist the Agribusiness unit in developing and executing the AgTech investment approach aligned with IFC's strategy. The role involves conducting due diligence on AgTech companies, supporting investment teams, and contributing to sector strategy and ecosystem development in global emerging markets.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Agribusiness team in developing a comprehensive sector strategy for AgTech investments, building on lessons learned from IFC's current AgTech portfolio
• Identify and map existing AgTech startups and relevant themes that align with WBG/IFC's investment mandate and strategic priorities
• Work closely with the sector lead, Global subsector industry specialists, and regional investment teams to conduct due diligence to assess project strengths and weaknesses, and provide investment teams with an appraisal report and operational parameters to be built into financial models
• Collaborate closely with Blended Finance and other stakeholders to mitigate risks and enhance the AgTech ecosystem
• Provide industry and best practice advice to internal IFC and WBG colleagues and external clients and add value to new business development activities and portfolio monitoring, as well as to advisory services projects
• Assist in the selection, briefing and supervision of technical consultants, engaged on due diligence, as needed
• Participate in conferences and seminars and other events representing WBG/IFC and as appropriate to maintaining and building sector knowledge
• Participate in the investment committee meetings and respond to the committee’s questions
• Support the review of advisory/upstream services proposals
• Replicate and scale high-impact projects and innovations across all WBG products

Requirements

• Minimum Master's degree in a related field
• 15 years + years of operational experience (10 years + experience focused specifically on AgTech with strategic multinational or Venture Capital fund)
• Commitment to the World Bank Group’s mission, strategy, and values
• Proven experience (strongly preferred in the AgTech sector) in early-stage investments, venture capital, and/or private equity
• Strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities in farming best practices, climate resilience and adaptation, and food security and/or sound knowledge and experience in delivering sustainability solutions to the agribusiness sector
• Excellent written and spoken English skills and ability to write technical appraisal reports in a timely manner
• Ability to work effectively in teams and build bridges across organizational boundaries
• Passion for understanding use cases of technology in Agribusiness, and commodity markets and results driven with energy, initiative, and self-motivation
• Willingness to undertake extensive international travel in emerging markets

Skills

• AgTech Investment
• Venture Capital
• Private Equity
• Early-stage Investments
• Agribusiness Sustainability
• Climate Resilience
• Food Security
• Farming Best Practices
• Technical Appraisal Reporting
• Sector Strategy Development
• Due Diligence
• Emerging Markets
• Multinational Strategy
• Agribusiness Technology Use Cases
• Pre-Investment Due Diligence
• Sustainability Solutions
• Agribusiness Knowledge
• International Travel

Languages

English