ThaiNGO

About the role

The Senior Advisor – Blended Finance has the primary role responsible for designing a blended finance facility that sits at the heart of a three-year regional project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Working closely with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) team, the Advisor will design a blended finance facility that integrates with the existing IFC investment process and other Development Finance Institution (DFI) processes. The role involves designing the operational structure, governance, and investment strategy for a multi-donor blended finance facility that will deploy donor funds alongside IFC's own account investments in the rice value chain across Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.

About us

The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) is the executing agency for a three-year regional project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). The project — "Public-Private Blended Finance Facility for Climate-Resilient Rice Landscapes" — operates across three pilot countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, with FAO serving as GEF Implementing Agency. The project's objective is to catalyse public and private investment in climate-resilient rice landscapes, value chains, and livelihoods. It is structured around three components: design of an integrated blended finance facility; capacity development of farmers, cooperatives, and financial intermediaries; and governance, monitoring, and knowledge management. The project has initiated a partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a Development Finance Institution and part of the World Bank Group.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare an initial Operations Manual for the Blended Finance Facility based on current GAFSP and Business Investment Financing Track Call Guidelines, identifying differences between a single donor IFC managed private sector window (Phase 1) and a multi-donor, multi-investor facility (Phase 2)

• Prepare an initial Governance Document for the rice blended finance facility based on GAFSP FIF Governance Document and IFC Private Sector Window Governance documents, clearly identifying operational differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2

• Identify and recommend additional documents and templates to be developed for operationalization of the facility

• Produce a strategic note on lessons from comparable blended finance facilities applicable to sustainable agriculture in Asia, documenting facility structure, financial instruments, capital mobilization, and key lessons

• Design the overall blended finance facility operational strategy in collaboration with IFC, including financial instruments, blended finance modalities, resource mobilization strategy, and options for mobilizing private capital and expanding eligibility to other DFIs

• Develop the eligibility criteria framework for the facility aligned with IFC and donor requirements, proposing minimum standards for direct counterparties and beneficiaries of financial intermediation

• Develop a gender guideline for lending under the facility aligned with IFC's approach, specifying governance, lending criteria, and reporting requirements incorporating gender-responsive finance principles

• Build the financial model for the facility including projected capital deployment, leverage ratio, adaptation outcomes, beneficiary reach, fee and returns structure, and sensitivity analysis

• Review and finalize operational and governance documents in collaboration with IFC and produce a full Facility Design Document of 20–30 pages

• Receive investment concept notes and edit/adapt each into briefing notes targeted at IFC Investment Officers and other DFIs, including detailed investment opportunity descriptions, financing structures, risk assessments, and due diligence requirements

• Develop a consolidated investment opportunity document presenting investment opportunities across all three countries in a format suitable for presentation to DFIs and other investors

• Prepare a concept note for the capacity building programme for local financial institutions drawing on IFC's experience providing advisory services to Financial Intermediaries

• Work closely with IFC, SRP, DFIs, donors, and relevant technical experts to validate, refine, and finalize facility design and investment deliverables.

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree (Master's or equivalent) in finance, economics, development finance, or a related field.

• Minimum 15 years in structured finance, blended finance, climate investment, or development finance, with significant hands-on experience in agribusiness investment

• Demonstrated experience managing and / or implementing blended finance programs, direct experience with IFC blended finance facilities a strong advantage

• Strong existing networks with DFIs, development banks, and institutional investors active in sustainable agriculture in Asia.

• Demonstrated experience personally designing, structuring, or developing funding proposals for blended finance facilities in agriculture or land use — not just advising on them. Direct experience with AGRI3, Food Securities Fund, or GCF-accredited facilities is a strong advantage.

• Proven track record building investment proposals that have passed DFI or GCF due diligence.

• Ability to work independently and deliver substantial written outputs within agreed timeframe

• Strong financial modelling skills; able to build and defend facility-level financial projections.

• Excellent written English; able to produce high-quality, investor-ready documents — proposals, prospectuses, pitch decks — to professional standards.

• Fluent English required; additional language skills relevant to target countries are an asset.

Reporting Line

The Senior Advisor – Blended Finance reports to the SRP Executive Director, with day to day interaction and progress updates to the IFC Scaling Sustainable Rice Team. The SRP will be responsible for all administrative and contracting matters, and will ultimately be responsible for the approval of deliverables. The IFC will provide feedback and review of the Senior Advisor’s deliverables to support the SRP Executive Director, Senior Blended Finance, and Project Manager in this role.