D&S Manager

Company details

The Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) is a development finance institution governed by the Belgian state with a goal to foster sustainable development through private sector investment in partner countries.

BIO is a value driven organization that embodies open-mindedness, responsibility, determination and sustainability in every aspect of its work. We are looking for a new Development and Sustainability Manager to lead an enthusiastic team of sustainability experts that make sure that we deliver on our mission.

Function

The D&S Manager

1. is responsible for the organisation, management and supervision of the Development and Sustainability (D&S) Unit, which is accountable for the development effectiveness (DE) and environmental & social (E&S) risk management of BIO’s investment projects. The Unit also manages the Business Development Support Fund (BDSF), BIO’s facility providing grants to finance Feasibility Studies (FS) and Technical Assistance (TA) programmes.
2. ensures the team adequately provides quality development impact assessment, E&S, BDSF, Climate, Gender, Human Rights and other sustainability support in investment projects by (i) being operationally involved in certain investment projects and actively contributing to the team’s knowledge management, and by (ii) supporting and overseeing the work performed by the team to achieve individual, team and company objectives;
3. reports to the CEO and ensures the strategic guidelines set by the Company in terms of sustainability are implemented at the level of the D&S unit.

This mission is performed with the objective to carry out BIO’s development mission and investment targets. BIO has a new management contract with the Belgian State, which includes a new impact framework, as well as BIO’s sustainability ambition. The D&S Manager is responsible for ensuring the company is compliant with these ambitions and sustainability reporting requirements.

1. Team Management

• Manage: set objectives and monitor results, direct and conceptualise:
  • Define a strategy at the team level with a definition of coherent individual and collective objectives;
  • Plan and monitor the work. If necessary, carry out corrective actions to improve results and achieve objectives;
  • Evaluate the work, efficiency and competencies of staff, particularly during annual appraisal interviews and by setting SMART objectives;
  • Give appropriate feedback in a timely manner.

• Organise: distribute and coordinate the work:

• • Know the role of each person and the evolution of this role and associated objectives. With this information, draw up a coherent schedule of tasks;
  • Establish internal communications within the team;
  • Ensure that the workload is well-balanced within the team and raise any possible need for additional resources or team adaptation;

• • Encourage autonomy, decision-making and involvement through delegation of certain responsibilities.

• Animate: lead and mobilise team members to achieve a common goal:

• Pilot continuous training to motivate team members to improve and develop their skills;
• Federate and develop team spirit and cohesion;
• Strive for continuous improvement of the team’s knowledge, skills and organisation in an evolving legal market;
• Work constructively to find win-win solutions during negotiations or conflicts.

• Communicate:

• Represent the work of the whole team both internally and externally;
• Provide feedback to management in a correct and appropriate manner;
• Develop constructive communication and working relationships with other managers on cross-cutting issues.

2. Team tasks and objectives

The Manager’s job is to oversee the D&S team’s work in providing support to investment/BDSF projects assessment and strategic issues, to address development and sustainability questions along the investment cycle and to discuss D&S strategic matters within the team.

The Manager maintains an overview of ongoing and upcoming investments and BDSF projects; allocates workload within the team according to priorities, capacity and interest; ensures follow-up of investments and BDSF projects when required and ensures appropriate back-up or reorganisation when needed.

They play a hands-on coordinating role across the different activities (DE, E&S, BDSF) as well as on specific transversal themes and expertise (Gender and Climate).

Specific tasks and objectives related to the different D&S activities are:

• E&S:
  • Coordinate and support the work of the 4 E&S Officers by allocating the projects based on priorities and level of expertise. The Manager assumes final accountability in terms of quality of E&S outputs across the investment cycle and related documents (investment notes, E&S assessment, monitoring, etc.). Beyond coordination, the Manager is operationally involved in investments when required for both new projects and portfolio monitoring;
  • Chair the E&S Watchlist Committee (projects under E&S difficulties), including E&S Officers, Portfolio and Investment Officers;
  • With the team, develop strategies and policies related to E&S matters and liaise with the CEO for approval;
  • Ensure an efficient and productive relationship with the investment and legal teams, and get involved in complex projects when required, including internally and with the clients.
• Development and impact management:
  • Coordinate and support the work of the 2 Development Effectiveness (DE) Officers and 1 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer. The Manager assumes final accountability in terms of quality of development impact assessment of projects;
  • Steer the team strategically and ensure the development agenda is aligned with BIO’s Strategic Impact Targets and development expectations, including operational and technical requirements (e.g. tools and applications needed to assess and monitor BIO’s impact);
  • Contribute to reporting activities and accountability for final development impact reporting to shareholder and stakeholders.
• BDSF:
  • Strategically steer and give final approval of the BDSF projects. Support and ensure a good coordination with the BDSF Coordinator and the BDSF Officer for project allocation;
  • Provide strategic advice and ensure the BDSF activities fit well within BIO’s investment strategy, and contribute to the non-financial additionality of BIO’s interventions;
  • Give final approval of BDSF reporting towards shareholder.
• Climate and Ecological Transition
  • Coordinate the Climate and Ecological Transition Strategy (developed in 2023), including BIO’s climate finance agenda ambition;
  • Climate mainstreaming across BIO’s activities: provide strategic support to ensure the climate agenda is well aligned with BIO’s investment strategy and monitoring operations;
  • Coordinate the implementation of a carbon footprint evaluation strategy.
• Gender & Human Rights
  • BIO has developed a Gender Strategy mid-2024 and published a Human Rights Policy in 2025. The D&S Manager coordinates the implementation of these strategies, providing support and strategic advice to the E&S Officers in charge.

Knowledge Management across the D&S Unit

• Maintain a planning for the development and improvement of the team’s knowledge management and capacity building according to priorities, capacity and interests; monitor the follow-up and reorganise when needed;
• Ensure the development, implementation and improvement of procedures, templates and tools useful and relevant for investment projects and actively contribute thereto;
• Raise awareness and develop knowledge sharing mechanisms (trainings and other) on sustainability matters impacting investment projects, participate in and supervise initiatives for implementation thereof.

3. External representation on D&S matters

• Regularly interact with the Ministry of Development Cooperation (DGD) as well as with Enabel, NGOs, civil society organisations and other stakeholders;
• Contribute to BIO’s external relations with Belgian development cooperation actors (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Enabel, civil society organisations) as well as with the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) on D&S matters. We expect you to coordinate the participation in EDFI working groups and Task Forces on D&S matters.
• Participate and/or make sure the team is represented in meetings and conferences on relevant topics.
• Private sector mobilisation: support the climate finance mobilisation agenda.

4. Collaboration and internal Representation Tasks

• Liaise with other managers to ensure a fruitful and effective collaboration on investment projects in accordance with BIO’s needs and priorities; identify and propose solutions for pain points;
• Be the liaison between the team and BIO’s other departments and governance bodies;
• Coordinate the internal representation of the teams on all development and sustainability matters regarding investment projects;
• Regularly coordinate with investment teams on pipeline development;

5. Personal implication

• Depending on the needs of the team, the D&S Manager will be required to carry out some of the projects. They will actively participate in writing notes and in projects follow-up.

Profile

Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) in economics, environmental engineering studies, international development studies. International Development Cooperation studies are a plus;
• At least 10 years of relevant experience in sustainability-related matters and impact management or environmental and social assessments related to the private sector business activities, in at least one of BIO’s investment sectors (SME/corporate, infrastructure, Private Equity Funds/Financial Institutions);
• Experience in managing a team/project;
• Ability to reflect strategically and articulate the work within a commercial approach, support clients to identify opportunities to improve their E&S performances and create positive development impact;
• Knowledge of and interest in BIO’s mission, private sector development and impact investing;
• Hands-on experience with E&S assessment of investment projects, and/or climate finance is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of blended finance and guarantees /risk-sharing mechanisms in the development finance space is a strong plus;
• Knowledge/application of EDFI standards as well as IFC Performance Standards is a strong plus;
• Experience in Impact measurement and management systems (OPIM, IRIS+, HIPSO, etc.) is a strong plus;
• Experience in working in a development cooperation organisation is an asset.
• Good understanding of Technical Assistance programmes and grant funding operations is an asset;
• Experience in working in frontier markets is a plus;
• Fluent in English; working knowledge of French, Dutch and Spanish is an asset.

General skills:

• Ambition to work in a value-based organization that embodies the values of open-mindedness, responsibility, determination and sustainability;
• Pro-active and autonomous, able to set priorities and take responsibilities;
• Excellent networking and communication skills (spoken and written);
• Ambition to lead, make decisions and share knowledge while maintaining a team spirit;
• Strong people management and interpersonal skills;
• Pragmatic and solution-oriented;
• Able to understand the business needs, issues and priorities underlying the D&S work;
• Intellectually curious and not afraid of complex questions;
• Rigorous and well organised with an eye for detail and high-quality work.

Offer

Come and join BIO for an enriching professional experience where you’ll be surrounded by motivated colleagues.

We offer an attractive package and you’ll enjoy a good balance between your work and your private life (homeworking, regular trainings…).

We’re ideally situated in Brussels – only a brisk 10-minute walk from Brussels Central Station and therefore easily accessible by public transport from several big cities.