Founding CEO of the International Finance Facility for Education

Role Purpose
The Founding CEO will be responsible for establishing IFFEd and its team, raising its voice and visibility, expanding its donor base, and leading its full operationalization. The Founding CEO will work closely with the Chair of the Board.

The specific duties of the Founding CEO will include:
Developing and implementing IFFEd’s business plan for its first 2-3 years.
Completing the establishment of IFFEd’s institutional foundations, including:
Recruiting, inspiring and leading IFFEd’s core team.
Competing the establishment of IFFEd’s new Board, and overseeing preparations for IFFEd’s first Board meetings.
Driving the continued development of IFFED’s business systems and policies.
Overseeing IFFEd’s application to be recognized as an International Organization by the Swiss authorities.
Raising, with the Chair of the Board, IFFEd’s voice, influence, and visibility so it is globally recognized, connecting beyond the education sector, and engaging at various international fora.
Leading, with the Chair of the Board, the mobilization of resources for IFFEd to expand the initial facility size with additional guarantee and grant donors to $5bn.
Managing relationships with IFFEd’s current and future partners at senior level, including sovereign and philanthropic donors, MDBs, and partner countries.
Being IFFEd’s lead innovator, seeking and building unusual partnerships, including with the private sector and philanthropy, as well as MDBs, to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of the scale and delivery of education financing.
Managing the regular operations of IFFEd, including:
Preparing for and organizing the required meetings of IFFEd partners, including donors and MDBs, as per the agreed governance structure.
Preparing for and convening IFFEd Board meetings and ensuring IFFEd’s Chair and Board members have the information and support needed to govern effectively.
Preparing and overseeing IFFEd’s annual budget.

The Founding CEO will work closely with the Board Chair. The Chair will be focused on raising (both sovereign and philanthropic) donor awareness and contributions at the highest level. The Chair will also help provide a high-level strategic vision for IFFEd.
The Founding CEO will be selected by a committee comprising representatives of IFFEd’s current donor and MDB partners. The Founding CEO will report to the IFFEd Board.

Education, Qualifications & Experience
The Founding CEO must be/have:
A post-graduate degree in finance, business or economics.
Extensive experience in increasingly challenging leadership and strategy functions in innovation-led organizations. Prior experience as a CEO would be a plus.
Proven ability to direct the start-up of initiatives and operations, and successfully scale them.
Demonstrated results in mobilizing private and/or public capital.
Demonstrated experience of successfully building partnerships.
Inspirational leadership with solid talent management ability and demonstrated experience managing multicultural teams.
Outstanding people skills and ability to resolve differences across organizational boundaries.
Ability to build and manage strong relationships at Board level. Experience of establishing boards, participating on a Board or advising Boards.
Experience working or living in IFFEd’s target markets (lower-middle income countries) would be an asset.
Excellent communication and written skills in English; other languages are a plus.

Contact details
If you are interested, please send your application (including CV and covering letter) by email to hr@iff-education.org.

Background :
IFFEd is a new and powerful financing engine for global education that multiplies donor resources so governments can invest urgently in quality education and skills in lower-middle-income countries.
IFFEd will:
Bring together and expand the education ecosystem by engaging with government, non-government, and philanthropic players, enabling, and leveraging the distinct strengths of each stakeholder.
Identify breakthrough solutions in education by working with innovators to curate new ideas in a post-COVID-19 world, working with public and philanthropic partners to design, test, and evaluate approaches in different contexts.
Supercharge education financing by working with public and philanthropic donors who contribute equity guarantees and grants to IFFEd, which are used to leverage multiples of additional affordable financing through the multilateral development banks (MDBs).
IFFEd is seeking a Founding CEO to drive forward the full operationalization and implementation of IFFEd. The Founding CEO will be located in the IFFEd offices in Geneva.
Initially, the Founding CEO will work closely with a small transition team of consultants led by an Interim CEO, which will phase out as IFFEd’s core team is established. The Founding CEO will aslo work closely with IFFEd’s new Board, in particular with the Board Chair, who has recently been identified by IFFEd’s major stakehoders.