[2] During his IMF career (beginning in 1989), Lin worked across a wide range of country, policy, and administrative issues, including serving senior positions in the Secretary's, Finance, Policy Development and Review, and Asian and Pacific Departments.

[1] As the Secretary of the International Monetary Fund, Lin oversees the Secretary's Department that has operational responsibility for the 24-member Executive Board, and serves as the official contact point of the International Monetary Fund's 189 member countries on institutional matters, including work of the Board of Governors and the policy-guiding International Monetary and Financial Committee.

[2][3] The Secretary's Department also organizes the Spring and Annual Meetings, and is the creator and custodian of the International Monetary Fund's official record.

Current IMF Managing Director (as of August 2020) Kristalina Georgieva stated that "Jianhai has played a critical role at the IMF... [and] will leave a legacy of outstanding service to our membership... [he] is a key driving force behind the Meetings having become the place every policy maker wants to be to discuss the critical economic and financial issues of the day".

[5] Lin was born in Panshi Town (磐石镇), Yueqing (乐清市), Zhejiang, China.