African Development Bank Group Job Vacancy : Principal Renewable Energy Investment Specialist

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) – Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Banks development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Renewable Energy Investment Specialist

Reference: ADB/19/011
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50064459

The Unit

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is housed in PERN1. SEFA is a multi-donor trust fund financed by the Governments of Denmark, the UK, the USA, Italy and Norway. SEFA provides technical assistance and innovative and catalytic financing for energy access by unlocking private sector investments in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects and programs.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the PERN Special Initiatives Manager and the Head of SEFA, the Incumbent will carry out the following tasks:

Undertake origination and business development activities leading to the generation of a pipeline of renewable energy transaction advisory projects that will develop into a pipeline of renewable energy investments projects to be considered by AfDB’s range of finance instruments including non-sovereign lending;
Take a leading part in and follow up the implementation of SEFA activities, with a focus on project screening and project preparation along SEFA´s and – where applicable – AfDB’s operational rules and guidelines, for instance on procurement procedures;
Perform detailed due diligence of all aspects of renewable energy projects in view of their suitability for project pipelines as defined under (i) above;
Participate in appraisal missions to projects, for the sake of advising project sponsors, project developers, the SEFA Team and AfDB peers on all relevant aspects of projects, as well as supporting the drafting of SEFA documentation, including but not limited to project preparation grant requests and enabling environment grant requests.;
Carry out in-depth independent research on renewable energy markets, project sponsors, project developers, as well as on all relevant commercial, financial, marketing, technical, and legal aspects of projects;
Conduct any other relevant tasks aimed at the fulfilment of SEFA goals, as may be assigned by the PERN Special Initiatives Manager (or other Manager as may be responsible for SEFA at AfDB) and the SEFA Coordinator.
Develop a specific annual work programme contributing to the SEFA objectives
Quarterly progress updates to be included in SEFA’s quarterly reports
Annual briefs as an input to the annual reports.
Project appraisal reports and project preparation and enabling environment packages as requested by any internal approval committee.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

At least a Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Finance, Technical or Environmental Sciences or similar, relevant for carrying out the required tasks;
A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience in the development, finance and management of (renewable) energy projects;
Prior experience with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) or international commercial banks; prior exposure to appraisal, procurement and disbursement processes is desirable;
Strong experience in identifying, structuring, and financial closure of infrastructure projects and structuring private-sector and public-private partnerships (PPP) in emerging markets or in a developing country context;
Familiarity with the power project development cycle and understanding of lenders’ requirements for “bankability”, including experience in dealing with renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs);
Experience in dealing with private sector actors (developers, investors and financial institutions), including in capacity-building and advisory functions;
Knowledge of the African power sector, including institutional, policy and regulatory issues, and field experience in at least five Sub-Sahel African countries required;
Integrity and ability to work in a dynamic team as well as independently with little supervision;
Must be fluent in English and French; working knowledge of an additional language relevant for conducting duties in Sub-Sahel African countries will be an asset;
Gender and Diversity competence
Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
Working knowledge of an additional language relevant for conducting duties in Sub-Sahel African countries will be an asset;
Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications; knowledge of SAP is an added advantage.