Principal Investment Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

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 Bank’s 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 Investment Officer

Reference: ADB/19/041
Location: South Africa
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50076441

The Complex

The Vice Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the private sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization. The complex main functions are to (i) strengthen the enabling environment for private sector [and financial sector] development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development, (ii) support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including cities and urban development, and (iii) place renewed emphasis on industrial and trade performance in support of structural transformation across Africa. The Complex leverages knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments on delivering the Bank’s development agenda.

The Hiring Department/Division

The primary role of the Financial Sector Development (FSD) Department is to help the Regional Member Countries (RMCs) increase the reach, depth, and breadth of their financial systems, while safeguarding financial stability.
The Department has four long-term objectives: (i) development of a vibrant private sector through an inclusive access by households and enterprises to financial services; (ii) strengthening markets participants; (iii) developing efficient capital markets, and (iv) deepening regional financial integration.
The Financial Inclusion and Intermediation Division focuses on promoting innovative financial and non-financial products and services that are responsive to the needs of Bank’s clients in a bit to boost and increase access to finance and financial services by private enterprises including African SMEs, as well as other underserved sectors and populations.
The Division’s work thus focuses on financial intermediation and related operations to enhance of FIs capacity to support Bank priority areas including infrastructure, agribusiness, women businesses, SMEs, etc in line with the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy and the High Five Priorities of the AfDB (Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa) in order to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation and ii) Financial inclusion activities that facilitate access to finance and financial services by all sectors of the African populations.

The Position

As part of the Financial Inclusion and Intermediation Division and in line with the Financial Sector Strategy and the Bank priorities, the Principal Financial Sector Investment Officers (IOs) are critical members of multidisciplinary teams of highly qualified professionals. The IO will work with other experts in the financial sector department as well as other departments in order to enhance FIs support to priority sectors and market segments. The jobholder will identify business opportunities, coordinate the processing and closure of approved of transactions in order to maximize the impact of the Bank’s operations through execution of innovative, developmental, and profitable investments for AfDB. The position will be located in the head office of the Bank and it involves frequent travel.
The overall purpose of this job will be to originate, develop and lead the due diligence approval and financial closure of Investments into Financial Institutions, Private Equity Funds and Digital financial services projects as well as provide technical support and inputs to diverse areas of financial inclusion.
The incumbent will work within broad policies and objectives with limited supervision for critical tasks.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Principal Investment Officer will perform the following duties:

Provides support to IOs to develop a strong pipeline of good quality SME finance opportunities, Venture capital and Social impact private equity funds through anticipating market trends and employing sector/regional knowledge.
developing Strategies for Financial inclusion Banking including business models, market analysis; segmentation; and product design
Build and maintain strong relationships with other departments, clients, banking and multilateral partners and government officials to develop specific investment opportunities;
Identify, undertake, coordinate and manage the necessary due diligence of banking, and other financial intermediation projects applying debt, equity, guarantees and related Bank products.
Undertake financial analysis, financial modelling and risk analysis on projects and apply the broader Bank appraisal tools such as Environment Social and Governance (ESG), Asset and Management Liability (AML), development outcomes and additionality.
Prepare project appraisal reports for presentation to the department, review committees, senior management and finally to the Board of Directors.
Liaise and coordinate with other Investment and Inclusion Officers and Bank staff in the origination of a good quality investment pipeline for the Bank’s financial sector assistance.
Prepare and process through to approval, disbursement and implementation, technical assistance proposals aimed at building capacity of financial institutions or other market players involved in enhancing the market supply and demand for credit
Coordinate with sector colleagues, the internal approvals to proactively find pragmatic solutions to emerging/specific sector challenges.
Develop investment promotion strategies in Africa , including targeting potential investors and promoting AfDB’s products and services proactively;
Work with legal department to ensure that all deals have appropriate legal documentation and that financial close is achieved, and hand over projects to portfolio management staff.
Design specific innovative transactions, projects and initiatives
Undertakes the work on aspects of access and financial inclusion and aligns them with institutional objectives and support the Bank’s access and financial inclusion products;
Initiates the efforts to mainstream financial access and inclusion aspects, with the High 5 priorities of the Bank, at the strategic and operational level;
Contributes to the policy dialogue on financial sector issues in RMCs, at both policy and technical level; as well as to institutional, regulatory, policy or market assessments.
Contributes to projects supporting funds or incubators that focus on increased financial access; and developing financial infrastructure, financing payment systems and instruments, in particular for mobile financial services, including payments by the government.
Works with regional teams/country offices to design and implement financial sector development support programs;
Evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close new transactions, with a strong focus on credit and asset quality (include processing mandates, due diligence, negotiating term sheets and other documentation, syndications and board approval);
Provide support to regional industry and portfolio teams in processing and supervising regionally managed projects;

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

A minimum of a Master’s or its equivalent in Accounting, Finance or Financial Economics or any other quantitative degree (including a MBA in Finance).
A minimum of six (6) Years of relevant professional experience in private and finance sector, including hands-on experience in analysing credit risks, structuring loan and other debt products as well as equity transactions, associated legal documentation, negotiations, and closing transactions in banking and non-banking financial institutions
Experience in the structuring of financial system development projects or related field
Experience in DFI as well as private sector experience with supporting SMEs
Experience setting up and managing new and complex programs and initiatives
Experience in developing solutions that help expand access to finance and to effective technical assistance for the underserved population
Experience working in developing/emerging market economies, especially Africa
Experience working in development finance and in entrepreneurship / SME capacity building will be a strong advantage
Excellent analytical skills and problem solving skills and ability to document detailed business requirements
Understanding of the operating/regulatory environment and needs of intermediaries and their clients in order to customize the tools and support they require.
Strong verbal and written skills, including the ability to develop, adapt and deliver presentations/materials to a variety of audiences
Demonstrated ability to work with clients in the financial and real sector and in the SME support environment, understanding their unique needs and develop targeted solutions.
Ability to work independently while driving and managing assignments from concept through deployment/launch
Ability to work closely and collaborate with management as well as operational and technical staff at various levels.
Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and collaborate cross-functionally with different business partners within and outside organization.
Demonstrated ability to manage and execute multiple projects efficiently and effectively
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
Competence in the use of the standard Microsoft software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and SAP.