Principal Investment Officer (SNOU) at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/19/170
Location: Abidjan, Cote D'ivoire
Position N°: 50093652
Grade: PL4

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-Presidency (SNVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The SNVP provides effective leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions.
• The SNVP leads senior management discussions, decision-making processes and the implementation of key Board and Management decisions. The hiring Unit, SNOU reports to the SNVP.

The Hiring Unit

• The SNOU provides specialized knowledge and services to resolve distressed and underperforming corporate/project finance loans and equity exposures and assists with the identification and management of problem projects on the Bank’s watchlist.
• The SNOU works closely with Portfolio Management and Risk Management to plan, organise, resourrce and implement the activities related to private sector project identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation and portfolio management.
• SNOU leads “Jeopardy” projects where there is a risk of loss to the Bank, and supports portfolio management on “Joint Venture” watchlist projects. Restoring positive operations restructuring Balance Sheets and rescheduling loans to match sustainable debt service capacity is the ideal outcome, returning the project to portfolio management. Other outcomes may range from one-time cash settlements to exit (severing the Bank’s relationship before potential adverse PR associated with failure and job losses) debt for equity and warrant conversions of excess unsustainable debt (to preserve the Bank’s upside value after improvements) through to enforcement of collateral and business or asset sales.
• SNOU carefully balances purely commercial remedies against the development, social and environmental mandate of the Bank when assessing resolution strategies, whilst managing the overall reputation of the Bank.
• In addition to managing the unit’s portfolio of underperforming projects, SNOU also shares key lessons learned and promotes “early warning signs” across front office teams to identify and react to problems when they start, not just when the projects are deeply impaired. This preserves value for the Bank and keeps Non-Performing Loans, loan arrears and provisions to a minimum and assists with improving the quality of investments at entry.

The Position

• The Investment Officer will utilize in-depth knowledge and experience to deliver resolution strategies for problem projects and demonstrate strong leadership skills for direct reports in the Unit as well as internal and external interaction and consensus building.
• S/he leverages the prior project knowledge from portfolio managers who can be highly valuable temporary members of a tailored SNOU Jeopardy or Joint Venture team and will bring a new vision and objective thinking to decide on the best path forward for the underperforming project. S/he will lead others in the rapid diagnosis of distressed situations and design and implement optimal rehabilitation and exit strategy; take into account the unique characteristics and issues for each project.
• The incumbent may also be invited from time to time to observe the Credit Risk Committee (CRC) investment process and Board Approval process in order to bring his or her experience to the attention of the Bank. S/he will also represent the Bank professionally with external parties, including auditors/advisors/consultants, Government representatives, Co-investors, Central Banks, Regulators and also at technical and DFI conferences.

Duties and responsibilities
Key Function:

• Under the supervision and guidance of the Head of Unit (SNOU), the Investment Officer will undertake the following:
• Monitor the financial and operational performance of impaired projects, offer recovery solutions and effect execution and implementation of agreed workout strategies;
• Prepare regular reports as required on all project resolution activities;
• Identify Lessons Learned to disseminate SNOU’s workout experience to other investment departments within the Bank to assist Portfolio Management to identify warning signs at an earlier stage and improve quality at entry;
• Preparation of financial forecasts and perform cash flow analysis to determine the debt carrying capacity of borrowers and the return potential for equity investments, participate in due diligence of companies and determine, document and present options for approaching investment resolutions (e.g. trade sale, restructuring, refinancing, turnaround, workout, enforcement and insolvency processes, debt for equity swaps or any other rescue approaches);
• Conduct business reviews to understand the issues facing companies and offering practical solutions; interact with accountants, legal, financial and sectoral consultants; interact with senior management of investee companies; liaise with other co-investors and DFIs and construct financial and valuation models with sensitivities as required;
• Prepare action plans and different resolution options for each non-performing or impaired investee company for the SNOU Head and other team members to present to the internal CRC including recommended strategies to resolve and optimise problem investments whilst understanding the need to protect the over-arching developmental mandate of the Bank and minimise any reputational fall-out.
• Prepare internal papers and memoranda for investment proposals.

Selection Criteria
Competencies (skills, experience and knowledge):

• A Master’s degree Economics, Business Administration, Finance or related discipline.
• Professional qualifications in Accounting, Legal or Banking are a strong advantage.
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant progressive experience.
• Formal insolvency practitioner license/membership of professional trade bodies is a strong advantage.
• Demonstrable track record and professional experience of working either in a workout or recovery team for a bank or financial institution; or having worked for a major accounting or consulting firm advising clients on workouts, restructurings or non-performing investments or portfolios.
• Diverse experience both geographically and sectorally of investing and divesting across different types and sizes of businesses. International investment experience is a must.
• Experience with Private Equity Funds adding value to investments and/or Project Finance would be an advantage
• Ability to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of incumbent management teams, making recommendation on how to change or improve teams in investee companies.
• Sound business judgment, with creative problem solving skills and ability to think laterally in order to solve problems; and the ability to apply innovative approaches and new methods to solve problems while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment.
• Strong analytical and modelling capabilities and ability to lead transactions from inception to completion.
• Advanced corporate negotiating and influencing skills in workout and investment situations.
• Solid experience in project management and cross-functional working with diverse teams.
• Possess the necessary team skills required to lead specialized teams and analyze actions from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to make effective and timely, well-determined recommendations or decisions.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to deliver results that meet the needs and interests of clients within and outside the Institution. Understanding cultural sensitivities is key to this role
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrix management environment, both as team leader and team member.
• Ability to deal sensitively in a multi-cultural environment and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.
• Demonstrates integrity, Sound judgment, and highest ethical standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communications in English or French, with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint). Ability to provide strategic advice to the Bank on emerging financial and development issues, as well as corporate issues.