Investment Officer at World Bank

Job #: req5063
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Organization: IFC
Sector: Investment
Grade: GF
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Required Language(s): English, French

Description

• Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
• Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities to create markets and opportunities where they are needed most.

Investment Officer - Corporate Finance:

• IFC’s Corporate Finance Services unit (CFS), which focuses on Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Advisory, assists clients to: assess and select potential markets for entry/expansion at a regional, country and city level; identify, shortlist and select targets for acquisition or partnership; support valuation, negotiations and transaction execution, including facilitation of investor’s due diligence up to deal closure; optimize financing structures and attract third party funding; and advise on a balance sheet restructuring and value realization strategies.
• The CFS unit is looking to recruit an Investment Officer (IO) for its team,  based in Lagos or Nairobi., who will support management and the cross regional team.
• The ideal candidate will have finance/accounting experience and prior investment banking transaction experience, with knowledge of the M&A process, drafting info memos / teasers, reaching out to investors, etc.
• The candidate must be a self-starter, capable of taking initiative to cover a range of tasks, able to thrive in a small, entrepreneurial team/environment and be able to work independently with a minimal supervision.

General:

• Prior experience in leading and supporting business development and transaction/engagement execution of a range of corporate financial services to private sector companies.
• Several years of knowledge/experience in the management of corporate, strategic and financial opportunities- including mergers, acquisitions, lending (debt, mezzanine and equity), privatizations, and initial public offerings (IPOs).
• Experience in advising and leading management buyouts, capital-raising, providing strategic advice to clients, and identifying and securing new deals.

Key Responsibilities

• Leverage an in-depth knowledge of IFC comparative advantages and additionality to advise companies/institutions on achieving their strategic goals and implementing long and short-term growth plans.
• Work effectively with dedicated IS teams to focus on specific transactions or market sectors.
• Interface as relevant with legal/COI and compliance teams through the selection and execution of engagements.
• Prior experience in working through various processes of both stages of corporate finance/investment banking deals

Origination:

• Assessing a deal's desirability and feasibility, guide/support teams in the preparation of pitch-books and proposals and support internal approval processes up to signing of mandate.

Execution:

• Guiding clients in the structuring and negotiating of the terms of a deal, guiding the relevant IS teams, preparing client’s presentations and supporting client’s decision making at key transaction stages, etc.

Examples of responsibilities may include but not be limited to:

• Mergers and acquisitions advisory: assist clients in both buy and sell side mandates, expansion strategies, safeguard market position, diversify, etc. Manage or support the transaction process, assessing the target/s or strategic investor fit, and the impact of the deal for the client. Leverage knowledge of – sector, legal and regulatory issues, in addition to sound financial knowledge and an in-depth understanding of the client's industry.
• Financing Advisory: work with clients in definition of possible financing strategies and supporting clients in raising relevant financing on a best effort basis. This may include restructuring debt, refinancing debt and raising new debt.
• The candidate should be able to work effectively in a small, "start-up" environment with extensive contact/collaboration with various internal units to develop and execute mandates and, as appropriate, with external resources in order to obtain relevant information and market intelligence.

Duties and Accountabilities

• The Investment Officer will work closely with team leaders as part of the project team to assist in the origination, due diligence, structuring, negotiation and closing of M&A transactions.

Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Support the CFS team in providing buy-side & sell-side advisory services to private/public clients looking to complete cross-border transactions.
• Manage multiple M&A projects by working directly with client management teams, senior bankers. across various industry and regional teams at IFC and across different product teams at IFC.
• Execute transactions working closely with clients to facilitate negotiations and due diligence.
• Create client pitch books for business development and transaction marketing materials, including teasers and information memorandums, in Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Create detailed financial models and conduct extensive valuation analyses utilizing M&A accretion / dilution, sum-of-the-parts, discounted cash flow, comparable company and precedent transaction analyses.
• Conduct extensive market, industry and cross-border M&A research for project execution, business development and team strategy purposes.
• Monitor and update pipeline of current and upcoming projects.
• Work with IFC legal team to draft legal documents (i.e. Nondisclosure Agreements, MOUs, Non-binding Offers, Binding Offers, Share Purchase Agreements, Shareholders Agreements, etc.).

Selection Criteria

• At least 4 years Investment Banking experience, ideally in M&A advisory, where candidate had undergone a formal training.
• MBA or equivalent qualification
• Understanding of corporate finance, including experience with various financial and valuation analyses. Exposure to and prior participation in the M&A Advisory work is ideal.
• Experience in financial modeling, including detailed financial statement analysis, projection forecasting and multiple scenario analysis, and M&A accretion / dilution, capital structure, sum-of-the parts, discounted cash flow, comparable company and precedent transaction analyses.
• Prior exposure to client engagement, deal negotiations and mandate signing activities are a plus.
• Good grasp & understanding of different types of debt, mezzanine and equity securities.
• Excellent written expression, ability to synthesize complex technical information and create clear, logical, compelling stories.
• Ability to recognize and extract critical information from large volumes of data in a simple manner.
• Strong knowledge of Power Point; high standard of quality control with required attention to written detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French Fluency/knowledge of foreign language(s) is a plus.
• Interest and knowledge of private sector participation/development issues, knowledge of overall industry sector trends.
• Ability to work across project teams to prioritize and deliver according to deadlines.

Key Skills:
The candidate should have advanced-level skills/ expertise in supporting and executing the following typical/day-to-day activities:

• Identifying and qualifying new business prospects/ opportunities
• Leading or co-leading corporate finance transactions
• Thoroughly researching market conditions and developments
• Carrying out financial modeling (e.g. - LBO, M&A, capital structure), intrinsic valuation and developing/presenting appropriate financial solutions to clients
• Liaising at senior level within IFC and with the chief executive level and chief finance officer-levels in client-organizations
• Coordinating teams of professionals and working closely with them.
• Demonstrating creativity and innovation in developing and implementing solutions/ideas for clients
• Well-networked candidate with IFC transaction experience preferred. MBA/ advanced degree with prior experience in an investment bank required.