Special Operations Investment Officer - SOU at African Development Bank - AfDB

Objectives
Context:

• The Special Operations Unit (SOU) forms part of the Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration Vice Presidency (OIVP) which is responsible for all private sector operations falling under the Bank’s private sector development strategy.
• The SOU provides specialized knowledge and services to resolve distressed and underperforming investments and assists with the identification and management of investments on the Bank’s watch list.
• The SOU works closely with other departments to plan, organize and implement the activities related to private sector project identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation and portfolio management.

Accountability and Objectives

• The SOU’s main responsibility is assessing underperforming and problem investments and leading the workout, restructuring, turnaround or in some cases re-capitalization of these companies. This requires expertise in active, hands-on distressed investment and non-performing loan (NPL) management including financial restructuring, refinancing or other recovery solutions for jeopardy as well as potentially distressed investments that preserve to the extent possible, the Bank’s development impact in Africa. 
• SOU undertakes its work either independently or jointly with portfolio management units, with SOU often taking the lead on major and complex underperforming investments and restructurings.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Head of SOU, the Investment Officer will:

• Develop and implement policies, procedures, guidelines and technical manuals for SOU’s continuing operations;
• For impaired transactions, prepare 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 financial and legal due diligence and analysis 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 development finance institutions and construct detailed financial and valuation models with sensitivities as required;
• Prepare action plans for each non-performing or impaired investee company to be presented to the internal Credit Risk Committee including recommendations to resolve problem investments whilst understanding the need to protect the over-arching developmental mandate of the Bank.
• Calculate and make recommendations for loan loss provisions and equity value impairment estimates for each non-performing or impaired investment;
• Monitor the financial and operational performance of impaired investments and effect execution and implementation of agreed workout strategies;
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, or annual reports as required on all investment resolution activities;
• Analyse and process waiver, amendment and consent requests for impaired investments;
• Identify lessons learned and prepare lessons learned papers and presentations to disseminate SOU’s workout experience to other investment departments within the Bank;
• Assist line divisions to identify and manage deteriorating investments before they become non-performing;
• For unimpaired investments, review and evaluate monitoring reports, review investment waiver and amendment requests, validate the risk rating of debt and guarantee transactions as well as undertake valuation of equity investments and evaluate investment exit options; and
• Perform other investment resolution tasks as and when required.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• A minimum of a Master's degree or equivalent professional qualification in Economics, Finance, Accounting or Investment related fields. An additional qualification such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) will be an added advantage;
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant investment experience in an international bank, multilateral/bilateral development organization or large consulting/accounting firm. Strong experience in managing corporate and capital restructurings and refinancing is preferred as is some insolvency experience together with investment and divestment experience.
• 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;
• Strong technical knowledge and proven track record in all areas of credit risk management of individual investment transactions, possibly as either a ‘Buy’ or ‘Sell’ side advisor;
• Ability to quickly understand the inherent risks of specific investments under review and advising on the most appropriate course of action and the associated consequences of each action;
• Diverse experience both geographically and sectorally of investing and divesting across different types and sizes of businesses. International investment experience is preferred. Understanding cultural sensitivities is key to this role;
• Ability to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of incumbent management teams, making recommendation on how to change or improve teams in investee companies;
• Knowledge and experience in valuation of listed and unlisted equities and ability to assess proposed exit strategies. Experience with Private Equity Funds adding value to investments would be an advantage;
• Strong analytical and modelling abilities and ability to lead transactions from inception to completion;
• Sound business judgment, with creative problem solving skills and ability to think laterally in order to solve problems;
• Ability to build effective client relationships (both internally and externally), to represent SOU effectively both within and outside the AfDB and to play an active role in knowledge sharing;
• Team player, working with both internal and external teams to deliver results;
• Advanced corporate negotiating and influencing skills will be important as part of the SOU investment workout processes;
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver high-quality work within tight deadlines;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, in English and/or French, including demonstrated ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely to audiences within and outside the AfDB;
• Knowledge of financial institution and project financings/structured finance would be an advantage;