Principal Corporate Relationships Officer at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/337
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50093765

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s TYS High 5s priority of “Light up and Power Africa”. The complex’s objectives are (i) to develop policy and strategy; (ii) provide deep sector technical expertise to the Regions by gathering pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted for their expertise on complicated transactions; (iii) develop new financing instruments; (iv) act as spoke person to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on all aspects of “Light Up and Power Africa”. The Complex will focus on areas of Power systems, policy and regulation, renewable energy; and, Climate and Green Growth.

The Hiring Department/Division

• The Energy Partnerships Department core objective is building, strengthening, and maintaining the Transformative Partnership on Energy for Africa. This will require broad engagement with other Development Financial Institutions, Regional Member Countries, Non-Regional Member Countries, and the private sector (corporates and financial institutions). The Department includes a “Public Energy Initiatives and Partnerships” Division and a “Strategic Private Sector Relationships” Division.
• The Strategic Private Sector Relationships Division builds and manages relationships with anchor (global/regional/national) industry players (corporates, project developers), public and private financial institutions, institutional investors and related associations with the objective to increase the number of private sector projects and private sector financing in the energy sector.

The Position

• The Principal Corporate Relationship Officer will be responsible for mobilizing the support, build and manage relationships with anchor (global/regional/local) industry players for successful implementation of the New Deal, in particular international and local corporates, project developers, project preparation facilities and relevant industry associations.
• The incumbent will also be responsible to understand the investment requirements and needs of these corporates, facilitate project preparation and increase their participation in the energy sector.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision and general guidance of the Division Manager, Strategic Private Sector Relationships, the Principal Corporate Relationships Officer will perform the following:

• Contribute to the ‘New Deal Energy Pacts’ on issues related to the private sector;
• Establish and manage a list of regional/national/local priority action projects for private investment in Africa’s energy sector;
• Identify key private sector industry players relevant to the achievement of the New Deal on Energy objectives, including but not limited to relevant global/regional/local corporates/sponsors, project developers, project preparation facilities, relevant industry associations etc.
• Build and manage relationships with these anchor industry players through regular interactions, including understanding their investment requirements and needs;
• Engage with governments, project preparation facilities and other stakeholders to accelerate relevant project preparation,
• Increase investment from corporate industry players in the energy sector, work with internal and external partners to overcome investment constraints (such as policy reforms, guarantees etc.)
• Contribute to a regular publication for private sector stakeholders;
• Organize convening events for private sector stakeholders;
• Ensure adequate awareness, training and capacity for private sector concerns in the energy sector in the Complex and other relevant Bank divisions and local Bank staff;
• Closely collaborate with the public energy initiatives and partnerships manager and other relevant internal and external partners in creating an understanding of the public sector for private sector needs and in public-private partnerships.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Engineering, Finance, Business Administration, or related subjects;
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of leadership experience in energy sector issues, corporate finance, emerging markets;
• Experience in working in a corporate institution or project developer in the energy sector;
• Successful track record of achieving results through partnerships with the private sector;
• Experience in a combination of the following areas: infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, corporate finance, project finance;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage;
• Ability to innovate and create approaches to activities in order to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients;
• Ability to communicate effectively and mobilize key actors to delivery (private sector, public sector and civil society);
• Proven ability to build multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve results;
• Proven interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment, with sensitivity and respect for diversity and the ability to build trust and provide leadership to different team members;
• Highly developed negotiation skills proven to yield positive outcomes with counterparts, both internal and external;
• Ability to listen and communicate effectively with counterparts;
• Knowledge of private sector investment from corporates and/or project developers in infrastructure, including in the energy sector, and in emerging markets, including in Africa;
• Clear understanding of the drivers and barriers to success in complex regulatory, political and cultural environments;
• Knowledge of energy sector development in Africa and familiarity with the work of major entities active in the energy sector;
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable.