Country Deal Manager, Resilient Water Accelerator at Global Development Incubator

The Country Deal Manager will focus primarily on developing specific deals and a country portfolio of deals that are ready for review by investors; this work would focus primarily on deal preparation, technical pre- feasibility assessments, short deal prospectus development and impact valuation. The Country Deal Manager will supplement the work of the Country Coordinator by building capacity of local regulators, project promoters and staff as well as sharing critical requirements of what makes a good project.  The Country Deal Manager will also supplement the work of the Global Investment Manager by building country specific investor relationships.

The critical outputs developed by the Country Deal Manager are:

• Portfolio development by country and project type (within water infrastructure sector)
• Robust project lists with project summaries
• Project prioritization by established criteria and driven by investor interests
• Brief (20-30 page) prospectus with cashflow schedule, assessments and partners/regulatory framework
• Project impact assessments

The Deal Manager will work closely with the Country teams including the Country Coordinator and relevant technical and advocacy colleagues as well as with the global Investment Manager and will be reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer based at Global Development Incubator. 

The Country Deal Manager will support hiring and supervising a Country Deal Associate (s).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Deal development in the water sector

• Leverage existing country research work and map out relevant closed projects and comparables in the water sector and source potential projects.
• Finalize criteria for tiering projects, leverage existing top tier project ideas in consultations with key relevant stakeholders.
• Detail out prioritized projects, tier projects into segments (ready for investors, need project preparation, associated risks, potential for impact etc) and for short-listed projects, prepare cashflow, legal structures, etc.
• Work with project promoters in moving projects through key pain points by refining the concept on all levels and align with developer and investor interest areas for financial and impact goals.
• Engage with national or sub-national governments directly or with partners, provide inputs on structuring of public private partnership (PPP) projects to improve commercial viability and scale and identify relevant projects that could be of relevance to RWA.
• Develop blended structures and de-risking mechanisms, including support from local and national governments
• Consider and develop aggregation structures for small projects and/or integrated water projects
• Prepare high level project prospectus aligned with investor interests (as defined by local investors and international investors from the Global Investment Manager)
• Develop demonstration projects and comparables that influence diverse investor and developer investment behaviors

Country pipeline and portfolio development

• Build out large and impactfulwater investment portfolio to reduce project and country risk, demonstrate depth of portfolio to investors. This would include national or sub-national government led water PPP projects across sub-sectors that would be of relevance to investors.
• Prepare robust documents of shortlisted projects
• Finalize portfolio of emerging projects

Include innovative water structures for deal development

• Work with global COO to structure integrated water projects including climate smart innovative initiatives in challenging markets.
• Ensure consideration of innovative models for water projects that improve impact, revenue and sustainability (e.g. private sector water usage, new technologies, water usage)

Engage local experts for feasibility assessments

• Evaluate and engage feasibility assessment partners in legal, audit, environmental and technical water assessments
• Work with feasibility assessment partners to support the development of the high level pre-feasibility of the short-listed projects

Local relationship development, including local capital mobilization

• Expand relationships with local project experts and feasibility partners
• Connect through the Country Coordinator with needed government and key stakeholder partners
• Build out local investor relationships and define investor interests and possibilities (e.g. in Nigeria, the local Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund)

Impact assessment

• Assess the key short and long term impacts resulting from the project (e.g. reduction in water pollution or increase in water access, improving water use efficiency, waste water re-use) as per global standards in consultations with established local/global sector experts
• Estimate the impacts clearly and include them in the prospectus
• Develop accreditation and impact valuation for climate finance for water

Supportive activities

• Support the Country Coordinator for local relationships, including workshops and events
• Support the Global Investment Manager by supplementing with local investors
• Engage with the Global Investment Manager to understand different investor financial and impact requirements; share appropriate projects for investor review
• Support round tables, share emerging portfolio and deal prospects

Develop long term systemic deal development pipeline

• Identify systemic barriers for long term and significant pipeline development that will ensure the flow of long-term public-private capital across water subsectors. 
• Work with country technical teams and provide inputs on the financing aspects that could help in improving the bankability of the projects.
• Develop capacity and share best practices/key learnings around project design, structuring, risk management, amongst promoters and governments for improved and more efficient acceleration from idea to financing.
• Build templates, criteria and tools for local project development and standardization of contractual arrangements for water investments
• Facilitate knowledge dissemination around new approaches and best practices in climate financing across RWA and its key partners/clients

Qualifications

• We seek a highly motivated, charismatic leader who has the entrepreneurial drive to establish RWA’s  presence and build our pipeline. You might be the ideal candidate if you:

Interest

• Are passionate about building climate resilience and adaptation in the Global South; with a strong focus on water resilience, access and innovation

Experience and education

• At least 10 years of experience with an international finance institution/multi-lateral development bank(s), investment bank, or private equity firm with roles related to infrastructure financing including that in the water sector
• Have minimum of 5 years of experience in a senior management position in multi-million dollar investment funds or donor funded programs
• Demonstrated ability to structure a variety of financial instruments (debt, equity, blended financing, guarantees).
• Proven and recent deal track record of sourcing, structuring, and closing investments in water and other infrastructure sectors, including deals in Bangladesh/Nigeria or other developing markets in Asia/Africa.
• Hold an advanced degree (Masters preferred, but not essential) in finance, economics, urban development or other relevant disciplines.

Management

• Demonstrate strong skills and a track record in leading diverse teams, inspiring staff, and developing a shared vision with staff and stakeholders
• Are able to build and maintain partnerships with diverse stakeholders including national and subnational government, donors, donor-funded programs, private sector actors, and civil society organisations.

Communications

• Are an exceptional communicator with the ability to present information, both in writing and verbally, in a structured and insightful manner
• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; Proficient in one or more of the languages spoken in the region
• Good analytical and critical thinking skills; demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information and make clear strategic recommendations.