Principal Blended Finance Coordinator, FIST1 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/20/062
Location: Abidjan, Cote D'ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50102211

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department

• The role of the Syndication, Co-financing & Client Services Department (FIST) is to mobilize and increase in Africa and outside Africa resources for the financing of investment projects and programmes; and promote investment in Africa of public and private capital in projects or programmes designed to contribute to the economic development or social progress of regional member countries.
• The Bank views Blended finance as an innovative financing mechanism combining official development assistance with additional commercial finance for development. Blended finance combines concessional finance to mobilize commercial finance from Development Finance Institutions and/or the private sector, to mobilize finance for development at scale, including through accessing a share of the USD 1 trillion in assets under management by private institutional investors. Blended finance is one of the significant tools that Multilateral Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions (collectively, “DFIs”) can use, in cooperation with donors and other development partners, to unlock and catalyze markets, help address the SDGs, and mobilize private capital for development. Over the last years, there has been a substantial growth in international attention on the role of blended finance to promote private sector participation and investment in developing countries, especially since the Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa in 2015.

The Position
Reporting to the Division Manager – Syndications and Co-Financing, the successful candidate will develop and maintain close relationships with the broader donor and investment community with view to facilitating the co-financing of sovereign and non-sovereign projects. Specifically, the Blended Finance Coordination Officer will carry out the following core activities:

• Oversee the implementation and operationalization of the Bank’s Blended Finance framework
• Develop and maintain a pipeline of projects and programs requiring a blended finance approach and representing strong development impact potential in collaboration with the originating units, blended finance champions and the Africa Investor Forum (AIF) team
• Accompany and guide task teams through the approval process, including a light touch checklist review for the eligibility for use of concessional funding, the reviews during the various approval stages of the Bank, and ensure that the DFI blended finance principles and the Bank’s blended finance guidelines are adhered to
• Coordinate the identification, engagement, negotiation, and cultivation of partnerships with existing and potential concessional and commercial capital providers for blended finance in collaboration with other relevant departments and realize synergies
• Ensure the tracking and monitoring of blended finance transactions and mobilization metrics, as well as reporting to senior management, partner concessional capital providers, and the DFI working group as well as other global fora.
• Identify needs for Technical Assistance for relevant transactions and subsequently design the intervention and assist in mobilizing donor resources in collaboration with other relevant departments
• Identify the need for dialogue with governments for reforms, coordinate with various complexes and regional country offices as needed, and monitor the dialogue process ensuring linkage and coherence with the blended finance operation
• Coordinate the blended finance champions/focal points embedded in sector departments, organize/provide training as required and chair a regular blended finance coordination meeting

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Division Manager – Syndications and Co-Financing, the Principal Blended Finance Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

Coordinating development and implementation of blended finance products:

• Design and implement new and/or enhanced structures that leverage the Bank’s capital and advance the Bank’s risk management policy
• Design of new approaches to utilisation of blended finance tools such as guarantees, grants, concessional financing, cofinancing and syndication to meet the changing needs stakeholders (borrowers, lenders)
• Support the general dissemination of information on and implementation of the Bank’s blended finance policy.This involves liaising with colleagues within the Department to develop and deliver training, marketing and communication modules, help to resolve important funding and risk management issues, and apply a broad knowledge of the financial markets and operational issues of each product to ensure high quality outcomes for the Bank and its clients.
• Identify sources of risks in the lending products and develop processes to assess and mitigate such risks and in addition provide technical support to borrowers in identifying, monitoring and managing risks arising from the implementation of the lending products.
• Oversee the creation of reports, tools, case studies, etc. for blended finance, detailing best practices of achieving sustainably financed projects at scale
• Coordinate the sensitisation of the Bank’s teams on blended finance concepts and training of blended finance champions
• Support contributor management for concessional funds deployed by the team to ensure the Bank is meeting its operational and financial requirements and being a key member of the team that liaises with concessional finance donors on a regular basis.
• Coordinate, prepare, and guide origination teams to develop proposals for bilateral and multilateral donor facilities
• Contribute to transaction structuring related to the blended finance component of projects, platforms & programs including modelling of respective risks and subsidies, and to assess the products/structure that meets the project needs and has an adequate risk/return for the contributor
• Work closely with origination teams to prepare documentation and processing of blended finance co-financing requests to the contributors and contribute to various documents to be presented to the Bank’s approval committees and the contracting documents.
• Conduct product competitor analysis and keep abreast of financial innovation, monitor economic and political trends in the international capital and money markets, and assess their impact on the Bank’s competitiveness
• Attend appraisal as required, depending on the project team’s need for additional skills and analysis to be provided by the blended finance coordinator
• Lead the origination, structuring and execution of blended finance investments, including performing the following activities:
• In collaboration with the originating units, support the identification and design of financing products where the use of blended finance is justified;
• Act as blended finance solution provider for originating teams by building and nurturing relationships within the Bank’s ecosystem;
• Lead the structuring and execution of the blended finance component in such projects;
• Facilitate and coordinate the access to the various pools of concessional resources, guarantees, grants;
• Handle preparation of lessons learned related to blended finance within and outside the Bank, including technical input for the design of project level communication products, including, press release, brochures, knowledge products

Portfolio management:

• Coordinate and facilitate financial and operational audits and external evaluations required by funding sources/contributors.
• Monitor and troubleshoot with portfolio projects that may require adjustments to contributor approvals. This may include participating in negotiations and restructurings of programs, developing corrective actions.
• Facilitate as required mid-terms reviews and project and program evaluations required by contributors.
• Liaise with relevant staff and identify and monitor weaknesses, risks and early warning signals in the portfolio of contributor-funded projects to assess progress and performance.
• Analyze and process client requests, including disbursements, waivers, and amendments related to the contributor-funded co-investment.

Strategy, Fundraising, & Communications:

• Help develop and maintain direct relationships with operational counterparts in the public and private sector, including with other DFIs on issues related to blended finance.
• Prepare reports and presentations on the portfolio's performance for internal and external audiences.
• Assist in the preparation of analytical reports, strategy documents, briefs and project profiles.
• Engage with donors and support fundraising and new initiative development as needed.
• Participate in Bank-wide initiatives to bolster the practice and business case for blended finance
• Manage internal and external communications to relevant audiences, establishing thought leadership in appropriate venues.

Contributing to the development and adaptation of financial policies and programmes:

• Support the Management of the Division on various matters that relate to policy, strategic issues and project interventions of the group.
• Assist in the design and implementation of a marketing strategy for the unit, both to internal and external clients.
• Participate and represent the Division as a key member of all the Asset and Liability Management Committee working groups and in technical working groups.

Selection Criteria

• A Master's Degree (or its equivalent)
• At least six (6) years’ relevant financial structuring experience in debt and or equity products. Experience in a commercial bank or DFI covering Africa, familiarity with loan documentation and financial analysis necessary
• Demonstrable understanding of the workings of international organizations, bilateral agencies and donors, and the global context of development finance would be a plus
• Experience with investment and portfolio management processes;
• Experience with loan and investment documentation, accounting and financial statement analysis;
• Working knowledge of a range of financing alternatives and financial instruments such as guarantees, derivatives
• Proficiency in financial modelling
• Knowledge and experience in the development arena with solid understanding of project financing process; and ability to distil operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Business judgment and analytical decision making
• Experience and ability to analyze facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work.
• Ability to fully use systems, procedures policies in order to deliver the required results.
• Strong analytical, quantitative and financial market skills.
• Ability to plan strategically in an uncertain environment, and to achieve desired results on a timely basis
• Ability to drive results and take personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results and has the personal organization to do so.
• Experience or demonstrable ability to lead, guide, support and mentor junior staff in the Division in the execution of the Division’s work program.
• Clear verbal and writing ability is required for explaining and interpreting data and business information.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a collaborative work style
• Demonstrable ability to work cross functionally with diverse teams and processes
• High adaptability, ability to drive change and effectively deal with/ manage changing priorities or circumstances
• Achievement/ results orientated – needs to do well, enjoys challenges and seeks new opportunities and is strongly motivated to achieve impressive results.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Demonstrated competence in the use of standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, SharePoint) and SAP work environment.