Principal Financial Analyst, FIST2 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/20/061
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50102213

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank. This encompasses the Bank’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization, the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; and the overall asset/liability management for the Bank.
• The Vice Presidency for Finance is also responsible syndications, co-financing as well as the innovation, development and marketing of the Bank’s financial products and services. In addition, the Administrator of the Staff Retirement Plan reports to the Vice-President Finance.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Syndication, Co-Financing and Client Solutions Department is responsible for the design and introduction of new financial products as well as the provision of structured finance solutions to the Bank’s clients.  The Department is also responsible for the syndication and co-financing of all the Bank’s transactions including but not limited to balance sheet management through secondary market sales and securitization of the Bank’s asset portfolio.
• The Client Solutions Division (the “Division”) has primary responsibility for the innovation, development and marketing / dissemination of the Bank Group’s financial products as well as its local currency funding operations.
• The Division also provides financial technical expertise and advisory services on project teams supporting task managers and investment officers in originating, structuring, appraising, negotiating, restructuring, secondary sales and closing of transactions. The Division has the additional responsibility for the lending rate management of the Bank and in assisting Bank clients’ to manage market related risk through derivative based hedging solutions.

The Position

• Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Principal Financial Analyst will be part of a team of financial specialists providing financial solutions and specific financing expertise to support investments in all sectors and in all regional member countries of the Bank.
• He/she will develop, structure and implement innovative financial solutions, develop new products and deploy a range of the Bank's products to attract private sector financing. This responsibility will include, but not be limited to, activities related to the deployment of the Bank's guarantee program.

Duties and responsibilities
Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, the Principal Financial Analyst will perform the following:

Financial Solutions, Advisory and Marketing of Financial Products:

• Develop, launch and promote competitive financial products and services that meet the evolving needs of the Bank's clients. Products include, guarantees, derivative instruments, equity and quasi equity, loans in African currencies etc…;
• Participate actively in the design and structuring of the Balance Sheet Optimization transactions
• Participate actively in the design of innovative structures to leverage the Bank’s Balance sheet
• Lead the Bank’s initiative to issue domestic bonds in African capital markets and on-lend proceeds to projects;
• Coordinate the development of relevant pricing methodologies for new products and assess impact of new products on relevant financial, risk management and lending policies;
• Write product specification, technical guidelines and implementation modalities for these products;
• Monitor the performance of products and services, and where necessary, analyze, develop and implement changes to existing product range to ensure that they continue to adequately meet borrower needs;
• 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.
• Provide financial advisory and technical assistance services including debt management and an understanding of the Bank’s financial products and financial services;
• Develop training, communication and marketing material and conduct staff and borrower information campaign;
• Assist in the management of the interaction with relationship teams and provide guidance across the full range of products, and be a consistent, credible and accessible point of contact;
• Build and maintain highly effective and successful relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including financial advisors, investment banks, multilateral development banks and other financial institutions.

Finance technical expert in project teams:

• As part of the deal team, support Bank staff in originating, structuring, appraising, negotiating and closing of transactions in various sectors and using different instruments;
• Review and negotiate project documentation, including term sheet and loan agreement;
• Work with project task manager to design appropriate solutions to meet needs of clients on a ongoing basis; Develop a fair and equitable pricing of the Bank’s lending products;
• Assist Country Departments in formulating borrower country policy for the choice of financing terms;
• Assist clients in developing expertise and maintaining appropriate systems for identifying and assessing risks associated with their external liabilities.

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

• Support the Management of the Division by providing input on various matters that relate to policy dialogue concerning the Bank's corporate business, strategic issues and project interventions.

Others:

• Guide and direct junior staff and become fully involved in the detailed processing work, as and when required; Represent the Division in technical working groups;

Selection Criteria

• At least a Master’s Degree in Finance/Banking, Economics, Accounting or related disciplines; a professional qualification in one of the aforementioned fields is a competitive advantage;
• At least 6 years of relevant professional experience with good market knowledge - particularly in relation to financial structures and products, fixed income and derivatives products, African capital markets, financial analysis of project finance and corporate finance lending and equity investments, risk management instruments;
• Knowledge of fund raising and on-lending activities in developing capital markets, particularly in Africa
• Excellent understanding of financial issues affecting sovereign and non-sovereign clients in developing countries and policy issues associated with the Bank's mandate would be an advantage;
• Strong customer focus, ability to interface effectively with clients and business contacts at a senior level and to work successfully as part of a team;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in French or English, good working knowledge of the other language;
• Competency in the use of standard Microsoft applications, particularly PowerPoint Excel and Word. Knowledge of Bloomberg, Reuters, SAP and Summit would be an advantage.