Senior Syndication and Co-Financing Officer, FIST.1 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/20/165
Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50062800

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, and the overall asset  / liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department
The role of the Syndications, Co-Financing and Financial Technical Services Department (FIST) is to:

• Provide centralized syndication, co-financing and financial technical services to the entire Bank cutting across both public and private sector lending activities and across products;
• Establish and coordinate the achievement of bank-wide co-financing targets and key performance indicators; and develop and implement financial products.

The Position

• Reporting to the Division Manager - Syndications and Co-financing, the Senior Syndication and Co-financing Officer has the responsibility to develop and maintain close relationships with the broader lending and co-financier community with a view to facilitating the syndication and co-financing of sovereign (public sector) and non-sovereign (private sector) projects and originate (in consultation with the sector teams) and execute syndication and co-financing transactions across Africa.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Division Manager – Syndications and Co-Financing, the senior Syndication and Co-financing Officer will perform the following:

• Origination responsibility: in collaboration with the sector teams, identify potential targets for syndication and co-financing and discuss with the sector teams on pitching. Origination includes providing structuring and pricing guidance to investment officers and task managers and actively participating in presenting proposals and mandate letters to clients;
• Fully manage the syndication and co-financing process with external partners including commercial Banks, other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), public and private co-financing partners, institutional investors etc…
• Execute syndicated loan transactions, sharing responsibilities where appropriate with co-arrangers including, performing market soundings and providing risk appetite feedback to senior management for their consideration, assisting with various aspects of organizing roadshow presentation on a deal by deal basis with local staff on the ground;
• Manage the portfolio of syndicated loans including amendments, restructurings, prepayments and assignments of B loan participations to new lenders.
• Creatively and proactively, strive to ensure the effective utilization, implementation and management of the Bank’s existing and future co-financing facilities and partnership arrangements;
• Build and maintain strong internal and external relationships with all the partners involved in the syndication and co-financing transactions;
• Coordinate with key internal counterparts (Office of the Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery; Regional and Country Program Officers; Sector Departments and project Task Managers among others) to identify syndication and co-financing opportunities in the Bank’s pipeline;
• Manage / coordinate one or more co-financing facilities or partnership arrangements as may be assigned, serving as primary point of contact and representative of the African Development Bank to the partner institutions in all matters related to the facilities in question;
• Manage and update the pipeline report on a weekly basis;
• Design, maintain and update all presentations, pitch books, communication and marketing material to internal or external parties
• Manage and update various documents relating to each transaction such as the working party list, roles and responsibilities of each party, and work plan / timetable;
• Maintain and be accountable for all documentation requirements and record keeping on a country by country basis;
• Actively participate in the balance sheet optimization transactions including identifying existing assets for potential secondary sale, obtain market feedback on likely cost of sale and, where applicable, seek all necessary approvals
• Prepare financial analysis, models, valuations relating to clients;
• In consultation with the sector teams, conduct due diligence investigations of clients;
• Support and where possible, undertake the preparation of detailed information memoranda and presentations describing the key attributes of client companies;
• Contribute constructively to the design and development of new syndication/co-financing facilities / arrangements;
• Contribute constructively to the formulation and review of relevant Bank policies, rules and procedures.

Selection Criteria

• A Master's Degree (or its equivalent) in Finance, Business Administration or related disciplines;
• At least five (5) years of relevant experience in syndication, co-financing, corporate banking, capital markets activities;
• Experience in project structuring, financial modeling and corporate financial analysis;
• Experience in negotiating complex syndication / co-financing documentation and guidelines;
• Experience in sales and distribution of debt securities and knowledge of capital markets in Africa and familiarity with the international donor community process and procedures;
• Demonstrated strategic, creative and logical thinking, initiative, problem-solving, common sense, sound reasoning and judgement;
• Ability to plan and organize, achieve desired results on a timely basis;
• Teamwork – collaboration, networking, relationship management.
• 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).
• Experience with SAP work environment.