Chief Portfolio Management Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

Reference: ADB/19/140
Location: Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
Grade: PL3
Position N°: 50001326

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy 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 Countries / Regions by gathering a pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted for their expertise on complicated transactions; (iii) develop new financing instruments; (iv) act as spoke person for the Bank with external stakeholders on all aspects of “Light Up and Power Africa” (v) Manage the Bank’s Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) Energy Portfolio.
• The Complex focuses on the areas of National / Regional Power Systems Development, Energy Policy and Regulation, Renewable Energy; and Climate Change and sustainable Green Growth. The Complex leverages the Bank’s knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments to deliver their development agenda.

The Hiring Department

• Within this new Complex, there is a Directorate in charge of Power Systems Development. The Department fosters energy infrastructure development through appropriate policies and strategies as well as projects and programs, which the Bank might finance on national, regional or continent-wide basis.
• The Directorate has a “Utilities Division”, which focuses on the transformation of power utilities and a “National and Regional Power Systems Division”, which supports the Bank’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Power Pools, Regulators and other stakeholders to develop and improve their power systems, both for Sovereign and Non-Sovereign Operations (SO / NSO):  This Division also assists the Director to supervise the Bank’s NSO Energy Loan Portfolio.

The Position

• The Chief Portfolio Management Officer (CPMO) is responsible for the Portfolio Management of assigned NSO projects, primarily in Southern, East and West Africa (including the Bank’s largest customer).
• S/he will provide technical expertise and advice and lead on project entry into the Bank’s portfolio, monitoring, reporting and restructuring activities, as necessary (including the processing of utilization, disbursement and waiver requests).
• S/he will monitor the progress made by all assigned projects through field visits (at least once a year) and desk reviews (supported by relevant colleagues, e.g. from credit risk, legal or E&S safeguards) and prepare and submit periodic reports to Bank Management; and archive same in relevant Bank platforms (as required by Bank Policy and the Operations Manual).
• These reports will include Portfolio Status Reports (PSRs), Annual Supervision Reports (ASRs), and Back To Office Reports (BTORs). 
• S/he will participate in relevant Bank, Complex, Departmental, Divisional and Project Team meetings (including those with sponsors, regulators and financiers); and also assist in the supervision of other Portfolio Management Officers, as required.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Director (Division Manager*), the Chief Portfolio Management Officer (CPMO) will perform the following duties:

• Monitor assigned NSO Energy Project progress through field visits (once a year, minimum) / desk reviews and prepare relevant reports (including, inter-alia, the quarterly Portfolio Status Report (PSR) and Project Completion Reports (XSR / PCR) for submission to Senior Management, as periodic updates on implementation progress;
• Review periodic Reports (including but not limited to quarterly, half-yearly, and annual operational, technical, environmental and financial reports) of assigned projects to ensure compliance with covenants and project implementation timelines, highlighting any implementation issues and challenges, and keep regular communication with related Country and Head Office staff ;
• Lead the review of utilization, disbursement, restructuring and waiver requests from clients, and advise management on financial impact; and coordinate the preparation, submission and archiving of documentation from the clients / RMCs for presentation to internal approving authorities (to seek and obtain necessary credit and other approvals);
• Advise and be a member of the origination and appraisal teams on transactions with focus on improving the design, preparation and implementation of projects to strengthen the quality of the portfolio at entry;
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, banking, multilateral partners, and government officials to develop a strong pipeline for new investment opportunities; and participate in relevant Lender and stakeholder meetings.
• Monitor the impact of the operating environment on assigned projects under implementation and alert Management on any material potential risks that might arise;
• Monitor the adequacy of the level of provisions for the assigned NSO energy portfolio, and recommending its adequacy or adjustment as necessary;
• Lead analytical work on portfolio trends, drivers of investment returns, and draw and share lessons from the portfolio analysis;
• Monitor performance of the assigned portfolio with particular focus on compliance with covenants, arrears monitoring, updating of Collateral Register, rating of projects and Non-Performing loans, and prepare recommendations for Senior Management’s consideration.
• Represent the Director in various Bank Committees, on issues related to NSO (Energy) portfolio Management; and supervise other PMOs as necessary.
• Develop medium- and long-term strategies and action plans to improve quality of the Bank’s / Department’s NSO Portfolio and contribute to achievement of corporate targets.
• Perform any other ad hoc assignments relating to NSO Portfolio Management, as required by the Director or immediate supervisor.

Selection Criteria

• Hold at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Business, Engineering, Finance or Economics.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience in corporate portfolio management, in Africa / emerging markets, with proven record of accomplishment.
• Comprehensive state-of-the-art understanding of private sector investment and portfolio management techniques.
• On-hand exposure to financial, statistical and econometric analysis, with strong command of related modelling tools.
• Good knowledge of relevant strategies, policies, procedures and practices of development finance institutions will be an added advantage.
• Good knowledge of corporate and project finance prerequisites (particularly energy projects), and familiarity with finance and project documents, will be an advantage.
• Excellent project management and contract administration skills;
• Ability to procure services from consultants, and ensure efficiency and quality delivery;
• Ability to effectively plan, direct, organize and administer diverse activities, to ensure effective delivery of work program.
• 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.
• Ability to listen and communicate effectively with oversight bodies such as regulators, Bank Board / Committee Members and other Government / Client senior officials;
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (SAP, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint).