Chief Executive Officer, AFRICA50 Infrastructure Fund at the African Development Bank (AfDB)

African Development Bank (AfDB) established to strengthen dialogue between the Bank and the Government, is recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer, AFRICA50 Infrastructure Fund

Reference: NA
Grade: NA
Location: Nigeria

Objectives
In 2012, African Heads of States in their Declaration on the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) called for innovative solutions to facilitate and accelerate infrastructure delivery in Africa. In response, and after broad consultations with African stakeholders, the African Development Bank proposed the establishment of a new delivery vehicle called Africa50.

Africa50 is a landmark investment vehicle, focused exclusively on Africa’s infrastructure development opportunities. It is an independent, profit driven, commercially managed entity. It will provide a means for private sector investors to bring fresh capital to infrastructure development while securing a return. The result should be a significant boost to efforts to ensure sustained economic growth on the African continent.

Africa50 was incorporated in Casablanca, Morocco in September 2014. It is an African-led initiative with early capital commitments from African governments, and African Development Bank as its cornerstone investor. The African Development Bank is the foremost development finance institution in Africa, established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of the continent. Its Member countries contribute funds and expertise while collaborating with African member states to aid Africa’s development goals.

Africa50 will focus on large scale, transformative, commercially and developmentally sustainable infrastructure projects. Africa50 will target investments in high-impact national and regional projects in the energy, transport, ICT and water sectors.

Africa50 will establish two business streams, as follows:

• Project Development: The primary objective of this segment is to increase the number of bankable infrastructure projects in Africa. This will be accomplished through substantially increased funding of early stage project development activities, made possible by innovative partnerships and incentive schemes. Further, Africa50 will make skilled legal, technical and financial experts available to projects from an early stage of development, sharing costs with member governments and developers and recovering its funding at financial close or through a carried interest in the project.
• Project Finance: This segment will focus on delivering the financial instruments required to attract additional infrastructure financing to the continent. These will include, but will not be limited to: i) bridge equity, ii) senior secured loans, iii) refinancing/secondary transactions, as well as iv) credit enhancement and other risk mitigation measures geared at attracting non-traditional funders such as institutional investors and international investment banks.

Africa50’s critical objective is to shorten the time between project idea and financial close, from a current average of 7 years to under 3 years, thereby delivering a critical mass of infrastructure in Africa in the short-to-medium term.

To deliver on Africa’s current infrastructure pipeline Africa50 will need an equity investment of US$ 10 bn. To begin operations, Africa50 will raise US$ 3bn in equity capital, to establish credibility with governments, private developers and financial markets. The founding shareholder, AfDB, and a number of African governments, have already committed more than US$700 million to date, and aim to reach 1 billion by year end.

• As a commercially oriented financial institution, Africa50 will seek to preserve and grow its capital base as well as provide a return to shareholders. It will have three broad groups of investors: i) African Countries, ii) the AfDB and other major development financiers, iii) institutional investors such as sovereign wealth and pension funds.
• Africa50 is an autonomous entity, legally and financially independent from the African Development Bank. All operational decisions will be made by a management team which will be selected on technical merit and demonstrated managerial competence.
• It is a key condition for Africa50 to adequately remunerate its shareholders for the risks undertaken and succeed in attracting new types of investors. Africa50 will have access to an extensive list of projects, with a projected long term pipeline representing a total investment opportunity of US$ 100bn.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of this new infrastructure organization, will report to and be accountable to the Africa50 Board of Directors.

The job of the CEO is to implement the vision of Africa50 Infrastructure Fund, to facilitate and accelerate infrastructure delivery in Africa, by creating and establishing the organization from the ground to ensure its structure and operations are successful. Together, the Board and CEO will assure Africa50 Infrastructure Fund’s relevance to the communities of Africa, and the accomplishment of the organization’s mission and vision, as well as accountability to its diverse constituents and shareholders.

Duties and responsibilities will include:

• Governance: Support the Board Chairperson to ensure the Board fulfills its governance functions, and achieves optimum performance.
• Project Development: Leadership for establishing and increasing the number of bankable infrastructure projects in Africa.
• Fundraising Activities to attain the equity targets set for Africa50.
• Project Finance: Leadership for establishing and delivering the financial instruments required to attract additional infrastructure financing to the African continent to support short- and long-term goals.
• Financial Management: Oversee the financial activities of the organization including budgeting, reporting and audit.
• Management and Administration: Provide general oversight of all Africa50 Infrastructure Fund activities, to ensure a smoothly functioning, and efficient organization.
• Human Resourcing: Responsibilities to recruit the officers whom he/she also releases in accordance with the Statutes and Regulations adopted by A50.
• Other duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with investors, clients and government officials as well as maintain a collaborative working relationship with banking, multilateral and bilateral partners in the countries of operation.
  • Provide leadership for business development initiatives, quality management, and ensuring consistency with established strategies.
  • Coordinate the effective implementation of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions.
  • Cultivate and inspire others towards a culture for sustained development impact.
  • Provide the highest level of client services and ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience
The key qualities required in any candidate for the role of Chief Executive Officer fall into five broad categories. The Chief Executive Officer will possess the following competencies:

Strategic Capability

• A strong analytical mind and ability to grasp the nature of potential Africa50 projects quickly;
• An appreciation of the issues facing African countries, particularly those issues relating to infrastructure;
• The ability to work with partners from private and public sectors with equal facility;
• A clear focus on organizational goals, amid multiple competing demands, and a capacity to achieve developmental objectives with commercial discipline;
• Good business insight, optimizing business impact of decisions by leading the decision making process and integrating decisions into broader context and sustainable results;
• Status and seniority to be CEO of this significant, high profile pan African initiative and to project a credible image of the Africa50 Infrastructure Fund to partners and stakeholders.

Executing for Results:

• Ability to set dramatic, compelling goals and aggressive schedules for improvement;
• Capacity to pursue long-term visionary goals over time, even in the absence of short-term results;
• A vision for the organization and the ability to translate it into actionable, quantitative plans;
• A sense of urgency, and drive.

Leading Teams:

• Ability to forge strong, diverse teams of people with multiple perspectives and talents;
• Infectious enthusiasm and excitement about Africa50;
• Strong skills as a developer of people, celebrating individuals and teams for achieving significant milestones and goals;
• Delegation ability, giving significant responsibilities to team members and holding them accountable;
• Good judgment of people;
• Personal and active involvement in sourcing, selecting, developing and retaining top talent for key positions.

Advocacy Skills:

• Well-honed communication and influencing skills;
• Presence and gravitas in dealings with partners from a variety of backgrounds, including African governments;
• 'Altitude': an ease operating at the most senior levels;
• The ability to work with a highly accomplished board as a credible partner: informing its decisions and deriving the maximum advantage for Africa50 from its collective experience.

Personal Attributes:

• Energy, commitment and an ability to operate with minimum support;
• Unquestionable integrity and moral character.
• Ability and proven track record of dealing in a multi-cultural environment and building effective working relations with clients and colleagues.

Location:

• The CEO of Africa50 will be expected to reside and work in Casablanca, Morocco.

Compensation and Benefits
The CEO will be provided with an internationally competitive remuneration and expatriate benefits package.

Application Closing Date
24th July, 2015.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send a full Curriculum Vitae (CV) together with a supporting statement, briefly highlighting your experience and skills against the requirements of the role, to: [email protected] including job role in the subject title.