Head of the Special Operation Unit, SNOU at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) - Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Head of the Special Operation Unit, SNOU

Position Number: 50086909 
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Position Grade: PL1

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-Presidency (SNVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objectives and drive a performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The SNVP provides effective leadership and coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions.
• The SNVP leads senior management discussions, decision-making processes, and the implementation of key Board of Directors and Management decisions. The hiring Unit, SOU, reports directly to the SNVP.

The Hiring Unit

• The Special Operations Unit (SOU) provides specialized knowledge and services to resolve distressed and underperforming corporate/project finance loans and equity exposures and assists with the identification and management of problem projects on the Bank’s watchlist.
• The SOU works closely with Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Sector Teams and the Legal Department in identifying early warning triggers in projects, engaging in active monitoring of watchlisted projects, and providing risk options for risk mitigation and / or rehabilitation of projects or initiating recovery actions.
• SOU leads “Jeopardy” projects where there is a risk of loss to the Bank and supports Portfolio Management on “Joint Venture” watchlist projects.
• Restoring operations, restructuring project / company Balance Sheets and rescheduling loans to match sustainable debt service capacity is the ideal outcome to return the project to Portfolio Management. Other outcomes may range from one-time cash settlements to exits before reputational risk materialize, debt for equity and conversions, and enforcement of collateral with resulting business or asset sales.
• SOU carefully balances purely commercial remedies against the development, social and environmental mandate of the Bank when assessing resolution strategies, whilst managing the overall reputation of the Bank.
• In addition to managing the SOU portfolio of underperforming and distressed projects, it also shares lessons learnt with NSO departments with respect to the identification of “early warning signs”. The goal of SOU is to preserve value for the Bank and to manage Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) and Arrears within acceptable thresholds.

The Position

• The Head of SOU must possess considerable experience with the technical delivery of workout projects (i.e those that require rehabilitation or exit/recovery), leadership skills for the Unit as well as negotiation and consensus building with internal and external stakeholders.  
• The Head of SOU is expected to have an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of distressed projects covering a wide range of sectors in Regional Member Countries and to actively collaborate and communicate with the portfolio management team and respective sector heads to explore areas of potential SOU involvement and value addition.
• The incumbent must steer the SOU team to leverage prior project knowledge from portfolio managers and officers who can be highly valuable members of a tailored SOU Jeopardy or Joint Venture team.
• However, SOU must bring a new vision and objective thinking to decide on the best path forward for underperforming projects to maximize recoveries whilst minimizing any write-offs and protecting the reputation of the Bank at all times.
• The Head of SOU must have oversight over the Unit’s rapid diagnosis of distressed situations and heads the design and implementation of optimal rehabilitation and exit strategies.
• The Head of SOU will be a non-voting member at the Credit Risk Committee (CRC) and may be invited from time to time to attend Operations Committee (OPSCOM) and Technical Investment Committee (TIC) approval meetings of projects to bring his or her experience and opinion to the attention of the Bank. Lessons learnt from a career focused on global distressed asset resolution will be a useful complement to the in-house experience of AfDB’s experienced bankers and industry specialists.
• The Head of SOU must represent the Bank professionally with external parties, including Auditors, Lawyers, Advisors, Consultants, Government representatives, Co-investors, Central Banks, Regulators and at technical, DFI and MDB conferences.

Key Functions
Under the overall supervision of the Senior Vice-President, the Head of SOU will have both technical and managerial responsibilities. He/she will be:

• Assuming leadership of SOU, including hiring and managing staff, setting work assignments, as well as supervising consultants and liaising with other AfDB units as required. Leading, developing and mentoring SOU team members, ensuring that the team is high performing, well-motivated, has clear deliverables and is committed to the success of the Bank’s NSO programs. Develop and review policies, procedures, guidelines and manuals for SOU’s continuing operations, including reviewing policies, guidelines and procedures owned by other departments.
• Analyze non-performing and impaired or potentially non-performing and likely to be impaired transactions to determine and present the best course of action in terms of asset resolution to the respective approval authority within the Bank.
• Undertaking and leading restructuring and recovery initiatives regarding jeopardy or distressed investment projects by taking over assets deemed non-performing or impaired or at risk of becoming non-performing or impaired, from Portfolio Officers in a structured and documented fashion.
• Approving or obtaining approvals for overall asset-resolution objectives from CRC, Operations Committee, the Board, and any other applicable statutory committees in the future.
• Develop and manage relationships with key stakeholders including:
  • Key clients, government officials, multilateral development finance institutions, co-investors and other financial service providers at senior levels.
  • Relevant regulators, businesses, NGOs, Private Equity Funds and Limited Partners, and investors.
  • Other Special Operations Unit Heads in MDBs, DFIs and IFIs.
• Develop market knowledge and intelligence to ensure that the Bank makes timely interventions for potential problem projects.
• Supporting and working closely with the Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) and Public Sector ecosystems under the ‘One Bank’ approach to ensure the leveraging of resources in driving the resolution of workout projects.
• Support and develop improved matrix relationships between relevant departments, especially along knowledge management and sharing.  This includes sharing and incorporating lessons learned from SOU into the training modules of the NSO Academy; and, advising PINS on projects with early red flags before joint venture or jeopardy stages.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• At least a Master’s Degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Accounting, or related fields. An additional qualification such as Certification in Distressed Asset Management, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) will be an added advantage.
• A minimum of nine (9) years of relevant experience in a multilateral/bilateral development organization, international commercial banks, distressed asset fund or consulting firm. Strong experience in managing corporate and capital restructurings and recoveries, preferably in the areas of credit is required; in addition, financial analysis, debt re-profiling, recapitalization, pre-and post-default operational restructuring, and management/sale/liquidation of distressed assets will be an advantage.
• Familiarity with strategies, policies, procedures, and practices of multilateral development institutions, international commercial banks and distressed asset funds with an in-depth understanding of the dynamics within various Regional Member Countries and across a wide variety of sectors.
• Outstanding, proven, and demonstrable track record of performance in operational corporate turnarounds and financial restructuring of problem credits and projects.
• Ability to develop innovative solutions and challenge the status quo to devise resolution strategies for distressed assets and projects.
• Sound knowledge of corporate finance, private equity, project finance and accounting principles, with substantial workout skills relevant to financial institutions.
• Excellent technical knowledge and demonstrated track record in all areas of the full project life cycle including business development, credit risk management and portfolio management of individual transactions. Proven ability to capture the essence in terms of risks of transactions under review, using the concepts and tools available. Experience in valuation of listed and unlisted equities and ability to assess proposed exit strategies, and experience with Private Equity Funds and their structures would be an advantage.
• Ability to build and retain successful relationships across the ‘One Bank’ matrix organization.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with key matrix departments instrumental to maintaining or achieving high portfolio asset quality, in particular portfolio management and monitoring, risk management, and legal.
• Strong analytical skills, as well as negotiation, influencing and transaction execution skills.
• Sound and focused business judgment, with creative and innovative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to build effective client relationships (internally and externally), to represent SOU effectively within and outside the AfDB, and to play an active role in knowledge sharing.
• Work experience in Africa and an understanding of the legal and insolvency frameworks of the jurisdiction as well as a strong interest in developing a thorough understanding of the peculiarities of Regional Member Countries.
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver high-quality work within tight deadlines.
• Excellent spoken and written English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, effectively, and tactfully to a variety of audiences within and outside the Bank; and
• Demonstrate management, leadership, and teamwork skills.

Application Closing Date
1st March, 2022.