Senior Investment Officer 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 below:

Job Title: Senior Investment Officer

Position Number: 50078328 / 50070325
Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

• As part of the Financial Inclusion and Intermediation Division and in line with the Financial Sector Strategy and the Bank priorities, the Senior Financial Sector Investment Officers (IOs) are critical members of multidisciplinary teams of highly qualified professionals comprising lawyers, environmental and social specialists, economists, credit risk officers. 
• They have expertise in the financial sector as well as other priority sectors in which the Bank does Business. 
• The IOs work directly with their clients, regulators and other relevant external stakeholders. 
• The IO will work with other experts in the financial sector department as well as other departments in order to enhance FIs support to priority sectors and market segments. 
• The jobholder will identify business opportunities, and coordinate the processing and closure of approved of transactions in order to maximize the impact of the Bank’s operations through the execution of innovative, developmental, and profitable investments for AfDB.
• The IO will contribute to the promotion of inclusive finance policies and support country and regional programs and projects, to facilitate affordable access to financial services for Micro-Small and Medium Size enterprises and the unbanked and underserved populations, leveraging innovative and technology-led solutions to achieve the ultimate goals of near-universal access in Regional Member Countries (RMCs). 
• The position will be located in the head office of the Bank and it involves frequent travel.
• The overall purpose of this job will be to originate, develop and lead the due diligence, approval and financial closure of financial intermediation projects as well as provide technical support and inputs to diverse areas of financial inclusion.
• The incumbent will work within broad policies and objectives with limited supervision for critical tasks.

Key functions
Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Senior Investment Officer will perform the following duties:

• Develop a strong pipeline of good quality Financial Institutions’ and Financial Intermediaries’ financing opportunities, through field missions and through existing (AfDB) and new contacts and networks.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with other departments, clients, banking and multilateral partners and government officials to develop specific investment opportunities.
• Identify, undertake, lead and coordinate, and manage the necessary due diligence processes of banking and other financial intermediation projects applying debt, equity, guarantees and related Bank products.
• Undertake financial analysis, financial modelling and risk analysis on projects.
• Apply the broader Bank appraisal tools such as Environment Social and Governance (ESG), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), development outcomes and additionality (ADOA), Compliance and Integrity tools, and the like.
• Prepare project appraisal reports on envisaged AfDB lending/investment projects for relevant Financial Intermediaries for presentation to the department, review committees, senior management and finally to the Board of Directors.
• Liaise and coordinate with other Investment and Inclusion Officers and Bank staff in the origination of a good quality investment pipeline for the Bank’s financial sector assistance.
• Prepare and process through to approval, disbursement and implementation, technical assistance proposals aimed at building capacity of financial institutions or other market players involved in enhancing the market supply and demand for credit.
• Coordinate with sector colleagues, the internal approvals to proactively find pragmatic solutions to emerging/specific sector challenges.
• Work with legal department to ensure that all deals have appropriate legal documentation and that financial close is achieved, and hand over projects to portfolio management staff.
• Design specific innovative transactions, projects and initiatives.
• Undertakes the work on aspects of access and financial inclusion and aligns them with institutional objectives and support the Bank's access and financial inclusion products.
• Initiates the efforts to mainstream financial access and inclusion aspects, with the High 5 priorities of the Bank, at the strategic and operational level.
• Contributes to the policy dialogue on financial sector issues in RMCs, at both policy and technical level; as well as to institutional, regulatory, policy or market assessments.
• Works with regional teams/country offices to design and implement financial sector development support programs.
• Evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close new transactions, with a strong focus on credit and asset quality (include processing mandates, due diligence, negotiating term sheets and other documentation, syndications and board approval).
• Provide support to regional industry and portfolio teams in processing and supervising regionally managed projects.

Competencies (skills, experience and knowledge)

• A minimum of a Master’s in Accounting, Finance or Financial Economics or any other quantitative discipline.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in the private and finance sector, including hands-on experience in analysing credit risks, structuring loans and other debt products, associated legal documentation, negotiations, and closing transactions in banking and non-banking financial institutions.
• Experience in the structuring of financial system development projects or related fields.
• Experience in a Development Financial Institution (DFI) and/or Multinational Development Bank (MDB) with regards to financial intermediation-type lending projects with a focus on on-lending to SMEs.
• Experience working in developing/emerging market economies, especially Africa.
• Experience working in development finance and in entrepreneurship / SME capacity building will be a advantage.
• Good knowledge of and experience of RMCs or developing economies as well as a thorough understanding of banking, financial institutions, financial and capital markets and related industry knowledge.
• Demonstrated ability to undertake comprehensive due diligence including financial analysis of financial institutions, such as banks, and non-bank financial institutions. Experience with due diligence of private equity funds is an advantage.
• Strong financial and credit skills as well as demonstrated ability to evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close transactions using a variety of financial instruments (debt, sub-debt, equity and grants).
• Demonstrated ability to work with clients in the financial and real sector, possibly in an SME support environment, understanding their unique needs and developing targeted solutions.
• Ability to contribute to sound decisions and contribute to the execution of the decisions.
• Ability to initiate, effectively and independently interact with the senior management of potential clients as well as financial and technical partners in order to build networks across the region to generate new business, partnerships and collaborative opportunities.
• Strong commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities in order to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients.
• Clear and concise oral and written communication skills; presents oral information with clarity and appropriate style and adapts language and style to suit the requirements of a particular audience.
• Excellent problem-solving capabilities applies business knowledge to the resolution of problems and identifies solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization.
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and time management skills.
• Proven ability to work with limited supervision and efficiently to deliver under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Willingness to travel extensively and geographic flexibility.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in French and/or English, with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Proficiency in the use of common Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel and PowerPoint etc.).

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.