African Development Bank - the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. 

POSITION : Principal Public Private Partnership Investment Officer

DESCRIPTION

• Evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close debt and equity transactions; use strong negotiation skills to develop solutions and overcome impasses in all transactions;
• Lead support and expertise to regional directorates for non-sovereign operations with solutions to reach smallholder farmers, productive enterprises (particularly women and youth);
• Monitor and report on the implementation of the financial instruments and their contribution to Feed Africa and action plan.
• Provide support and technical expertise to regional directorates on priority of Agropoles and rural infrastructure (roads, energy, water, storage facilities and markets) linking smallholder farmers to markets within the overall Bank infrastructure pipeline;
• Provide support and technical expertise to regional directorates on mobilizing new investment sources for Agropoles and infrastructure schemes;
• Identify Principal Public Private Partnership for Agropoles and rural infrastructure investment opportunities within key value chains;
• Invest in strategic private sector clients, financial institutions and commercial banks, private equity funds, investment and impact funds to finance Agropoles and key rural infrastructure along the 18 key priority agricultural value chains;
• Create a pipeline and manage a strong portfolio of existing and potential Agropoles and rural infrastructure investors along key value chains and achieve sustainable development impact;

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of potential in Agropoles and rural infrastructure to initiate new debt and equity investments, follow up on new business opportunities, and liaise extensively with potential clients on the African continent and beyond;
• Solve challenges during negotiations and transaction structuring with potential investee companies as well as due diligence;
• Support existing portfolio investments including strategic and value-add activities with portfolio company management and co-investors;
• Partners with other IFIs, investors, including venture capital, private equity firms and strategic investors with a particular focus on public private partnerships for Agropoles and rural infrastructure (at the country and continent level) to engage stakeholders in alignment of sustainable socio-economic development goals;
• Enhance project implementation quality, timeliness and integrity through developing and implementing controls that minimize slippages;
• Develop and implement performance monitoring and evaluation systems and reporting activities (including KPIs) to enable transparent assessment of Agropoles and rural infrastructure outcomes and impacts, both for internal and external circulation.
• Provide support to the Regional Directorates and country teams for Public Private Partnerships the 18 priority commodity value chains in targeted Agro Ecological Zones;
• Establish synergies between the Public Private Partnerships interventions and the Agropoles and Agro-Industrial Zones ;
• Execute debt and equity investments in Agropoles and rural infrastructure (agricultural finance and innovative financing);

 People Management:

• Be a collaborative member of the Divisional Team, contribute and share expertise and input and foster a collegial environment.
• Build strong relationship management and understand the business needs to assist in developing practical and effective solutions;
• Guide a team of professional level and support staff in providing efficient and high quality services that support the business.
• Set realistic performance goals and motivate team members to meet them, both for individual staff and for the team as whole;
• Assess the training needs of staff in the Regional Directorates and Country Offices, monitor and evaluate their performance, and recommend personnel actions to the Division Manager;

Leadership:

• Manage the efficient use of the financial and human resources. On the technical front the work requires analytical and strategic skills, as well as personal knowledge and practical experience in the main areas of Bank intervention.
• Ensure high-quality output within available resources, by making the best use of its human, financial and technological assets, and by monitoring and enforcing efficiency targets;
• Supervise complex project identification, preparation and appraisal for Bank Group financing and verify quality of the projects;

 Staff Engagement:

• Leading People: Serve as a role model, leading by example, builds alignment and commitment. Is courageous in challenging others to move the Bank forward;
• Promote collaboration and facilitate teamwork across teams and across organizational units;
• Maintain a high standard of professional integrity, treat individuals fairly and respectively and be sensitive to differences across culture, nationalities and gender.

 Corporate Communication:

• Ensure effective communication between the Management and staff of the Bank, the authorities of member countries, officials from other organizations;
• Monitor best practice in the field and, as appropriate, liaise with counterparts in other organization.
• Performs other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Selection Criteria

• Highly developed negotiation skills proven to yield positive outcomes with senior counterparts, both internal and external;
• Knowledgeable in the execution and structuring of debt and equity investments in the assigned sector projects and programs;
• Networking ability required to build successful relationships and partnerships with a broad range of clients, internal and external, for effective delivery of results. Prudence and skill in identification of such relationships and partners based on meeting the needs and long-term interests of clients within and outside the institution;
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable
• Hold at least a Master's Degree or its equivalent in Finance or closely related disciplines.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years relevant professional experience in the area of investment banking, consulting or private equity/venture capital, and 3 years working on the topic in an international bilateral/multilateral institution;
• Sound experience with debt and/or equity investments in developing markets, venture investing and emerging countries including a satisfactory knowledge of their operational policies and procedures;
• Proven leadership in matters relating to negotiating and structuring debt and equity transactions, technical review of reports and consultation with other financiers, among others;
• Knowledge of Africa and the rural development needs, opportunities, development challenges and possible solutions;
• Comprehensively understands projects structures, including project planning, risk management strategy, communication management strategy, lessons learned and handover, and other critical success factors, strategies, policies, procedures and practices of other similar institutions;
• Acute knowledge and understanding of the elements essential for the effective delivery and measurement of development impacts through agricultural investments in Africa;