Agency- UNCDF
Title- Investment Specialist – 4 positions in multiple locations – Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal and Rwanda
Job ID- 28049
Practice Area – Job Family Capacity Development
Vacancy End Date (Midnight New York, USA)- 21/01/2020
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Grade- P4
Vacancy Type FTA International
Posting Type- External
Bureau- UNCDF
Contract Duration- 1 Year with possibility for extension
Background
UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and by showing how localized investments—through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance—can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.
- Identifying investment opportunities which contribute to positive and scalable SDG outcomes;
- Providing pre-investment business advisory support to increase their “bankability”
- Deploying concessional financial instruments with the intent of unlocking additional commercial finance;
- Sourcing and Screening of Investment Opportunities
- Business Advisory Support to Selected Prospects
- Due Diligence and Capital Deployment
- Matchmaking with Commercial Capital and Structuring
- Advocacy and Knowledge Management
- Work with a range of UN agencies in different countries to identify innovative revenue-generating projects across their programmatic operations that require additional investment to grow and have a greater impact.
- If and where needed, initiate new specific sourcing activities such as requests for proposals, challenge funds, market scans, etc..
- Provide pre-investment business advisory support to prospects that show strong commercial and impact promise but are still not considered “investment ready” by investors, it may include drafting business plans, building financial models, valuing assets, registering land, initiating feasibility assessments, defining Standard Operating procedures, etc.
- Provide post-investment business advisory support to investees to ensure a continued growth of the business and the social impact, including successful management of debt/equity
- Assess company financial accounts (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow analysis) of the prospective investee
- Conduct onsite due diligence of the investment opportunity, including company, industry and country analysis, and prepare the required documentation.
- Smartly use UN concessional funding to improve the prospects probability to access more commercial finance.
- Follow and comply with UNCDF’s investment policy and procedures for approval, including presenting the transactions to an independent Impact Investment Committee.
- Deploy grants and/or concessional loans and guarantees to selected prospects.
- Develop a network of potential financiers, beyond the traditional financiers, to increase the fundraising potential of different UN agencies for revenue generating investment opportunities.
- Collect information about potential financiers and populate a central investment matchmaking platform.
- Support selected prospects to access additional commercial funds by matchmaking them with a variety of financiers, such as domestic investors, local commercial banks, international impact investors, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs
- Help structuring innovative transactions to enable investees to access adequate volume and quality of capital.
- Adopt approaches to ensure that the lessons learned from the transactional work are captured and disseminated. Document and share lessons learned from the transactional work to inform investors, government officials, DFIs, and development partners.
- Initiate policy work based on the experience of Country Team investments to both demonstrate the commerciality of transactions, as well as the barriers to accessing adequate finance for investments in areas related to the SDGs and national priorities.
- Support Country Team members, in convenings, events, advocacy, communication, planning, and analysis related to strategic financing and investment for the SDGs.
- Engage with governments and other relevant stakeholders to design and implement reforms or mechanisms that can catalyze more private investment for the SDGs.
- Support the development of national ecosystems and financing architecture that get finance flowing to where it is most needed.
Core Compentencies:
- Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work;
- Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow;
- People Management: Ability to improve performance and satisfaction;
- Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform;
- Delivery: Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement.
Technical/Functional Compentencies:
- Ability to work on multiple opportunities across products and sectors while working to deadlines and managing time effectively.
- Ability to build the relations and to develop a network of relevant external contacts, as well as internally across different teams.
- Including the ability to analyze company reports, sector data, economics and relevant political events.
- Credit analysis skills and ability to analyze company`s financial statements and make commercial assessments. Financial Modeling.
- Ability to contribute to setting up administrative structures, financial product design and propose adequate processes for loan and guarantee management in UNCDF
- Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge
- An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Finance, or Business Administration. A professional Accountancy/Financial qualification with master’s equivalence is also acceptable.
- A first university degree in related fields, with two additional years of relevant experience will also be acceptable, in lieu of a master’s degree.
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) diploma, or similar, is regarded as an asset.
- A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant work experience in either the financial sector or the private sector or a mix, preferably with investment and/or business management expertise.
- Experience working in venture capital and/or banking within an international financial environment, preferably in development finance institution, impact investor or similar, is highly preferable.
- Experience in private credit and/or equity for investments with a social mission in emerging/frontier markets, is highly preferable.
- Experience in project preparation and/or in development of investment opportunities, especially for projects in developing countries.
- Additional/Substantive Work-Experience in any one or more of the below-mentioned investment/operational work-areas is considered an asset.
- SME finance, preferably in the agribusiness and/or clean energy space.
- Project finance, especially for projects structured as Public Private Partnership in a municipal context.
- Managing Guarantee instruments and their application to different types of financial structures.
- Investment in financial institutions, preferably in frontier markets.
- Advocacy work, promoting business environments
- Familiarity or experience working in or with inter-governmental bodies or public sector entities
- Active interest in investing in developing countries and understanding of emerging market environments, opportunities and barriers to investing
- Strong knowledge of financial markets and financing for sustainable development, with ability to apply it to strategic and/or practical situations.
- Full familiarity with a range of debt and equity instruments.
- Competency with financial modeling and analysis in Microsoft excel.
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment,
- Readiness to travel and work “on the road” for at least one third of their time
- Computer literacy, including proficient use of research and applied software.
Language Requirement:
- Full proficiency in verbal, written and comprehension of English is required
- Full proficiency in verbal and written in both English & French is required for Benin and Senegal positions.
- Knowledge of any other local/ regional languages knowledge will be considered an asset.