Financial Modeller at PowerGen Renewable Energy

Job Description

• PowerGen develops, finances, owns and operates renewable-energy solutions across African markets. The Investments team sits at the center of project pricing, capital allocation, fundraising and transaction execution.
• We are looking for an exceptional early-career analyst whose core craft is financial modelling. You will convert technical, commercial, financing, tax and legal inputs into clear, decision-grade models for solar, battery storage, mini-grid and commercial and industrial energy projects. Your work will directly inform bids, Power Purchase Agreement pricing, financing structures and Investment Committee decisions.
• Role in one line: Build robust, transparent and bankable financial models, then turn their outputs into recommendations the business can act on.

Key Responsibilities

Build Decision-Grade Financial Models

• Build and maintain integrated project-finance models covering development, construction, operations, financing, taxation and distributions, translating technical and operating inputs — capex, energy yield, availability, degradation, operating costs, working capital and construction timing  into defensible financial assumptions.
• Model revenue and Power Purchase Agreement structures, including contracted and variable volumes, tariff indexation, foreign-exchange exposure, curtailment and payment-security arrangements.
• Size and sculpt debt using relevant credit metrics (DSCR, LLCR), modelling interest during construction, fees, repayment profiles, reserve accounts and covenants.
• Calculate and explain project and equity returns, cash yields, NPV, funding requirements and value sensitivities across base, upside and downside cases, embedding clear model checks, scenario controls and audit trails for reliability.

Support Investment Decisions & Transaction Execution

• Support project pricing, bid strategy and negotiations by identifying the assumptions and value levers that matter most, and analyse financing options across senior debt, shareholder funding, equity, grants and concessional capital under senior guidance.
• Prepare analysis for lenders, investors, advisers and due diligence, and respond accurately to model questions.
• Review third-party models and term sheets, identify inconsistencies or hidden risks, and quantify their impact.

Turn Analysis into Clear Decisions

• Produce concise outputs for Investment Committee, Board and management sensitivities, break-even analysis, funding needs and key risks and explain results in plain language to colleagues across Business Development, Engineering, Operations, Legal and Finance.
• Maintain a clear assumption register, distinguishing contracted, evidence-based and management assumptions.
• Support portfolio analysis, forecasting and comparison of capital-allocation opportunities across markets and technologies.

Raise the Modelling Standard

• Apply disciplined modelling standards, logical structure, consistent formulae, transparent inputs, robust checks, clear outputs and concise documentation and maintain version control and change logs for live transaction models to protect the integrity of approved cases.
• Help improve templates, data flows and recurring analysis so the team can move faster without compromising quality
• Contribute to a culture of intellectual honesty: surface uncertainty, challenge weak assumptions constructively and avoid false precision.

 Key Milestones

• First 30 Days: Demonstrates understanding of PowerGen's modelling architecture and investment process; contributes reliable analysis to at least one live transaction; shows strong model hygiene and responsiveness
•  By 6 Months: Independently maintains core sections of live project models, runs sensitivities and produces review-ready outputs with limited rework.
• By 12 Months: Owns the modelling workstream for at least one transaction under senior oversight and delivers a measurable improvement to a team template, control or analytical process.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Model Quality: Accuracy, transparency and audit-readiness of models as assessed by peer/senior review and external due diligence.
• Decision Support: Clarity and usefulness of outputs (sensitivities, break-even analysis, funding needs) for Investment Committee and management decisions.
• Standards Contribution: Improvements made to templates, data flows, version control and documentation practices.

Qualifications, Experience & Competencies

Experience

• 1–3 years of relevant experience in project finance, infrastructure or energy investing, transaction advisory, investment banking, private equity, a development finance institution (DFI), a lender or a project developer.
•  Demonstrable ability to build, review or materially improve an integrated financial model. Shortlisted candidates should expect a practical modelling assessment.

Technical Knowledge

• Advanced Excel skills and a strong grasp of accounting, cash-flow analysis, time value of money and investment returns.
• Familiarity with project-finance debt sizing, debt sculpting, covenant analysis, tax and withholding-tax mechanics, foreign exchange and inflation.

Nice to have:

• Exposure to solar PV, battery energy storage, mini-grids, commercial and industrial power projects, or Power Purchase Agreements.
• Experience using Power Query, VBA, Python or another tool to improve modelling efficiency and quality.

Sector & Regional Fit

• Genuine interest in building a career in African infrastructure and energy investing.

Nice to have:

• Experience with renewable energy, power, infrastructure or other capital-intensive assets, particularly in African or other emerging markets.

Skills & Behavioural Competencies

• A structured approach to problem-solving, high attention to detail and the discipline to reconcile outputs rather than rely on superficial checks.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain financial analysis to non-finance colleagues.
• A bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, actuarial science, engineering, mathematics or another quantitatively rigorous discipline.
• Professional integrity, sound judgement and discretion when handling commercially sensitive information.
• French language capability is a plus.
• Intellectual honesty, rigour with pace, commercial curiosity, constructive challenge, and consistency and reliability, in line with PowerGen's values.

Nice to have:

• Progress toward CFA, ACA/ACCA, CPA or another relevant professional qualification.​​​​​​​