Investment Officer at World Bank Group

Role and Responsibilities:

The selected individual will be required to support in the origination and execution of financial advisory mandates including business development, interactions with clients, supervising consultant hiring, preparing and delivering presentations, overseeing financial modeling and due diligence, transaction structuring, drafting bidding documents and managing bidding processes, as well as interacting with investors. Duties will include, but will not be limited to:

•  contribute to origination and marketing activities across the East Africa region (EA), managing marketing activity in assigned countries/strategic areas, including collaborating with other WBG teams to identify opportunities based on country strategies and market creation potential;
•  develop new client relationships and project leads in EA;
•  understand the legal and regulatory impediments for private sector participation in EA and work closely with the other parts of the WBG to overcome these;
•  undertake project scoping to assess feasibility of potential projects, and lead the origination and marketing activities, e.g., supervision of proposal preparation, mandate negotiation with clients, etc.;
•  lead the day-to-day management of project teams working on sell-side PPP mandates, including review of legal and technical outputs, documentation and financial models; 
•  prepare/review memos and documentation for internal approval and consultant procurement processes, as well as managing project budget;
•  manage different types of consultants e.g., legal and technical and review their outputs, documentation and financial models;
•  develop transaction structure options for PPP projects, provide innovative solutions and present recommendations to management and clients;
•  participate/Lead meetings with government clients and investors;
•  organize and manage the tendering process of projects, including marketing of projects, prequalification, requests for qualification, project award and the final negotiation of project agreements leading to commercial close;
•  develop, coach, motivate and manage junior members of the team;
•  actively participate in the development and implementation of upstream activities in line with IFC 3.0 to create, deepen and expand markets with the regional and global team from across IFC and the WBG;
•  work closely with EA Hub Lead and EA team on sub-regional strategy, origination activities, and HR/staffing related matters;
•  potential support/intervention on Corporate Finance related mandates, both in terms of origination and execution;
•  coordinate with different WBG groups particularly on the Private Capital Mobilization agenda to assess opportunities for PPPs in the WBG operations, where possible and to provide bespoke solutions to our clients to achieve sustainable development impact; and,
•  assist in other project or strategy related activities as the need may arise.

Selection Criteria

•  MBA or equivalent Post Graduate degree in business, finance or economics.
•  Solid and relevant experience of at least 8 years gained either in project finance, corporate finance, M&A and privatizations, or private equity funds in infrastructure.
•  Minimum 3-4 years of experience of sell-side PPP advisory is considered a plus.
•  Knowledge of overall industry sector trends and experience in infrastructure transactions/PPPs preferably in Africa, with a proven track record.
•  Business development and client relationship skills, track record and ability to focus on clients’ needs effectively.
•  Strong track record of contractual and/or financial closings of infrastructure transactions.
•  Strong existing relationships with government officials, project developers, investors, and technical and legal consultants in the infrastructure space in Africa are preferred.
•  Experience in dealing with government clients, investors and multiple stakeholders of infrastructure projects.
•  Ability to manage teams in multiple transactions, delivering high quality work within deadlines, and to meet team objectives.
•  Strong analytical and financial modeling/structuring skills and demonstrated ability to:
  • Lead a variety of transaction advisory, debt and equity transactions.
  • Independently develop financial models and sound financial analysis of the models to draw conclusions.
  • Structure or restructure transactions to ensure prudent and sustainable risk sharing among all parties
•  Strong analytical and conceptual skills and ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently (written and oral).
•  Ability to operate in large, culturally diverse and geographically dispersed teams.
•  Ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality work within deadlines to meet team objectives.
•  Ability to interact directly and independently with potential clients, financial and technical partners as well as with senior government officials.
•  Willingness and ability to travel on short notice and frequently, as required.
•  Excellent oral and written communication skills in English is essential. 
•  Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is considered a plus.