Principal Syndication and Co-Financing Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Full Time

Job Title: Principal Syndication and Co-Financing Officer

Position Number: 50000925
Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Job type: Full-time
Position Grade: PL4

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group.
• This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities, controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration, strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments, and the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department

• The role of the Syndications, Co-Financing, African Investment Forum and Financial Technical Services Department (FIST) is to:
• provide centralized syndication, co-financing, insurance and financial technical services to the entire Bank cutting across both public and private sector lending activities and across products;
• establish and coordinate the achievement of bank-wide co-financing targets and key performance indicators; and
• develop and implement financial products.
• Manage the Bank wide implementation of the Africa Investment Forum.

The Position

• Reporting to the Division Manager – Syndications and Co-financing, the Principal Syndication and Co-financing Officer develops and maintains close relationships with the commercial and official lender, institutional investor, and insurance community and leads the funded and unfunded distribution of non-sovereign (private sector) and sovereign (public sector) exposures.

Key Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Division Manager – Syndications and Co-Financing, the Principal Syndication and Co-financing Officer will perform the following:

• Origination responsibility: in collaboration with the sector teams, identify, plan and pitch potential targets for mobilization through funded and unfunded distribution. Origination includes providing structuring guidance to investment officers and task managers and actively participating in presenting proposals and mandate letters to clients. It also includes providing pricing guidance and opinions for non-sovereign operations.
• Fully manage the syndication and co-financing process with external partners including commercial Banks, other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), public and private co-financing partners, institutional investors, insurers, etc…
• Execute syndicated loan transactions, sharing responsibilities where appropriate with co-arrangers including, performing market soundings and providing risk appetite feedback to senior management for their consideration, assisting with various aspects of organizing roadshow presentation on a deal by deal basis with local staff on the ground;
• Mobilize insurance and guaranties at origination, to amplify the Bank’s risk bearing capacity at entry of operations into the portfolio, through risk transfer, co-guaranties, and re-guaranties from commercial and official insurers;
• Creatively and proactively, strive to ensure the effective utilization, implementation and management of the Bank’s existing and future co-financing facilities and partnership arrangements;
•  Ideate, structure/negotiate and implement wholesale co-financing, risk-participation, insurance structures with commercial and official lenders, guarantors and financiers;
• Build strong internal and external relationships with all external partners involved in the syndication and co-financing transactions;
• Coordinate with key internal counterparts (Credit risk, Non-sovereign operations, sovereign operations officers) to identify syndication and co-financing opportunities in the Bank’s pipeline, as well as operations requiring blended finance and/or insurance at origination;
• Manage/coordinate at least three co-financing  / risk sharing or financial partnership arrangements as may be assigned, serving as primary point of contact and representative of the African Development Bank to the partner institutions in all matters related to the facilities in question;
• Manage and update the pipeline report on a weekly basis and lead on the monthly implementation report as well as periodic reports on cofinancing, syndication and insurance performance;
• Design, maintain and update all presentations, pitch books, communication and marketing material to internal or external parties
• Manage and update various documents relating to each transaction such as the working party list, roles and responsibilities of each party, and work plan/timetable;
• Maintain and be accountable for all documentation requirements and record keeping on a country by country basis;
• Actively participate in the mobilization efforts of the Bank including structuring insurance transactions at origination, identifying funded/unfunded participation opportunities at transactions origination, structuring asset sell down transactions at origination and use any other applicable instruments to catalyze financing of transactions at origination.
• Prepare pricing notes on transactions across all sectors, financial analysis, models, valuations relating to clients;
• In consultation with the sector teams, conduct due diligence investigations of clients;
• Support and where possible, undertake the preparation of detailed memoranda and presentations describing the key attributes of client companies;
• Contribute constructively to the design and development of new syndication/co-financing facilities/arrangements;
• Contribute constructively to the formulation and review of relevant Bank policies, rules and guidelines with a focus on cofinancing, syndication and insurance.

Competencies (Skills, Experience, and Knowledge)

• A Master’s Degree (or its equivalent) in finance, business administration or related disciplines;
• At least six 6 years of relevant experience in syndication, co-financing, corporate banking, capital markets activities;
• Experience in project structuring, financial modeling and in reviewing of financial statements;
• Experience in using insurance and guarantor markets and understanding of different instruments including funded and unfunded participations, credit insurance, insurance treaties, asset sell down etc..
• Experience in negotiating complex syndication/co-financing documentation and guidelines;
• Experience in sales and distribution of African debt securities and knowledge of capital markets in Africa and familiarity with the international financial insitutions’ process and procedures;
• Demonstrated strategic, creative and logical thinking, initiative and anticipation, problem-solving, common sense, sound reasoning and judgement;
• Demonstrated team leadership capabilities, with a track record in the planning, organization, coordination of multi-disciplinary team to achieve desired results on a timely basis;
• Teamwork – collaboration, networking, relationship management.
• Outstanding ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Demonstrated competence in the use of standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, SharePoint), Experience with SAP work environment will be an advantage.

Application Closing Date
2nd Januaury, 2024.