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Chief Energy Investment Officer - Energy, Environment and Climate Change

The Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department (ONEC) is in charge of managing the Bank Group energy operations in Regional Member Countries (RMCs). It helps address climate change and environmental issues by incorporating them into Bank Group supported operations and giving them the visibility required. ONEC Department includes two energy divisions and a third division which is responsible for climate change and environment issues. The main objective of the Eastern and Southern Africa Energy Division (ONEC.2) is to build on the Bank’s sector skills and strengthen its capacity to become the leader in strategy, development, financing and implementation of energy projects and programs in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Duties and responsibilities

The Chief Energy Investment Officer will work under the general supervision and guidance of the Manager, Eastern and Southern Africa Energy Sector. His/her core duties/responsibilities will include the following:

  • Lead promotion and project identification missions in selected RMCs in the energy sectors including Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Such missions normally lead to the development of a pipeline of bankable projects, technical assistance programs and potential advisory services to be considered by ONEC.
  • Prepare or oversee preliminary evaluation of project proposals to assess their feasibility for financial assistance and/or technical support by the Bank. This involves the screening of project applications, carrying out of desk reviews and evaluation of feasibility studies, preparing preliminary evaluation notes (PENs) for presentation to Private Sector Operations Departmental Management Team (PSO DMT) to obtain concept clearance approval for launching preparation missions.
  • Plan and lead identification, appraisal and negotiation missions. This includes coordinating the work of the mission team which usually includes professional staff from other departments within the Bank; carrying out independent research on the investment climate, project sponsors, management, economic, financial, marketing, technical, environmental and legal aspects of the project. The work also includes assessing the risks of projects and advising sponsors on appropriate mitigating measures; structuring of projects to minimize financial risks; participating in negotiations, or conducting preliminary negotiations with sponsors on financing terms and legal conditions for the proposed investment/loan by the Bank.
  • Prepare or co-ordinate the preparation of Project Concept Notes and Project Appraisal Reports for presentation to peer reviewers, Country Teams, Operations Committee (OpsCom) and finally to the Board of Directors. The work involves overseeing the production of financial models for carrying out financial and economic analyses of the project; developing recommendations and justifications for the investments and defending these at the various management committees and Board of Directors.
  • Process or oversee the disbursement of approved projects on timely basis ensuring that all conditions precedent were fulfilled.
  • Lead supervision of portfolio projects, including review of progress reports, preparing project supervision reports for management review and recommending appropriate measures to deal with problem projects.
  • Contribute to the development of strategic plans and programmes; participate in Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) preparation missions for allocated countries; contribute to and participate in the preparation of policy papers on private sector operations and issues.
  • Build up Bank’s interdepartmental collaboration on Energy private sector operations, and partnerships with other institutions involved in private infrastructure and PPP sector development (exchange of information on projects, policies, operational experience etc., identification of co-financing opportunities, organization of joint promotional activities etc. );
  • Perform other ad hoc assignments relating energy PPPs assigned by management, including the preparation of briefs, speeches and papers.
  • Undertake any other task as the Director ONEC and/or Manager ONEC.2 may assign.

Selection Criteria

  • At least a Master’s degree in engineering, Economics, Finance, Business or other related field.
  • Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in PPP project origination and sector analysis; with a full understanding of the principles of project cycle and project implementation;
  • Proven ability to interact competently with the staff of government and donor agencies on issues relating to aid coordination, as well as with the private sector;
  • Proven ability to build and lead a team of professional staff, and utilize talent and expertise of team members in a productive way;
  • Good listener with demonstrated ability to present and win support for ideas as well as make effective and timely decisions;
  • Capacity to initiate and manage innovations and change.
  • Competence in the use of Bank standard software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, MS Projects);
  • The incumbent should also have competence in (or ability/willingness to become quickly familiar with) the use of various tools available and applied by the Bank such as SAP.
  • Excellent written and verbal communications in English and French are desirable; at a minimum, proficiency in one of the languages and knowledge of the other is a must.

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Chief Energy Investment Officer - Energy, Environment and Climate Change (107 KB)

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To apply for this position, you need to be national of one of AfDB member countries.