UNCDF Jobs - 56299- investment Officer/Finance Specialist (3 Positions

investment Officer/Finance Specialist (3 Positions) Open to Tanzanians Only

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Sep-2015

Application Deadline :

28-May-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

One year Renewable

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to development finance and investment capital. UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis. It provides seed capital – grants and loans– and technical support to help development finance institutions reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments – water systems, feeder roads, schools, irrigation schemes – that will improve poor peoples’ lives.

The Local Development Finance Initiative (LFI) is a global programme of UNCDF designed to unlock financial sectors to finance small and medium-sized infrastructure projects that are needed to accelerate local economic development and private sector development.

The LFI Investment Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the Global LFI Programme, based in Dar es Salaam.

Duties and Responsibilities

The key result expected is the successful implementation and attainment of the targets of the LFI Programme in Tanzania and select countries. The LFI Investment Officer will pursue the key results of the programme, working under the supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor and the global technical secretariat, focusing on the following result areas:

Organization and facilitation of key programme activities related to project development and project financing;
Organization and facilitation of key programme activities related to capacity building and knowledge management;
Project management and resource mobilization.

Organization and facilitation of key programme activities related to developing and financing infrastructure projects (60%):

Provide implementation support for the process of identifying, developing, and financing small scale infrastructure projects in Tanzania;
Interact with local stakeholders during project identification, development and financing (government officials, private sector banks, project sponsors, development partners, etc);
Provide directly and facilitate provision of support services to project sponsors identified. This includes feasibility studies, business plans, financial analysis, market assessment, financial advisory services and project finance transaction structuring;
Support the establishment of co-financing relationships with local and international financial institutions, nurture relationships and manage activities needed to secure co-financing of LFI projects;
Facilitate the required technical studies under guidance by engaging the project sponsors, consultants, local authorities and communities as appropriate, including the development of TORs that reflect project finance requirements and support of the procurement processes;
Identify alternative financing sources and structures, including the preparation of and participation in discussions and negotiations with banks, investors and other stakeholders;
Participate in activities to promote LFI’s activities resulting in a project pipeline and/or strategic partnerships;
Prepare and facilitate technical missions for project and pipeline development.

Organization and facilitation of key programme activities, related to capacity building and knowledge management (25%):

Provide support for the LFI capacity building and training programme, ensuring programme knowledge generation and dissemination, including support to the development of LFI tools and toolkits, case studies, briefs, research documents, and client impact evaluations;
Support and ensure the implementation of the LFI stakeholder mobilization and communication plan and organise and coordinate outreach activities with a variety of stakeholders;
Provide specialist input to and ensure application of the processes and tools to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, training, and scaling up of LFI nationally, building the capacity of local stakeholders in the public and private sectors;
Develop and implement tools and programmes for knowledge building, transfer and sharing.

Project Management & Resource Mobilization (15%):

Ensure the delivery of the key results on time and to budget as assigned;
Timely planning, budgeting and reporting in accordance with the guidelines of the Implementing Partner, UNCDF and UN Tanzania;
Exercise financial management of the project, including timely submission of requests for disbursement of funds and other forms;
Establish and maintain an effective and efficient project monitoring system providing regular feedback on the project performance and to update regularly risk and issue logs;
Support efforts of UNCDF to mobilize additional resources for LFI.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Expert knowledge of private sector finance. Development finance knowledge is a plus;
Demonstratedknowledge in preparation of project financial analysis and creation/evaluation of advanced and complex Ms Excel spreadsheet financial models;
Demonstrated knowledge of private equity/venture investments, credit and risk assessment, with solid financial modelling and risk assessment skills. Project financing experience in the private sector is a plus;
Demonstrated experience in preliminary evaluation of project proposals for assessing their feasibility for private sector funding and/or technical support by LFI. This involves the initial screening of project applications, carrying out of desk reviews and evaluation of feasibility studies, preparing evaluation notes for presentation to the Management Team to determine a project’s suitability for inclusion in the pipeline, and preparing more detailed project concept notes to obtain clearance for full appraisal or fact-finding field trips;
Demonstrated experience in planning and execution of project appraisal and site visits;
Demonstrates ability to engage across multiple stakeholders, including project sponsors, government partners and financial institutions;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Ability to build partnerships and deliver results that meet the needs and long-term interest of clients within and outside the institution;
Ability to work independently and be creative and innovative;
Integrity and ability to travel extensively and work as a team;
Good listener with demonstrated ability to present and win support for ideas as well as make effective and timely decisions;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Banking or related areas, plus preferably a Bachelor Degree in engineering, finance or economics;
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field supplemented with relevant investment/financial analysis experience and or professional certification such CFA, CPA etc. may be considered.

Experience:

Preferably a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience;
Computer proficiency, including working knowledge of MS Office products, capacity in web-based management tools.

Language:

Fluent in English.