Senior Portfolio Officer Job in Lusaka Recruiting by African Development Bank Group

THE BANK:

Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 81 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten-Year Strategy (2023 – 2032) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5s) have been identified for scaling up, namely, energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa. The Bank is seeking to build a management team that will lead the successful implementation of this vision.

THE COMPLEX:

The Vice Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the private sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization. The complex main functions are to (i) strengthen the enabling environment for private sector [and financial sector] development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development, (ii) support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including cities and urban development, and (iii) place renewed emphasis on industrial and trade performance in support of structural transformation across Africa. The Complex leverages knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments on delivering the Bank’s development agenda.

THE HIRING DEPARTMENT:

For effective, coherent, and harmonized Private Sector Operations performed by the 5 sectoral departments of the Bank (Energy, Infrastructure, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Social Services, Financial services) a Central Support Department for NSOs-related activities (PINS) was recently put in place. The primary role of PINS is to: (i) assist Sector Departments to efficiently design and monitor NSOs, in a coherent manner, in line with the best market practices and in consistency with the Bank’s related Strategies, Policies and Guidelines, including the Bank’s Private Sector Development Strategy and Policy, (ii) manage the corporate portfolio which comprises equity, debt and guarantee instruments.

THE POSITION:

The Senior Portfolio Officer is responsible for the Portfolio Management of assigned Private Sector or Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) projects. S/he will be responsible for the day-to-day management of all projects assigned to her / him from the time a project is transferred to portfolio management until full loan repayment. The Senior Portfolio Officer will support management by keeping them informed of all material changes in the economy that may have an impact on the quality of the portfolio. He/She will assist in business development in coordination with the NSO departments of the Bank.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Senior Portfolio Officer will perform the following duties:

1. Monitor assigned NSO Projects’ progress through field visits (once a year, minimum) / desk reviews and preparing relevant reports (including, inter-alia, the quarterly Portfolio Status Report (PSR), the Annual Supervision Report (ASR) and Project Completion Reports (XSR / PCR) for submission to Senior Management, as periodic updates on implementation progress.
2. Review periodic Reports including but not limited to quarterly, half-yearly, and annual operational, technical, environmental and financial reports of assigned projects to ensure compliance with facility terms and conditions and project implementation timelines, highlighting any implementation issues and challenges.
3. Lead the review of facility disbursement / utilization, performance, restructuring and waiver and consent requests from clients, and coordinate the preparation, submission of requests from the clients to internal approving Authorities (to seek and obtain necessary credit and other approvals).
4. As a member of the Project Appraisal Team on new transactions, share lessons learnt from current portfolio under her / his purview with a view to improving the design, preparation and implementation of projects to strengthen the quality of the portfolio at entry.
5. Monitor the impact of the operating environment on assigned projects under implementation and alert Management on any material potential risks that may arise and impact the portfolio.
6. Monitor the adequacy of the level of provisions for the assigned portfolio and recommending its adequacy or adjustment as necessary.
7. Lead analytical work on portfolio trends, drivers of investment returns, and draw and share lessons from the portfolio analysis.
8. Monitor performance of the assigned portfolio with particular focus on compliance with covenants, arrears monitoring, updating of Collateral Register, rating of projects and non-Performing loans, and prepare recommendations for Senior Management’s consideration.
9. Assist in the implementation of internal and external audit recommendations related to portfolio management.
10. Contribute to the development of medium and long-term strategies and action plans to improve the quality of the Bank’s NSO Portfolio.
11. Screen potential clients and deals and liaise accordingly with relevant departments to originate deals found to be feasible; and
12. Perform any other ad hoc assignments relating to NSO Portfolio Management, as required by the Division Manager or any other immediate supervisor.

COMPETENCIES

1. Hold at least a master’s degree in Finance, Accounting Business, Engineering, or Economics or related fields.
3. Experience and comprehensive knowledge of private sector investment and portfolio management techniques.
4. Good knowledge of corporate and project finance prerequisites and familiarity with finance and project documents will be an advantage.
5. On-hand exposure to financial analysis, with strong command of related modelling tools.
6. Good knowledge of relevant strategies, policies, procedures and practices of development finance institutions will be an added advantage.
7. Ability to effectively plan, direct, organize and administer diverse activities, to ensure effective delivery of work program.
8. Proven interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment, with sensitivity and respect for diversity and the ability to build trust and provide leadership to different team members.
9. Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other.
10. Competence in the use of Bank standard software (SAP, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

THIS POSITION IS CLASSIFIED LOCAL STAFF STATUS AND DOES NOT ATTRACT INTERNATIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.