Job: Lead Infrastructure Finance Specialist

Location: Washington 
Deadline: Tuesday, 05 November 2013 

Description

Background / General description:

The World Bank is committed to promoting poverty reduction and inclusive and sustainable development in developing countries. Recognizing the inter-linkages between economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development, the Bank takes an integrated approach to achieving these goals under the leadership of the Sustainable Development Network (SDN).

The Sustainable Development Network within the World Bank brings together people and programs to provide strategic leadership, develop new financial and knowledge products, manage internal and external partnerships, promote operational quality, and ensure that knowledge sharing and staff learning contribute to operational learning across the greater Sustainable Development Network.

The SDN comprises about 1,400 professional staff members. A central Vice Presidential unit provides the 'anchor' for the Network. This 'anchor' is made up of six departments:

• Transport, Water, ICT, and Infrastructure Finance
• Agriculture and Environmental Services
• Climate Policy and Finance
• Social Development
• Sustainable Energy
• Urban and Disaster Risk Management
  The Transport, Water, Information and Communications Technology, and Infrastructure Finance Department (TWI) provides policy and strategic advice in these areas and administers several partnership programs.
  The Financial Solutions Unit within the TWI Department is responsible for developing innovative financial solutions in support of the Bank's investment and development objectives, especially those related to provision of infrastructure in client countries. Specifically, the Financial Solutions Unit (TWIFS, hereafter) is responsible for developing financing packages and financial structures (such as public-private arrangements) using Bank's financial instruments (loans and guarantees) to attract private sector parallel and co-finance for investment and policy operations of the World Bank.
  The 2013 WBG's Strategy's main objective is to foster growth, reduce poverty and encourage shared prosperity. Infrastructure financing is at the core of this objective - infrastructure can be an agent of change in addressing the most systemic development challenges of today's world - from social stability to rapid urbanization, climate change adaptation and mitigation, natural disasters, and global issues such as food and energy security. Transformation through Infrastructure - the updated World Bank Group Infrastructure Strategy rests on three principal pillars: continued support for core infrastructure, delivering transformational investments and mobilization of private capital.
  Recent developments in the financing requirements of many of the Bank's client countries indicate that our clients are increasingly looking to the Bank to provide them with innovative financial solutions along with knowledge to increase the capacity of their subnational entities to implement projects. Therefore, to deliver sustainable and transformative results for our clients, the Bank intends to strengthen its ability to leverage private and pubic resources for development impact. This will require synergies between various agencies of the World Bank Group (IBRD, IDA, IFC & MIGA) and working together in developing and innovating new financial tools to achieve the WBG Goals of reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity. The group in which this position is located is uniquely placed to deliver such abilities from the Bank's perspective.
  To enable the growth in this area of Bank's interventions, and to support the Bank's dialogue with clients regarding innovations in the area of project finance and guarantees, a senior and experienced specialist is being sought to lead the unit's key interventions and innovations in an environment of ever-changing requirements of the financial markets to finance infrastructure projects.
  Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 5 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

Reporting to the Manager of the TWIFS Unit, the Lead Infrastructure Finance Specialist will be a part of a dynamic team of finance specialists providing financial solutions and specific project finance expertise in support of investment across all sectors and regions of the Bank. She/He will support the Manager in managing the policy and transactional dialogue around the development, structuring and implementation of transactions, employing a range of Bank products designed to attract financing from the private sector at the best available terms and conditions for the benefit of World Bank clients. This will include activities related to the operational deployment of the Bank's Guarantee Program, but will not be limited to it. It is expected that the selected candidate will also help design new structures/instruments that could be deployed to leverage limited ODA capital from the Bank Group.

Specific responsibilities and duties include:

• Support the Management of the unit on various matters that relate to policy and project interventions of the group. Lead the design and implementation of a marketing strategy for the unit, both to internal and external clients.
• Lead the design of Bank's interventions that intend to mobilize private capital - including the provision of high-quality and timely advice on all aspects of policy, legislation, planning, procurement, financing and regulatory aspects of project development and operation.
• Advise clients internally (regional departments) and externally (governments), on the development and effective implementation of private investments for sustainable development in infrastructure.
• Lead the design of new guarantee approaches and/or financial instruments to meet the changing needs of the commercial banks and institutional investors. This will include design work as related to new financing/project preparation facilities that the Bank Group is involved with or may propose.
• Lead the dialogue on financing matters as related to urban and subnational settings, with a key focus on infrastructure financing in fast urbanizing cities and in a post disaster scenario.
• Support the expansion of Bank's project pipeline that is targeted to mobilize private sector financing. This includes
• identification of opportunities and candidates, and
• relationship building and management with both internal clients (Regions, Country Management Units, IFC & MIGA) and external clients (banks, institutional investors, private project participants etc.).
• Lead the unit's interventions in supporting Regional Teams in developing High-Risk High-Reward transactions (for e.g. but not limited to large hydropower power plants and capital market financings), including support during upstream preparation, structuring, negotiation, and closing of the transactions. Draft, as appropriate, project related documentation, including guarantee term-sheets and in collaboration with Legal Counsel, finalize the terms and condition of Bank's support. Contribute to the operational documents and provide support for internal processing, review transaction agreements, and coordinate across project components with other team members.
• Support all of the Senior Infrastructure Finance Specialists in the unit to market, design and develop investment and policy operations of the Bank that are intended to mobilize private sector capital.
• Lead and Mentor a team of financial analysts that support Bank operations in conducting financial analysis and due diligence for infrastructure finance operations

Selection Criteria:

• Demonstrated leadership in creative infrastructure financial engineering and a track record of supporting infrastructure financings in the developing world;
• A background in investment and development banking with demonstrated experience in working with private sector projects and state owned utilities/infrastructure authorities.
• A full understanding of the capital markets and demonstrated understanding of project finance and the use of risk mitigation instruments. A thorough conceptual understanding of using the preferred creditor status and the convening power of multilateral institutions will be a plus.
• Experience in multiple sectors, such as energy, transport and water at federal, state, municipal/city levels.
• Advanced university degree in areas such as international business or economics with further financial/economics training (Masters in Finance or MBA or equivalent). CFA chartholding would be plus;
• Sustained record of achieving high-quality substantive results over an extended period (typically at least 10 years). in the area of international infrastructure project finance;
• Relevant experience at least 2 world regions (in South & East Asia would be a plus);
• Strong analytical and modeling skills;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; Proven ability to interact and communicate effectively with clients at a senior level;
• Ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments, and prioritize a variety of complex evolving tasks;
• Ability to deal sensitively in a multicultural environment and build effective work relations with clients and colleagues;
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively.

Competencies:

• Infrastructure Finance - Working knowledge of a range of financing alternatives and financial instruments; can conduct a range of infrastructure financial analyses.
• Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships - Working knowledge of Public-Private Partnerships business/operating models; can conduct a range of financial and business case analyses.
• Infrastructure Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Familiarity with infrastructure policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands project financing process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of infrastructure financing.
• Client Orientation - Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
• Drive for Results - Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work.

More Info and Application