Client Solution Specialist at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The purpose of the Client Solution Specialist role is to design and structure innovative and alternative financing solutions that enable municipalities to become investment-ready for infrastructure finance and development projects. The role focuses on origination support, strategic advisory, financial structuring, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development to strengthen municipal capability, expand financing options, and accelerate sustainable infrastructure delivery.

Key Responsibilities    
Deal Origination

• Support origination initiatives with a strong focus on financial structuring, transaction advisory, and solution design.
• Engage municipalities to understand financial, institutional, and operational challenges, co-creating tailored financing and capability solutions.
• Conduct early-stage risk assessments to identify financial, operational, institutional, and implementation risks and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Identify and assess municipal infrastructure projects with potential for alternative and blended financing.
• Prepare high-quality inputs into funding proposals, concept notes, and investment memoranda.
• Establish and manage strategic partnerships with DFIs, commercial financiers, donors, development agencies, and private-sector partners to expand financing options.

Product Development

• Design and implement innovative financing solutions tailored to municipal contexts, including blended finance, concessional funding, guarantees, and risk-sharing mechanisms.
• Develop and refine financial products and instruments addressing municipal infrastructure funding gaps.
• Benchmark product offerings against global best practices in municipal and infrastructure finance.
• Pilot and evaluate new financing instruments, funding models, and advisory frameworks.
• Align product development initiatives with regulatory, institutional, and development mandates.
• Structure innovative financing and investment solutions that enhance bankability and affordability of municipal infrastructure projects.
• Collaborate with legal and technical teams to ensure feasibility and compliance, to ensure alignment of products with regulatory and institutional frameworks.
• Present structured solutions to internal committees and external partners for approval and funding mobilisation.

Infrastructure Finance and Financial Structuring

• Develop and analyse cashflow forecasting models for municipal infrastructure transactions.
• Assess municipal financial sustainability, affordability, creditworthiness, and funding capacity.
• Structure financing solutions aligned with municipal revenue streams, grant allocations, borrowing capacity, and fiscal constraints.
• Structure funding solutions incorporating bilateral, syndicated, blended finance, and public-private funding arrangements.
• Design innovative funding structures utilising capital grants as catalytic capital to leverage private investment.
• Develop financing models that crowd in commercial financiers, institutional investors, DFIs, and development partners.
• Prepare investment memoranda, concept notes, funding proposals, and strategic recommendations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Structure project finance and corporate finance transactions to support municipal infrastructure delivery.
• Evaluate and recommend suitable financial instruments including:
• Blended finance structures
• Guarantees
• Credit enhancement facilities
• Risk-sharing mechanisms
• Concessional funding arrangements
• Special purpose funding vehicles
• Present structured transactions to internal committees, funders, investors, and strategic partners for approval and funding mobilisation.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monitor transaction execution, financial performance, and compliance with agreed terms.
• Support municipalities in strengthening financial management, governance, and project delivery capacity.
• Measure and report on development outcomes, sustainability indicators, and programme impact.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, lessons learned, and continuous improvement across the programme.

Relationship Management and Business Development

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with municipal clients, government departments, DFIs, commercial banks, donors, and implementing partners.
• Identify partnership opportunities that expand infrastructure financing options and increase funding mobilisation.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Municipal stakeholders, global and regional private businesses, banking and multilateral partners and government officials to further develop specific investment opportunities.
• Manage relationships at various levels with the relevant project stakeholders, partners, and lead promoters, in accordance with the project’s development objectives.
• Ensure continuous communication with DBSA-funded project clients to support the division’s monitoring function.

Undertake other tasks as assigned by the line manager, from time to time.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Number and quality of bankable municipal transactions structured.
• Value of funding mobilised through alternative financing solutions.
• Success rate of investment approvals and financial close.
• Strength and effectiveness of strategic partnerships.
• Client satisfaction and development impact.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Minimum Qualification

• A Post-Graduate Degree in Finance, Business (such as an MBA), Accounting, Engineering, Economics, or related.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 10 years’ relevant work experience in infrastructure finance, municipal finance, public finance, development finance, investment advisory, or transaction structuring environments.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of municipal finance, intergovernmental relation (IGR) framework (including Provincial borrowing frameworks), local government fiscal framework, especially grant framework, municipal governance and revenue systems.
• Proven experience in financial structuring, alternative finance, blended finance, and transaction advisory.
• Demonstrated experience in municipal engagement, stakeholder management, and partnership development.
• Experience in developing new business strategies and opportunities to create a pipeline of development impact projects, ensuring deal flow and bankability.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the complex public sector financial and regulatory environments, including PFMA and MFMA.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the infrastructure market and the Municipal landscape.
• Demonstrable experience in identifying client challenges and playing an active part in finding innovative solutions.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience in securing infrastructure investment deals in the public sector/municipalities.
• Strong networks and relations with clients, global and regional private investors and banks to identify and source viable projects/investments.

Deadline:5th November,2026