Country Risk Analyst at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The purpose of this job is to provide country risk reports inclusive of country risk ratings and LGD’s using the various rating tools to support the mandate of the DBSA to provide Cross Border Development assistance and lending. The Cross-Border functions are spread across the Coverage, Transacting and Project Preparation Divisions aimed at enhancing sustainable investment in economic infrastructure in the African region.

Key Responsibilities    
Strategic Functions

• Provide advice on the socio-economic/political climate, risk profiles, perspectives, strategies and key infrastructure initiatives and trends within a country and regional context and its impact on potential new investments.
• Co-ordinate inputs and provide country and regional macro-economic market analysis to inform potential investments.
• Co-ordinate inputs and conduct debt sustainability analysis and analysis of sovereign lending capacity.
• Analyse risk factors and conduct country risk profile exposures of potential investments in the South African and broader African region and present the DBSA with suitable solutions.
• Provide analysis of the impact of policy, legislation, strategy, and tariff regimes at a country and regional level for potential investments in the Bank's priority sectors.
• Write and compile country and regional presentations and reports.
• Build networks with clients, information suppliers and other specialists in similar areas of expertise.

Key Measures

• Provide country and regional risk reports which enable the business to invest in infrastructure.
• Engage in data modelling in support of investment decisions.
• Deliver interpretations from data models and other sources that will enable sustainable investment decisions.
• Provide hands on expertise to produce country / regional reports and advisory services to coverage teams.
• Deliver papers at national and regional forums.
• Engage with international counterparts in appropriate forums to source relevant information from Development Finance economic networks on the African Continent.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Minimum Requirements

• A relevant post graduate degree in an appropriate professional field specialising in Economics, Regional Development / Business Economics or Development Studies / Finance.
• At least 10 years progressive and relevant experience in providing country risk profiles / risk analysis within a development finance context.
• Relevant experience in conducting debt sustainability analysis and analysis of sovereign lending capacity.
• Extensive knowledge of the infrastructure, development and financing challenges and opportunities on the African continent.
• Experience of country and regional policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, and the institutional dynamics in the African region.
• Demonstrated research ability with proven experience in problem solving ability within a development finance context.
• Extensive understanding of the lending process.
• High level of competency required in MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint and related data analysis and modelling software packages.

Desirable Requirements

• Fluent in French
• Familiar with Economic models
• Experience of presenting Country Economics at National or International conferences

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Data Collection and Analysis

• Skilled in the use of advanced/complex analytical techniques.
• Ability to use judgement to decide upon the most appropriate analytical techniques according to the situation.
• Recognises underlying principles, patterns, or themes in an array of related information, and determine whether additional information would be useful or necessary.
• In-depth understanding of the business environment, reviews outputs of analysis to identify anomalies and draws conclusions, relating these to operational circumstances.
• Can model a range of scenarios covering all potential business circumstances and highlight potential risks/opportunities.

Sector Expertise

• Develops sector insights to serve as trusted advisor to stakeholders and to shape DBSA sector policies.
• Follows given sector industry dynamics, trends and key players and uses that knowledge to develop sector insights.
• Knows business models and operating models within the given sector and uses that knowledge to identify best practices.
• Ability to draw on sector knowledge and knowledge of the client business to identify unique opportunities to enhance business performance for the client.

Planning & Organizing

• Uses effectively advance time management processes to deal with high workload and tight deadlines.
• Organises, prioritises and schedules tasks so they can be performed within budget and with the efficient use of time and resources.
• Achieves goals in a timely manner, despite obstacles encountered, by organising, reprioritizing and replanning.

Financial Acumen

• Makes sound financial decisions after having analysed their impacts on the organisation, partner agencies, and community.
• Effectively prepares budgetary submissions and forecasts for own department.
• Knows the internal and external factors that impact on resource and asset availability.
• Is able to interpret management account reports in an operational/commercial context and take action as appropriate to maximize revenues and control costs.

Reporting & Communication

• Designs / customizes reports to meet user needs.
• Prepares complex or tailored reports, gathers information from a variety of sources, analyses and includes in a report.
• Keeps standard reports under review and proposes improvements to meet user needs.

Presentation Skills

• Knows how to deliver arguments persuasively by employing a range of advanced presentation techniques (e.g. the appropriate use of body language, how to close a presentation so that the audience continues to think about the subject matter etc.).
• Has knowledge of various feedback mechanisms to check levels of audience understanding.

Stakeholder Management

• Actively engages partners and encourages others to build relationships that support DBSA objectives.
• Understands and recognises the contributions that staff at all levels make to delivering priorities.
• Proactively manages partner relationships, preventing or resolving any conflict.
• Adapts style to work effectively with partners, building consensus, trust and respect.
• Delivers objectives by bringing together diverse stakeholders to work effectively in partnership.

Required Personal Attributes    
BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

Achievement Orientation

• Undertakes challenging assignments and strives to complete them.
• Sets priorities and chooses goals on the basis of calculated costs, anticipated benefits and improvement of performance.
• Aims at exceptional performance; setting out to achieve a unique standard.
• Constantly analyses outcomes to ensure the achievement of business goals.
• Identifies short-term opportunities or potential problems aiming to achieve better outcomes.

Customer Service Orientation

• Tries to understand the underlying needs of customers and matches these needs to available or customized products and services.
• Adapts processes and procedures to meet on-going customer needs.
• Utilises the feedback received by customers, in order to develop new and/or improve existing services/products that relate to their on-going needs.
• Thinks of new ways to align DBSA’s offerings with future customer needs.

Integrity

• Is willing to end a business relationship because it was associated with unethical business practice.
• Is capable of challenging senior management (in an appropriate and respectable manner) in order to act on espoused values.

Leading and Empowering Others

• Creates the conditions that enable the team to perform at its best (e.g., setting clear direction, providing appropriate structure, getting the right people, obtain needed resources).
• Monitors performance against clear standards, and addresses performance issues promptly and takes action to get performance back to desired levels.
• Proactively asks for feedback on own performance from team members, aiming to become more effective.

Self-awareness and Self Control

• Withholds effects of strong emotions in difficult situations.
• Keeps functioning or responds constructively despite stress.
• May apply special techniques or plan ahead of time to manage emotions or stress.

Strategic and Innovative Thinking

• Recognises opportunities or potential problems, before they become obvious, by seeing the connections in range of sources of information, including insights from outside DBSA.
• Restates complex knowledge in a way that makes it easier for others to understand.
• Experiments with new approaches, tests scenarios, questions assumptions and challenges conventional thinking.
• Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others, leveraging internal and external sources of information, to build incremental revenue and growth opportunities.

Teamwork & Cooperation

• Acts to promote a friendly climate and good morale, and resolves conflicts.
• Creates opportunities for cross-functional working.
• Encourages others to network outside of their own team/department and learn from their experience.

Closing Date    
2024/08/21