Principal Credit Officer: Origination at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The role is responsible for the origination and structuring of complex credit transactions across various sectors, e.g. infrastructure, sovereign, sub-sovereign, public sector projects for investment considerations in South Africa, the Rest of Africa and High Impact. This role is instrumental in ensuring that new transactions align with the DBSA’s mandate, risk appetite and strategic objectives. Applying technical and commercial expertise, and legal knowledge, the role supports decision-making by appraising new transactions, through conducting due diligence, credit assessment of financial and non-financial risks, financial modelling and well-structured credit risk mitigation strategies. This role interacts closely with the Business teams and various Sector and Country Specialists in the origination process.

Key Responsibilities    
Deal Origination and Structuring

• Take charge of the origination of complex credit transactions from a pipeline of potential projects sourced by the Business teams, assessing transactions against the Bank’s risk appetite.
• Appraise, structure transactions to optimise risk-adjusted returns whilst achieving development impact.
• In conjunction with the business teams, engage internally with project teams and externally with borrowers, government entities, project sponsors, and other key risk-transfer / credit enhancing stakeholders to assess optimal financing needs and develop tailored solutions.
• Provide credit advisory at inception, deal screening or early review stages for indicative quantification of credit.
• Serve as a key member of the project team during appraisal stage, deal implementation and financial close stages in pursuit of achieving the Bank’s key corporate and strategic objectives.
• Serve as a key member of the project team to develop innovative risk mitigation structures (e.g. blended finance instruments, sustainable finance instruments, credit enhanced structures)
• Serve as a subject matter expert on credit and credit-related matters for special projects or in pursuit of establishing new product lines and appropriate forms of credit risk mitigation strategies.

Credit Assessment, Financial Analysis and Risk Mitigation

• Undertake in-depth credit and financial analysis and due diligence on prospective transactions.
• Identify, mitigate and manage key quantitative and qualitative risks facing a prospective transaction.
• Apply and/or review credit rating methodologies aligned to underlying transaction structures to ensure that the credit profile is adequately encapsulated the risk-adjusted returns per policies.
• Contribute to due diligence activities, where required, including site visits, stakeholder interviews and due diligence data collection and synthesis.
• Collaborate with business, legal, technical and ESG teams to ensure comprehensive transaction evaluation.
• Prepare and/or review investment memos for new appraisals that succinctly communicates the overall credit opinion and recommended terms and conditions of the prospective transactions.
• Undertake in-depth financial and cash-flow analysis of portfolio companies, evaluating performance against initial projections and market benchmarks
• Review portfolio performance reports, incorporating peer comparisons, sectors developments, and macroeconomic conditions affecting the Bank
• Assess amendments to credit terms and provides recommendations for restructuring, covenant waivers, or rescheduling proposals as required.
• Conduct scenario analysis and stress testing on key exposures, feeding insights into credit risk appetite and capital allocation decisions.
• Support efforts to enhance risk-adjusted return through innovative solutioning of the prospective deal flow.

Portfolio Integration

• Facilitate seamless transition of approved transactions into portfolio management.
• Monitor early-stage performance, facility and/or covenant compliance during onboarding of new clients.
• Provide feedback to portfolio, origination and risk teams on original learnings and risk signals.
• Maintain credit-related compliance with internal policies, regulatory standards, and investment mandates across all geographies.
• Maintain up-to-date credit ratings and internal loan classifications of new transactions, where required, prior to transition into portfolio management.
• Participate in the maintenance and improvement of the credit value chain, identifying process inefficiencies and supporting enhancements to credit systems.

Strategic Engagement and Governance

• Liaise with teams to ensure seamless handover and continuous oversight of transactions post-disbursement.
• Support governance reporting by contributing to reports for Board committees, EXCO, and relevant committees.
• Contribute to policy development and implementation of credit related frameworks and guidelines.
• Participate in the refinement of origination frameworks, credit templates and investment guidelines.
• Assist with audits by preparing necessary reports and documentation in line with best practice and standards.

Financial Modelling and Analysis

• Build and/or review and challenge model assumptions in financial models for prospective transactions.
• Conduct cash flow analysis, stress testing, and scenario analysis to test financial viability and draw conclusions / make recommendations to mitigate financial risks identified.
• Review financial compliance of key financial terms and/or recommend and implement credit risk mitigants (e.g. conditions, covenants, collateral, guarantees), as required.
• Perform peer benchmarking and sectoral credit comparisons in order to provide valuable insights for the review of the financial modelling assessment.

Stakeholder Management and Problem-Solving

• Collaborate effectively with stakeholders to achieve common goals, facilitating open and clear communication.
• Actively listen, share information, and foster a cooperative environment that encourages diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving.

People Management

• Lead and develop team members by setting clear objectives, providing constructive feedback, and fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.
• Recognising individual strengths, facilitating professional growth, and aligning team efforts with organisational goals to enhance overall performance and engagement.
• Provide technical assistance and mentorship to credit analysts.
• Facilitate training and capacity building within the team on origination, quantitative and qualitative credit assessments, credit tools, and evolving credit practices.

Reporting and Monitoring

Stay abreast of sector and country intelligence relevant to credit origination activities.

• Produce accurate, insightful reports that express key financial and non-financial metrics and analysis to support credit opinions for decision-making.
• Analyse data to identify trends, inform strategic decisions, and provide stakeholders with clear, actionable information that supports ongoing performance improvement and accountability.
• Utilise appropriate technologies and tools to enhance reporting efficiency and clarity, while also safeguarding the confidentiality and sensitivity of the information included.
• Maintain high standards of accuracy and timeliness to deliver reports that are timely, relevant and precise.

Key measurement of output:

• Percentage and number of credit memos for appraisals completed on time and in line with internal standards.
• Precision of internal credit ratings aligned with appropriate model methodologies and validated through backtesting or audit reviews.
• Timely identification of early warning indicators, escalated and actioned for new transactions in appraisal or deal implementation stage.
• Number of breaches identified and resolved and compliance rate for new facility agreements being onboarded.
• Average time taken to complete normal urgent risk assessment and recommend amendments or waivers.
• Quality of financial models built or reviewed, stakeholder feedback on model accuracy and usefulness for decision-making.
• Percentage of reports submitted on time with no material errors; percentage of submissions deferred as a result of substandard quality.
• Feedback from internal and external stakeholders on quality, communication, responsiveness, and problemsolving support.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in Economics, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or Risk Management or related field.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in credit risk analysis, portfolio monitoring, or financial analysis within a wholesale/investment banking or development finance environment.
• Demonstrated in credit assessments, financial modelling and analysis across South Africa and the African markets.
• Strong capabilities in financial modelling and transaction structuring.
• Proven ability in negotiations and stakeholder management.
• Strategic thinker with a strong ability to assess and interpret complex transactions.
• Understanding of ESG principles, sustainable finance and blended finance frameworks.
• Advanced credit analysis, reasoning and credit writing skills.
• High proficiency in using credit systems, risk management tools and financial analysis platforms.
• Sound knowledge of credit risk management principles and frameworks.
• Demonstrated knowledge of loan lifecycle and credit value chain processes.

Desirable Requirements

• Professional certification in Financial Risk Management, Chartered Financial Analysis or CA (SA) or equivalent.
• Strong understanding and experience of sovereign risk, infrastructure finance, and public sector lending.
• Experience in working on bilateral, club or syndicated transactions with multilateral institutions, investment banks, government agencies and private sector sponsors in infrastructure.

Deadline:11th November,2025