Fresh Opportunities at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Principal Investment Officer (Equities) is responsible for the implementation of the Bank’s equity investment strategy,  ideation, identification, appraisal and implementation of new equity investment opportunities in key strategic sectors and investment themes.

Key Responsibilities    
Investment and Loan Transactions

• Ideate and identify new equity investment opportunities in key strategic sectors / investment themes.
• Execute equity investment projects in the relevant mandated areas.
• Support the coordination and collaboration of investment initiatives through information exchanges and
• collaboration with relevant divisions of the Bank, to achieve targets and objectives.
• Evaluate the feasibility of equity investment transactions with a view to ensuring that they are commercially
• sound prospects for equity financing and are aligned to the DBSA’s strategy and mandate.
• Undertake project due diligence and approval processes, with emphasis on ensuring key economic, financial,
• technical, and legal issues are considered and mitigants incorporated in the financing structure and legal
• documents.
• Conduct due diligence of opportunities and preparation of investment appraisals for approval by the Investment Committees.
• Provide innovative and flexible financial structures for complex transactions.
• Facilitate deal closure by taking responsibility for optimal financial, institutional, and legal structuring.
• Negotiation and review of equity investment agreements and project documents.
• Develop and maintain investment models, portfolio data, and supporting analytics.
• Undertake continuous research and provide recommendations on significant developments, emerging
• opportunities, and challenges in areas of responsibility.
• Conduct research and provide recommendations on significant developments, emerging opportunities and
• challenges in areas of responsibility and present findings to internal and external stakeholders.

Equity Portfolio Performance

• Facilitate strong investment performance and value addition in the equity investment portfolio.
• Coordinate the implementation of equity investments and monitor the performance of equity investment projects through progressive investment and income reports; monitor collection and recording of income on equity investments.
• Oversee disbursements to approved projects as well as monitor a project’s progress post investment.
• Draft, review and submit of quarterly portfolio reports for the Investment Committee and Investors.
• Identify key risks facing the portfolio and implement mitigating strategies / policies.

Relationship Management

• Build and manage relationships with key internal and external clients to increase the Bank’s reach, equity
• investments and loans transactions.
• Provide reports and information to potential clients and document the same to provide information on customer requirements/ areas of interest.
• Engage with financial intermediaries to offer new products and access new markets that help further DBSA’s
• mission.
• Identify clients’ pain points together with the front-line divisions and coordinate DBSA’s solution offerings to
• address them.
• Network and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to further develop specific
• investment opportunities.
• Provide value to the Division for the benefit of and/or the client through knowledge of the subject, innovation,
• and lateral thinking.
• Mentor, coach and advise Senior Investment Officers and Investment Officers on transactions and provide key
• knowledge on investments and various areas of the equity function to aid their development.
• Undertake other tasks as assigned by the line manager, from time to time.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Value and number of project approvals, commitments, and disbursements.
• Value of infrastructure catalysed.
• Quality of equity investment book (e.g., NPL ratio).
• % of equity book in priority geographies and sectors.
• Number of transactions that are committed for DBSA funding to black-owned entities (50% shareholding and above) and fund managers.
• Number of jobs created or "to be created" by projects - Direct and Indirect jobs.
• Quality of signed agreements / mandates.
• Implementation of strategic initiatives.
• Clients and Stakeholders service rating.
• Demonstration of thought leadership and a recognised expert in area of responsibility.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Minimum Requirements

• A post graduate qualification or equivalent in Business or Finance (CA or CFA), or Engineering, or Economics.
• A minimum of 8-10 years’ experience of relevant work experience in equity investments (funds or direct investments), corporate/project finance gained at institutional and other fund investors, commercial/investment banks and/or development financial institutions.
• Experience in structuring comprehensive solutions across financial products using debt, private equity and funds, and/or capital market instruments.
• Experience in working on investment projects through an established approval process.
• Strong credit, financial, analytical, and modeling skills.
• Experience in financial analysis and/or financial modelling.
• Experience in doing business across Africa and/ globally.
• Successful track record in leading project teams with high level stakeholders and qualified professionals.

Desired requirements

• Financial Modelling knowledge and application experience.

Technical Competencies
Project Management:

• Defines, plans, and manages large and/or strategic projects, including those with a high degree of technical
• complexity, with impacts across the organisation and/or with national implications.
• Assembles and leads diverse and multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring maximum effective resource utilisation.
• Successfully manages substantial project budgets and reports directly to senior managers on the progress and
• results of projects.
• Identifies complex issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate corrective actions.

Solution Focus:

• Identifies broad, highly complex problems based on a multitude of factors, many of which are complex and
• sweeping in nature, difficult to define and often contradictory.
• Creates procedures to articulate the nature of problems and to identify and weigh alternate solutions.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of solutions using approaches tailored to the situation.

Financial Analysis:

• Serves as subject matter expert.
• Evaluates and determines fiscal, operational, and service impacts; analyses and evaluates legislation; and
• implements and evaluates statistical models in their subject areas.
• Demonstrates in-depth technical and administrative knowledge of the rules and regulations in the subject area
• and to defend analyses, testimony, and recommendations relating to a variety of issues before management
• and commissions.

Risk Management:

• Drives integration and standardisation of risk management processes across the organisation.
• Advises on the application of the organisation’s risk management policies, industry best practices and constructs
• organisation guidelines.
• Analyses trends in risk management and internal control, evaluates implications, defines, and implements
• organisation-wide response.

Attention to detail:

• Quickly identifies relevant and irrelevant information to support accurate decision making.
• Maps out all the logistics and details of a situation to ensure smooth and flawless implementation.
• Consistently identifies all relevant details that are not obvious in complex situations.
• Requires the highest standards for accuracy and quality for their work.
• Establishes processes to ensure accuracy and quality of services delivered by the team.

Negotiation:

• Has an appreciation of cultural sensitivities and differences.
• Effectively employs a variety of advanced behavioural/interpersonal competencies to control the negotiation
• situation.
• Can take the lead in a variety of sensitive negotiation situations requiring high levels of tact and diplomacy.
• Can place a discrete negotiation situation within the context of a broader long-term relationship and is not
• threatened by conceding ground to protect the longer-term interests of DBSA.

Commercial Awareness:

• Deep understanding of commercial drivers and can take decisions based on an assessment of alternatives
• concerning complex business situations.
• Deep understanding of DBSA economic priorities and how they can be implemented to meet DBSA's strategic
• objectives.
• Deep understanding of DBSA's core sector role in achieving DBSA's strategic objectives.
• Deep understanding of the need to coordinate efforts with many government entities, private sector, community groups and individuals to ensure effective implementation of new policies and regulations.

Research:

• Demonstrates expert skill levels in strategic and operational research techniques, including process analysis,
• modeling, and forecasting.
• Adapts, creates, and designs new research techniques to meet the organisation requirements.
• Provides specialist coaching and guidance to researchers and other the organisation employees.
• Promotes the professional reputation of the organisation by maintaining a respected profile with relevant external organisations and the research community in general.

Communication and Reporting:

• Able to communicate complex problems or concepts, by making them simple and understandable for others.
• Adapts language to the level of the audience to ensure that the message has a positive impact and is interesting to the audience.
• Is articulate, demonstrates a wide range of vocabulary, and is confident when talking to large/high level audiences.
• 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.

Innovation:

• Develops innovative business solutions that shape industry practices.

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.

Required Personal Attributes    

• Leadership Competencies
• Achievement Orientation:
• Focuses on new or more effective ways of improving own work and meeting targets.
• Focuses on raising quality, customer satisfaction and revenues.
• Makes specific changes to systems and processes to improve efficiency and quality.
• Formulates own objectives and action plans to achieve a measurable improvement in the future.

Analytical Thinking:

• Identifies multiple elements of a problem and breaks down each of those elements in detail, showing causal
• relationships between them.
• Uses several analytical techniques to identify several solutions and weighs the value of each.

Conceptual thinking:

• Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others and not learned from previous education or experience to
• explain situations or resolve problems.
• Looks at things in a significantly novel way breakthrough thinking.

Strategic and Innovative thinking:

• Recognizes opportunities or problems emerging in patterns and trends, and their impact on the business and profitability drivers.
• Applies learning from previous situations and experiences.
• Sees underlying causality in current situation. Applies business acumen to make sound decisions.
• Recognizes opportunities or potential problems, before they become obvious, by seeing the connections in a
• range of sources of information, including insights from outside DBSA.
• Restates complex knowledge in a way that makes it easier for others to understand.

Commercial Business Acumen:

• Understands business fundamentals.
• Analyses and comprehends organisational goals and strategies.
• Understands tactical business fundamentals in the public sector environment and incorporates them into
• decision-making.

Teamwork:

• 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.

go to method of application »

Job Description    

• The Head: Equity Investments is responsible for managing the execution of investment deals, conducting due diligence, credit committee approval processes, negotiation and portfolio monitoring of equity investment transactions.

Key Responsibilities    
Strategic Outputs

• Collaborate with the Group Executive: Transacting to formulate and implement the Bank’s equity investment strategy in line with the vision, strategy, and goals of the DBSA.
• Lead the development and implementation of an equity investment strategy.
• Lead the implementation of the plans and process improvements and initiatives for the equity investment unit.
• Monitor turnaround times and quality standards and resolve issues speedily with business to enhance service delivery and implement business improvement processes.
• Monitor, evaluate and drive compliance to the respective organisational policies and procedures.

Equity and Loan Transactions

• Lead the execution of equity investment projects in the relevant mandated areas.
• Evaluate the feasibility of equity investment transactions with a view to ensuring that they are commercially sound prospects for equity financing and are aligned to the DBSA’s strategy and mandate.
• Lead project due diligence and approval processes, with emphasis on ensuring key economic, financial, technical, and legal issues are considered and mitigants incorporated in the financing structure and legal documents.
• Provide innovative and flexible financial structures for complex transactions.
• Oversee the deal closure by taking responsibility for optimal financial, institutional, and legal structuring.
• Identify key risks facing the portfolio and implementation of mitigating strategies / policies.
• Negotiation and review of equity investment agreements and project documents.
• Undertake continuous research and provide recommendations on significant developments, emerging opportunities, and challenges in areas of responsibility.

Stakeholder Relations and Management

• Network and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to further develop specific investment opportunities.
• Provide value to the Division for the benefit of and/or the client through knowledge of the subject, innovation, and lateral thinking.
• Engage key stakeholders to position the DBSA as a preferred equity investor/partner.
• Build and manage relationships with key internal and external clients to increase the Bank’s reach, equity investments and loans transactions.

People Management

• Provide direction and management to the direct reports to enable the execution of strategy and manage their portfolios effectively.
• Manage and evaluate the performance of the direct reports against set target, KPI’s and metrics.
• Define, cascade and monitor business and people performance objectives direct reports.
• Attract, retain, and develop high-calibre talent.
• Develop and maintain sufficient depth in all critical functions, minimizing "key-man" risk.
• Optimise skills usage within the unit.
• Accountable for performance management of all direct reports, managing their performance in relation to quality standards and agreed benchmarks and objectives, focusing on all aspects of sound people management.
• Develop the skills and abilities of all team members, with the result that they perform to their highest potential and optimize their current and future job performance.
• Proactively support the bank's diversity strategies and initiatives.
• Contribute to building synergies and cooperation across functions in the DBSA.
• Promote DBSA values and a culture of High Performance within the Unit.
• Undertake other tasks as assigned by the line manager, from time to time.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Value and number of project approvals, commitments, and disbursements.
• Value of infrastructure catalysed.
• Quality of equity investment book (e.g., NPL ratio).
• % of equity book in priority geographies and sectors.
• Number of transactions that are committed for DBSA funding to black-owned entities (50% shareholding and above) and fund managers.
• Number of jobs created or "to be created" by projects - Direct and Indirect jobs.
• Quality of signed agreements / mandates.
• Implementation of strategic initiatives.
• Clients and Stakeholders service rating.
• Demonstration of thought leadership and a recognised expert in area of responsibility.
• Expertise & Technical Competencies    

Minimum Requirements

• A post graduate qualification or equivalent in Business, Finance, Engineering or Economics (e.g., CA,CFA,MBA, MSc)
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience at a senior management level and managing a team.
• A minimum of 5 years demonstrable experience at a senior level in private equity investments (DFI, Banking or Investment environment).
• Experience in leading equity investments in infrastructure projects.
• Knowledge of investment products and services, e.g., private equity, direct equity, quasi equity preference shares structures, project finance and blended finance structures.
• Demonstrable experience in assessing investment transaction opportunities and projects from an early stage to an advance implementation stage.
• Experience with working with deal teams and assigning resources to conclude transactions.
• Ability to provide value to transactions for the benefit of and/or the client through knowledge of the subject, innovation, and lateral thinking.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the financial and regulatory environments within relevant sector and/or geography.
• In depth knowledge and understanding of the infrastructure market, financial markets, and the macro landscape.
• Experienced communicator and negotiator (expertise at senior level).
• Strong negotiation skills with the ability to close deals.
• Proven experience in collaborating with senior stakeholders in highly political environments in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Desired requirements

• Financial Modelling knowledge and application experience.

TECHNICAL

 Deal Structuring

• Uses credit enhancement techniques to structure deals and optimise pricing in terms of Basel principles.
• Has an in-depth and practical understanding of how to optimise the Capital Structure, collateral package, and investment return profile.
• Interrogates financial models, including those with a high degree of complexity, to develop an optimal structure.
• Identifies complex structural issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate bankable structures.
• Demonstrates knowledge on advanced structuring including the use of derivatives, syndicated loans, synthetic loans, securitisations, Inflation linked debt, blended finance, private equity, credit default swaps and subordinated debt.
• Prepares specialised or tailored reports relating to new innovative instruments, gather information from a variety of sources, analyse and include in a report to new products approval committees.
• Compiles comprehensive specialist reports as required for inclusion into credit committee submissions.

Negotiation Skills

• Effectively employs a variety of advanced behavioural/interpersonal competencies to control the negotiation situation.
• Is able to take the lead in a variety of sensitive negotiation situations requiring high levels of tact and diplomacy.
• Is able to place a discrete negotiation situation within the context of a broader long-term relationship and is not threatened by conceding ground to protect the longer-term interests of DBSA.

Business Acumen

• Deep understanding of commercial drivers and is able to take decisions based on an assessment of alternatives concerning complex business situations.
• Deep understanding of economic priorities of South Africa and the Rest of Africa and how they can be implemented to meet an organisation strategic objective.
• Deep understanding of the need to coordinate efforts with many government entities, private sector, community groups and individuals to ensure effective implementation of new policies and regulations.
• Takes actions to fit business strategy.
• Assesses and links short-term tasks in the context of long-term business strategies or perspectives.
• Reviews own actions against the organisation's strategic plan; includes the big picture when considering possible opportunities or projects or thinks about long-term applications of current activities.
• Anticipates possible responses to different initiatives.
• Understands the projected direction of the industry and how changes might impact the organisation.

Strategic Planning

• Ability to analyse business trends, implications, and options to devise holistic and long-term strategic plans as well as execute the required change is essential to meet an organisation’s objective and future goals.
• Establishes challenging, attainable goals and objectives based on a customer focus perspective.
• Looks to the future with a broad perspective.
• Ensures performances measures are in place to monitor progress and assess accomplishments and achievement of strategic goals and objectives.
• Develops initiatives to achieve goals and objectives.
• Articulates the vision and plans to others.
• Project Management
• Defines, plans, and manages large and/or strategic projects, including those with a high degree of technical complexity, with impacts across the organisation and/or with national implications.
• Assembles and leads diverse and multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring maximum effective resource utilisation.
• Successfully manages substantial project budgets and reports directly to senior managers on the progress and results of projects.
• Identifies complex issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate corrective actions.

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.

Solutions Focused

• Identifies complex problems based on a broad range of factors, many of which are ambiguous or difficult to define.
• While remaining guided by organizational values, identifies optimal solutions, thinking first in terms of approaches and flexibilities in the system vs. blind adherence to rules or procedures.
• Evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of solutions after they have been implemented and identifies needed changes.

Planning & Organizing

• Coaches’ others on advanced planning and organising skills.
• Plays a role in transferring advanced planning and organising skills and knowledge to others.
• Identifies and acts on opportunities to partner with other units in the department to achieve desired results.
• Develops partnership agreements that ensure win-win outcomes for all parties.
• Develops integrated plans for the work unit and others that interfaces with the function’s budget.

Reporting & Communication

• Designs, reviews and improves reporting processes and provides guidance.
• Leads production of complex environment reports, takes an editorial role, determines content and level of detail, and ensures consistent messaging and branding.
• Is relied on by others to help them write complex technical and non-technical documents and briefs.
• Can determine which aspects of this knowledge area need to be transferred to others to achieve organisational goals.
• Coaches’ others and transfers communication skills and knowledge to others.
• Able to communicate complex problems or concepts, by making them simple and understandable for others.
• Adapts language to the level of the audience to ensure that the message has a positive impact and is interesting to the audience.
• Is articulate, demonstrates a wide range of vocabulary, and is confident when talking to large/high level audiences.

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.

Required Personal Attributes    
LEADERSHIP/BEHAVIOURAL

Leading & Empowering Others

• Identifies long-term goals for the team and communicates them to team members, ensuring their buy in.
• Sets a good example by personally exercising desired behaviour; acts on values and beliefs.
• Communicates a vision for the team and future success that inspires team members.
• After assessing others’ competence, delegates authority and responsibility to others to do a task in their own way.
• Ensures that competent employees are given opportunities to further their careers.

Leading & Managing Change

• Anticipates the need for change when not obvious and influences others to gain support.
• Builds sustainable business and organisational capacity to embrace and thrive on change.
• Re-engineers and aligns structures, processes and practices to support and sustain the desired change.

Strategic & Innovative Thinking

• Understands connections and trade-offs of strategic choices to evaluate which ideas are practical and possible by considering business and/or scientific implications.
• Develops innovative business and/or customer solutions that shape industry practices.

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.

Developing Others

• Gives specific positive or mixed feedback for developmental purposes.
• Gives negative feedback in behavioural rather than personal terms.
• Reassures and/or expresses positive expectations for future performance when giving corrective feedback.
• Gives individualised suggestions to individuals for their improvement.

Driving delivery of results

• Identifies and implements a business opportunity that will have a long-term impact on the business (which may include the organisation’s reputation or brand image).
• Monitors progress and adapts the plan, if necessary, to ensure optimal benefit to the business.
• Makes decisions, sets priorities, or chooses goals based on inputs and outputs: makes explicit considerations of potential profit, return on investment, or cost benefit analysis.
• Based on the cost-benefit analysis, makes decisions of entrepreneurial risk nature.

Decisiveness (High Performance, Service Orientation)

• Makes timely decisions about complex issues even when some information is missing.
• Makes decisions and stands by them even when they are controversial or unpopular.
• Grasps critical business opportunities when they arise by making timely decisions.