Investment Officer - CookFund

UNCDF's financing models work through three channels: 1) Local development finance, which capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local productive capacity for sustainable development, 2) Inclusive digital economies connect individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives, and 3) Investment finance, which provides innovative financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

UNCDF is a Fund Manager of the CookFund, which is a key component of the Integrated Approach to Sustainable Cooking Solutions Programme in Tanzania, established by the Government of Tanzania in collaboration with the Delegation of European Union (EU).

Under this context, UNCDF is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Investment Officer to join its global technical secretariat for project development and financing. The Investment Officer will focus on implementation side of the CookFund under the direct supervision of the CookFund Programme Manager based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

1. Ensure  organization and facilitation of key programme activities related to commercially viable investments, Project development, transaction structuring, and financing:

• Support the process of investments identification, data analysis and preparation of basic information memorandum for the investment officers’ review and project structuring; 
• Build, own, and operate high quality financial models for renewable energy, SMEs and public and private infrastructure projects across the portfolio; 
• Produce analyses from those models to optimize returns, financial viability, support decision making in the development team, and facilitate financing;
• Interact with local stakeholders (such as central and local government officials, private sector banks, equity investors, project sponsors, development partners, etc.);
• Provide targeted technical investment support services to project sponsors identified. This includes review of feasibility studies, collection of relevant data to enhance business plans and confirm project bankability, technical due diligence market assessment, financial advisory services, and project finance transaction structuring; 
• Pro-actively seek improvements in the UNCDF project financing and structuring; 
• Prepare and facilitate technical missions for investment projects validation and pipeline development;
• Liaise closely with other teams from UNCDF responsible for measurement of transformative impact of investment projects, including in climate change, food security, women’s economic empowerment and local economic development. Exchange data and information to ensure that selected projects meet the criteria for transformational;
• Other duties as assigned. 

• Guide and support the team in planning and execution of the CookFund Programme; 
• Contribute to the development of programme progress reporting on weekly basis, and as when necessary; 
• Guide and support timely planning, budgeting, and reporting in accordance with UNCDF guidelines; 
• Work with the Programme Manager and M&E team to establish and maintain an effective and efficient project monitoring system providing regular feedback on the project performance and to update regularly risk and issue logs;
• Contribute in the documentation and monitoring of development impact of the investment in addition to financial viability criteria. 

3. Ensure capacity development of key stakeholders of the programme in the areas of commercially viable investments:

• Facilitate in capacity development and training to ensure programme knowledge generation and dissemination; 
• Provide support for the CookFund capacity development, training and programme visibility ensuring knowledge generation and dissemination through case studies, briefs, reports, research documents, monitoring and evaluation; 
• Support the programme activities related to delivery of CookFund training and workshops;
• Provide basic inputs in the development and application of the investment management processes and tools to assist senior investment officers in developing facilitate knowledge transfer, training, and development of capacities of local stakeholders in the public and private sectors. 

4. Communicate, organize and coordinate outreach activities with a variety of stakeholders:

• Organize field visits to programme areas for due diligence, monitoring and performance review. 

5. Support the establishment of co-financing relationships with debt providers and equity investors, nurture relationships, and manage activities needed to secure co-financing of supported investments:

• Establish relationships with financial institutions to ensure additional financing of the supported grantees;
• Work with financial institutions to define and design key strategies that will enhance affordability of clean cooking solutions. 

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Investment Officer - CookFund will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the CookFund Programme Manager.

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Finance:            

• Investment Management
  • Ability to manage organization’s assets such as equity, bonds, cash, etc. according to the investment guidelines.
• Financial Communication and Impact
  • Ability to report financial information clearly to non- finance leaders, including to various governing bodies such as the Executive Board. 
• Finance Business Partnering
  • Able to support business units and add value by innovating and providing solutions to financial issues/queries, including through FAQs, financial tools, advisory, etc.;
  • Influences and appropriately challenges non-finance colleagues for whom the service is being provided; 
  • Understands the operations, opportunities and challenges of the organization; 
  • Holds a commercial outlook, demonstrating accountability towards organizational goals.  

Ethics:            

• UN policy Knowledge-ethics
  • Knowledge and understanding of the UN Staff Regulations and Rules and other policies relating to ethics and integrity.

Communication:      

• Digital capacity building
  • Ability to increase impact of digital communications through trainings, partnerships and relevant resources.

Partnership Management:              

• Strategic engagement
  • Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives.
• Relationship management
  •  Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.