Director, Syndications & Specialised Finance

Job Title:     Director, Syndications & Specialised Finance

The role is supposed to help the Bank to achieve its mission “stimulating a consistent expansion of and diversification of African trade so as to rapidly increase Africa’s share of global trade, while operating as a first class, profit oriented, socially responsiblefinancial institution and a centre of excellence in African trade matters”. This will be by managing the strategic direction of and overseeing the management of the Bank’s loan syndications and specialised finance lines origination, in line with the policies laid down in order to ensure the required level of business development activity.

• Organize and lead established day-to-day management of the Bank’s syndicated loans origination and specialised finance origination processes in line with agreed objectives, policies and procedures  in line with the Bank’s strategic plans; 
• Deliver executive-level monthly and quarterly business reviews on day-to-day operations as well as other strategic syndications and specialised finance  plans to the EVPs and the President;
• Ensure the continuous application of required knowledge and skills and continuous process improvements in syndications and specialised funding  through existing business processes and systems and providing leadership in proposing and implementing new ones as may be required by the business;
• Demonstrate leadership ability and a teamwork orientation by successfully leading all matters related to syndications and specialised funding processes at all the Bank’s locations;
• Oversee the organization and management of a sound syndications process to support the Bank’s business development activities which will include but will not be restricted to the following components;
• Identify potential transactions for syndication;
• Create and maintain extensive networks of syndication desks in other banks to support the distribution process;
• Manage the required processes for bidding and winning mandates as part of the Bank’s business development process;
• Take responsibility for negotiating the terms and conditions of syndicated loans with borrowers and participating financial institutions within the Bank’s established policies and procedures;
• Liaise with Legal Services and the Agency & Security Trustee function to ensure  efficient management of the documentation and distribution process;
• Keep track of the relevant syndications market, league table positions while also ensuring that the Bank’s syndication transactions are captured and the relevant information disseminated to relevant stakeholders accordingly;
• Design and propose solutions for the use of appropriate lending structures for the Bank’s syndication transactions while taking into account such factors as tax incidence, cross ownership, cross border financing techniques etc..
• Where required, evaluate the relevant underwriting or selldown actions and provide guidance to management on the required decisions for this, including the use of any derivative products that may be required to mitigate potential risks;
• Managing the operational risks the Bank would face in the above processes, including their monitoring and reporting as may be required under the Bank’s various policies;

• Superior first degree (not below a second class lower honours degree) from a leading University in either Economics, Finance, Accounting, Law, Business Administration or other disciplines relevant to the position.  Candidates must also hold at least one higher degree from a reputable University in the relevant discipline or an internationally recognized professional qualification in a relevant field with appropriate banking experience in lieu.  
• Sound experience of at least 12 years in wholesale banking transactions including syndications and structured finance with a leading banking organization, preferably in Africa;
• Ability to communicate and function in a culturally diverse and change oriented setting with good knowledge of banking practices in Africa;
• Ability to interact with senior officials of banks, corporates and governments;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of  the Bank’s other working languages is an added advantage (French, Arabic and Portuguese);
• Proven experience in managing syndications with large global financial institutions in a dynamic and complex transactions environment;
• Proven experience in securing lines of credit from export credit agencies, multilateral banks and other DFIs;
•  Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including ability to organize and manage human resources from varied cultural backgrounds to attain goals.