AGF seeks to recruit a head of structured finance (HSF) – Nairobi, Kenya

The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) :

African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (AGF) is incorporated and licensed in Mauritius as a limited liability company and has its office of operation in Nairobi, Kenya. AGF partners with financial institutions to ease access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

AGF contributes to the promotion of economic development, vital for prosperity, stability and poverty reduction in Africa through two lines of interventions:

Provision of a mix of financial guarantees and other products which reduce the risks supported by financial institutions when lending to SMEs that have insufficient collateral. These guarantees contribute to reduce the inability of SMEs to provide acceptable guarantees required by financial institutions prior to lending.

Support for capacity development of the client financial institutions to enhance their capacity to appropriately assess loan requests from SMEs and to mitigate risks associated with the guarantee.

AGF operates according to market principles and is a commercially viable venture with its products being utilized in 39 countries in Africa, and it’s gradually expanding with an aim of covering the entire Africa by 2021. The African Development Bank together with the governments of Denmark (through DANIDA) and Spain (through AECID), are the founding shareholders of AGF. Other Shareholders include: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and KfW Development Bank.

AGF Group is rated with a stable credit rating of AA- by Fitch Rating International Position Summary :

The Head of Structured Finance works closely with the Heads of Departments in coordinating and driving the development of AGF’s Products and transacting a broad range of structured finance products.

 

Major Responsibilities :

  • The HSF works closely with the HBD, SBDO, Risk Management & Finance in coordinating and driving the development of AGF’s Products and transacting a broad range of structured finance products ;
  • Develop new and existing products including and not limited to Structured Finance ;
  • Identify and implement new revenue streams, while ensuring systematic alignment of products between Business Development, Risk Management and Finance ;
  • Engage with colleagues more broadly across AGF Group to shape and influence the direction of future development for the business ;
  • Create and/or provide restructuring services to existing guarantee funds ;
  • Lead the offering of guarantee syndication services ;
  • Build Strategic Alliances & Partnerships with like-minded Institutions ;
  • Manage Special Purpose Windows ;
  • Provide Support and advisory services to the Business development team in structuring complex guarantee transactions ;
  • Work with colleagues across business areas to lead the thinking on the new products/propositions, on-going appraisals of existing propositions and effective product pricing ;
  • Work with Business Development and Communication to develop appropriate sales/service support tools and marketing materials ;
  • Provide supervision and support to more junior staff, managing and coordinating projects and work program of the team across the Region ;
  • Mentor and coach less-experienced staff and help build talent and grow skill base of staff ;
  • Assist in other project or strategy related activities as the need may arise.

In addition to the above duties, the Head of Structured Finance may be required to perform other related or unrelated duties based on the company’s needs.

Desired Qualifications, knowledge, Skills & Experiences :

  • Master’s degree in finance, economics or other related areas; accreditation as a CFA or CPA is considered a plus ;
  • Minimum 10 years of experience in the financial sector, with evidence of growing expertise in banking and non-banking financial institutions and finance related disciplines ;
  • Strong financial and credit skills ;
  • Strong skills in evaluation of risk and ability to anticipate short and long term implications of decisions ;
  • Excellent oral and written presentation skills in English and French are required ;
  • Ability to make sound decisions and commit to decisions ;
  • Hold self and team accountable for risk management and outcomes ;
  • Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of potential clients, of financial and technical partners ;
  • Ability to systematically share with others good practice and learning from lessons from across AGF, clients, and partners ;
  • Considered an expert in the subject area and is sought out by colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to knowledge products of others ;
  • Skilled in collaboration across boundaries and broadly, ability to bring differing ideas into the forefront ;
  • Excellent client and internal partner relationship management skills with proven track record of success in developing client relationships and execution of client engagements ;
  • Knowledge and commitment to sustainable development ;
  • Excellent business judgment and strong analytical and problem solving skills to identify issues and present creative, practical solutions ;
  • Great team player, able to mentor and train more junior staff ;
  • Capacity to deal with conflicting priorities and deliver high quality work on schedule; ability to work successfully in multicultural teams and across boundaries;

Terms of offer

The African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (AGF) is an equal opportunity employer and offers a regionally competitive salary with an excellent benefits package. AGF prides itself on its collegial, supportive and gender sensitive working environment and believes that staff diversity promotes excellence. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application

Apply on email, sending one document including a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V. names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to : recruitment@africanguaranteefund.com .

“Application for Head of Structured Finance” should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email message. Applications will be considered until 24th January 2019.

Only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at : www.africanguaranteefund.com

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