Head of Energy: Power – Coverage & Origination

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

Job Description

Lead and manage the origination and development of investment opportunities in the Energy (Power) sector. The Head: Energy (Power) is responsible for formulating sector strategies, identifying and evaluating viable projects, and ensuring alignment with the bank’s development mandate and investment objectives. The role also drives client engagement, fosters strategic partnerships, and leads the development of market-responsive financial products.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership
• Sector Intelligence and Policy Influence
• Client & Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Governance, Reporting & Compliance
• Digital Transformation
• People Management

Key measurement of output:

• Achievement of sector-specific origination targets, including value and volume of project approvals, commitments, and disbursements.
• Performance of the industry portfolio, measured through key indicators such as Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio and overall asset quality.
• Delivery on sector-specific development targets, including the value of infrastructure catalysed and alignment with national development goals.
• Number and value of projects prepared for the bank's approval and funds secured under management.
• Client service ratings, development of annual client plans for key clients, and establishment of partnerships to enhance the bank’s market positioning and generate deal flow.
• Effective team management, including talent development, performance management, and succession planning aligned to strategic objectives.

Expertise & Technical Competencies

Qualifications

• A postgraduate qualification (honours, master’s, or equivalent) in Finance or Development Finance or Engineering or relevant qualification.

Experience

• Minimum 12 years’ experience in finance, investment banking, or development finance, with at least 5 years in a senior management role, in the energy sector.
• Proven track record in originating, structuring, and closing large-scale investment projects in the energy sector and broader infrastructure environment.
• Deep understanding of financial instruments and structures, including corporate loans, project finance, and early stage / venture capital investing.
• Strategic planning and leadership expertise, with a strong grasp of business strategy execution and investment alignment.
• Solid knowledge of infrastructure markets, financial markets, and macroeconomic dynamics across South Africa and broader African regions.
• Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills, with a well-established network of partners, clients, and investors across public and private sectors.
• Experience in client engagement and solution design, with a demonstrated ability to address complex challenges through innovative investment solutions.
• Exceptional negotiation and communication skills, with experience influencing and closing deals at executive and board levels.
• Proven ability to operate in politically sensitive environments, engaging senior stakeholders across diverse African contexts.
• Proven track record of leading and preparing good quality reports, documents and presentations for Executive Management, Board and high-level stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage teams with proven track record of mentoring developing direct reports.
• Sound knowledge and good grasp of the infrastructure landscape, financial markets political economics, macroeconomics as well as socio-economic, development issues, challenges and opportunities in South African and the rest of Africa.

Professional Certifications (Preferred/Advantageous):

• Chartered Financial Analyst
• Chartered Accountant
• Leadership Programme such as a General or Advanced Management Programme;
• Project Management Professional
• ECSA registration (for engineers)

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Sector expertise

• Demonstrates global thought leadership, including speaking at international conferences, sharing work via knowledge management, documenting business cases, white papers and articles.
• Understands dynamics of other sectors and uses that knowledge to draw comparisons and insights about the given sector.
• Foresees trends in the given sector industry at a global level and actively communicates / publishes opinions and insights.
• Understands sector industry dynamics, trends and key players at the global level and uses that knowledge to position the bank as an economic policies authority of repute within the global market.

Deal origination

• Formulate and develop new and alternative finance mechanisms and concepts that can be replicated elsewhere within and outside SA.
• Conceptualise and develop innovative funding instruments (equity, venture capital, mezzanine, debt, securitisation of projects, etc.) to finance infrastructure that would otherwise not be possible relying on the market only to develop and propose these investment opportunities.
• Proactively develop impact concepts to take to the market.
• Leads and mentors project teams.
• Formulate new products.

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 debt repayment 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, 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

• Has an appreciation of cultural sensitivities and differences.
• 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 the bank.

Financial analysis

• Serves as subject matter expert and leads work teams for more complex issues.
• 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