Senior Investment/Project Finance Advisor, Multiple positions

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and managed by a Secretariat based in Brussels, the Cities Alliance is a unique partnership with a diverse membership, which is committed to strengthen developmental impacts through improved coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in supporting strategic city planning, slum upgrading and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Cities Alliance uses a combination of grants, procurement of services and goods as well as direct technical assistance to prepare and implement urban projects and programmes.

The Cities Alliance, as in its mandate, has been facilitating the development of urban strategies and plans for cities across the globe. Through this technical assistance work, various urban development projects - such as service infrastructure - have been identified, and in some successful cases the Cities Alliance has been able to leverage follow-up development funding to support their implementation.

The majority of these funding has been coming from the public sector where no financial return

is demanded. However, many other identified projects fall outside the scope of international development aid funding but could still be attractive for private sector investors if a viable financial model is identified. Given the limited budgetary capacity of the domestic public sector, the investment gap could be filled by innovative and blended financial instruments. This could allow cities to better realize their development potential while guaranteeing to investors opportunities for returns both financially and socially.

The Cities Alliance is seeking a Senior Investment/Project Finance Advisor with extensive experience on project finance and basic infrastructure in cities. The incumbent will be responsible for the development and implementation of a new Cities Alliance engagement strategy with Private Sector players interested in investing in basic infrastructure in rapidly urbanising cities. The incumbent will be responsible for identifying an operational niche and model for the Cities Alliance that is aligned to its mission and local demands but also attractive to the logic on investments. Finally, the incumbent is expected to lead the definition and implementation of concrete projects where the collaboration with the private sector is displayed and to mobilise the initial funding needed. The overall goal is for the Cities Alliance to test new models of promoting development and leveraging investments through innovative financial instruments and actors. 

1. Strategic Analysis and Positioning 

• Review of Cities Alliance operations and UNOPS instruments to deliver basic infrastructure and identification of areas and modalities for project financing;

• Conduct research and gather information on existing donors as well as project preparation facilities in the field of project finance and basic infrastructure which are relevant for Cities Alliance operations and intended areas of work; 

• Conduct research and gather information on private investment actors relevant and interested in the mandate and scope of operations by the Cities Alliance; 

2. Advisory Services and Development of Business Opportunities 

• Provide overall support and guidance to the Cities Alliance in the establishment of bespoke partnerships with the private sector for the financing of municipal investment plans and infrastructure projects in partner cities.

• Design, prepare and lead the negotiation with private sector players and relevant governments for the development of joint urban projects which are based on innovative financing instruments and capable of attracting private sector investments in partner cities. These instruments could include complex forms of impact investment, blended financing or bonds.

• Finally, identify and mobilise the initial funding needed to initiate and pilot these projects from either traditional public sector donors and/or corporate philanthropies.

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as in business, finance, marketing, economics, accounting, engineering or related fields required.
• A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

• Minimum ten years’ of progressively senior experience in international development is required.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in finance and development, within an international financial environment, preferably in development finance institution, multilateral or government institution or similar;
• Experience working with multilateral organizations, venture capital and/or investment banks;
• Experience with business planning and financial projections;
• Experience in managing or setting up a project financed joined venture;
• Full familiarity with a range of debt and equity instruments.
• Experience in project development and proposal writing is required;
• Familiarity with and exposure to Cities Alliance and UNOPS programmes are highly desirable. 

• Full working knowledge of English is essential. 
• Fluency in one or more additional official UNOPS languages is an advantage. (UN Languages are Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish).

[Instructions: Please delete this paragraph and insert relevant information below:

1. Contract type INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT
2. Contract level INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIST LEVEL 3*
3. Contract duration: RETAINER with up to 60 working days per calendar year subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT APPLICANTS SUBMIT A COVER LETTER INDICATING THEIR MOTIVATION AND FIT FOR THE POSITION.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.