Climate & Nature Finance Specialist x2

Job Description

The Climate Finance Specialist is responsible for executing the origination, structuring, and appraisal of climate finance transactions across DBSA’s priority sectors. The role provides technical and operational assistance in advancing DBSA’s climate finance agenda, ensuring projects are aligned with international climate finance mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), as well as global best practices.

Key Responsibilities

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

1. Climate Finance Origination and Structuring

• Support identification and conceptualisation of climate-aligned infrastructure programmes and projects.
• Provide technical inputs (financial, environmental, policy) to project preparation and development.
• Assist in building a pipeline of climate and nature investment opportunities by analysing market trends and country priorities.
• Contribute to feasibility assessments, risk analyses, and stakeholder consultations to strengthen project design.
• Support negotiations, governance approvals, and funding requests with partners such as GEF, GCF, and DFIs.
• Participate in preparation of feasibility studies, safeguard reviews, and permitting processes to enable

investment readiness.

• Assist in scoping and assessing market opportunities for climate finance across sectors.
• Contribute to technical, environmental, and financial due diligence, including financial modelling and risk analysis.
• Support evaluation of climate and nature impacts using recognised tools and methodologies.
• Assist in structuring climate finance transactions (debt, equity, blended finance) under DBSA policies and standards.
• Prepare inputs for investment appraisal reports, including risk assessments and climate rationale.
• Support transaction documentation in collaboration with legal, risk, and investment teams.

2. Stakeholder Management

• Maintain working relationships with clients, partners, and government officials to support project preparation.
• Support partnerships and networking initiatives that advance DBSA’s climate finance positioning.
• Liaise with investment peers to contribute to pipeline development.
• Represent DBSA in technical working groups and climate-finance industry engagements.

3. Reporting and Governance

• Draft accurate and timely reports to GEF, GCF, and other climate finance sources in line with accreditation, fiduciary, and safeguard requirements.
• Support the management, administration, and operationalisation of DBSA-accredited climate funds, systems, and reporting frameworks.
• Maintain essential documentation, data integrity, and audit-ready records across the climate finance portfolio.
• Implement and refine reporting formats, portfolio dashboards, and decision-support tools to strengthen climate investment oversight and management.

Key Measurement of Outputs

• Number of opportunities identified through climate finance engagements.

• Contribution to programmes developed and implemented.

• Value of funds mobilised from international climate finance mechanisms.

• Value of bankable projects supported (fee income & returns).

• Number and value of projects approved and committed by the transacting division.

• Contribution to funds catalysed towards approved projects.

• Quality of climate programmes supported.

• Strength of stakeholder relationships maintained.

• Contribution to team performance and knowledge transfer.

Expertise & Technical Competencies

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Minimum Qualification

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Commerce, Engineering, Environmental Economic Sciences or a relevant field.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in the project financing and mobilising funds for climate-related projects/investments, with 3 years focused on Climate and Nature Financing for energy, water or transport, including the technical and financial aspects of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and investments.
• Experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency, water security, sustainable transport, or related low-carbon

sectors.

• Familiarity with climate investment metrics and GHG accounting tools.
• Working knowledge of GEF/GCF operations, climate definitions, eligibility criteria, and fiduciary standards.
• Exposure to structuring financial instruments such as debt, equity, blended finance, or guarantees.
• Good understanding of climate-related markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and awareness of international best practices.
• Experience engaging with stakeholders across governments, DFIs, the private sector, and financial institutions.
• Experience engaging senior executives in governments, DFIs, the private sector, and financial institutions.
• Track record in client relationship management and transaction execution.

Desirable Experience

• A postgraduate degree in Finance, Commerce, Engineering, Environmental & Economic Sciences, or a relevant field.
• Project finance, private equity and/or venture capital experience.
• Experience working with innovative financing models and public-private partnerships.
• Experience in mobilising climate and nature finance from UN Convention-based climate and environmental finance mechanisms.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

a) Business Acumen

• Reviews own actions against the organisation's strategic plan; includes the big picture when considering possible opportunities or projects, or thinks about long-term applications of current activities.
• Understands the projected direction of the industry and how changes might impact the organisation.
• Deep understanding of commercial drivers and can make decisions based on an assessment of alternatives concerning complex business situations.
• Deep understanding of DBSA economic priorities and how they can be implemented to meet DBSA's strategic objectives.
• Deep understanding of DBSA's core sector role in achieving DBSA's strategic objectives.
• Deep understanding of the need to coordinate efforts with many government entities, the private sector, community groups and individuals to ensure effective implementation of new policies and regulations.b) Project Preparation

b) Project Preparation

• Demonstrates a sound understanding of limited recourse and balance sheet funding, the process required to prepare projects, and financing documentation required to present projects for investment decisions.
• Leads an internal team of sector specialists and analysts to appraise and present transactions to internal committees.
• Appoints and leads a team of external consultants/advisors (technical, environmental, financial and legal) to prepare and present the Project Information Memorandum (PIM) to prospective financiers.
• Analyses sponsors’ financial statements, understands and reviews financial models.
• Demonstrates a sound understanding of the water, transport and energy sectors to identify potential fatal flaws generally associated with these sectors in projects presented and key risks to be mitigated.

c) Project Management

• Ability to plan, initiate, execute, control and close projects related to a relevant function as well as to track and manage resources, timelines, costs, deliverables and performance, and implement contingency plans, if necessary, to ensure projects are completed.
• Defines, plans and manages large and/or strategic projects, including those with a high degree of technical complexity, with impacts across the organisation and/or with national implications.
• Assembles and leads diverse and multidisciplinary teams, ensuring maximum effective resource utilisation.
• Successfully manages substantial project budgets and reports directly to senior managers on the progress and results of projects.
• Identifies complex issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate corrective action by maintaining a respected profile with relevant external organisat