Development Financing Expert (m/f/d) - Greener Municipal Services South Africa

The Greener Municipalities project aims to support selected municipalities in South Africa in improving municipal service delivery through greener, more climate-resilient, and inclusive solutions. The technical assistance will focus on strengthening municipal performance and governance, facilitating green investments, and supporting projects in the areas of water, energy, waste management, and sanitation. 

In addition, the programme seeks to promote sustainable urban development, climate resilience, digital and smart solutions, as well as community participation and gender-responsive approaches. The assignment is funded by the European Union and implemented in close cooperation with South African public institutions and municipalities. 

The Development Financing Expert will support the preparation and advancement of bankable green investment projects in the areas of water, energy, waste management, and sanitation across the selected municipalities. The role includes advising on sustainable financing mechanisms, investment structuring, and access to public and private funding sources, while supporting municipalities in bringing projects from concept stage towards investment readiness. 

The expert will further contribute to stakeholder coordination with development finance institutions, investors, government counterparts, and municipalities, including the organisation of matchmaking and investment facilitation activities. In addition, the role involves supporting financial planning, risk assessment, and capacity building related to green municipal infrastructure and climate-resilient investments. 

Required: 

• Master’s degree in one of the following disciplines: Finance / Investment banking or Economics. A bachelor’s degree with an additional 5 years general professional experience may replace the Master’s degree. 

• Proven knowledge of the technical finance expertise and understanding of the South African municipalities’ financial and legislative environment. 

• Fluency in English.  

• A minimum of 8 years general professional experience acquired after the qualification in one of the following fields: finance/ investment banking or economics. 

• At least two experiences as a long-term expert providing technical expertise in developing bankable water/ energy/ waste projects that had a duration of at least 12 months. 

• At least 8 experiences in hosting a training and/or facilitating workshops related to development financing of bankable projects in water/energy/sanitation/waste management.  

• At least 3 years’ experience working on assignments that are related to risk namely (public, commercial; financial, non-financial) analysis and assessment, rating methodology, risk pricing for finance products and structures; risk management and portfolio approaches for self-sustainable finance solutions; risk tranching/ layering/ water fall mechanisms; risk mitigation vs. risk-sharing.  

• Professional experience of minimum 5 years in financial management with a focus on Green Project Finance and Public Private Partnerships.  

 

Desired: 

• 4 experiences as a long term in leading projects in quasi-green financing of water/ energy/ sanitation/ waste management in the private and/or public sector would be an asset.  

The main place of performance will be at the offices of the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) in Centurion, South Africa, with regular missions to the four selected municipalities located in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. 

For the Development Financing Expert up to 120 working days may be home-based. The proposed home-based location must be indicated at the beginning of the assignment and is subject to approval by the Contracting Authority. 

The project is currently foreseen to have a duration of 48 months.

This position is suited to a part time position.

We would furthermore appreciate it if you could share your updated CV in English and in EuropeAid / European Commission format (EU format). 

Please understand, that we can only accept and process applications via our E-recruiting system. Following the confirmation of your successful application, kindly check your spam / junk mail folder on a regular basis, since some provider classify emails from our recruiting system as spam.

Important information: This vacancy is part of a tender procedure by an international donor. GIZ International Services (InS) is participating in the tender as a bidder and must therefore submit a binding staffing proposal as part of its offer. If you are interested in this position, please consider before applying:

GIZ has to select a candidate for this position before submitting the offer to the donor. The award decision by the donor will then take up to several months. An employment contract for the position can only be offered to the selected candidate if GIZ’s bid is successful. Otherwise, the position will be cancelled, and the recruiting process will be closed without any contractual obligation arising for either party.

Scope, tasks and requirements as well as the full-/part-time percentage of the position are determined by the donor and cannot be changed by GIZ. 

Unless stated otherwise, all requirements are mandatory and must be fulfilled at the time of submitting the offer. As per the donor’s procurement rules, a specific amount of time of experience refers to full-time experience. Part-time assignments will be taken into account on a pro rata basis.

Applications can only be considered if they fulfil all mandatory requirements entirely.

GIZ preference rules for internal candidates, follow-up candidates et al. do not apply for this position. 

Everyone has the same opportunities in our company, regardless of gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability. We recruit based on specialist expertise and social skills. Transparency and fair opportunities for career advancement are just as much a matter of course for us as gender not being a barrier to taking up a management position., We are a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and work to build a future worth living around the world. We support projects in over 130 countries to achieve goals sustainably together with our partners., Extensive check-ups and preventive measures (e.g. on appointment, before the outward journey, during the stay in a country of assignment, in an emergency) are provided to our staff and the family members accompanying them as a matter of course., You will receive various additional benefits during your stay abroad that will depend on your country of assignment., We reward staff who achieve their agreed annual targets with a variable remuneration component.

Your professional and personal development is important to us. At GIZ, you will be offered global work opportunities and an atmosphere that is characterised by diversity, respect and genuine equal opportunities. Gender equality promotion is a matter of course for us. Our benefits are also impressive in terms of work-life balance and family friendliness. Flexible working hours that fit your life situation, comprehensive onboarding and internal health management are an integral part of our corporate culture, along with the opportunity to use childcare facilities and parent/child offices.

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued - regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation.

We support equal opportunities and welcome applications from people with disabilities.

Hannah   Metz
+49 6196 79-3034