Head of Institutional Clients

As DGG's Head of Institutional Clients you will be part of the Senior Leadership Team responsible for building and managing relationships with Origination Partners for the different guarantors under DGG's management as well as creating awareness and acceptance of these guarantors with institutional investors whose capital we wish to mobilise into financing solutions that solve some of the most pressing development challenges in EMDEs such as climate change and economic stability.

DGG works with Origination Partners, such as global and local financial institutions and advisory firms, who will bring transactions which are suitable for our guarantors from both a financial viability and impact criteria perspective. In turn, DGG typically expects these Origination Partners to also have access to institutional investors in global and local capital, and credit markets. However, experience has shown that DGG need to actively build awareness and acceptance with institutional investors on a bilateral basis as well to be able to mobilise capital on the best possible terms.

It is the role of the Head of Institutional Clients to build and maintain relationships with these Origination Partners and institutional investors in global and local capital, and credit markets ensuring a sufficient pipeline of credible guarantee opportunities being presented to DGG's guarantors. The Head of Institutional Clients will work closely with the Chief Underwriting Officer to screen and successfully convert the pipeline into closed transactions delivering on the guarantors' strategic and impact objectives.

Origination Partner & Institutional Investor Relationship Management

• Communicate and brainstorm regularly with Origination Partners on their pipeline and market opportunities to identify suitable transactions for GGC, and DGG's other guarantors, consistent with the guarantor's risk appetite and specific eligibility criteria.
• Collaborate with and support DGG's Chief Underwriting Officer and other colleagues to prioritise the pipeline and convert guarantee opportunities presented by Origination Partners into closed transactions that maximise impact for DGG's guarantors.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with both senior management and key decision-makers within Origination Partners and institutional investors, developing a good understanding of their own investment criteria and processes to maximise efficiency and speed to market of transactions.
• Identify Origination Partners in guarantors' priority countries (per each guarantor's business plan).
• Onboarding and managing Origination Partners including overseeing KYC and ensuring compliance with ethics, industry standards, and relevant DGG policies.
• Designing and running regular training programmes for Origination Partners to ensure that they have strong knowledge of and understand DGG's Transaction Selection Process, Guarantee Policy, and other relevant policies for each of DGG's guarantors.
• Schedule regular check-ins/feedback sessions with Origination Partners and institutional investors to review overall health of relationship and address any issues, escalating to DGG's Chief Executive Officer as required.

Market Awareness Building & Advocacy

• Working closely with DGG's Head of Communications, Marketing & Advocacy, establish, organise and participate in market awareness building campaigns (e.g. Climate Working Groups (CWG) in GGC priority countries) for DGG's guarantors and ensure that market awareness translates into more pipeline opportunities.
• Engage with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) accredited and direct access entities present in priority countries and the wider private and public sectors to explore opportunities for engagement between institutional investors in global capital and credit market with climate transactions.
• Build partnerships with other market participants (e.g. London Stock Exchange) and influencers (e.g. Climate Bond Initiative) to deliver a varied agenda of training, market perspectives and pipeline discussion.
• Represent DGG at relevant industry conferences and events as a speaker and champion guarantees as a solution to addressing the barriers that discourage long-term investment from global capital and credit markets into impactful projects in EMDE.
• Support the creation of communication materials for global institutional investors that keep them informed of successful DGG transactions.
• Disseminate market insights from Origination Partners, global institutional investors, industry conferences and events to other DGG colleagues that contribute to the wider learning agenda of DGG, to further the reputation and capability positioning of the team, and to inform strategic decisions and align DGG's guarantee solutions with market expectations.

Desired Skills and Experience Market Expertise

• 15+ years of working experience of building networks of Origination Partners and global institutional investors (or equivalent) in EMDE.
• Good understanding of infrastructure and financial institutions as asset classes and project development funding stages in EMDE.
• Good understanding of global capital and credit markets and the barriers faced by EMDE in accessing finance.

Institutional Clients Expertise

• 10+ years of experience of new business generation in EMDE.
• Proven ability to engage and build productive relationships with senior decision-makers/management/government officials in both EMDE and global capital and credit markets.
• Proven track record and experience in building and maintaining strong relationships with global and local financial institutions and institutional investors.

Technical Expertise

• Ability to speak confidently about the different types of eligible impact projects and debt instruments that DGG is able to support with its guarantees.
• Familiarity with relevant market standards (e.g. Climate Bond Standard), certification and verification processes and the ability to explain advantages and disadvantages versus other certification and verification standards and processes.

Leadership

• Willingness to coach junior DGG colleagues and actively supporting their professional growth within a culturally and gender-diverse team.
• A strong ability to effectively plan and manage DGG's resources, fostering high-quality results and encouraging innovation within an open team-based environment.
• Demonstrate the ability to have candid conversations with peers to set expectations and address accountabilities or performance issues within DGG.

Communication and Collaboration

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to project gravitas and build confidence with senior decision-makers/management/government officials in both EMDE and global capital and credit markets.
• Demonstrable track record of fostering teamwork and a culture of open communication within DGG's dispersed and virtual team.

Compliance and Ethics

• Strong commitment to ethical standards and compliance rules.
• Demonstrated professionalism and integrity.

Strategic Thinking

• Ability to quickly determine whether a potential guarantee opportunity is aligned with DGG's strategic objectives.
• Ability to think laterally and identify potential guarantee opportunities which may not be immediately obvious.

Impact Focus

• Ability to talk knowledgeably about infrastructure and other relevant impact trends and issues in EMDE.
• Ability to understand DGG's guarantors' Theory of Change and MRV Frameworks and communicate clearly the objectives and outcomes of each.
• Display an excellent command of written and spoken English, with additional fluency in other languages relevant to DGG's priority countries being desirable.

Desired Behaviours

• Ability to cope with uncertainty as well as unstructured and entrepreneurial nature of a start-up.
• Resilient and gracefully able to deal with the challenges and frustrations of working in EMDE.
• Capacity for analytical and independent thinking.
• Ability to challenge thoughtfully and respectfully.
• Humble and open-minded with the confidence to have views challenged, without ego, and the willingness to evolve for individual and organisational improvement and excellence.
• Inclusive and considerate, actively supporting a non-hierarchical, considerate, empathetic, and generous culture.
• Ability to take personal ownership and responsibility, readily admitting and rectifying mistakes while avoiding blame allocation to others.
• Commitment to growth and self-improvement as a leader.
• Ability to interact and communicate seamlessly across organisational boundaries with the DGG Board, DGG shareholders (and their advisors) and other key stakeholders.

Welcome to The Development Guarantee Group (DGG) At DGG, we are on a mission to create a better world for all of us to thrive in. Our core belief is that we can make a significant impact by harnessing the power of financial guarantees to address the world's most critical development challenges in groundbreaking ways.

At DGG, we are dedicated to developing and managing cutting-edge guarantee products that prioritise scalability and maximise impact in the shortest possible time. We thrive on innovation, seeking to provide solutions that can transform communities and drive positive change on a global scale.

One of our exciting endeavours is the creation of the Green Guarantee Company (GGC), a groundbreaking initiative that will act as a market champion . click apply for full job details