Senior Associate, Green Finance

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Associate, Green Finance will be based in Vientiane, Lao PDR and will lead the implementation of key carbon project development activities under the above-mentioned carbon program with the Government of Lao PDR. The successful candidate will report to the Senior Officer, Climate and Carbon, who leads GGGI Lao PDR’s Climate Unit, and will work closely with other colleagues in the same Program, GGGI’s Carbon Pricing Unit, in Seoul, South Korea, as well as GGGI’s Mekong Regional Investment Lead, operating out of Bangkok, Thailand.

The Senior Associate, Green Finance will be the recognized as a focal point for green investment within GGGI Lao PDR and will have overall responsibility for timely and high-quality delivery of green and sustainable investment activities with specific focus on carbon project pipeline development. The position-holder will provide day-to-day technical and strategic support to the management, as well as liaise externally to ensure impactful delivery of investment activities and outputs. The Sustainable Finance Associate will be primarily responsible for delivering activities related to the scoping, identification and development of carbon investment projects in Lao PDR across multiple priority sectors; working with project proponents to design carbon project finance and strengthen financial models; preparing a national carbon project pipeline that are in line with Government priorities; engaging the private sector, relevant Government partners and stakeholders; and more broadly facilitating and strengthening the access to carbon finance in order to increase carbon finance flows into Lao PDR

PURPOSE

• Identify carbon investment project options and opportunities across a range of sectors in Lao PDR, and explore risks, project structures, innovative financing mechanisms and/or de-risking mechanisms to overcome policy and institutional barriers for carbon projects in key sectors.
• Prepare project and investment documentation such as investment briefs, presentations, financial models linking to the carbon projects, and scenario analysis for potential investors and stakeholders. Such documentation is expected to cover key elements such as project objectives, outcomes, deliverables, implementation pathway, risk mitigation measures, timeline, staffing, budget, standards of performance, and evaluation.
• Conduct pre-feasibility assessments for sustainable business models with stakeholders, including government partners, financial institutions, private sector developers etc.
• Support project implementation by delivering ongoing advisory services and developing tools to enhance better decision-making and quality delivery.

ENGAGEMENT

• Identify, engage and build relationships with relevant public and private sector stakeholders, such as private companies, private investors, private project developers, government staff, development partners, NGOs and universities.
• Engage financial institutions and commercial lenders in the development of projects to ensure the projects adequately represent their vision, interest, criteria and priorities.
• Facilitate, where necessary, interactions between public and private institutions to create investment projects and/or innovative funding mechanisms. Support further development and expansion of GGGI's network of financial institutions, banks, funds and other relevant organizations both domestically and internationally.
• Obtain endorsement from the relevant Government partners and other relevant stakeholders for the draft reports as required.

DELIVERY

• Collect and conduct research on the carbon market trends globally, regionally and locally in Lao PDR to feed into the development of the National Carbon Market Strategy and Approval Guidelines to be developed under Outcome 1 of the Program.
• Refine and finalize a draft Carbon Project Assessment Report which includes a draft project investment criteria and longlist of possible projects for review and endorsement by the Government.
• Identify and develop commercially bankable carbon projects (short-list of carbon projects) that are in line with the latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of Lao PDR, National and Sectoral Carbon Market Strategies, National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and other relevant national policies that will be attractive to relevant Government partners, financial institutions, and private sector.
• Develop MAIN (Mitigation Activity Idea Note) and MADD (Mitigation Activity Design Document) templates that are in line with the national and international best practices.
• Develop high-quality MAINs and MADDs for identified short-listed carbon projects including technical information on the types of projects (agriculture, forestry, energy, industrial processing or transport), proposed standard/methodologies to be used for emission reduction, potential volume of emission reductions, financial, and risk analysis including financial modeling.
• Deliver one MAIN by end of December 2024 and two MAINs in 2025 with at least one MADD in 2026.
• Support the mobilization of other climate finance and investments in green growth sectors in Lao PDR, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric mobility, agriculture and forestry, waste-to-energy and waste management business models among other sectors.
• Develop high-quality proposals for investment projects in the key green growth sectors.
• Develop various documents (or portions of documents) in support of project design, institutional capacity-building, and internal and external program reporting.

REQUIREMENTS

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful applicant must demonstrate outstanding professional competence and hold exemplary and relevant academic credentials. As noted, the position requires extensive experience in deal origination and financial analysis skills in green growth sectors. Knowledge of Lao policy and governance in the key carbon and climate finance, green growth, sustainable development sectors, commercial risk assessment, project finance, debt instruments and multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed. Practical experience in arranging investment deals, pitching of bankable projects and/or financial deal structuring is important.

Specifically, the applicant should provide convincing evidence of the following:

• A bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business management or economics. An advanced degree (master's or equivalent) will be an advantage. Relevant financial certifications like CFA, FRM etc. will be an added advantage.
• Preferred a minimum of four (4) years of relevant professional experience related to banking, investment, entrepreneurship, project development and/or financial modelling, including at least several years of experience in Lao PDR.
• Solid understanding of various financial products and debt/equity instruments being used in Lao finance/investment sector.
• Broad understanding on the structure of carbon projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and/or the Voluntary Carbon Market, including calculation of emission reductions, would be a distinct advantage.
• Excellent Lao and English writing skills is required. Writing examples might be requested as well as a written exercise as part of the selection procedure.
• Experience working directly with one or more investment banks/ private equity/ multi laterals would be an advantage.
• A good network of professional contacts among financial institutions and impact investors would be an added advantage.

FUNCTIONAL

• Strategic thinker and solutions-oriented, with good ability to multitask and work in a matrix environment.
• Able to review, synthesize information and produce high quality reports.
• Able to establish priorities in a time-sensitive environment and meet deadlines with strong attention to detail.
• Able to absorb and understand technical information and relay it to others.
• Detail-oriented striving for quality and consistency in all outputs and communications.
• Output-oriented, demonstrating creativity, innovation and an entrepreneurial drive.
• Problem solver, able to find and implement solutions.
• Highly organized and able to effectively and efficiently multi-task and prioritize.
• Excellent communication (both written and oral) and facilitation skills.
• Comfortable working both in a team and independently.

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively support GGGI's mission, vision and values.
• Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership.
• Excel at problem solving, ask questions and seek support when needed, share easily information and knowledge with others both internally as externally.
• Manage emotions and stress positively, build rapport and resolves conflict easily.
• Strong ability to work independently and/or remotely, while maintaining productivity.
• Be able to lead and manage a project independently, while knowing when to seek advice and liaise closely supervisory teams.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Senior Associate, Green Finance is an X7 grade level in GGGI's national salary scale, details of which can be found in the GGGI Staff Rules on GGGI’s website.

In addition, GGGI provides 27 days of annual leave, flexible work arrangements and contribution towards private health insurance that covers dental and vision. The initial appointment is for 24 months, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and budget availability. GGGI is committed to providing a work environment that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate diverse life-cycle challenges and assist staff members to achieve a better balance between work commitments and personal and family commitments, thus ensuring high performance, long-term productivity and well-being of staff members.

For more information on GGGI's terms and conditions (allowances, health care, education etc) please familiarize yourself with GGGI's Rules and Regulations that can be found here: https://gggi.org/policy-documents/.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The GGGI Lao PDR program has been expanding rapidly in the areas of climate change, green cities and green investment mobilization. Since 2018, GGGI has been implementing a range of Readiness and Preparatory Support Program projects focused on building national capacity and policy for green finance, capacity building, climate modelling, energy efficiency, electric mobility and climate policy. GGGI has also undertaken a range of activities and projects to support Lao PDR’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), including in cooperation with the NDC Partnership. In addition, GGGI Lao PDR is working with a range of other partners to engage and implement climate solutions in Lao PDR. The country office has workspaces in the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport at central level, as well as the Vientiane Capital and Champasak Provincial Governments.

GGGI Lao PDR’s Climate Unit leads implementation of projects and outcomes related to climate policy, green growth planning, climate action and access to international carbon markets at a national and subnational level. Responding to requests from the Government of Lao PDR, with the support of the Government of Australia, GGGI is providing a technical assistance to the Government of Lao PDR for the development of the country’s access to international carbon markets. This will involve the delivery of a blend of policy, investment, project development, and capacity building activities over a three-year period (2023-2026), in close coordination with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Energy and Mines as well as other line ministries, development partners, private companies and relevant stakeholders. GGGI is seeking a Sustainable Finance Associate (Lao National) to support the design and execution of activities and outputs related to national carbon project pipeline development, investment project financing and mobilization under this project.