Senior Technical Expert, Sustainable Finance - GIZ

Vacancy Announcement

Reference No: [10/02/2014/ Senior Technical Expert, Sustainable Finance]

Position: Senior Technical Expert

Location: New Delhi

Duration of the contract: May 2014 – December 2016

No of positions :1 

About GIZ 
The services delivered by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH draw on a wealth of regional and technical expertise and tried and tested management know-how. As a federal enterprise, we support the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. We are also engaged in international education work around the globe. GIZ currently operates in more than 130 countries worldwide.

GIZ in India
Germany has been cooperating with India by providing expertise through GIZ for more than 50 years. To address India's priority of sustainable and inclusive growth, GIZ's joint efforts with the partners in India currently focus on the following areas: 
• Energy- renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Environment - Sustainable Urban and Industrial Development, Natural Resource Management 
• Private Sector Development

(http://www.giz.de/de/weltweit/368.html

Background of the Project
Responsible Finance is instrumental to global sustainable development challenges such as climate change and poverty. Unless financial systems promote causes like business innovation, green growth, and strengthen economic, environmental and socially responsible behaviour, the goal of sustainable economic development cannot be achieved. Finance is at the heart of every business endeavour and access to capital, credit or equity is required for it to expand and grow. The financial sector, hence, can act as a multiplier of responsible business practices and sustainable development by setting the right incentives for businesses, both big and small through non-financial lending and investment criteria, integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns. 

Financial institutions can make an important contribution towards moving India's MSME sector onto a more sustainable growth path by improving their supply of risk capital and loans for sustainability-oriented investments in MSMEs. They can take social and environmental criteria into account in their lending or investment decisions, and thereby enforce them. They can develop specialized products to provide incentives for technical modernization towards more resource and energy efficiency and less pollution. They can support those business start-ups, which create jobs and income in rural and marginal areas or provide the poor with basic services in areas such as health, water and energy supply.
GIZ and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) under the framework of Indo-German bilateral cooperation funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have started a new Programme to Strengthen Responsible Enterprise Financing with the objective to integrate sustainability concerns in the financial sector. Goal is to integrate integration of environmental and social risks into MSME lending, introducing special "sustainability-oriented services" such as energy efficiency loans or venture capital for social entrepreneurs and strengthening more industry action towards sustainable finance. In short, the objective is that the supply of risk capital and loans for sustainability investments by MSMEs be improved.

The Project is therefore working on the one hand at the institutional level (meso level) and advises banks, other financial institutions and others on their products, processes, and strategies to integrate sustainability into their core business; on the other hand, the framework conditions for the integration of social and sustainability issues in the financial sector are strengthened by promoting market-based incentive systems (macro-level).

Responsibilities
To lead the programme’s activities, the programme is looking for a Senior Technical Expert Sustainable Finance. The Expert has the following responsibilities
1. Lead Strategic interventions to improve sustainability-oriented financial service for MSME, specifically in the fields such as innovation financing 
2. Lead Project interventions to increase access to risk capital for progressive MSME and start-ups and so called social enterprises (MSME that are targeting underserved markets and geographies with innovative product and service offerings for low income population)
3. Support strategic interventions to strengthen integration of environmental, social and governance concerns in financing decisions of banks and investors
4. Support Policy interventions and industry action to strengthen Sustainable Finance

Tasks
1. Project Management
a. Project Management of sub-components of the project
i. Manage partner relationships with SIDBI and other stakeholders
ii. Establishment of project advisory group and steering mechanism 
iii. Responsible for Reporting and Monitoring of Project Progress
iv. Monitoring of short-term experts and project advisors 
v. Budget Monitoring

2. Lead strategic interventions to improve sustainability-oriented financial services for MSME

a. Lead project interventions on sustainability oriented services for MSME such as:
i. Innovation financing, social enterprise lending and other innovative products and services specifically to incentivise sustainable investments in cooperation with SIDBI and other financial institutions
ii. Build partnerships with financial institutions and other stakeholders to introduce new services
iii. Document experiences and disseminate findings in industry 

b. Advocacy:
i. Partner with FIs, Development Finance Institutions and other organizations to increase awareness on new services
ii. Strengthen industry-led initiatives (e.g. Responsible Investment Research Association) 

3. Lead project interventions to increase access to risk capital available for social enterprises and start-ups
a. Lead project interventions to increase access to risk capital:
i. Guide research on financial and non-financial needs of MSMEs, more specifically social enterprises and start-ups 
ii. Identification, development and piloting of financing instruments to provide services to such enterprises in partnership with industry champions 
iii. Strengthen market instruments that increase capital flow to social enterprises/early stage start-ups (e.g. Rating Tool for Venture Funds)
iv. Build partnerships and networks with institutions with a similar agenda

b. Lead Capacity Development interventions to strengthen eco-system for enterprises:
i. Strengthen the service offerings of early stage venture capital in cooperation with relevant actors, e.g. SIDBI Venture Capital, Ministry of MSME (India Inclusive Innovation Fund)
ii. Strengthen incubation capacities to increase pipeline of investable enterprises 
iii. Strengthen the value chain for risk/growth capital for MSME and increase exit options (e.g. MSME stock exchange)
iv. Unlock domestic capital for start-up support, e.g. through establishing mechanisms of corporate engagement in start-up support

c. Advocacy and Network creation:
i. Strengthen existing platforms such as Indian Impact Investor Council and strengthen self-regulation among investors
ii. Facilitate partnerships among financial institutions, investors, angel networks and incubators to increase access to finance for social enterprises/Start-ups 
iii. Organise training of investors to understand the challenges of the social business ecosystems and set expectations regarding patient capital returns

4. Support strategic interventions to strengthen integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns in financing decisions 
a. Guide Research on topics such as: 
i. the business case for integration of ESG-factors into lending and investment decision-making
ii. correlation between financial institutions’ performance and integration of ESG in risk management
b. Lead project interventions on the Introduction of Standardised ESG-framework for MSME Lending such as:
i. Development of a standardised ESG framework for MSME lending in consultation with banks, NBFCs, Development Finance Institutions and other stakeholders
ii. Disseminate the framework among banks and build capacities 
iii. Development of training modules and capacity building strategy for banks and NBFCs
iv. Facilitate integration of ESG-risk assessment in risk ratings of MSME

5. Support Policy interventions and industry action to strengthen Sustainable Finance
a. Support project team on Advocacy:
i. Work with industry champions and advocacy institutions to strengthen policy dialogue and market transparency 
ii. Advocacy with regulators such as RBI and IBA for a regulatory push towards sustainable finance and adoption of ESG risk management systems 
iii. Build partnerships with institutions such as the Global Reporting Initiative, United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative. 

b. Support Capacity Development of Financial Institutions :
i. Use existing partnerships (UNEP FI, Yes Bank, RIRA etc.) to conduct training workshops on sustainable finance for mainstream financial institutions
ii. Build new partnerships, e.g. with B-schools and FIs to integrate Sustainable Finance into their regular curriculum
Required Qualification, Competences and Experience:

Qualification:
• University degree in business and/or finance; MBA
Professional Experience:
• At least 10 years of experience in the financial sector, in fields such as Corporate Finance, MSME Finance, Innovation Finance, Start-Up Financing or Investment Banking
• Experience in areas related to Sustainable Finance (e.g. integration of environmental, social and governance concerns in risk management, sustainability-oriented products and services, energy efficiency financing, renewable energy financing, clean tech financing, etc.)
• Experience in working with investors, angels, incubators and other organizations relevant in the MSME/start-up eco-system
• Experience in managing complex projects with diverse set of stakeholders
• Experience in working with institutions and networks such as GRI, UNEP-FI, UN-PRI, GIIN, etc. is an advantage

Other experiences and competences
• Excellent Project Management and leadership skills
• Entrepreneurial attitude and passion
• Policy advocacy skills (e.g. with RBI, IBA)
• Willingness to initiate change and innovation
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Willingness to travel and work under time pressure
• Excellent team player 

To apply 
• Please send your application not exceeding 200 words stating the competence and suitability for this position, expected salary and availability in terms of date of joining. 

• CV - maximum 2 (two) pages in PDF format.

To hr-india@giz.de with the subject line [Reference No: [10/02/2014/ Senior Technical Expert, Sustainable Finance] latest by 14 March 2014

Only short listed candidates will be contacted! Women candidates are encouraged to apply!