Financial Modelling Specialist

The Financial Modelling Specialist is responsible for building robust financial models and providing advanced data analysis that support the development of infrastructure projects, validating technical and commercial assumptions, and structuring optimal solutions.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Key Performance Areas**:
Financial Modelling

- Provide models that support preparation of feasibility assessments, concept studies, pre-feasibility studies, and bankable feasibility studies.
- Lead the financial modelling component of Bankable Feasibility Studies (BFS), ensuring alignment with project technical, environmental, social, regulatory, and commercial requirements.
- Collaborate with technical engineers and sector specialists to assess project feasibility, risks, and development readiness.
- Review, validate, and challenge technical and operational assumptions used within financial models.
- Support preparation of technical and investment documentation for internal decision-making committees and external stakeholders.
- Build, update, and maintain complex, dynamic financial models for infrastructure and project finance transactions.
- Conduct scenario, sensitivity, and stress testing to evaluate project resilience and identify key value and risk drivers.
- Assess financial performance indicators and recommend funding structures that align development impact with financial sustainability.
- Present financial modelling outputs, results, and recommendations to internal executives, project sponsors, investors, and partners.

Stakeholder Management and Reporting

- Present financial outcomes, valuation insights, and financial models to governance structures and external partners.
- Prepare investment committee submissions, memos, summaries, and model commentary for review by multidisciplinary project teams.
- Participate in negotiations and discussions with sponsors, advisors, lenders, and government entities.

**Key Measurements of Outputs**:

- Quality of financial models and mechanisms designed.
- Financial modelling insights.
- Quality and effective financial models and solutions.
- Number of projects successfully supported and that reach financial close for implementation.
- Management of relationships with new/existing clients and service providers

**Expertise & Technical Competencies**:
**Qualifications and Experience**:
Minimum Qualification

- A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Science, Actuarial Science, Finance, Economics or related field.

Minimum Experience

- A minimum of 5 years’ experience in financial modelling within project finance, investment banking, infrastructure development, or corporate finance.
- Advanced financial modelling capability.
- Strong understanding of project finance structures, capital allocation, cost of capital models, and risk allocation.
- Experience developing or supporting infrastructure or capital-intensive projects.
- Exposure to project feasibility studies, due diligence, and transaction structuring.
- Demonstrated understanding of the project preparation cycle and requirements to prepare bankable projects.

Desirable Requirements

- A post-graduate qualification/ honours degree in Finance, Business, Accounting or Economics.
- Development finance experience.
- Ability to interpret technical, engineering, regulatory, and commercial project data.
- Experience developing or supporting infrastructure projects.

**Technical Competencies**:
Business Acumen

- Deep understanding of commercial drivers and can make decisions based on an assessment of alternatives concerning complex business situations.
- Deep understanding of the economic priorities of South Africa and Africa and how they can be implemented to meet an organisation'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.
- Takes actions to fit business strategy.
- Assesses and links short-term tasks in the context of long-term business strategies or perspectives.
- Anticipates possible responses to different initiatives.
- Understands the projected direction of the industry and how changes might impact the organisation.

Deal Structuring

- Uses credit enhancement techniques to structure deals and optimise pricing in terms of Basel principles.
- Has an in-depth and practical understanding of how to optimise the Capital Structure, collateral package, and debt repayment profile.
- Interrogates financial models, including those with a high degree of complexity, to develop an optimal structure.
- Identifies complex structural issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate bankable structures.
- Demonstrates knowledge on advanced structuring, including the use of derivatives, syndicated loans, synthetic loans, securitisations, inflation-linked debt, credit default swaps and subordinated debt.
- Prepares specialised or tailored reports relat