Lead Product Specialist

The purpose of this role is to conceptualise, structure and then support design and implementation of new structured products and solutions, working with the rest of the Product Innovation Unit, the Infrastructure, Coverage and Transacting Teams. These products and solutions should address real client needs, be in accordance with DBSA’s business strategy and ultimately contribute to the DBSA’s financial sustainability and development impact objectives.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- Identify and create new financial and development impact solutions and programmes that are aligned to the DBSA’s
mandate.
- Develop and stimulate unusual ideas with high potential impact that will add value to the DBSA’s clients
- Collaborate and brainstorm with relevant stakeholders (in the bank) and clients to develop practical structured
products.
- Liaise internally, especially with the Coverage Division, in order to respond to the problems and opportunities the
team identifies (while ensuring the client relationships still reside with them)
- Conduct competitor analysis to validate the value proposition of the proposed structured products/ solutions
- Testing the solutions with potential end-users to ensure their specific needs are met; and in order to validate the
market appetite for the proposed solutions
- Identify and engage with other suitable financiers who would add value or play a critical role in the proposed
Structured Product or Solution
- Work closely with the Product Implementation Specialists to take deals to bankability
- Lead, initiate and develop new business strategies and opportunities to create a pipeline of development impact
projects ensuring deal flow and bankability
- Provide constructive and practical coaching and advice to other colleagues developing the projects that are still in the
early concept phase

Key Measurements of Outputs
1. Job Category KPIs:
a. Number of structured product ideas produced
b. Number of structured product proposals approved by the Deal Screening Committee and Investment Committee
c. Number of projects approvals, commitments and disbursements

2. Unit KPIs:
a. Value of infrastructure funding catalysed
b. Number of new structured products developed and implemented by clients
c. Financial closure (commitment) of structured products

3. Team Behavioral KPIs:
a. Effective and productive relationships with Product innovation and Infrastructure team members

**Expertise & Technical Competencies**:

- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Financial Engineering, Finance or similar
- +12 years’ work experience
- preferably across multiple areas of the business ecosystem
- Post graduate qualification in Development Finance or Finance - desirable
- In depth knowledge of the banking sector and financial markets
- Comprehensive knowledge of the complex financial and regulatory environments of municipalities, state-owned enterprises and other government entities in South Africa and in the rest of Africa
- Experience in working on new and/ or innovative projects and proven ability to bring ideas from conception to completion
- Demonstrated commercial sense, negotiation skills, and business strategy development expertise
- Able to put yourself in the client’s shoes and understand the motivations that underlies behaviours of interest
- Adept at using personal networks to link ideas and people that might not otherwise interact
- Able to ask tough and insightful questions while still prioritizing team work
- Comfortable with ambiguity and change
- Curiosity to pursue new avenues and directions; the ability to simplify complex ideas; and the resilience and vigor to defend your ideas in the face of rigorous examination by the Team
- Being aware of, and working to mitigate, cognitive biases that seep into observation, interpretation and decision making
- Willingness to work in a fun and challenging environment
- Flexibility to be redeployed to a similar role within another sector/geography within the Division, based on business requirements

**TECHNICAL**

2.1 Solution Focus

2.2 Financial Acumen

2.3 Financial Analysis

2.4 Deal Syndication

2.5 Deal Structuring

2.6 Deal Origination

2.7 Risk Management

2.8 Attention to detail

2.9 Negotiation

2.10 Commercial Awareness

2.11 Research

2.12 Project Management

2.13 Communication and Reporting

2.14 Innovation

**_ (Please see attached job profile for more details)_**

**Required Personal Attributes**:
**LEADERSHIP**

1.1 Achievement Orientation
a. Focuses on new or more effective ways of improving own work and meeting targets.
b. Focuses on raising quality, customer satisfaction and revenues.
c. Makes specific changes to systems and processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.
d. Formulates own objectives and action plans in order to achieve a measurable improvement in the future.

1.2 Analytical Thinking
a. Identifies multiple elements of a problem and breaks down each of those elements in detail, showing causal
relationsh