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Project Finance and Insurance Project Specialist (Innovative Climate Finance)

Development Finance Corporation
Office of Structured Finance and Insurance (OSFI)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As an Officer you'll manage the most complex sensitive or precedent-setting finance & political risk insurance projects with an emphasis on using innovative financial structures to drive climate finance including but not limited to debt-for-nature swaps, financing of coal plant retirements, nature based solutions, development & execution of risk sharing or blended finance platforms with other financial institutions, & development & execution of financing models for climate adaptation investments

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
03/30/2023 to 04/26/2023
Salary
$69,107 to - $158,432 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Washington
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Announcement number
23-OSFI-DE-11906622-BN
Control number
716084200

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Duties

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As a Project Finance and Insurance Project Specialist (Innovative Climate Finance), you will:

  • Handle a range of activities in the structured debt finance origination process, including reviewing business plans, off-take agreements, financial model projections, and financial model sensitivities for structured debt finance applications in the climate finance sector.
  • Handle a range of activities in the political risk insurance origination process, including reviewing project information memoranda for political risk insurance for climate finance based projects, particularly debt-for-nature swaps enabling blue bonds and green bonds for conservation and climate adaptation.
  • Analyze the nature of the investment, equity and loan instruments involved in climate finance projects overseas.
  • Prepare portions of necessary documents and memoranda required in the Agency's approval process.
  • Negotiate terms and conditions in insurance contracts and structured debt finance agreements.
  • Conduct research and analysis.
  • Conduct outreach to expand the prospective insurance and structured debt finance pipeline for climate finance projects.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT: The ideal candidate will have experience mobilizing, analyzing and underwriting international projects & investments to scale cutting-edge climate solutions to address frontier climate challenges. They would ideally have an educational background in: Climate Change Finance & Investment, Sustainable Finance, and/or Environmental Science, Environmental Technology, or Environmental Management, which will allow them to apply this knowledge in using innovative financial structures for climate investments. Their past experience(s) will enable them to quickly assess the feasibility and risks of an investment opportunity. The ideal candidate will have knowledge about nature-based solutions and various forms of renewable energy.

Please Note: This is a Bargaining unit position represented by AFGE, local 1534.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • Must submit resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply)
  • Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Within 30 days of your start date, you may be required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450)
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a secret security clearance
  • This position will require foreign travel to developing countries

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all eligibility and qualification requirements no later than the closing date of this announcement.

You may qualify at the GS-11 level, if you fulfill one of the following qualification requirements:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service that demonstrates your experience in all of the following:

1) Experience working with a team on international projects or investments under the supervision of a senior specialist, while working at a commercial bank, investment bank, international financial institution, or multilateral organization;
2) Experience conducting analyses in TWO of the following five areas:

  • financial analysis,
  • calculating credit risk exposure,
  • financial modeling of financial projections,
  • detailed credit analysis of international ventures, or
  • market analysis of business ventures in developing countries, where work product is presented to more senior specialists; and
3) Experience assessing country-risk for projects located in developing countries.

OR

B. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position;

OR

C. A combination of education and experience as listed above.


You may qualify at the GS-12 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirements:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service that demonstrates your experience in all of the following:

1) Experience working with a team on international projects or investments while working at a commercial bank, investment bank, international financial institution, or multilateral organization;
2) Experience reviewing financial statements for businesses located in developing countries;
3) Experience building financial models to determine ability of a company to repay its debt and sensitivity analyses to test those assumptions;
4) Experience conducting analyses in THREE of the following four areas:
  • financial analysis of international ventures,
  • calculating credit risk exposure of international ventures,
  • detailed credit analysis of international ventures, or
  • market analysis of business ventures in developing countries; AND
5) Experience identifying international financial or investment policy issues to include identifying TWO of the following three areas: political, economic, or credit risks of projects located outside the United States.

Note: Education is not substitutional at this grade level.


You may qualify at the GS-13 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirements:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service that demonstrates your experience in all of the following:

1. Conducting origination of credit and/or political risk insurance applications for projects, including THREE of the following:
  • macro-economic, sector/industry and political risk analysis,
  • financial analysis,
  • legal structuring,
  • presentation to Insurance approval committees as part of a team;
2. Conducting and reviewing project finance loan origination, including FIVE of the following:
  • financial analysis,
  • legal structuring,
  • economic or political risk analysis,
  • detailed credit analysis,
  • presentation to Finance Credit approval committees as part of a team,
  • loan negotiations of limited recourse finance transactions in developing countries;
3. Expert level experience in creating, analyzing, auditing, and running sensitivities on financial models for debt finance in the project finance manner for projects located in developing markets;
4. Working on the most complex international investments or international financial transactions in a commercial bank, investment bank, international financial institution, or multilateral organization; AND
5. Experience in the financial services industry with experience gained in at least THREE of the following areas: project finance, corporate finance, accounting, credit analysis, international investments, commercial/investment banking.

Note: Education is not substitutional at this grade level.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT
In addition to meeting the qualification requirements as described above, this position has the following mandatory selective placement factor.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR FOR ALL GRADES: Applicants must possess experience working on international projects or investments within the climate finance sector.


Please Note: Applicants may be asked to perform a work sample/simulation during the interview stage. Work sample tests require applicants to perform tasks or work activities that mirror the tasks employees perform on the job.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

This announcement may be used to fill similar positions, if additional vacancies occur.

If selection is made below the full performance level, promotion up to the full performance level may be made without further competition. However, promotion(s) will depend on the performance of the incumbent and are not guaranteed.

Education

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY?
You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

PASS/FAIL COURSES:
If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Salary will be based upon the locality pay areas, as defined by OPM, and will be adjusted based upon the selectee's duty location.

This position is eligible to be 100% remote. Applicants are encouraged to select "location negotiable" as their preferred duty station, if they are interested in a remote opportunity. The option to work out of the DFC's office in downtown Washington, DC is available to candidates who are interested. If applicants select Washington, DC as their preferred duty station, the selectee will be expected to report to the office and follow the agency's telework policy.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and
3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
For more information: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp)

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility showing type of discharge/character of service. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must submit documentation from the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) showing type of discharge/character of service and your disability percentage. You may also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the documents listed in this form to support the claim for veteran preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/verify/).

Telework Suitability: The duties of this position are suitable for telework. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval and if they meet the eligibility criterion in the 2010 Telework Act.

Stipulations of Employment: Selection may require completion of a 1-year probationary period.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Work Schedule: This position allows for a flexible work schedule.

Miscellaneous: DFC uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Recruitment and relocation incentives may be authorized for this position.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your résumé and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your résumé and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

All qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Business Analysis and Management
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Portfolio and Investment/Project Management
  • Sector Knowledge - Climate Finance
  • Written Communication


The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of Veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher).

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