Technical Advisor (Climate Finance) at GIZ Nigeria

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is promoting approaches towards more sustainable agricultural systems that contribute to the elimination of hunger and malnutrition and are adapted to the impacts of climate change. The GIZ SEDIN provides overall support to MSMEs in selected value chains including access to finance while focusing on increasing jobs and incomes. The NICOP component of SEDIN is actively exploring the mainstreaming of impact investment in Nigeria and is supporting the ecosystem actors in quality pipeline identification and impact investment readiness.

GIZ SEDIN NICOP collaborates with the global project NDC Assist in the field of private climate adaptation finance. The project contributes to the strengthening of the capacities of the private sector to finance and implement climate goals. The component on private adaptation finance encourages both companies and impact investors to seize opportunities for business development and financing of business models with a focus on climate change adaptation.

The Technical Advisor supports both the activities of the Private Adaptation Finance component of NDC Assist II in Nigeria and to some extent those of GIZ SEDIN NICOP. The position is based in Abuja, Nigeria.

A.     Responsibilities

The advisor is responsible for

• Technical, content-related, commercial, and organizational implementation of the project’s activities in Nigeria in coordination.
• Coordination of contributions and communication with partner organisations, external consultants, other GIZ projects and training participants.
• Organisation and implementation of events, workshops and trainings.
• Preparation of reports as well as monitoring for the project
• Contributions to global knowledge management and networking including technical papers for relevant forums (e. g. Impact Investor Networks) as well as in the context of the NDC Partnership.

 The technical professional performs the following tasks:

B.     Tasks

1.    Project implementation / management

The advisor

• Coordinates relevant activities of the global project NDC Assist/ Component Private Adaptation Finance at local level in consultation with the component manager at NDC Assist and selected representatives of GIZ SEDIN NICOP to ensure efficient implementation and organisation of the project.
• Serves as the local contact for the NDC Assist advisors based in Germany and Kenya, the NICOP team in Nigeria, and the partners, external consultants, and target groups of the project in Nigeria.
• Supports project planning and monitoring.
• Prepares input for project/programme reports and draws up documents in accordance with project standards on communication and presentation.
• Handles contract management where needed including, but not limited to, offer preparation, impact monitoring, project progress review, reporting.

2.    Advising project partners

The advisor

• Serves as contact point and assists with capacity development for both SMEs and impact investors in sectors relevant for climate adaptation, including agriculture, water, energy.
• Coordinates topical inputs from external consultants, partners and other GIZ projects.

3.    Networking and cooperation

The advisor

• Establishes cooperation and creates synergies with other GIZ projects and external actors.
• Supports the establishment of a topical network of SMEs, Investors and other private sector partners on climate adaptation related topics.

 4.    Knowledge management

The advisor

• Supports the development of concise communication materials.
• Supports the dissemination of success stories of the project through existing platforms (e.g., NDCP platforms, Climate Negotiations, Impact Investor Networks, etc.).
• Responsible of the documentation of results / activities in Nigeria.

C.   Required qualifications, competences, and experience

Qualifications

• University degree in Business Development, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Rural Development, or related field, if possible, with a specialization in climate and sustainability topics.
• Relevant project implementation and communication experience (preferably in a multicultural work environment) and knowledge of development cooperation.
• Overview knowledge of climate change concepts and / or private sector development.

 Professional experience

• 3+ years of experience in international development cooperation.
• 3+ years of experience in project implementation, network coordination and communication.
• First experiences with climate change related topics and/or SME development, business operations, financial services are advantageous.
• Ability to strategically build and maintain networks (in the private sector and with development partners)

Other knowledge, additional competences

• Have passion for and basic understanding of the West African, especially Nigerian, entrepreneurship ecosystem
• High motivation to work at the interface of climate change and the private sector
• Careful and structured work, also under high time pressure as well as very good self-organization, flexibility, and reliability
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English. Additional Nigerian languages would be an added advantage
• Digital skills and application security with digital tools
• Excellent team spirit and networking capacity
• Highly motivated to work in a multicultural environment
• Strong organizational competence
• Willingness to travel abroad and to project sites in Nigeria
• Strong awareness and passion on gender and other inclusivity considerations