Green Investment Officer

INTRODUCTION

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as green growth, which targets key aspects of economic performance such a poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. The organization partners with countries, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and the private sector to help build strong economies that are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change. GGGI supports stakeholders through complementary and integrated workstreams that deliver comprehensive products designed to assist in developing, financing, and mainstreaming green growth in national economic development plans.

GGGI has a diverse portfolio of programs in developing countries around the world. These in-country programs, together with global products and services, focus on delivering results through an integrated approach of evidence-based green growth planning and implementation aligned to countries’ development priorities.

GGGI in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Government of the Dominican Republic is rolling out a 36-month technical assistance program to the Government of the Dominican Republic titled “Mobilizing International Climate Finance and Private Investments for Low-Carbon Development in the Dominican Republic”. The program, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness and Preparatory Support Program, aims to enhance the institutional capacity, strategic frameworks, and project pipeline of the Government of the Dominican Republic to increase the mobilization of national and international climate finance and private investments for the implementation if the nationally determined contribution (NDC) and low carbon development

About the Green Investment Services Unit

GGGI’s Green Investment Services (GIS) support countries to bridge the green investment gap by developing bankable projects, national financing vehicles and risk reducing instruments. The GIS unit delivers its work by:

• Developing a pipeline of bankable green growth projects;
• Performing the role of an “arranger”, that is, designing and structuring commercially viable projects that attract appropriate finance, and getting them financed;
• Structuring financial solutions that blend public/ concessional finance and commercial/private finance in order to reduce risk and consequently help position public and private parties with commercially viable project structures;
• Designing innovative financial mechanisms often in the form of funds and instruments that reduce and possibly mitigate risks and overcome other barriers specific to green growth;
• Establishing dedicated vehicles (National Financing Vehicles) capable of blending international and domestic sources of capital for financing green growth;
• Prioritizing projects and instruments that are impactful and are catalytic, i.e. they mitigate risk sufficiently to pave the way for private investment in the sector;
• Integrating social and environmental considerations into projects, valuing and monetizing natural assets where possible, and
• Advising partner countries on the development of their investment plans.

Between 2017 and 2022 GIS successfully mobilized USD 7 billion dollars in national and international climate finance towards GGGI’s member countries’ NDC and SDG goals.

CONTEXT

In its updated NDC, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Government of the Dominican Republic commits to cut emissions by 27% by 2030, compared to business as usual (BAU) scenario.[1] The achievement of this target is heavily dependent on external finance from development partners and developed economies. The country´s unconditional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target is just 7%, with the remaining 20% reduction being conditional on external financing. The government estimates that the achievement of its NDC mitigation target will require investments in the measure of US$ 8,916,950,000.[2]

The significant investments and efforts required for the Dominican Republic to adapt to and mitigate climate change risk being hampered by the impact of the COVID-pandemic which deteriorated the country´s economic outlook, leaving little fiscal and policy space to pursue priority climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives.  As a result, the Government of the Dominican Republic under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has embarked on an ambitious effort to increase the efficiency of its climate finance ecosystem by diversifying the country´s donor engagement, accessing underutilized climate funds and developing new and innovative finance mechanisms to de-risk mitigation and adaptation projects in an attempt to mobilize finance from the private sector to contribute an estimated 71% of the investments required to meet the country´s unconditional mitigation targets.[3]

GGGI program aims to support the Government of the Dominican Republic’s climate finance efforts by delivering a set of complementary workstreams:

1. Developing the Dominican Republic´s National Climate Finance Strategy to plan, enable and guide the access and use of domestic and international climate finance as mandated by the country´s NDC.
2. Increasing the Dominican Republic´s institutional capacity to access international climate finance by supporting the accreditation of two candidate Direct Access Entities (DAEs) and the establishment, operationalization and capitalization of a National Financing Vehicle tasked with receiving, holding and distributing climate finance from international sources to national priority projects.
3. Supporting the Dominican Republic´s capital market´s readiness assessment and advancing go-to-market activities for a sovereign green bond issuance and debt for climate swap transactions to raise affordable long-term finance earmarked to climate change adaptation and mitigation projects and programs.
4. Greening the Dominican Republic´s banking sector by providing technical assistance to local financial institutions to integrate environmental and social standards into their processes, procedures, and instruments to increase the availability of green finance for private sector-led low-carbon projects.
5. Increasing the Government of the Dominican Republic’s institutional capacity to integrate environmental, social and climate change considerations into public-private partnership (PPP) processes and projects.
6. Expanding and materializing the country’s ecotourism potential and its contribution to post-COVID economic recovery and nature conservation.
7. Providing strategic guidance to close the growing mismatch between educational services and the job market, with focus on green job creation and green entrepreneurship by developing and implementing the country´s first Green Vocational Education and Training Strategy and program with the goal of creating 436,065 new green jobs by 2026.

POSITION SUMMARY

Based in Santo Domingo, the Investment Officer will assist the origination, evaluation, structuring, negotiation and closing of sustainable finance transactions to mobilize international climate finance and private investments for low-carbon development in the Dominican Republic.

This position reports to the GGGI Regional Investment Lead for LAC.

PURPOSE 

• Manage investments projects cycle, including origination, evaluation, structuring, negotiating, and financial advisory until financial close of transactions
• Lead the origination and structuring of green investment opportunities, including bankable projects, financial instruments, financing mechanism and risk reduction instruments
• Support the Dominican Republic to design and develop new and innovative climate finance instruments, such as thematic bonds, debt for climate swaps and climate-smart PPPs
• Support the development of concept notes and funding proposals for international climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and Global Environment Facility
• Participate to the development of content for knowledge, training, and communication materials on green investments
• Lead business development efforts by collecting and analyzing market data to support identification of new business opportunities
• Support sustainable banking efforts, including capacity building and technical assistance to local financial institutions to promote the adoption of environmental, social and governance standards

ENGAGEMENT

• Organize and deliver consultation and validation workshops to validate products and activities 
• Build and maintain strong relationships with public and private sector counterparts, financial institutions, project developers, banking and multilateral partners and government officials
• Engage with focal points, accredited entities and executing entities of international climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and Global Environment Facility
• Support the Regional Lead with go to market engagement activities, including mapping, engagement and negotiation with investors

DELIVERY

• Support the development of the Dominican Republic Climate Finance Strategy
• Lead the development of investment plans for prioritized sectors providing actionable short-term recommendations for the implementation of the National Climate Finance Strategy across prioritized sectors and projects
• Coordinate and support the development of the Dominican Republic Green Bond Framework for the issuance of thematic bonds in national and international capital markets
• Coordinate the development of the Government of Dominican Republic´s Debt for Climate Swap strategy defining the process, actors and steps involved in a transaction
• Support development of concept notes and funding proposals to raise finance from national and international, private, and public investors and finance providers
• Develop deal documentation, including financial models, investment teasers, investor pitch decks and information memorandums
• Perform financial modeling and financial projections (including valuation) to design/recommend suitable financial structures, identify project issues, opportunities, and risk/reward factors
• Analyze financial data and use financial projections to design and recommend suitable financial structures, with a focus on blended finance mechanisms.

REQUIREMENTS

QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced university degree in economics, finance, business administration or another related field.
• Preferably 5-6 years of experience working in climate finance, preferably for financial institution or development agency
• Prior working experience with thematic bonds, green loans, climate-smart PPPs, sustainable banking or development of mitigation/adaptation projects is a plus
• Verbal and written fluency in English and Spanish
• Must be a national of the Dominican Republic

FUNCTIONAL

• Demonstrated ability to formulate project proposals in compliance with requirements of various climate finance funds
• Ability to interact and form relationships with high-level government officials and partners
• Knowledge of and experience in adhering to internationally agreed environmental and social safeguards (ESS) and gender-sensitive design requirements.

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision and values.
• Promote diversity and inclusion.
• Promote the optimum use of public resources.
• Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership.
• Process and share information easily.
• Manage emotions and stress positively, builds rapport and resolves conflict easily.
• Promote creativity and innovation among staff.
• Be able to lead where needed and provide solutions to project-level challenge.
• Strong ability to work independently and/or remotely, while maintaining productivity

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Green Investment Officer is a National Position at X8 grade level in GGGI’s national salary scale. The salary range for the position is USD 37,341-48,544 per annum depending on qualifications and experience GGGI provides 15% of base salary towards retirement plan/long-term savings, 27 days of annual leave, and private health insurance that covers dental and vision. GGGI is committed to providing a work environment that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate diverse life-cycle challenges and assist Staff members to achieve a better balance between work and personal/family commitments, thus ensuring high performance, long-term productivity, and well-being of Staff members.

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.