Palladium Ghana Jobs 2017

Posted on :

26 Jun, 2017

Category :

Administrative Jobs in Ghana

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.

For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people’s lives.

Palladium is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.

Job Description

Job Title: International Advisor

Project Overview and Role
Background for Scope of Work(SOW)

Deep, liquid capital markets are fundamental to economic growth because they help channel the domestic savings of a nation to their most productive uses, and in so doing enable the private sector to
invest, produce, and create jobs.However, a crucial step in developing capital markets is to develop the domestic buy-side, that is, to encourage greater participation of local and regional institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance firms in domestic capital markets. Most fundamentally, these large pools of savings can evolve into important sources of long-term finance for economic growth, for infrastructure, for example. In addition, a well-functioning buy side reduces an economy’s reliance on foreign portfolio investors, increasing macroeconomic resilience to shocks caused by sudden capital inflows and outflows.

Quote from Capital Markets in the East African Community: Developing the Buy Side a paper prepared by the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets, January 2017.

Since being selected as a Partnership for Growth (PFG) country, the Government of Ghana (GOG) has engaged in extensive analysis and consultations with the U. S. Government (USG) in developing a Joint Country Action Plan (JCAP) to assist Ghana to sustain and broaden its economic growth by addressing two key constraints that inhibit private sector development and participation in the Ghanaian economy: unreliable and inadequate supply of electric power and lack of access to finance.
The two main goals of the PFG JCAP are:

  1. To strengthen the power sector; and
  2. To increase access to finance (especially for the SME sector) and strengthen the financial system.

The PFG Technical Working Group on Increasing Access to Finance (also known as the PFG ?Access to Finance Team?) has 5 overall goals:

  1. Reduce government engagement in the banking sector;
  2. Strengthen Financial Sector regulation and supervision;
  3. Develop the Financial Sector infrastructure;
  4. Broaden and deepen the financial sector;
  5. Encourage development finance and support SME access to finance.

PFG JCAP Goal 4, ?Broaden and deepen the financial sector? along with Goal 5, ?Encourage development finance and support SME access to finance? are the focuses of this SOW through the promotion of the shares and bonds listed in the capital markets for institutional investors for consideration as investments, i.e., the ?demand side? for securities, to balance the ?supply side? of SMEs looking for alternative financing to bank loans, through the issuance of equity (via shares) and/or debt (via bonds) on the GSE, GAX or GFIM.

Responsibilities

Objective of SOW
The objectives of this scope of work (SOW) are two-fold:

  1. To encourage Ghanaian institutional investors, particularly the pension funds, to invest in the capital markets, and
  2. To perform a feasibility study regarding the issuance of infrastructure bonds being issued with or without GOG guarantees, which would provide long-term investment vehicles for the institutional investors. Infrastructure bonds are simply bond issued for infrastructure projects of public interest. In today?s Ghana, most of the income coming into the government is spent for GOG employees and otherwise, to pay off interest and principal on already issued and matured GOG bonds.

Regarding objective (1) above, the advisor is to determine among other things:

  1. The current demand for capital market instruments (i.e., shares and bonds) and the reasons why institutional investors are seeking capital market instruments;
  2. The reasons why institutional investors had not been investing in the capital markets, which could include (a) the NPRA?s restrictions on capital market investments for pension funds; (2) the Government?s crowding out alternative investments through interest rates on T-Bills; and (3) the lack of supply and size to meet the investor?s appetite;
  3. The motivations for investments in the capital markets; and
  4. The environment needed for capital markets investments by institutional investors in Ghana.

Regarding objective (2) above, the advisor is to determine the feasibility of issuing infrastructure bonds in Ghana, recommend the size of such issuances (in GH Cedi), and recommend the terms of such bonds, e.g., 3 year, 5 years, 7 years, or some other tenor. Interest rate scenarios are to be assessed as to ratings needs, collateral or security needs, and issuing sources. Recommendations as to utilization of funds would be made after speaking with GOG officials and market stakeholders. A key finding is the likelihood of interest payments and principal repayments.

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This SOW is combining the two objectives as both are complimentary to the other. The reality in Ghana today is that the demand side, e.g., pension fund money, has nowhere in the capital markets to invest, as there are some equities available (with the requisite size perhaps, but not with the liquidity) but there are no long term debt instruments available except for GOG bonds. The institutional (and other) investors need good options for long-term investments; the issuance of infrastructure bonds is a source to meet this demand and allow SMEs additional sources of income. Both developments of realizing a greater demand in capital markets instruments and increasing the supply of capital markets instruments will foster economic growth in Ghana.

To this end, support is required from an international Advisor to engage with the GOG through the National Pensions Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana, and possibly with the Ghana Stock Exchange and its subsidiaries (i.e., GAX and GFIM). For the SOWs objectives to be met, there needs to be developed strategies and work plans

(1) to build a consensus for the institutional investors to realize benefits that can be gained by investing in the capital markets which includes the diversification of assets within their portfolios as well as

(2) to realize the offerings of long-term, infrastructure-related investments to meet long-term liabilities of institutional investors and the overall development of Ghana.

Activities and Tasks

The advisor will analyze the overall understanding of the capital markets of the institutional investors, in particular the pension funds, and their capacity and desire to invest in the capital markets, i.e., in shares and corporate and infrastructure bonds.
As a tie in to the above activities to develop the demand side of the capital markets, the advisor is also to explore the feasibility of the GoG or a commercial institution issuing an infrastructure bond to develop the infrastructure (which may be for roads, hospitals, other health facilities, schools, electricity or other sources of power, etc.) within Ghana, where 100% of the proceeds will be applied to developing the infrastructure, and the interest payments and eventual principal repayment will be able to be made in full and on time. The infrastructure bond in particular would appeal to the resource sizes of institutional investors and thus help create additional supply of capital markets instruments available to meet the demand for such instruments. The advisor is to determine whether or not, among other things, the GOG would have to (partially) guarantee the performance of the bond payments, the need for a rating on such bond, the estimated interest rate (if fixed, and otherwise, recommend a floating interest rate with other characteristics such as puts and calls, or even a zero interest bond), and the recommended term for the bond.
The international Advisor will perform the following tasksReview documents of the NPRA, SEC, GSE, Insurance Regulator, and the Bank of Ghana.

 

Review documents of the NPRA, SEC, GSE, Insurance Regulator, and the Bank of Ghana.

Review documents of institutional investors, particularly those of pension funds, or their regulatory bodies, to determine the allowances of capital markets investments into the portfolios.

  • If needed, draft amendments to those rules or regulations, in concert with the staffs of the respective regulatory bodies.
  • Note other regulatory changes needed for institutional investors to invest in capital markets instruments.
  1. Develop an Implementation Plan for this assignment.
  2. Develop and present a program for capacity building to institutional investors and their respective regulators (which might also include GOG officials, who supervise the regulators). It is anticipated that this program shall be via power point and be presented in one-half a day to a full day.
  3. Recommend actions and work plans for the institutional investors and their respective regulators to consistently monitor institutional investors? participation in the capital markets and the capital markets? needs to bring satisfactory supply of investments to the market.
  4. The International Advisor shall present at least one conference in Accra, to institutional investors, regulators, and GOG officials that includes pension funds (managers), insurance companies, mutual funds, and banks and their respective regulators, presenting the benefits as well as risks of investing in the capital markets, whether bonds and/or shares.
  5. Work with GOG executives and capital markets stakeholders to set a priority of infrastructure bonds coming to the market as to utilization of funds along with a timetable for these bonds being issued.
  6. Develop and submit a final report relating to activities, findings, conference and marketing materials, lists of meetings and respective next steps, recommendations, and work plans.
  7. Two weeks prior to the delivery of the final report, the advisor shall draft and submit a Draft Final Report to the Chief of Party of USAID FinGAP. The COP may seek comments and/or edits from USAID and/or stakeholders to be incorporated into the Final Report.

Deliverables
The international Advisor will produce the following deliverables:

  1. An implementation plan.
  2. Plan for capacity building to institutional investors and their respective regulators.
  3. One (half-day or full day) capacity building conference in Accra for institutional investors and their respective regulators regarding investing in the capital markets.
  4. This conference in Accra should include invitations to GOG officials, pension funds (managers), insurance companies, mutual funds, and banks and their respective regulators, presenting the benefits as well as risks of investing in the capital markets, whether bonds and/or shares.
  5. Draft amendments, if any (in concert with the staffs of the respective regulatory bodies), to those rules or regulations for broader investment into the capital markets by institutional investors.
  6. Note other regulatory changes needed for institutional investors to invest in capital markets instruments.
  7. Recommendations of (1) actions and work plans for the institutional investors and their respective regulators to consistently monitor institutional investors? participation in the capital markets and (2) the capital markets? needs to bring satisfactory supply of investments to the market.
  8. Report on the results of feasibility study on issuance of Infrastructure Bonds. If ?feasible?, include projected timetable of infrastructure bonds coming to the market, which includes a description of the utilization of funds for each bond. This timetable will be generated from discussions with GOG officials, ministries, and other capital market and government stakeholders. Any other details that are estimated or projected, e.g., term for each bond; interest rate; need for credit rating; etc., should also be contained in this report.
  9. Draft Final Report, which includes documents relating the above deliverables, due two weeks before the completion date of the assignment.
  10. Final Report, which incorporates comments and edits from USAID-FinGAP, and/or USAID, and/or stakeholders.

All deliverables must be submitted in English, using the USAID-FinGAP report template, to USAID-FinGAP.

Post of Duty
Home base/telework (approx. 30 days LOE); up to three round-trips to Accra, Ghana (approx. 50 days LOE in Ghana, including travel days); a total of 80 LOE days, whereas the home and on-site days may vary.

Estimated from mid-June through November 2017. This may be adjusted accordingly.
Requirements

Minimum qualifications:

  • Advanced degree in relevant subject (MBA, Finance, Economics or related field of study).
  • Minimum 7-10 years of experience related to the scope of work.
  • Demonstrated work experience in infrastructure financing and capital market assessments.
  • Advanced oral presentation/communication skills. Ideal candidates will have experience delivering presentations to groups of investors and/or regulators.
  • Broad knowledge of infrastructure investment, financial regulation, and capital market conditions in Ghana.
  • Experience working in Sub Saharan Africa is a plus.
  • Ability to travel to Ghana & work abroad for up to 50 days.
  • Fluency in English- both written and spoken.


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