Papua New Guinea: Private Sector Advisor

Papua New Guinea (PNG) joined the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in 2012, embarking on a partnership to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth. GGGI’s presence in PNG, established in 2018, supports the government’s integration of climate-resilient green growth (CRGG) strategies and the execution of green growth projects through mobilization of climate finance and investments.

The GGGI PNG main office is embedded within the Climate Change Development Authority (CCDA), government of PNG, with presence in the Center of Excellence for Financial Inclusion at the Central Bank of Papua New Guinea, and at the sub-national level within Enga, New Ireland, and Milne Bay Provincial Government Administrations. GGGI PNG Program is scaling up its activities with the support from Australia, New Zealand, USA, and France for inclusive green economic growth for PNG over the next five years with a target to mobilize USD 500 million in climate investments and scale up climate resilience and green growth planning at national and subnational levels. 

GGGI PNG currently has seven national and five regional active projects, with the four-year AUD 20 million Australian DFAT-funded Climate FIRST project as its flagship initiative. Launched in March 2024 and concluding in February 2028, Climate FIRST is poised to expand PNG’s access to climate finance. It focuses on engaging seven provinces sub-nationally and bolstering the institutional capacity and coordination necessary for mobilizing climate finance. The project aspires to scale up PNG’s access to climate finance through global climate funds, innovative financing mechanisms, increased private sector climate financing and investments, and the development of MSMEs in green businesses.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Private Sector Officer, under the guidance of the GGGI PNG Country Representative and the Climate FIRST Project Manager, will support the implementation of the Climate FIRST project which primarily seeks to increase the access to climate finance and green investments for PNG for the implementation of climate mitigation and adaptation projects across the country.  To this end, the Senior Private Sector Officer will lead the implementation of the Component III of Climate FIRST which seeks to increase the engagement of the private sector in climate financing and action in PNG through bankable investment projects, MSME development and growth, and broadening financing sources through innovative financial instruments and mechanisms.   

PURPOSE

The Senior Private Sector Officer will work in close collaboration with the private sector in PNG and relevant stakeholders to identify and address the barriers to private sector investment and financing in PNG, develop a PNG medium term national investment strategy for private sector climate financing, and increase the level of private sector interest, participation and financing to support the implementation PNG’s NDC and climate targets. S/he is expected to identify private sector climate investment opportunities and perform all required analysis and assessments for the: (1) development of project concept, (2) design of financing mechanism and instruments, (3) identification and engagement of potential financiers, and (4) concept note and full proposal development for submission to funders/financiers.

The Senior Private Sector Officer will perform the following tasks and duties:

• Originate private sector climate financed and investment project pipelines that can support the country’s green growth and climate policy targets by conducting an analysis of existing and potential investment opportunities.
• Responsible for identifying investment options and structures, innovative financing mechanisms, financial instruments, and/or de-risking mechanisms to overcome financial, regulatory and institutional barriers for green investment and climate finance in adaptation and resilience building.
• Prepare investment documentation for identified projects, including investment briefs, memorandum, presentations, financial models, and scenarios analysis for potential public and private investors.
• Write, revise, and edit project concept notes and funding proposals.

The Senior Private Sector Officer as part of Climate FIRST Project will support the Project Manager in leading and supporting the implementation of Component III of the project on increasing the engagement of the private sector including in the scoping, analysis, and implementation of green investment project under various priority PNG economic and social sectors. The Senior Private Sector Officer is expected, upon identification of new investment financing and project opportunities in countries, perform all requisite analysis for the: (1) development of project concept, (2) design of financing mechanism, (3) identification and engagement of potential financiers, and (4) presentation of investment and policy recommendations to partner countries/government agencies.

ENGAGEMENT

The Senior Private Sector Officer provides salient and clear analysis to increased private sector participation in support green investment projects in multiple countries through collaboration with country teams, in-house and external experts/organizations. The Senior Private Sector Officer provides technical advice and guidance to other staff members and prepares analytical inputs for capacity building of internal staff and government officials in green investment project design, preparation, and implementation. The Senior Private Sector Officer plays a critical role in building, maintaining, and strengthening partnerships with government counterparts and international/local stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

DELIVERY

 The Senior Private Sector Officer supports the Climate FIRST Project Manager and Project Team to implement and manage component III of the project which primarily aims to increase private sector climate investment and financing in PNG through the development of bankable projects, green investments and innovative financing instruments and mechanisms. Specifically, the Senior Private Sector Officer shall, among others:

• Conduct all requisite analysis for the successful development of new private sector climate financing and investment projects, drawn from GGGI global programs and GGGI’s country programs, based on PNG’s country needs, gaps, GGGI’s strategy and strengths.
• Provide analytical support in the identification and development of relevant financing mechanisms and risk reduction instruments for identified projects.
• Conduct fact funding, scoping and (pre) feasibility assessment of private sector green investment projects and programs engaging all relevant stakeholders.
• Perform financial, economic, and regulatory analysis throughout project concept and design stages in collaboration with the country teams and government counterparts; ensure that the project progresses to implementation/financing stage.
• Initiate, maintain, strengthen relationships with senior officials in governments and international/local stakeholders and institutions (ex. MDB, development agencies) in the public and private sectors; build new collaboration framework with international partners (country or global level).
• Develop and disseminate capacity development and knowledge sharing products in the field of green investment project design and preparation.
• Provide technical advice to other staff and government counterparts on green investment projects and programs.
• Review new green investment projects and ideas proposed by other GGGI project teams.

REQUIREMENTS

QUALIFICATIONS

• Post graduate university degree in areas such as finance, business administration, international business or economics with further financial / economics training.
• Substantive relevant experience (at least 5-7 years), with sound understanding of climate & green finance.
• Hands on experience with international climate finance institutions (especially multilateral climate funds such as GCF, Adaptation Fund, Global Environmental Facility, Climate Investment Fund, etc., or multilateral development banks and consulting firm is an advantage), particularly developing and writing investment proposals and accessing and structuring finance for climate investments.
•  Ability to efficiently manage many activities simultaneously and to navigate through complex and challenging environments.
• Experience in establishing structures for new financial mechanisms/ blended finance facility.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• International multi-country experience especially working in developing countries on climate change, green growth, and development issues.

FUNCTIONAL

• In-depth knowledge and experience in private sector operations, financing and investment planning and small business development and at least one or more of the following areas of climate financing and green investments: renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, climate smart agriculture, climate proof infrastructure, MSMEs and sustainable transport.
• Demonstrated relationship-building and facilitation skills.
• Resourceful and able to develop and operationalize strategies to achieve outputs and outcomes
• Profound understanding on financial instruments, climate investment project development/assessment/finance, economic/financial analysis of infrastructure investment
• Experience with project finance, private or public sector projects, and/or in PPP transactions
• Experience with climate finance and investment banking is a huge plus.
• Knowledge of and experience in adhering to internationally agreed environmental and social safeguards (ESS) and gender-sensitive design requirements.
• Strong analytical and modeling skills, with full knowledge of excel functions.
• Willingness and ability to commit to in-country work for and travel as required and where possible.

CORPORATE

• Project management: Proven ability to independently plan, manage and complete projects that deliver quality outcomes in a timely and inclusive manner.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to deliver products or presentations that are concise, easy to understand and influential.
• Influencing change: Track record of engaging effectively to secure buy in, underpinned by strong listening, trust building, influencing, facilitation and negotiation skills.
• Team player: Capacity to be selfless team member, to operate across organizational boundaries, and maintain a resilient, positive and results-focused mindset in a dynamic environment.
• Governance: Observe and align with corporate governance policies and procedures and best practices.
• Promotes GGGI’s organizational values, and promote a culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Senior Climate Investment Advisor – Infrastructure Finance is an X9 international grade level in GGGI’s salary scale. For X9 International grade, the base salary starts from USD 77,904. Determination of base salary is subject to candidate’s experience, academic background, and internal equity. 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. In addition, GGGI provides expatriate benefits such as expatriate allowance, educational allowance, hardship allowance, relocation allowance, and security allowance (terms and conditions are to be reviewed in a case-by-case situation).

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.