Investment Analyst, IPSA 9, Apia, Samoa (UNCDF) - [Open to Tier 0, 1 & 2 applicants]

Overview

Support the development of a blended finance portfolio in Samoa by sourcing, structuring, and deploying concessional capital to MSMEs and financial institutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Support systematic market scoping to inform investment strategies and identify opportunities.
• Support the structuring of blended finance solutions tailored to specific market and project needs.
• Map the financing landscape in target countries, identifying key capital providers and financial intermediaries.
• Analyze prevailing financial terms, instruments, and market conditions.
• Support to identify regulatory and policy barriers affecting investment flows and propose mitigation strategies.
• Monitor trends in blended finance, climate finance, and impact investing.
• Provide inputs to investment strategy documents, operational guidelines, and structural frameworks.
• Support the design of blended finance solutions tailored to market conditions and specific project needs.
• Support derisking and blended finance approaches that crowd in private capital.
• Support technical guidance on investment readiness for project developers and enterprises.
• Contribute to the development of country-specific investment roadmaps, pipelines, and strategic partnerships.
• Contribute to knowledge of products, case studies, and analytical briefs.
• Support strategic planning, reporting, and donor engagement.
• Participate in investment related meetings, working groups, and partner discussions.
• Identify and screen investment opportunities aligned with UNCDF’s strategic priorities.
• Support due diligence (desk-based and on-site) on selected transactions.
• Analyze financial statements including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flows.
• Support in building and refining financial models to assess investment viability and risk-return profiles.
• Draft investment appraisal memorandums and internal documentation for approval processes.
• Liaise with UNCDF’s Investment and Finance Oversight Division to ensure compliance.
• Support transaction structuring using UNCDF’s financial instruments.
• Support in presenting investment opportunities to UNCDF’s Investment and Disbursement Impact Committee (IDIC).
• Track and document progress of transactions through the investment cycle.
• Provide ongoing technical assistance for the financial instruments deployed.
• Support capacity-building initiatives tailored to enhance operational capacities and financial management of the investees.
• Assist investees in developing viable business plans and financial strategies.
• Support government counterparts and partners advisory on investment-related constraints.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building by sharing best practices and lessons learned.
• Support the preparation and implementation of annual work plans (AWPs), budgets, and activity schedules.
• Support day to day project operations, partner engagement, and delivery of technical assistance.
• Support in drafting high-quality donor reports (narrative and financial).
• Oversee M&E processes, ensuring indicators capture both programme and investment results.
• Maintain project documentation, track financial delivery, and support steering committee meetings.
• Support project close-out, including final reporting and documentation of lessons learned.
• Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary.

Required Experience

• A minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in either the financial sector or the private sector or a mix, including with investment and/or business management expertise.
• At least 2 years of investment experience in at least one, but preferably several, of the following areas: impact-oriented MSMEs financing, Micro Finance Institutions, Guarantee instruments within the space of development finance.
• Experience working in venture capital and/or banking within an international financial environment, including in the development of finance institutions, impact investors, or similar.
• Experience in project preparation and/or in development of investment opportunities, especially investment projects with social and environmental objectives in developing countries.
• Experience with financial modeling and analysis in Microsoft excel.
• Experience using Microsoft Office.
• Experience in nature-related or climate-aligned investments is an asset.
• Experience in evaluating environmental impacts alongside commercial viability is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience assessing the investment needs of enterprises and recommending the mix of debt/equity required at different growth stages.
• Experience in producing concise, executive level reports (PowerPoint) and presentations, training modules and materials.
• At least 2 years of experience in working for/in the UN System or similar international development finance institution.

Qualifications

An advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Economics, Accounting, or related fields is required, Or A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

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