Position: Senior Associate – Economic Diversification Investments (Industrials)
Reports to: Manager - Economic Diversification Investments (Industrials)
Directorate: Economic Diversification Investments
JOB PURPOSE:
To contribute to the deal sourcing of investments in companies operating in Industrials in alignment with Omani market needs. This includes managing project progress to the Final Investment Decision stage, conducting continuous evaluation of existing portfolios, and supporting successful exits of existing deals to maximize revenues and enhance value creation within the Industrials sector.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Contribute to leading the industrial business development, capital projects, specific initiatives, strategic partnerships, etc., to support them in optimizing their revenues.
• Evaluate available deal opportunities to identify their suitability against OIA’s strategy and objectives and prioritize the evaluated opportunities based on their relative attractiveness and fit to the overall strategy to facilitate the decision-making of the Manager – Industrials.
• Build, review financial models, and update including return and sensitivity analysis for various investment opportunities to predict their performance and be able to make well-informed decisions.
• Maintain and secure the integrity of the business development data/information to safeguard OIA’s competitiveness.
• Prepare comprehensive Investment Committee (IC) memos, summarizing key deal aspects, analysis, and recommendations to facilitate informed decision-making by stakeholders.
• Develop and negotiate each stage of the transaction process, from initial deal structuring to the holding period and through the exit process, to ensure that OIA’s interests are being protected, optimized, and offered the best terms possible, while maintaining good relationships with counterparties on deals.
• Review in detail and support Investment Managers in negotiating all deal documentation, with consultation with Head of Legal and external counsel, to ensure that negotiated deal terms and structure as presented to the Investment Committee are adequately documented in final deal documentation, and OIA gets the best possible terms.
• Take lead in transaction origination efforts for allocated sector to ensure that the Investment transactions’ execution process is in line with the Corporate Governance and investment policy guidelines.
• Critically review due diligence studies, guide advisors on areas for further work to collect critical investments’ findings, and ensure that the latter are reported to more senior deal team members, EDI Director, and as appropriate to the Investment Committee.
• Coordinate and monitor transactional and execution activities including but not limited to relationships with shareholders and other stakeholders, investment banks, investment partners, due diligence advisors, etc. to minimize investments risks.
• Maintain constant alignment of OIA’s Industrials sectors with the country’s diversification objectives and targets in addition to compliance with OIA programs and initiatives by portfolio to identify the noncompliance and recommend and take corrective measurements when necessary.
• Build and preserve relationships with key stakeholders including VISION 2040 and other related national initiatives and programs to stay well informed about the latest trends, to develop and de-risk projects and consequently optimize OIA’s companies’ results.
• Actively support portfolio companies in their divestment and fund raising in addition to supporting Seniors in recommending and implementing disposal plans as required to enable them meet their set objectives.
• Oversee and track the progress of all projects within the Industrials portfolio, ensuring adherence to predefined milestones leading up to the FID stage.
• Establish and maintain a centralized tracking system to monitor the status of ongoing projects, highlighting critical path activities and deadlines.
• Actively engage with team members to identify and address any bottlenecks or challenges that may delay project progress.
• Provide direct support and guidance to team members, offering solutions to overcome hurdles and maintain project momentum.
• Ensure the alignment of project activities with strategic timelines and objectives, ensuring all milestones are met to facilitate an efficient progression to FID.
• Organize and lead regular progress reviews and update meetings to evaluate team performance and project status.
• Prepare and deliver comprehensive project status reports to the line manager, detailing current progress, challenges encountered, and proposed solutions.
• Collaborate with other departments or external advisors to provide resources and expertise needed to resolve project-related challenges.
• Act as a liaison between different teams and stakeholders to foster collaboration and effective problem-solving.
• Prioritize tasks and resource allocation to ensure projects remain on track for their targeted FID dates.
• Implement best practices in project management to streamline processes and enhance team productivity.
• Assist in providing strategic guidance to OIA companies operating in the Industrials sectors along with their Boards and contribute to refining companies’ strategic objectives and KPIs to ensure their alignment with the sectors goals targeted in Vision 2040, the corporate vision, the agreed strategy, and the stakeholders’ expectations.
• Provide guidance to OIA’s directors at portfolios’ companies to support and enable them to reach the set targets.
• Support Investment Managers in maximizing returns on executed deals, post-FID and whenever possible, throughout the entire holding period and through to the exit phase, to ensure they generate the expected returns.
• Monitor OIA’s rights as a shareholder through the timely exercise of the Shareholder Reserve Matters.
• Implement appropriate project management of transactional activities to ensure that the execution is within budget and agreed timelines.
• Liaise seamlessly with members of the MIS team to ensure active monitoring and value creation throughout the holding period of the investment.
• Comply with the implementation of Industrials policies and procedures, to ensure that all relevant procedural and legislative requirements are fulfilled.
• Comply with all relevant health, safety, and quality requirements, in order to guarantee employee safety and legislative compliance.
• Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement of systems, processes and practices taking into account ‘leading best practices’, improvement of business processes, cost reduction and productivity improvement.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Accounting, or any other relevant field
- CFA, CMA, CPA, FMVA, FRM is advantageous
- 8 to 10 years of related experience
- Preference will be given to candidates with sector expertise and project management experience.
- Fluency in English is essential
- Proficiency in MS Office is essential (especially Excel and PowerPoint)
- Experience with business related software is desirable