Senior Investment Officer, Methane Mitigation (Philippines)

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

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POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to the Senior Policy Analyst, the Senior Investment Officer, Methane Mitigation (“Investment Officer”), plays a critical role in the successful completion of the Philippine component of ASEAN-Korea Cooperation on Methane Mitigation (AKCMM), a 3-year, USD 20M regional program to be implemented in ASEAN Member States (AMS).

The Senior Investment Officer will report to and works closely with the Senior Policy Analyst. In addition, he/she will collaborate with the Senior MRV Officer to deliver Outputs 1-4 in the Philippines. These staff members will be hired under AKCMM’s Philippine component.

These three staff members will work as part of GGGI’s Philippine country team. GGGI country teams are generally comprised of a Country Representative, several Project Managers and Officers (depending on the number of projects GGGI is implementing), and administrative focal points.

In addition to the Philippine country team, the Senior Investment Officer, together with his/her AKCMM colleagues will also receive guidance from the Asia Regional Office since AKCMM is a regional project being undertaken in ASEAN Member States. Staff members from the regional office will lead the delivery of AKCMM’s regional elements and share best practices of/lessons learned from other GGGI country teams.

Moreover, the Senior Investment Officer will work with the Senior Investment Specialists and other Project Managers of the Philippine country office to develop bankable green investment projects. The Senior Investment Officer will also coordinate and work with the Asia Regional Office Investment focal/s and Project Managers in developing the same.

The Senior Investment Officer’s main responsibility is to lead successful completion of Output 3 by originating, designing, financing, and overseeing the implementation of methane reduction sub-projects in the Philippines. By the end of the third year – preferably sooner – he/she must have achieved a measurable and verifiable reduction in methane emission through his/her methane reduction sub-projects. A brief description of each step is provided below:

Origination refers to the process of formulating a concept for a methane reduction sub-project in the form of a Project Idea Note (PIN). A PIN is a document that is 3~5 pages long and includes, among others, the following: (i) summary of the idea, (ii) sector, location, and duration, (iii) expected outcome (especially the approximate quantity of methane emission reduction), (iv) estimated budget, (v) project structure describing the flow of funds from GGGI to subcontractors, beneficiaries, and other entities as relevant, and (vi) risks and mitigation measures.

The Senior Investment Officer shall be guided by Philippine’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), government strategies/plans pertaining to methane reduction, and recent developments in the field, etc., when originating methane reduction sub-projects. Given the major sources of methane emission in the ASEAN region, the sub-projects will likely take place in the following sectors: (i) agriculture/livestock (e.g., alternate wetting-and-drying rice farming), (ii) solid waste management (e.g., capping landfills), or (iii) oil and gas (e.g., fugitive emissions).

Design refers to the process of elaborating and improving the project idea. The Senior Investment Officer shall exercise her/his judgement to determine what the next steps should be for the project idea to progress towards implementation. It may involve, for example, conducting feasibility studies, engaging potential beneficiaries to ensure their cooperation, collecting additional data, or identifying competent partners to manage salient risks.

At the end of the design phase, there should be a comprehensive set of documents detailing all the information required to implement the sub-project. There should also be at least a high-level agreement among sub-project stakeholders on their respective roles and responsibilities.

Financing refers to the process of mobilizing the funds needed to implement the sub-project. This process can be simple or complicated depending on how the sub-project is designed. To understand the Senior Investment Officer’s role, note the hypothetical scenarios presented below, assuming that he/she has been allocated a budget of USD 1M for the sub-project.

• Scenario #1. An alternate wetting-and-drying sub-project together with a community of rice farmers where the budget is used to pay premia to participating farmers. Here, the Senior Investment Officer has opted to utilize the budget as a grant; he/she has also chosen not to mobilize additional funding from external parties.
• Scenario #2. An alternate wetting-and-drying sub-project together with a community of rice farmers, but the Senior Investment Officer (together with the line ministry) has designed a scheme where (i) the training and monitoring of rice farmers are managed by a local rice exporter for a nominal fee (the main benefit to the exporter being hands-on experience growing low emission rice), (ii) the reduction in methane emissions will be certified and the resulting income from the sale of carbon credits are shared with the farmers, (iii) the local branch of a state-owned agricultural bank has agreed to issue cheaper loans for input to attract more farmers subject to there being a partial loan guarantee, etc. Here, the Senior Investment Officer has mobilized additional resources (both monetary and in-kind) through creative utilization of the project budget.
• Scenario #3. A landfill project that incorporates technological/operational solutions from Republic of Korea to significantly reduce methane emissions. The Senior Investment Officer has used some of the budget to co-finance the feasibility study for the landfill (together with the Korean technology provider); he/she has also used the budget to mobilize investment from Republic of Korea’s development bank for the landfill project.

The ideal Senior Investment Officer would be someone who (i) is capable of utilizing the budget to design sub-projects that are technically feasible and financially viable, (ii) successfully mobilizes substantial investment from external parties, and (iii) develops a robust implementation arrangement with risks allocated to partners best positioned to address them.

Implementation refers to the process where all implementing partners enter into an agreement with respect to the sub-project and activities are carried out. The Senior Investment Officer must ensure that these entities remain committed throughout the implementation phase, identify and address unforeseen risks/delays and, resources/time permitting, continue originating a pipeline of methane reduction sub-projects.

The Senior Investment Officer’s secondary responsibilities are as follows:

• Support the Senior Policy Analyst, Methane Mitigation, in delivering Output 1 and the Senior MRV Officer, Methane Mitigation, in delivering Output 2
• Support the Program Manager, ASEAN Regional Programs, by drafting blogs, briefs, and presentation decks for Output 4
• Undertake all tasks required to comply with administrative and reporting rules of the Government of the Philippines, GGGI HQ, AKCF, and the ASEAN Secretariat (with respect to Output 3).

PURPOSE

The Senior Investment Officer is directly responsible for all stages of the investment cycle (i.e., origination, design, financing, and implementation) and undertakes both technical and administrative tasks associated with each stage. He/she achieves a measurable and verifiable reduction in methane emissions through methane reduction sub-projects that are technically feasible and financially viable; he/she also utilizes the budget to devise creative structures/arrangements that mobilize substantial co-investment from external parties. Specific tasks include, among others,

• Analyzing the investment need in the Philippines with respect to methane emission reduction (particularly the government’s preferences and priorities), the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to designing methane reduction sub-projects, potential entry points for private sector firms and financial institutions, etc.
• Adapting the latest developments in methane reduction methodology to design sub-project ideas tailored to the Philippines. He/she must strive to go beyond process-oriented implementation and achieve superlative outcomes through technical expertise as well as by bringing competent organizations on board as implementation partners. He/she should, therefore, be someone who is constantly seeking to learn and optimize while also being excellent at communicating such knowledge.
• Leverage analytical results (both interim and final) to achieve methane emission reduction at scale and originate new sub-projects. The AKCMM, upon completion, would have established a strong foundation for a variety of subsequent projects on methane; by having a strong pipeline of sub-projects, he/she will contribute to the drafting of follow-up regional/national proposals that (i) replicate/scale-up proven approaches or (ii) seek to develop more ambitious/innovative solutions.

ENGAGEMENT

The Senior Investment Officer will engage various stakeholders (e.g., national/provincial/municipal government agencies, bilateral/multilateral agencies, private sector firms and financial institutions, research institutions and academia, NGOs, and local communities) by:

• Analyzing the nature of relationships between GGGI and stakeholders in the Philippines with respect to AKCMM – both those that already exist and those that are yet to be established but are necessary for the project’s success – and develop strategies to build, strengthen, and maintain such relationships. In doing so, he/she must clearly articulate the nature of the relationship, particularly on how their involvement adds value to the delivery of Output 3.
• Providing expert guidance on how to engage and align potential partners with the goals of Output 3 specifically and AKCMM in the Philippines generally. He/she must, therefore, have a complete grasp of the present and future trajectory of a sub-project’s implementation-related discussions/negotiations (especially on risk allocation) leading up to the signing of all implementation-related agreements. He/she shall therefore serve as an effective convenor and communicator, ensuring that there is a shared understanding of the sub-project among all implementation partners.
• Leading salient dialogue with government agencies, implementation partners, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders on matters related to Output 3 throughout a sub-project’s implementation phase. This may range from responding to a request for additional information to discussing a contractual amendment to certain activities to account for an unforeseen obstacle or delay.

DELIVERY

The Senior Investment Officer will, based on guidance from and supervision of the Country Representative & Senior Policy Analyst:

• Lead the origination, design, financing, and implementation of methane reduction sub-projects in the Philippines to achieve measurable and verifiable reduction in methane emissions, utilizing the budget to develop creative structures/arrangements,
• Identify strategic opportunities to (i) engage entities based in the Republic of Korea at each stage of the investment cycle (e.g., Korean technology providers, think tanks, project developers, etc.) and (ii) mobilize additional resources from external parties to deliver results at scale,
• Perform financial, economic, and regulatory analysis throughout project concept and design stages in collaboration with the country and government counterparts; ensure that the project progresses to implementation/financing stage,
• Monitor and assess outcomes from major national/regional/international fora as well as GGGI’s project portfolio to identify emerging needs in the Philippines related to methane mitigation,
• Oversee the planning and execution of missions to gather baseline data, consult stakeholders, validate assumptions, and assess the political/operational/technical feasibility of sub-projects to be delivered under Output 3,
• Drive the successful delivery of Output 3 by (i) preparing a work plan, (ii) holding regular meetings with external stakeholders, (iii) procuring competent service providers, (iv) managing the budget and contract(s) related to the output, (v) anticipating and addressing risks, (vi) solving problems of technical or operational nature, and (vii) communicating the results effectively,
• Ensure compliance with all administrative and reporting rules as required by the Government of the Philippines, GGGI HQ, AKCF, and the ASEAN Secretariat (with respect to Output 3),
• Contribute to the delivery of Outputs 1, 2, and 4, and,
• Ensure that all project activities are implemented with full regard to safeguards and quality standards as outlined by GGGI processes.

REQUIREMENTS
QUALIFICATIONS

• Post-graduate degree in economics, finance, international relations, statistics, environmental science, or a related discipline.
• At least 7 years of experience in climate project financing, investment mobilization, and methane reduction initiatives. Additional years of experience are considered advantageous.
• Strong understanding of government budgeting and spending for climate projects, with the ability to mobilize in-kind contributions from government entities.
• Strong understanding of climate-related challenges in Philippines, particularly on the trends and sources of methane emissions and established/emerging approaches to reduce them, the Philippine development planning documents, policies, and national priorities, such as PDP 2023-2028, NCCAP 2011-2028, and the NDCIP 2020-2030 and NAP 2023-2050.
• Familiarity with methane reduction initiatives from government agencies, international organizations, the private sector, NGOs, and development financial institutions, with strong collaboration skills to align efforts across diverse stakeholders and sectors,
• Strong understanding of business models in relevant sectors, with the ability to assess, improve, and design models that effectively drive methane reduction,
• Proven ability to develop creative financing structures and mobilize investments for methane reduction projects,
• Experience in engaging with both government and private sector to achieve investment alignment,
• Proven ability to understand a novel subject matter in a short period of time and write intelligibly on the subject matter (applicants may be requested to share a writing sample), and
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Filipino.

FUNCTIONAL

• Self-motivated learner with attention to detail.
• Excellent multi-cultural literacy and interest in being a part of an international team working in an evolving and entrepreneurial environment.  
• Leadership, teamwork, and creative problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication (both written and oral) and facilitation skills.
• Problem solver, able to find and implement solutions. 

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision and values.
• 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 challenges.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM & PROJECT

Asia Regional Office (ROA)

ROA oversees a diverse portfolio of projects in the South, Southeast, and Central Asia region, assisting GGGI Member States cultivate sustainable development models to drive their economic growth. Its main functions include comprehending the unique requirements of each country, forging robust partnerships with stakeholders and collaborators involved in regional sustainable development initiatives, and developing regional projects and programs in policy and/or investment.

ASEAN-Korea Cooperation on Methane Mitigation (AKCMM)

AKCMM is a 3-year, USD 20M regional project aimed at reducing methane emissions at scale in ASEAN Member States (AMS). The project seeks to achieve this objective through the following four interventions (i.e., outputs):

• Output 1. Developing enabling policies and institutions
• Output 2. Improving measurement of methane emissions
• Output 3. Designing, financing, and implementing methane reduction sub-projects
• Output 4. Promoting regional dialogue and partnership