Project Finance Lead

Position Overview:

The Project Finance Lead provides financial leadership across the full lifecycle of infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, from opportunity evaluation and tendering through financial close, construction, and operations.

The role is responsible for financial structuring, modeling, lender coordination, and transaction execution, ensuring bankable project structures. The Project Finance Lead acts as the focal point for financial workstreams, coordinating internal teams, consortium partners, lenders, and financial advisors throughout the project development and financing process.

Key Responsibilities

1. Project Finance Leadership

• Lead financial workstreams across PPP and infrastructure projects from early-stage development through financial close.
• Provide financial input to project strategy, bid positioning, and investment decision-making.
• Support internal investment approvals and governance processes.

2. Financial Modeling & Analysis

• Develop, review, and maintain complex project finance financial models.
• Integrate commercial, technical, and contractual assumptions into financial structures.
• Conduct sensitivity analysis, scenario modeling, and risk assessments.
• Ensure robustness and accuracy of financial models used for investment decisions and lender submissions.

3. Bid & Transaction Support

• Lead preparation of financial sections of RFQs/RFPs and bid submissions.
• Coordinate financial inputs with bid, legal, technical, and commercial teams.
• Validate financial assumptions, tariffs, and commercial structures during tendering.

4. Financial Structuring & Debt Strategy

• Support structuring of project financing solutions, including senior debt, mezzanine financing, and Equity Bridge Loans (EBLs).
• Lead structuring and execution of EBL facilities at project, corporate, and holding company levels.
• Support refinancing strategies and capital structure optimization, including mini-perm refinancing.

5. Lender & Advisor Management

• Coordinate and supervise external financial advisors and model auditors.
• Support procurement and management of financial advisory services.
• Interface with banks, DFIs, and financial institutions throughout financing processes.
• Manage lender Q&A processes and review lender financial models and term sheets.

6. Contract & Financing Documentation Alignment

• Coordinate closely with legal, technical, and commercial teams to ensure alignment across key project agreements.
• Review and provide financial input to financing documentation, including loan agreements, common terms agreements, intercreditor agreements, direct agreements, security packages, and related finance documents.
• Support negotiations with lenders and advisors to ensure bankability and financial optimization of project structures.

7. Financial Close & Due Diligence Management

• Support execution of financial close and financing documentation processes.
• Coordinate and manage lender due diligence activities, including technical, legal, insurance, environmental, and financial workstreams.
• Oversee financial model audit processes and ensure timely resolution of auditor comments.
• Act as financial focal point during lender reviews, managing data rooms and responses to lender information requests.
• Support tracking and satisfaction of financing Conditions Precedent (CPs) until financial close.

8. Post-Financial Close & Performance Monitoring

• Participate in post-financial-close financial monitoring and performance analysis.
• Provide financial insights to support operational optimization and refinancing initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, or related discipline (master’s or professional certification such as CFA/CPA is an advantage).
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in project finance, infrastructure, or PPP projects.
• Knowledge of project finance, debt financing, capital markets, and infrastructure projects, preferably in Saudi Arabia.
• Demonstrated experience in financial modeling and project financing processes.
• Exposure to financial close and lender negotiations preferred.
• Experience in water, utilities, or infrastructure sectors is advantageous.
• Experience in Saudi or GCC PPP markets preferred.

Skills & Competencies:

• Advanced financial modeling capabilities (Excel mandatory).
• Strong understanding of project finance and debt structures.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple transaction workstreams simultaneously.
• Ability to work collaboratively across cross-functional teams.
• Fluency in English and Arabic is an advantage.