Head of Water & Sanitation

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

JOB PROFILE: HEAD WATER & SANITATION

DBSA MANDATE

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (“the Bank”) is a Development Finance Institution (“DFI”) owned by the Government of the Republic of South Africa (“the Shareholder”), with a mandate to finance infrastructure projects across Africa. The Bank has positioned itself as a Development Finance Institution (DFI) that champions and leads infrastructure integration and development. The Bank has sought to promote economic and social development by mobilising financial and other resources from the national and international, private, and public sectors, for sustainable development projects in South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and the whole of the African continent. In broad and aspirational terms, the Bank has the vision of a prosperous and integrated resource-efficient region, progressively free of poverty and dependency. For more information, please access the website at www.dbsa.org.

 

 

 

 

 

JOB INFORMATION

Job Title Head: Water & Sanitation Occupational Level Management

Job Grade TBC

Reports to Group Executive:

Coverage/Origination

Division Investment Business Unit Coverage/Origination

Signature

Approved by

Group Executive:

Coverage/Origination

Date Approved

Location Midrand, Johannesburg Employment Type Permanent

PURPOSE OF THIS JOB

Lead and manage the origination and development of investment opportunities in the Water & Sanitation sector. The Head: Water & Sanitation is responsible for formulating sector strategies, identifying and evaluating viable projects, and ensuring alignment with the bank’s development mandate and investment objectives. The role also drives client engagement, fosters strategic partnerships, and leads the development of market-responsive financial products.

Functional Structure Overview

 

Chief Investment

Officer

Group Executive: Origination

Head: Rest of Africa

Head: SADC Head: Water & Sanitation

Principal Deal

Originators

Technical Specialist (Water &

Sanitation)

Analyst

Head: Transport &

Logistics Head: Social

Head: Energy

(Power) Head ICT

Head: Mining &

Critical Minerals

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

24-03-2026

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

 

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

1. Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead the water and sanitation origination strategy, aligned with national and regional development

priorities, including universal access, climate resilience, water security, and sustainable sanitation.

• Originate bankable and early-stage projects across public and private infrastructure sectors, in line with the

Bank’s development finance mandate and long-term strategic objectives.

• Align the project pipeline with strategic investment themes such as water resource management, sanitation

infrastructure, circular economy, and measurable development outcomes.

2. Deal Origination

• Lead the early-stage identification, conceptualisation, and screening of water and sanitation projects and

investment proposals to assess technical, commercial, developmental, and strategic viability, laying a solid

foundation for project origination.

• Develop and manage a high-quality, diversified origination pipeline, progressing projects from concept to

preparation phase in line with the Bank’s mandate.

• Collaborate with internal teams to maintain pipeline quality, momentum, and alignment with institutional

investment and development priorities.

• Drive targeted outreach and client engagement strategies, focusing on municipalities, water utilities, private

sector entities, and cross-border stakeholders in the water and sanitation space.

• Lead data-driven market analysis and segmentation to identify high-impact opportunities and expand the Bank’s

client and partner base.

• Represent the Bank in sector forums, conferences, and stakeholder engagements, positioning DBSA as a key

player in water and sanitation infrastructure development.

 

3. Sector Intelligence and Policy Influence

• Oversee the development of sector-specific insights, opportunity maps, and investment briefs to guide project

origination and inform institutional strategy in the water and sanitation sector.

• Provide technical input into national and regional water and sanitation policy processes, regulatory consultations,

and sector reform initiatives to support enabling environments for investment.

• Position the Bank as a thought leader in sustainable water and sanitation solutions, including climate resilience,

circular water economy, and inclusive service delivery.

• Monitor industry trends, regulatory developments, and macroeconomic factors impacting the water and sanitation

landscape across South Africa and the broader region.

 

4. Client & Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Build and maintain long-term, trust-based relationships with key clients, sponsors, and stakeholders across public

and private sectors.

• Engage early with project sponsors to shape bankable concepts and accelerate deal progression.

• Navigate complex stakeholder landscapes across government, development partners, private sector, and

communities to align interests, influence outcomes, and drive successful infrastructure development.

• Position DBSA as the preferred partner for water and sanitation investment opportunities in the region.

 

5. Governance, Reporting & Compliance

• Lead and oversee the preparation and presentation of high-quality submissions and reports for Executive

Committees, Board, and governance forums, ensuring strategic and regulatory alignment.

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

 

INTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP *The list is not exhaustive

EXTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP *The list is not exhaustive

1. Executives 2. Board & Sub Committees 3. Divisions

1. National, Provincial & Local Governments 2. Sovereigns 3. Private Companies & Multi-lateral

 

 

 

 

 

• Coordinate cross-functional inputs to support informed decision-making and maintain compliance with

governance protocols and institutional standards.

• Oversee robust reporting frameworks to ensure transparency, accountability, and timely reporting on

performance, risks, and strategic progress.

• Manage follow-ups, actions, and resolutions from governance processes, while ensuring adherence to regulatory

requirements, risk policies, and audit recommendations.

 

6. Digital Transformation

• Champion digital transformation within the Water & Sanitation function, leveraging technology to improve

efficiency and effectiveness.

• Drive a culture of innovation and continuous improvement across teams.

7. People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and

continuous learning to maximise individual and collective potential.

• Drive talent development initiatives, including coaching, performance management, and career pathing, to build

and retain a skilled and motivated team.

• Provide direction and management to the business unit, to enable the execution of the strategy.

• Attract, retain, and develop talent and ensure succession planning and sufficient capacity and capability in all

critical functions, supporting diversity strategies and initiatives as well.

• Promote DBSA values and a culture of high performance through implementing performance management in

line with the planned strategic objectives, goals, quality standards and agreed key performance measures using

sound performance management principles.

 

Key measurement of output:

1. Achievement of sector-specific origination targets, including value and volume of project approvals,

commitments, and disbursements.

2. Performance of the industry portfolio, measured through key indicators such as Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio

and overall asset quality.

3. Delivery on sector-specific development targets, including the value of infrastructure catalysed and alignment

with national development goals.

4. Number and value of projects prepared for DBSA approval and funds secured under management.

5. Client service ratings, development of annual client plans for key clients, and establishment of partnerships to

enhance DBSA’s market positioning and generate deal flow.

6. Effective team management, including talent development, performance management, and succession planning

aligned to strategic objectives.

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Qualifications 1. A postgraduate qualification (honours, master’s, or equivalent) in Finance or Development Finance or

Civil Engineering or relevant qualification

Experience

1. Minimum 12 years’ experience in finance, investment banking, or development finance, with at least 5 years in a

senior management role, preferably in water and sanitation or related sectors.

2. Proven track record in originating, structuring, and closing large-scale investment projects in the water and sanitation

sector or broader infrastructure environment.

3. Deep understanding of financial instruments and structures, including corporate loans, project finance, and early-

stage/venture capital investing.

4. Strategic planning and leadership expertise, with a strong grasp of business strategy execution and investment

alignment.

5. Solid knowledge of infrastructure markets, financial markets, and macroeconomic dynamics across South Africa and

broader African regions.

6. Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills, with a well-established network of partners, clients, and

investors across public and private sectors.

7. Experience in client engagement and solution design, with a demonstrated ability to address complex challenges

through innovative investment solutions.

8. Exceptional negotiation and communication skills, with experience influencing and closing deals at executive and

board levels.

9. Proven ability to operate in politically sensitive environments, engaging senior stakeholders across diverse African

contexts.

10. Proven track record of leading and preparing good quality reports, documents and presentations for Executive

Management, Board and high-level stakeholders.

11. Demonstrated ability to manage teams with proven track record of mentoring developing direct reports.

12. Sound knowledge and good grasp of the infrastructure landscape, financial markets political economics,

macroeconomics as well as socio-economic, development issues, challenges and opportunities in South African and

the rest of Africa.

Professional Certifications (Preferred/Advantageous): 1. Chartered Financial Analyst 2. Chartered Accountant 3. Leadership Programme such as a General or Advanced Management Programme 4. Project Management Professional 5. ECSA registration (for engineers)

 

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

 

 

COMPETENCIES

LEADERSHIP/BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

a) Analytical thinking

• Identifies multiple elements of a problem and breaks down each of those elements in detail, showing

causal relationships between them.

• Uses several analytical techniques to identify several solutions and weighs the value of each

 

b) Driving delivery of results

• Identifies and implements a business opportunity that will have a long-term impact on the business.

Monitors progress and adapts the plan if necessary to ensure optimal benefit to the business.

• Makes decisions, sets priorities, or chooses goals on the basis of inputs and outputs: makes explicit

considerations of potential profit, return on investment, or cost benefit analysis.

• Based on the cost-benefit analysis, makes decisions of entrepreneurial risk nature.

 

c) Leading and empowering others

• Identifies long-term goals for the team and communicates them to team members, ensuring their buy in.

• Sets a good example by personally exercising desired behavior, acts on values and beliefs.

• Communicates a vision for the team and future success that inspires team members.

• After assessing others’ competence, one delegates full authority and responsibility to others to do a task in their own way.

• Ensures that competent employees are given opportunities to further their careers.

d) Strategic and innovative thinking

• Experiments with new approaches, tests scenarios, questions assumptions and challenges conventional thinking.

• Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others, leveraging internal and external sources of

information, to build incremental revenue and growth opportunities.

• Understands connections and trade-offs of strategic choices to evaluate which ideas are practical and

possible by considering business and/or scientific implications.

• Develops innovative business and/or customer solutions that shape industry practices.

 

e) Impact and influence

• Uses chains of indirect influence or experts / third parties to influence.

• Uses an in-depth understanding of the interactions within a group to move toward a specific agenda. TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

a) Sector expertise

• Demonstrates global thought leadership, including speaking at international conferences, sharing work via knowledge management, documenting business cases, white papers and articles.

• Understands dynamics of other sectors and uses that knowledge to draw comparisons and insights about

the given sector.

• Foresees trends in the given sector industry at a global level and actively communicates/publishes

opinions and insights.

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

• Understands sector industry dynamics, trends and key players at the global level and uses that

knowledge to position DBSA as an economic policies authority of repute within the global market.

 

b) Deal origination

• Formulate and develop new and alternative finance mechanisms and concepts that can be replicated elsewhere within and outside SA.

• Conceptualise and develop innovative funding instruments (equity, venture capital, mezzanine, debt, securitisation of projects, etc.) to finance infrastructure that would otherwise not be possible relying on the market only to develop and propose these investment opportunities.

• Proactively develop impact concepts to take to the market.

• Leads and mentors project teams.

• Formulate new products.

 

c) Deal structuring

• Uses credit enhancement techniques to structure deals and optimise pricing in terms of Basel principles.

• Has an in-depth and practical understanding of how to optimise the Capital Structure, collateral package,

and debt repayment profile.

• Interrogates financial models, including those with a high degree of complexity, to develop an optimal

structure.

• Identifies complex structural issues that need escalation and proposes appropriate bankable structures.

• Demonstrates knowledge on advanced structuring including the use of derivatives, syndicated loans,

synthetic loans, securitisations, Inflation linked debt, credit default swaps and subordinated debt.

• Prepares specialised or tailored reports relating to new innovative instruments, gather information from

a variety of sources, analyse and include in a report to new products approval committees.

• Compiles comprehensive specialist reports as required for inclusion into credit committee submissions.

 

d) Negotiation

• Has an appreciation of cultural sensitivities and differences.

• Effectively employs a variety of advanced behavioural/interpersonal competencies to control the

negotiation situation.

• Is able to take the lead in a variety of sensitive negotiation situations requiring high levels of tact and

diplomacy.

• Is able to place a discrete negotiation situation within the context of a broader long-term relationship and

is not threatened by conceding ground to protect the longer-term interests of DBSA.

e) Financial analysis

• Serves as subject matter expert and leads work teams for more complex issues.

• Evaluates and determines fiscal, operational, and service impacts; analyses and evaluates legislation;

and implements and evaluates statistical models in their subject areas.

• Demonstrates in-depth technical and administrative knowledge of the rules and regulations in the

subject area and to defend analyses, testimony, and recommendations relating to a variety of issues

before management and commissions.

 

f) Business Development

• Takes overall lead for pro-active business development at national and regional level.

• Initiates, reviews, and interprets competitor environment reviews and take actions accordingly.

• Formulates and modify market approaches on the basis of competitor analyses.

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B

 

 

 

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Head: Water & Sanitation

 

• Leads the formulation, development, and implementation of the business development strategy to

generate new business opportunities in public and private sector delivery of infrastructure.

• Identifies and develop new markets, products, and clients.

• Positions the DBSA as the preferred development partner, lender, and advisor.

• Leads the participation and presentation of the DBSA at investment conferences and roundtable

discussions.

• Coordinates business activities to ensure that investment initiatives are in support of government BEE

strategies, broader national and regional economic development strategies.

• Promote compliance and alignment with the strategic imperatives of both individual clients and the

DBSA of investment and development interventions.

• Builds capacity to coordinate, control and manage the activities and efforts required for the

implementation of the plan.

• Builds capacity to conduct project origination exercises.

Docusign Envelope ID: 9E0FEAF9-F458-4AFB-A683-0E2463153C2B