Job Title: Group Manager, Loan Syndication & Distribution, Global Financing Solutions
Reports to: Group Head Loan Solutions & Distribution, Global Financing Solutions
Direct Reports: Loan Syndication Officers, Managers
Location: Abidjan or Paris

ROLE SUMMARY

The Group Manager, Loan Syndication & Distribution is responsible for growing the profitability of the CIB loan book with a focus on non‐interest income; designing and executing the bank’s originate‐to‐distribute strategy; managing the syndication of large financing transactions across various geographies and sectors; and optimizing the balance sheet usage of the bank through primary syndication and secondary loan sales. This role blends deep market insight with structuring innovation and relationship leadership and is often a go‐to expert for high‐stakes or novel mandates.

JOB CONTEXT

This role will play a critical part in driving growth and profitability in the CIB loan book, by:

▪ Originating loan syndication mandates across various geographies and sectors.
▪ Leading the primary syndication process for structured, project, and corporate finance transactions, as well as large public sector loans.
▪ Developing secondary loan distribution strategies (asset sell down) to optimize capital and liquidity usage.
▪ Sourcing credit enhancement solutions (credit insurance, guarantees, etc..) to derisk transactions and achieve investors’ risk appetite targets.
▪ Developing and managing relationships with institutional investors and financial partners.
▪ Coordinating multi‐party financing negotiations and documentation.
▪ Tracking market appetite and pricing benchmarks.
▪ Representing the bank in roadshows and investor meetings.
▪ Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders during deal execution.
▪ Manage a team of high‐performing syndication officers located across several countries in SSA and international, to maximize mandate origination and fast‐track deal execution.
The incumbent will ensure the delivery of exceptional customer service, robust financial performance, effective people management, and the execution of strategic initiatives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

▪ Build and manage a centralized platform for the execution of syndication and distribution mandates, and the provision of credit risk enhancement solutions to all Ecobank affiliates, across various industries and geographies.
▪ Originate loan syndication mandates in collaboration with coverage, product and sector teams and strategically position Ecobank CIB as the preferred mandated lead arranger (MLA) for public and private sector clients across sub‐Saharan Africa.
▪ Set up the product’s annual budget and 5‐year plan in line with Group CIB’s revenue and volume targets. This shall be done in collaboration with Finance, Coverage and regional product heads.
▪ Oversee financial performance of the loan syndication activity, including revenue generation, profitability, cost management, and financial reporting.
▪ Develop an originate‐to distribute strategy to increase non‐interest income contribution to
total revenue, by expanding our loan syndication and sell‐down activities on the primary and secondary markets respectively.
▪ Lead large‐scale, strategically significant or highly complex transactions, often with multicountry, multi‐currency, or blended finance structures.
▪ Promote our facility and security agency services as a complementary product to our loan syndication solutions, in collaboration with the Agency & Monitoring teams.
▪ Ensure alignment of business strategies with overall organizational goals and market opportunities.
▪ Grow our loan book revenue by scaling our syndication and agency capabilities across the Group, and by developing strategic partnerships with financial institutions to structure dedicated syndication and distribution solutions for key client segments and sectors.
▪ Develop and promote our international syndication capabilities, leveraging on our client book and balance sheet capacity across SSA, and our international coverage teams located Paris, London, Beijing, Dubai, Addis Abeba and Johannesburg.
▪ Manage and periodically update the deal pipeline, to track revenue projections against the budget.
▪ Coordinate with key internal counterparts (Credit risk, coverage, product, etc.) to identify syndication and co‐financing opportunities in the Bank’s pipeline, as well as transactions requiring blended finance, guarantee or insurance at origination.
▪ Represent the Loan Solutions & Distribution team at investment committees, client forums, and external events.

CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE

▪ Foster a customer‐centric culture, ensuring the delivery of exceptional service to clients.
▪ Monitor customer satisfaction levels and implement improvements based on feedback and market trends.
▪ Build and maintain strong relationships with financial institutions (commercial banks, DFIs, guarantee funds, insurance companies, etc), institutional investors, and corporate and sovereign clients.
▪ Build and update detailed investor profiles across our FI network, to rapidly distribute wholesale transactions in the primary and secondary loans markets.
▪ Develop and deploy a competitive value proposition on loan syndication and distribution across the Group, by establishing Ecobank CIB as a market leader in key sectors, by providing a globally recognized service to our CIB clientele, by building centres of expertise in charge of complex deal execution and by growing/reinforcing capabilities within affiliates.
▪ Advise internal stakeholders on distribution risk, pricing, and investor sentiment.

LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

▪ Build and manage a team of syndication officers spread across several countries and operating centrally to cover the Group.
▪ Build and scale high‐performing teams capable of originating mandates, owning a P&L, meeting a budget and driving the performance of a product/region by working with crossfunctional and cross‐border teams.
▪ Provide visionary leadership and direction to the Loan Syndication and Distribution team.
▪ Manage, mentor, and develop direct reports, ensuring alignment with core organizational values and goals.
▪ Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment across product teams, Coverage, Risk, other business and support functions, to drive productivity, operational efficiency, diversity and innovation.
▪ Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular evaluations, and provide constructive feedback to team members.
▪ Conduct regular appraisals to review performance, address promotion, push recruitment, incentives rewards/awards and recommendation for training of team members.
▪ Groom a strong talent bench across CIB to ensure business and leadership continuity when it comes to quality execution of syndicated loans across the Group.
▪ Drive a high‐performance culture with a focus on execution, accountability, and talent development.

PROCESS, CONTROL AND OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

▪ Fully manage the syndication and co‐financing process with external partners including commercial Banks, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), public and private co‐financing partners, institutional investors, insurers, etc.
▪ Ensure the swift execution of syndicated loan transactions across the Group, by providing the local teams with the appropriate tools and resources to facilitate mandate origination, market soundings, deal pitches, roadshows, due diligence and coordination with other coarrangers and financial institutions.
▪ Ensure a harmonization of the syndication activity across the Group, by digitizing and standardizing processes, procedures, tools, templates, and workflows.
▪ Build strategic partnerships with DFIs, credit insurers and guarantee funds to structure risk transfer solutions at deal origination to achieve investors’ risk/return targets.
▪ Provide structuring and pricing guidance to product and coverage teams ex‐ante, for transactions destined to be sold on the market.
▪ Ensure robust risk management practices, compliance with regulatory requirements, and adherence to LMA standards.
▪ Build strong relationships with all internal and external partners involved in the syndication and co‐financing process.
▪ Work with the agency & monitoring team, as well as back‐office and support functions to streamline the closing of transactions and ensure appropriate billing across product lines.
▪ Work with Marketing to design, maintain and update all presentations, pitch books, communication and marketing material to internal or external parties.
▪ Support and where possible, undertake the preparation of detailed info memoranda, teasers and presentations describing the key attributes of client companies.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

▪ Drive the development and execution of strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing the bank's
market position in loan syndication and distribution across SSA and internationally.
▪ Identify and capitalize on emerging trends, market opportunities, and competitive dynamics.
▪ Collaborate with senior leadership and other business units to align strategies and leverage
synergies across the organization.
▪ Lead strategic projects and initiatives, ensuring timely and successful implementation.
▪ Contribute constructively to the design and development of new syndication/co‐financing
facilities/arrangements.
▪ Contribute constructively to the formulation and review of relevant Bank policies, rules and
guidelines with a focus on cofinancing, syndication and risk transfer.

JOB PROFILE/ REQUIREMENTS

Experience & Qualifications

▪ Master’s Degree (or its equivalent) in finance, business administration or related disciplines.
▪ At least ten (10) years of relevant experience in loan syndication, financing, corporate banking, investment banking, and/or capital markets.
▪ In‐depth knowledge of global financing solutions, including structured finance, project finance, and leverage finance.
▪ Experience in sales and distribution of African debt instruments with an in‐depth knowledge of the end‐to‐end syndication process in global banks.
▪ Strong financial acumen, with the ability to drive business performance and manage financial metrics.
▪ Proven ability to drive strategic initiatives and deliver results in a dynamic and competitive environment.
▪ Strong understanding of regulatory requirements and risk management practices.
▪ Executive training records will be an advantage
▪ Experience in using insurance and guarantor markets and understanding of different instruments including blended finance, credit insurance, partial credit guarantees, tenor/liquidity extension guarantees, etc.
▪ Experience in negotiating complex syndication/co-financing documentation and guidelines.
▪ Experience and in‐depth knowledge of LMA standards.

Skills, Capabilities & Attributes

▪ Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire and develop high‐performing teams.
▪ Excellent communication, negotiation, teamwork and relationship‐building skills.
▪ Ability to establish business direction and drive strategy execution
▪ Excellent technical, presentation and computational skills.
▪ Excellent at delivering results through teams
▪ Demonstrated strategic, creative and logical thinking, initiative and anticipation, problemsolving, common sense, sound reasoning and judgement.
▪ Solid interpersonal skills in working with other partners and understanding the art of getting to agreement with others in the best interest of the firm.
▪ Demonstrated team leadership capabilities, with a track record in the planning, organization, collaboration and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams to achieve desired results on a timely basis.
▪ Outstanding ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.