City Finance Specialist (m/f/d)

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (FS) is one of the leading business schools in Germany. An impressive portfolio of services – ranging from degree programmes to Executive Education, from research projects to consultancy – means that Frankfurt School acts as adviser, catalyst and educational partner to companies and organisations, to individuals embarking on new careers, and to experienced executives. The FS-UNEP Centre is Frankfurt School’s in-house Centre for climate and sustainable energy finance. Our services include financial consulting, policy advice, research, and education. The Centre helps financial institutions, businesses, governments, and economies to scale-up sustainable finance.

For our on-going urban climate finance projects, we are looking for a:

City Finance Specialist (m/f/d)

Project description:

NetZeroCities supports the EU’s Mission of “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” launched as part of the Horizon Europe programme. The project works as a service-oriented platform supported by world-class practitioners. It helps European cities by providing them with the support and solutions they need to achieve climate neutrality in a socially inclusive way. Therefore, cities will need unprecedented amounts of capital. Mobilising these resources with a clear priority to achieve maximum climate impact and societal co-benefits requires cities to understand the potential pathways towards climate neutrality and their funding and financing needs. Investment planning is thus a core element of the journey and of a Climate City Contract.

Overview of tasks:

• Supporting cities with their climate resilience activities and project planning.
• Coordinating with city level stakeholders for preparing project plans.
• Providing expert input on project plans as necessary.
• Coordinating with partner organisations on project specific tasks.
• Keeping track of deliverables and deadlines.
• Facilitating project reporting.

Your profile:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent diploma) in Economics, Public Finance Management, Banking, or a related area.
• Min. 5 years of working experience in international cooperation and development interventions implemented on multi-country, regional or bilateral level. Experiences with municipal governments would be a plus.
• Experience in consulting assignments in the financial sector.
• Significant experience and high-level expertise in capital and investment planning; public and
  private finance, including product development and structuring; city, regional, national, and
  European policies and policy development related to investment and finance.
• Experience working in/with city and/or public administrations, supplementing their expertise and knowledge with contextual understanding of the dimensions of effective capital and investment planning and execution.
• Familiarity and working knowledge of finance products, development of financing instruments, and financial structuring, preferably including experience in working with public authorities.
• Knowledge of climate policies and programmes, with practical expertise related to climate-related finance activities; knowledge of city climate actions and associated finance needs is highly desirable.
• Excellent understanding of EU regional policy framework, EU programmes supporting regional transitions, including EU structural funds (e.g., infrastructure, cohesion, modernisation funds). Understanding of Horizon Europe framework or other EU funding mechanisms is preferable.

Other requirements:

• Excellent organisational skills, evidenced by mid or senior-level management and consultant roles.
• Strong communication and administrative skills, ability to adjust quickly to new environments, and enjoy working in a dynamic team.
• Ability to adjust priorities quickly and according to demand.

• Fluency in English - both spoken and written is mandatory, any other European language would be a plus.
• Availability to short term travel inside the EU.

The position is foreseen on a contractual basis to be filled as soon as possible/ from Q1 2024.

Interested candidates are invited to send their detailed CV together with a short motivation letter with the subject : City Finance Specialist