Analyst: Project Finance and M&A

Mainstream Renewable Power; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Mainstream Renewable Power in Cape Town is seeking an Analyst for Project Finance and M&A to model and analyse renewable energy projects and support commercial decisions across the business. You will work with finance and commercial teams to build robust models and ensure accurate inputs and outputs.

The role offers an opportunity to grow in project finance and M&A, with exposure to tendering, investment and financial close activities in a dynamic energy trading environment.

Qualifications

• At least 1–2 years of financial modelling experience.
• Renewable energy or energy industry experience desirable.
• Self-motivated with initiative for asset delivery teams.
• Ability to spearhead various project finance work streams and integrate into diversified teams.
• Commercial awareness and ability to identify efficiencies/risk areas within models.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain highly complex financial models for renewable energy projects.
• Lead process of gathering model inputs from multiple teams and validate assumptions.
• Analyze project cash flows and present findings.
• Audit models to ensure outputs support quick commercial decisions.
• Manage information flows used to maintain financial models.
• Ensure models meet accounting, tax and regulatory requirements across markets.
• Perform market analysis to support project finance and M&A activities.
• Collaborate with Energy Marketing, PPAs, PMO, Policy and Market Intelligence teams.
• Support acquisition, investment, tender, bidding and financial close processes.

Skills

Financial modelling

Excel proficiency

MS Office

VBA or Python

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Tools

Excel

Job description

The Analyst: Project Finance and M&A will form part of the Project Finance and M&A team, supporting in preparing, building and optimizing financial models as well as providing general analysis and support to the commercial function, including Mainstream’s energy trading and aggregation business. In conjunction with other team members this role will help support the modelling process from the Mainstream side as it relates to all tariff structuring and pricing, project finance, valuation and M&A activities.

The role would suit an ambitious candidate keen to establish a strong foundation within financial modelling before progressing to take more responsibility for project financing or M&A work and commercial negotiations.

Key responsibilities:

• Design, build and maintain highly complex financial models for renewable energy projects including:
  • Leading the process of getting model inputs and assumptions from various teams and departments.
  • Sense checking and challenging those providing inputs to ensure an accurate representation of the risks and rewards is prepared and presented.
  • Analysing of project cash flows and presenting findings
  • Auditing and sense checking financial models to ensure outputs are reasonable in order to make quick and correct commercial decisions.
• Accurate management of information flows used to maintain financial models.
• Responsible for ensuring the structural integrity and functionality of models including accounting, tax and regulatory requirements of various markets.
• Performing market analysis to support key activities in project finance and M&A
• Liaising with other teams in the commercial department – Energy Marketing and PPAs, Project Management Office, Policy and Market Intelligence etc
• Be involved in the acquisition, investment, tender, bidding, and financial close activities of multi-billion Rand projects including:
  • Managing and providing project finance requirements in response to proposals such as financial models, term sheets from lenders, letters of support, requires schedules etc.
  • Providing feasibility study to assess bid competitiveness.
  • Responding to clarification questions on bids submitted within specified deadline.
• Interrogate commercial and financial assumptions included within such models, highlighting potential efficiencies / risk areas on acquisitions, investments, disposals & associated funding activities.
• Work internally as part of multi-functional teams to assess markets and projects as required.
• Benchmarking project inputs to provide an expected range of variation of new inputs.
• Managing workstreams related to the financial close process.

Key requirements:

• At least 1-2 years’ experience of financial modelling
• Renewable Energy or wider energy industry experience is desirable
• Must be self-motivated and be able to take initiative for requirements of the asset delivery team
• Ability to spearhead various project finance work streams and able to integrate into diversified multi-functional teams as required
• Commercial awareness and ability to highlight potential efficiencies / areas of concern within models that require further analysis or support
• Excellent understanding of Financial Statements
• Ability to analyse qualitative & quantitative information for decision making
• Strong communication skills
• Proficient with MS Excel and MS Office Suite
• Knowledge of VBA or Python is preferred