Senior Investment Manager –Climate Investor 3

Climate Fund Managers; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Climate Fund Managers is seeking a Senior Investment professional to join their Africa team. The role involves orchestrating climate-aligned investments, with responsibilities that include deal origination and execution, focusing on green hydrogen initiatives across South Africa and Namibia. Ideal candidates will possess extensive experience in infrastructure investment and a deep understanding of hydrogen economics.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in infrastructure or energy investment with a strong track record.
• At least 3–5 years of direct experience in green hydrogen or adjacent clean technologies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine the firm’s green hydrogen investment thesis.
• Identify and originate investment opportunities across the green hydrogen value chain.
• Manage and oversee a diverse portfolio of green hydrogen assets.

Skills

Financial Acumen

Environmental Expertise

Policy Insight

ESG Integration

Due Diligence Excellence

Impact Measurement

Market Intelligence

Stakeholder Management

Innovation and Adaptability

Communication

Education

Chartered Accountant, CFA, or Engineer with an MBA or equivalent master’s degree

Job description

Are you ready for your next play? We are bold, respectful, and we deliver, with Impact. Our long-term vision is to raise, deploy and manage funds for climate change mitigation and adaptation that will play a transformative role in our target sectors.

Tomorrow's Investing, Today.

Climate Fund Managers (CFM) is a leading climate-centric blended finance fund manager operating across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It raises and deploys climate finance funds in partnership at scale and at pace. Through its award-winning model, CFM has created a blueprint for a new generation of climate financiers, whose collective impact can help end the climate crisis.

With over USD 2 billion in assets under management and targeting an additional USD 6 billion, CFM’s private equity and private credit facilities address key areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, including renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy transmission, water and sanitation, and biodiversity and oceans infrastructure. CFM’s funds are supported by public and private sector organisations, with public capital deployed strategically to balance risk and mobilise private sector capital, enabling investment across the project lifecycle - from development to construction and operation. Established in 2015, CFM is a joint venture between Dutch development bank FMO and Sanlam InfraWorks of the Sanlam Group of South Africa, with offices in The Hague, Cape Town, Singapore, and Bogotá.

CFM currently manages two emerging market infrastructure funds focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation: Climate Investor One, a c. USD 1 billion fund focused on renewable energy, and Climate Investor Two, a c. USD 1 billion fund focused on water, sanitation and oceans infrastructure. CFM is currently implementing further blended finance initiatives in the green hydrogen, power transmission and cities sectors focused on development, equity, private credit and guarantee financial instruments.

CFM NL established SA-FM to manage the SA-H2 Fund—a US$1.0 billion blended finance vehicle that will invest in energy transition infrastructure in South Africa, including green hydrogen, power-to-X, renewables, and associated infrastructure. Leveraging South Africa’s low-cost renewable resources, land availability, port infrastructure, proximity to international off-take markets, and an enabling regulatory environment, the country offers a strong platform for competitively producing and exporting green hydrogen. The SA-H2 Fund aims to unlock this potential while delivering significant local impact through economic growth, foreign direct investment, access to green energy, water treatment, domestic off-take, and job creation.

In Namibia, NAM-H2 Fund Managers—a joint venture between Climate Fund Managers, Invest International, and the Namibian Government via the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF)—has been established to manage SDG Namibia One. This bespoke, US$1.0 billion blended finance fund was co-designed by the Namibian and Dutch governments to support the development of Namibia’s synthetic fuels sector, with a focus on green hydrogen and related infrastructure. The fund aims to mobilise capital from Namibian, regional, and international sources to develop and finance impactful projects aligned with Namibia’s green hydrogen strategy.

Job Purpose

We are seeking a Senior Investment professional to join our Africa team. This role may be based in either Cape Town or Windhoek and will play a key role in originating and executing climate-aligned investments across both the SA-H2 Fund and SDG Namibia One. Responsibilities include deal origination, project preparation, and fund deployment, focused on unlisted investments in green hydrogen and related infrastructure.

This role will contribute to building a resilient green hydrogen economy in Africa and accelerating the continent’s transition to a clean energy future. The role has a dual reporting line: to the Regional Head of Africa for all investment-related activities, and to the CEO for matters related to stakeholder engagement, third-party fundraising, risk and compliance, and business development. A willingness to travel to Namibia is essential, as the position will work across both South African and Namibian green hydrogen initiatives. The role supports the development and execution of investment strategies for our green hydrogen funds, providing regional support and interfacing with both local and international divisions of CFM divisions and offices.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Investment and Fundraising Strategy

• Develop and refine the firm’s green hydrogen investment thesis in alignment with market trends, regulatory drivers, and technological innovation.
• Build and maintain a strategic network across the green hydrogen ecosystem, including developers, OEMs, offtakers, regulators, and co-investors.
• Identify and assess new market geographies and project pipelines for investment potential.
• Integrate ESG considerations into the investment strategy to ensure alignment with environmental and ethical standards.

Deal Origination and Execution

• Identify and originate investment opportunities across the green hydrogen value chain (e.g. production, storage, transport, downstream).
• Lead financial modelling, due diligence, and valuation processes.
• Structure and negotiate investment terms in collaboration with legal and technical advisors.
• Present investment recommendations to the Investment Committee and lead decision-making.

Portfolio Management

• Manage and oversee a diverse portfolio of green hydrogen assets, ensuring optimal performance.
• Support portfolio companies on strategic, operational, and financing matters.
• Drive value-creation initiatives, such as refinancing, technology upgrades, and offtake optimization.

Risk and Impact Management

• Identify and mitigate financial, operational, and climate-related risks (e.g. transition and physical risks).
• Maintain robust frameworks for tracking and reporting environmental and social impact.
• Ensure investments comply with all applicable laws, policies, and industry standards.
  

Stakeholder Engagement and Ecosystem Development

• Cultivate relationships with developers, regulators, OEMs, offtakers, strategic partners, and co-investors.
• Build strategic networks within the Namibian and broader green hydrogen ecosystem.
• Represent the firm externally at industry events and stakeholder engagements.

Team Leadership and Collaboration

• Mentor and lead junior investment professionals, promoting a high-performance and collaborative team culture.
• Work cross-functionally with ESG, legal, and asset management teams to ensure alignment and excellence throughout the investment lifecycle.

Qualifications and Experience

• Chartered Accountant, CFA, or Engineer with an MBA or equivalent master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in infrastructure or energy investment, investment banking, or corporate finance, with a strong track record in deal structuring and financial reporting across sectors such as Renewable Energy, Water, Waste-to-Energy, or Oceans Infrastructure. This should include at least 3–5 years of direct experience in green hydrogen or adjacent clean technologies.

• Proven track record of leading complex transactions from origination to closing.
• Deep understanding of hydrogen economics, supply chains, regulatory frameworks, and commercial agreements (e.g., offtake, EPC, O&M).
• Experience engaging with institutional investors, development finance institutions, and multilateral agencies.
• Strong analytical, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Advanced financial modelling and valuation capabilities.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks, offtake agreements, EPC/O&M contracts, and hydrogen economics.

Skills

• Financial Acumen: Proficiency in assessing ROI, risk, and financial viability of climate investments.
• Environmental Expertise: Strong grasp of sustainability principles, climate science, and hydrogen-specific environmental impact.
• Policy Insight: Understanding of international climate frameworks (e.g., Paris Agreement) and local regulatory landscapes.
• ESG Integration: Ability to embed ESG considerations across all phases of investment analysis and management.
• Due Diligence Excellence: Capable of technical, legal, and financial assessments of early- and late-stage hydrogen projects.
• Impact Measurement: Skilled in developing and applying impact frameworks to quantify environmental and social outcomes.
• Market Intelligence: Deep awareness of climate finance trends, hydrogen technologies, and emerging markets.
• Stakeholder Management: Ability to influence and collaborate with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Innovation and Adaptability: Comfortable navigating a fast-evolving sector with creativity and resilience.
• Communication: Clear and compelling communicator, capable of conveying technical and financial insights to varied audiences.
• Global Perspective: Brings a broad worldview and cultural agility, especially in cross-border investment environments.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Brings passion for energy transition.
• Multilingual skills or experience: Understanding of working in emerging markets, particularly in Africa.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills: The ability to inspire and drive teams forward.
• Willingness and ability to travel to Namibia as required.
  

Behavioural Competencies

• Devotion to Quality
• Results Oriented
• Adaptability
• Planning
• Initiative
• Situational Awareness
• Analysing and forming Opinion
• Performance under pressure