Principal, Investment & Development Finance
Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs · United States
full timehybridPrincipal
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Evaluates project economics, develops financial models, analyzes capital structures, supports due diligence, and recommends financing strategies.
Responsibilities
- Build and review financial models, project economics, scenario analyses, capital structures, and funding-source assessments. - Coordinate financial due diligence and test assumptions against market, technical, policy, and sponsor evidence. - Develop decision materials that explain risks, sensitivities, financing gaps, and potential mitigations. - Support project teams in preparing coherent, version-controlled financial and diligence packages. - Flag regulated activity, conflicts, valuation uncertainty, and private-benefit concerns for legal or executive review. Reporting & working relationships Reports to the capital-formation or project-development leader. Works with project managers, sponsors, technical advisers, public agencies, lenders, investors, counsel, and CEFA finance staff. Authority & limits May manage assigned workstreams, consultants, vendors, and routine expenditures within approved plans and delegated limits. May not bind CEFA, promise funding, execute agreements, or represent transaction approval without authorization.
Required qualifications
- Experience in project finance, investment banking, development finance, infrastructure, corporate finance, or transaction advisory. - Advanced modeling and analytical skills with the ability to explain complex structures to non-financial decision-makers. - Strong diligence, documentation, and ethical judgment; relevant graduate degree or credential preferred.
Preferred qualifications
What success looks like: - Reliable models with documented assumptions, sources, sensitivities, and review history. - Clear financing options and risk analysis for stage-gate and partner decisions. - Faster, more disciplined diligence and fewer late-stage financial surprises. - No representation that analysis constitutes an offer, solicitation, investment advice, or CEFA commitment.
Benefits
Employment classification: Paid professional staff position. Status: Full-time. Term: Ongoing employment, subject to applicable law and CEFA policies. Compensation: Salary and benefits commensurate with experience and CEFA's approved compensation framework. Performance cycle: Annual objectives with regular check-ins and a formal performance review. Work arrangement: Location, travel, schedule, and exempt/nonexempt status determined for the final role and jurisdiction.
Equal opportunity
CEFA is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to any legally protected characteristic.
About Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs
CEFA is a mission-driven nonprofit institution connecting research, policy, capital, and public- and private-sector partners to advance economic development and foreign-affairs priorities at national scale.