Project-Finance Drawdown Command Leader

The mandate

Debt drawdowns have slipped because engineering completion, independent certification, approved change and eligible cost cannot be reconciled into lender evidence before each funding date. Contractors continue work against sponsor cash while conditions precedent and reserve requirements are tracked separately. The project-finance director exited after a missed draw, creating an eighteen-month leadership gap across peak construction and the permanent funding operating model.

The interim leader will command the path from workfront and contract event through certified progress, eligible cost, forecast, covenant, draw request and cash application. Work includes conditions precedent, lender and technical-adviser information, sponsor equity sequencing, reserve accounts, change control, contingency, disbursement evidence and forward draw readiness. Engineering judgement remains with qualified certifiers, while finance owns the completeness and timing of the funding case.

A permanent project-finance executive must be appointed by month eleven and lead the last two major draw cycles. Handover requires the successor to challenge an ineligible cost, decide sponsor-versus-debt sequencing and defend covenant headroom after a delay scenario. The transfer includes facility interpretations supplied by counsel, evidence calendars, eligible-cost rules, lender issues, contingencies, reserve mechanics and unresolved commercial claims.

The seat can direct drawdown command, reject incomplete funding packs, prioritise evidence closure, allocate approved sponsor liquidity, set forecast standards and escalate construction choices that threaten financing. It cannot certify work, interpret finance documents, approve contractor claims, sign draw notices, amend facilities, accept covenant breaches, waive procurement controls or direct safety and engineering decisions.

The remit excludes acting as project director, engineer, lender adviser, legal counsel or permanent treasurer. Success means draw packs are complete before deadlines, eligible cost reconciles, funding follows progress, reserves and covenants remain visible and the successor can manage lender challenge. No draw will be accelerated through unsupported certification or re delayed change and cost evidence.

Why this seat is open

The missed draw revealed that project controls reported construction, finance reported spend and advisers reported conditions without one accountable funding chain. Departure created immediate risk to sponsor cash and lender confidence. Temporary executive authority is needed to align evidence, protect construction liquidity and qualify a permanent leader through demanding live drawdowns rather than a completed programme manual.

What you will own

• Map conditions precedent, certification, eligible cost, change, procurement, covenant, reserve and sponsor-equity requirements by draw.
• Reconcile physical progress, contract entitlement, approved invoice, cash forecast and facility eligibility before funding submission.
• Establish evidence owners, due dates, challenge, deficiency closure, lender query and resubmission routes across workfronts.
• Build forward draw forecasts linked to schedule, quantities, change, contractor cash, contingency and debt availability.
• Chair draw command with engineering, commercial, controls, legal and treasury while preserving each formal authority.
• Stress delay, ineligible cost, reserve shortfall, claim, rate and sponsor-funding scenarios against construction continuity.
• Induct the successor through live draw and covenant decisions and transfer every lender condition and unresolved exposure.

Candidate qualifications

• Has led construction-period project-finance drawdowns for rail, transport or another complex multi-contract infrastructure programme.
• Understands eligible cost, certification, conditions precedent, reserves, sponsor equity, covenants, disbursement and lender advisers.
• Can reconcile workfront progress and commercial change to finance evidence without making engineering determinations.
• Has recovered a missed draw while preserving lender confidence and contractor continuity under a constrained sponsor-cash window.
• Has challenged programme forecasts that ignored facility eligibility, reserve mechanics or unresolved claims.
• Demonstrates permanent leadership transfer through live funding, covenant and evidence-dispute decisions before departure.

Non-negotiables

• Will work onsite in Riyadh and attend all workfront inspections and quarterly lender technical reviews.
• Must disclose relationships with sponsors, lenders, contractors, certifiers, project advisers and public authorities.
• Brings construction drawdown command under project-finance documents; corporate capital budgeting alone is insufficient.
• Will not treat unsupported progress, unapproved change or disputed cost as draw-eligible evidence.

1. 49 words maximum. Which evidence gap most often turns genuine construction progress into an ineligible draw cost?
2. 49 words maximum. How would you sequence sponsor cash when lender certification slips but work must continue?
3. 49 words maximum. What live covenant decision must the permanent executive own before handover?