Interview scorecard template

Climate Adaptation Finance Expert interview scorecard

Evaluate Climate Adaptation Finance Expert candidates across 4 weighted areas: technical command, deals and deliverables that closed, risk judgement, and explaining it to decision-makers. Technical command leads at 35%, so probe the instruments they have actually structured: concessional capital, guarantees, blended structures, and who bears which risk. Use the rubric to compare role-specific evidence consistently.

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finance riskadaptationblended financeclimate financedevelopment finance
TL;DR
For technical command, look for evidence the candidate structures blended instruments themselves and can say precisely which party bears which risk and why. For deals and deliverables that closed, look for evidence the candidate names adaptation deals that reached close, with their own scope, and is honest about ones that collapsed. Apply the written 1–5 anchors to every answer, record the evidence behind each rating, and use the factor weights to reach a consistent overall assessment.
Complete evaluation framework

What to assess and how to score it

Review the evidence signals before interviewing. Then use the anchored descriptions—not instinct alone—to choose the score that best matches each answer.

01
Evaluation factor

Technical command

35% weight

Probe the instruments they have actually structured: concessional capital, guarantees, blended structures, and who bears which risk.

Evidence to listen for

  • Commands the instruments, models, or reporting standards the role turns on
  • Can build the analysis rather than only interpret someone else's
  • Knows the assumptions inside a model and which ones actually drive the answer
  • Fluent in the frameworks and disclosure regimes that apply

Five-point scoring guide

1
Poor

Cannot explain the instruments or standards they claim to work with.

2
Needs Improvement

Interprets others' analysis but cannot build or defend it.

3
Satisfactory

Solid working command; thin on unfamiliar structures or standards.

4
Very Good

Builds the analysis and knows which assumptions actually move the answer.

5
Excellent

Structures blended instruments themselves and can say precisely which party bears which risk and why.

02
Evaluation factor

Deals and deliverables that closed

25% weight

Look for adaptation projects that reached financial close, with size, counterparties, and their own role.

Evidence to listen for

  • Names transactions, filings, or reports they worked, with size, counterparties, and their own scope
  • Distinguishes their contribution from the deal team's
  • Knows what happened afterwards, including what underperformed
  • Can describe one that fell over and why

Five-point scoring guide

1
Poor

No completed work; describes process rather than outcomes.

2
Needs Improvement

Involved in transactions but cannot state their own scope.

3
Satisfactory

Real deliverables with adequate ownership; outcomes described loosely.

4
Very Good

Named transactions or filings with clear personal scope and honest post-mortems.

5
Excellent

Names adaptation deals that reached close, with their own scope, and is honest about ones that collapsed.

03
Evaluation factor

Risk judgement

25% weight

Test how they price adaptation benefit when the counterfactual is a hazard that may not arrive for decades.

Evidence to listen for

  • Distinguishes a modelled risk from a real one
  • States confidence and what would change their view
  • Comfortable disagreeing with a number that suits everybody
  • Knows the limits of the data behind a projection, especially over long horizons

Five-point scoring guide

1
Poor

Treats model output as truth; no sense of data limits.

2
Needs Improvement

Reports numbers without qualifying them; avoids unwelcome conclusions.

3
Satisfactory

Reasonable judgement; qualifies findings when prompted.

4
Very Good

States confidence unprompted and will hold an unpopular position on evidence.

5
Excellent

Handles long-horizon uncertainty explicitly, stating what the model cannot know rather than burying it in a discount rate.

04
Evaluation factor

Explaining it to decision-makers

15% weight

Assess how they get development banks, private investors, and host governments to the same term sheet.

Evidence to listen for

  • Explains a technical position to an investment committee, board, or regulator so they can act on it
  • Writes to the standard the audience is held to
  • Handles challenge without either caving or digging in
  • Works across legal, operations, and external counterparties

Five-point scoring guide

1
Poor

Cannot communicate beyond technical peers.

2
Needs Improvement

Explanations lose the audience or oversimplify to the point of error.

3
Satisfactory

Adequate with familiar audiences; less effective under challenge.

4
Very Good

Explains clearly to committees and regulators and holds up under challenge.

5
Excellent

Aligns DFIs, private capital, and host governments on terms, and holds up under investment committee challenge.

Evidence-led prompts

Interview questions for a Climate Adaptation Finance Expert

Use these prompts to surface evidence for the weighted factors above and compare candidates against the same role-specific criteria.

  1. 01

    Walk us through the climate finance mechanisms and instruments you have personally structured: concessional tranches, guarantees, results-based payments, blended vehicles.

  2. 02

    What is your hands-on experience with international climate finance frameworks such as the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund or GEF?

  3. 03

    What experience do you have with public-private partnerships in climate adaptation finance, and who bore which risk in the structure?

  4. 04

    Describe a climate adaptation project you were involved in: size, counterparties, your own role, and whether it reached financial close.

  5. 05

    Walk us through a budget you managed for a large-scale climate project: total value, disbursement schedule, and what you had to reforecast.

See the complete Climate Adaptation Finance Expert question set
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