Chief Forestry Officer - ECNR at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/18/215
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Position N°: 50001121
Grade: PL3

The Complex

• The Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the VP for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex’.
• The ECVP is responsible for (i) providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical works to inform operational policy; (ii) systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.
• The ECVP will inspire, generate and provide direct support to the President and Senior Management of the Bank on a broad range of technical and management issues within the broad remit of economic, finance, public financial governance, management and social economics.

The Hiring Department/Division

• The external role of the African Natural Resources Center’s (ANRC) is to support Regional Member Countries (RMCs) improve development outcomes through effective management of natural resources wealth by delivering practical solutions on policy, legislative and investment decisions in the sector.
• Internally, it brings cohesion to the Bank’s strategies in natural resources sectors by providing a single lens through which the institution tackles natural resources governance.

The Position
As part of the ANRC, the Chief Forestry Officer will:

• Provide strategic advice to the director and operational leadership to forestry experts and consultants responsible for producing policy briefs, conduct periodic country sector studies and designing toolkits to generate the knowledge necessary to support RMCs capacity building programs.
• Balance of public and private sector knowledge in the relevant areas of the Center’s work and coordinate programs of advice to RMCs on policy, legal and institutional reforms as relates to policy analysis, design and implementation.
• Act as the Center’s focal point in managing strategic relations and partnerships with consultants and institutional partners, relevant arms of the Bank, regional governments and private sector entities.
• Oversee advocacy initiatives and coordinate knowledge-building programs implemented by experts in the stated areas of focus.

Duties and responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Division Manager and working in collaboration with other colleagues, the Chief Forestry Officer will provide support to AfDB’s forest resources development and management activities. In particular, s/he will:

• Act as an authority in the Bank in the area of forest resources management; by providing strategic guidance to the operations and ensuring that user departments have access to appropriate expert advice on forestry,
• Assist RMCs in the formulation and implementation of strategic initiatives for forest resources management; including the recognition of the role of forestry in arid areas with due consideration of the different ecological, social and economic factors,
• Assist RMCs in improving transparency and accountability in the management of their forest resources, and in identifying the assistance to be provided by the ANRC in these areas; by promoting measures aimed at strengthening forest institutions and governance, clarifying rights and access for forest communities,
• Play a key role in identifying, leading initiatives and screening new business opportunities (lending and knowledge) in forestry, ensuring that they are consistent with Bank’s strategies,
• Collaborate with Country departments to elaborate Bank’s forest resources management related policy and programs, and when necessary participate in related policy dialogue with RMC’s governments; including the promotion of sustainable forest management and reinforcing the importance of forests as a productive sector that can reduce poverty and create jobs,
• Identify major opportunities for strategic collaboration with multilateral and bilateral donors to improve the governance of forest resources in Africa; by engaging with them on policy advice and on how to achieve the industrialization of the sector,
• Contribute technical inputs to the preparation of country strategy papers and portfolio reviews, with particular reference to the governance of forest resources and value addition to forest products,
• Lead and participate in the production of key policy briefs, position papers and guidelines on Forestry; by liaising with government, academia/research institutions, private agencies and NGOs on forest and land use issues, and help the Center develop appropriate responses. This will include responding to enquiries from the media and public,
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to other NRM experts in the ANRC, the ECON Complex, other relevant departments and the Bank’s Regional and Country offices,
• Organize, originate and/or participate in the production of knowledge management and dissemination of information related to forest resources management, including the drafting of Terms of Reference (ToR), the selection of consultants and the supervision of the technical aspects of their work,
• Act as a focal point for forest resources management in the co-ordination with other stakeholders within the Bank along with other donors and development partners; by leading or contributing to the development of new funding proposals to secure and manage adequate budgets in collaboration with other Bank departments - including managing donor relationships and reporting,
• Represent the Bank at various forest resources management seminars and conferences; by organizing, or co- organizing, and participating in seminars and workshops on issues of policy and practice, project development, dissemination of research findings and capacity strengthening,
• Perform any other duty pertinent to the role and functions of the ANRC assigned by the Director of ANRC and/senior management.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master’s degree /post-graduate degree or its equivalent in Forestry, or closely related natural resources management fields of study;
• Have a minimum of seven (7) work experience in the sector, international organizations, regulatory environment or a think-tank with a focus in the relevant sector and/or function;
• Preferably at least five (5) years relevant professional experience in Natural Resources Management related fields including policy development, project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; experience in MDBs and with donor agencies is a plus.
• A change agent and an experienced professional with a track record in project design, execution and publishing for internal and external audiences,
• Knowledge and hands on experience of sector policy/regulatory environment, regional initiatives in the sector, regional development programs and relevant protocols,
• Experience in knowledge management and oversight of advocacy programs,
• Experience designing and implementing programs of advice and capacity building,
• Knowledge of the region and DFI environment,
• Knowledge of and experience in implementing principles of good governance as pertaining to natural resources policy,
• Extensive report writing and editorial skills,
• Knowledge of influencers of public policy,
• Demonstrated vision and professional competence of subjects dealt with by the Bank.
• Experience in policy advice in Natural Resource Management matters
• Experience that demonstrates strong facilitation skills;
• Demonstrated experience with projects with solid project management skills
• Networking; good interpersonal, resourcefulness and attention to details;
• Private sector experience is an added advantage
• Innovation & Creativity
• Communication
• Strategic planning
• Client orientation
• Team work and relations
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
• Experience in the use of SAP is advantageous.