Lead Economist (ECCE) at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/19/110
Location: Regional Member Countries
Grade: PL2
Position N°: 50067407/50001261/50076499

The Complex

• The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the Vice President for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex.
• The Complex 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 Complex 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

• The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex’s core mandate has been to position the Bank as a trusted broker of knowledge in the pursuit of Africa’s development and make it a world class center of excellence advocating for evidence based policy making.
• The Complex is therefore responsible for the management of Bank Group knowledge produce.
• This includes knowledge generation through strategic and applied research, knowledge measurement embedded in statistical and data work, knowledge generated from operational and field experiences, and knowledge sharing through dissemination, networking and partnerships. Hence the Complex’s activities can broadly be categorized as: 
  • Providing the knowledge base to support the effectiveness of Bank Group Operations and policy dialogue in Regional Member Countries;
  • Capacity development in Regional Member Countries and Sub-Regional Organizations in statistics, project and economic management; and,
  • Leadership in coordination of knowledge advocacy, financial and economic governance in Africa.

The Position

• Under the guidance of the Chief Economist, the Lead Economist drives the Bank’s leadership in building sustainable competitive economies in the Regional Member Countries.
• He / she contributes to policy dialog and coordinates the Bank’s economic analytical work, with the view to spur a culture of excellency and stewardship for the Bank’s clients and partners.
• The Lead Economist enhances the Bank’s branding in providing high standard economic advice to the clients in alignment with the donor community in the Regional Member Countries.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensure the Bank is at the forefront of economic development knowledge and practice in support to the Regional Member Countries’ effective management of macroeconomic policy.
• Leading the preparation of knowledge products to inform the design of country strategy papers, in collaboration with the regional directorates general and other stakeholders inside and outside the Bank; and contribute to the preparation of these country strategy papers.
• Developing partnerships with the other knowledge departments within the Complex and in and outside the Bank, and ensure that the highest level of knowledge is incorporated in the design of Bank strategies and operations.
• Leading production of flagship reports on country economic issues
• Leading the prioritization of the High 5s and knowledge-based solutions in country strategy papers in collaboration with the regional directorates general and other stakeholders.
• Leading the application of economic research generated inside and outside of the Bank, to the development and review of economic policy solutions tailored to the specific circumstances of each Regional Member Countries.
• Coordinating the work of country economists in the Bank towards improved harmonization of approaches and standards of quality
• Leading the production of country-relevant, timely, analytically sound, and reliable policy advice for Regional Member Countries.
• Monitoring economic conditions and policies in Regional Member Countries and providing policymakers with well researched insights about developments in their economies.
• Provide advice and guidance on core Bank policies, strategies and processes for greater Bank effectiveness.
• Foster the Bank’s position on high level strategic issues in relation to economic governance.
• Enhance the Bank’s comparative advantage and quality assurance in delivering its development goals to the Regional Member Countries.
• Design, lead and oversee the implementation of the Bank’s knowledge strategy.
• Manage and monitor the complex’ economic research agenda.
• Support the economic work transformation venture across the Bank, in coordination with other relevant Bank Units.
• Coordinate partnership with sister institutions on high level economic development initiatives in support to the Regional Member Countries.
• Contribute to knowledge generation and outreach.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• A minimum of Master’s degree in Macroeconomics, Econometrics or Applied Economics; a PhD will be an added advantage.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant and progressive professional experience in macroeconomic management, Applied economics, Research, gained within major international organizations.
• Standing record of support in macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, including debt management issues in the Regional Member Countries is a must.
• Evidence of recently international published works in economics in international journals or books published by reputable publishers.
• Excellent knowledge of the international development institutions’ policies, guidelines and procedures.
• Proven experience in leading policy dialog with the highest level of Government bodies in the Regional Member Countries.
• Demonstrated operational experience in a multilateral setting.
• A very good background in corporate services activities in particular in procurement management, fixed assets management for public development organizations.
• Solid experience in knowledge and partnership leverage.
• Competence in the use of at least one standard econometric software for empirical analysis.
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications.