Senior Education Economist Officer, RDGN2 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/19/221
Location: Tunis, Tunisia
Position N°: 50065414
Grade: PL5

The Complex

• The Vice-Presidency for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery is responsible for operational relevancy, efficiency and effectiveness of the Bank Group’s operational programs, and activities.
• The Vice-Presidency Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery will ensure that the Bank operates successfully across its Regional Members Countries and will oversee the full implementation of all aspects of the Bank’s Regional Directorates.

The Hiring Department/Division

• The mission of the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Division is to contribute to the Bank’s efforts to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in Regional Member Countries. It does so by (1) contributing to development of country and regional strategies and building sector knowledge and (2) focusing on project/programme origination and delivery for approval of operations defined under the High 5 priorities.
• The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department, within the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex will spearhead the achievement of the High 5s on “Improving the Quality of Life of People in Africa” and contribute to the other High 5s. The Department has two divisions (i) Education, Human Capital and Skills Development Division, which focuses on scaling-up of Bank’s support to education, human capital and employment/livelihoods; and (ii) Public Health, Security and Nutrition Division focusing on strengthening health systems and nutrition for human wellbeing. It also hosts various pertinent initiatives an
• Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex, the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Directorates, one in each region of Africa: North, South, East, West, and Central. Each Regional Directorate is headed by a Director General and is staffed with the relevant sectoral functions and administrative capabilities for rapid delivery of services to client countries.
• The Regional Directorates provide overall strategic direction to country offices within the regions and are responsible for the Bank’s operations, business development, project management and overall effective delivery of the Bank’s High 5s :‘Light Up and Power Africa’, ‘Feed Africa,’ ‘Industrialize Africa,’ ‘Integrate Africa,’ and ‘Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.’

The Position

• The Senior Education Economist Officer will participate in the implementation of activities in the North Africa Region for the achievement of the High 5 : “Improving the Quality of Life of People in Africa .
• He/She will provide technical support to the Bank Group’s operational activities in the field of Education & Skills Development, technical studies and institutional mechanisms for Education & Skills Development projects/ programs proposed for Bank financing in North Africa, as well as the feasibility study of their current and future impact and benefits.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the regional sectorial manager RDGN 2, the incumbent will: Ensure the design and implementation of projects, programmes and studies in the education sector. To that end, the incumbent will carry out the following:

• Analyze the financing requests of the regional member countries (RMCs) in light of the priorities identified by the Bank;
• Conduct/participate in project preparation and implementation phases: identification, preparation, appraisal and supervision, including the preparation of reports, analyses of the implementation difficulties and the adoption of corrective measures;
• Contribute to the design and evaluation of Bank-supported education sector operations as a technical expert;
• Contribute to the design of policy development and evaluation papers on education, Skills Development and employability in collaboration with sector specialists;
• Provide leadership in initiating, developing, updating and implementing economic and sector work (ESW)
• Select and make proposals for the recruitment of consultants required for the Bank’s operations and supervise implementation of their duties;
• Maintain relations with other donor agencies with a view to co-financing the Bank’s operations;
• Examine requests for the procurement of goods, services and works and monitor the status of requests and deliveries;
• Participate in dialogue with the representatives of governments on basic orientations in the education, skill science and innovation subsectors;
• Examine project implementation problems and propose solutions;
• Play an active role in knowledge sharing with the Bank’s clients, staff and development partners;
• Provide other departments/divisions of the Bank with expert advice on education economic and financial issues, particularly on links with the productive sector;
• Examine and give opinions on documents, studies and other reports (identification, preparation, appraisal and completion reports, Country Strategic and policy Papers, etc.) prepared by the Bank;
• Participate actively in Sector; Country/Regional Team meetings, Country Strategic Paper and Portfolio Assessment missions; and
• Serve as a reference to colleagues in areas of competence, particularly in Education economic and financial analyses;
• Contribute to resources mobilization from multilateral/bilateral development institutions, donors and private sector institutions to complement the Bank Group’s operations;
• Participate at technical meetings on education on behalf of the Bank.

Selection Criteria

• At least a Master's degree in Economics with related focus on Education or skills development;
• A minimum five (5) years of relevant professional experience in the areas of development finance, education economics, skills development and in the definition and implementation of sectoral policies in the economic sector;
• Good command of the Project Cycle and proven experience in designing and managing education, Skills Development and employability support-projects and demonstrated experience in managing complex projects with evidence on clear outcomes and impacts.
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with gender and cross-sectoral approaches in designing sector policies, strategies and operations is desirable
• Ability to manage multiple, simultaneous and shifting demands/priorities under tight deadlines and coordinate the work of others;
• Demonstrated leadership effectiveness and ability to achieve defined objectives in international multicultural contexts
• Knowledge of the North Africa Region is desirable
• Client orientation to understand, and when appropriate, anticipate client needs, to ensure the clients receive the best possible service from the Bank.
• Ability to work in teams; good interpersonal, communication and project management skills; resourcefulness, attention to details and client and result orientation;
• Dynamic, achievement-focused professional; high degree of personal commitment; proven coordination and analytical skills;
• Competence in the use of the Bank’s standard software applications; and
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English and/or French with good working knowledge of the other language

Important Information/Notice

• This position is classified international status and attracts international terms and conditions of employment.
• Should you encounter technical difficulties in submitting your application, please send an email with a precise description of the issue and/or a screenshot showing the problem to: HR Direct HRDirect@AFDB.ORG
• To apply for this position, you need to be national of one of AfDB member countries.
• Applicants who fully meet the Bank's requirements and are considered for interview will be contacted. Only online applications submitted with a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae (CV) and copies of the required degrees will be considered. The President, AfDB, reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level. The African Development Bank is an equal opportunities employer. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) does not ask for payments of any kind from applicants throughout the recruitment process (job application, CV review, interview meeting, and final processing of applications). In addition, the Bank does not request information on applicants’ bank accounts. The African Development Bank Group declines all responsibility for the fraudulent publications of job offers in its name or in general for the fraudulent use of its name in any way whatsoever.