Principal Governance Officer - OSGE at African Development Bank - AfDB

The core objectives of the Governance Division (OSGE.1) in the Department on Governance, Economic and Financial management (OSGE) is to provide support to Regional Member Countries (RMCs) in their efforts to improve their governance systems, particularly in the areas of public sector and economic management, sector governance and business enabling environment (BEE). This objective is achieved through operations designed to support economic and financial reforms and build institutional capacity. The choice and mix of instruments deployed by the Bank and managed by the Department, which include policy based lending, investment projects, technical assistance, capacity building and economic and sector work, are tailored to country circumstances. The Division undertakes policy dialogue with RMCs governments on reform priorities and nature and modalities of Bank assistance. It is responsible for the identification, design and delivery of Bank support in that domain. The Department’s activities are guided by the Bank’s Long-Term Strategy 2013-2022 and the Governance Strategic Framework and Action Plan (GAP II) covering the period 2014-2018.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Division Manager, OSGE.1, the incumbent will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Participate in the identification, appraisal, supervision and ex-post review of Bank support programs in the area of economic and financial governance with a focus on macroeconomic management, fiscal policy, fiscal public financial management, and their incidence on growth and macro-economic stability in RMCs. These operations include budget support operations, institutional strengthening projects, and targeted diagnostic works with a focus on building effective institutions that promote equity, transparency, and accountability in the management of public resources;
• Manage up to three country portfolios including a mix of policy-based lending, budget support operations, institutional strengthening, non-lending activities and analytical work focusing on good financial governance and sound public financial management; and contribute to the preparation of Country Strategy Papers (CSP) and Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA); provide guidance to Country/Regional Programming Departments on fiscal policy and public financial management dialogue with (RMCs);
• Contribute to the Department’s work in the design of Bank Group operational interventions in the area of public financial management and implementation of inclusive and sustainable public budgeting practices for national and local governances in line with the Bank Group’s Governance Policy and Guidelines and international best practices;.
• Coordinate the Department important work related to public expenditure and financial accountability reviews (PEFA) and serve as focal point on PEFA for the Bank. Participate in other relevant upstream analytical and diagnostic work, including preparation of PFM assessment that underpins the PEFA, with a view to enrich the Bank’s knowledge base and strengthen its operational interventions through policy-based lending and budget support operations;
• Provide state of the art technical expertise to RMCs on fiscal policy formulation and strategies for promoting good public budgeting practice throughout the budget cycle: from participatory planning and priority setting; preparation, appropriation and approval; execution, revisions and oversight; to budget review analysis and lessons learning;
• Facilitate enhanced collaboration with bilateral and institutional partners in joint budget support and institutional capacity building interventions in the area of economic and financial governance; and ensure participation of non-state actors in the Bank’s work to promote effective and accountable public institutions;
• Draft Management statements and technical contributions on public financial management and public budgeting issues for various Bank Group reports, for economic governance and public financial management issues for various Bank Group reports, for dissemination in print or electronic format (including the Internet); and draft articles for publication in external professional journals;
• Represent the Bank in national, regional, and global partnerships, networks, conferences, workshops, and training seminars on issues related to governance in general, and fiscal policy and public budgeting in particular.

Selection Criteria

Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• A minimum of Master’s degree or equivalent university degree in development economics, macroeconomics, economic policy management, public finances, public sector auditing;
• A Minimum of six (6) years of experience in public policy, economic policy, or government financial management, and strong experience in the design and delivery of operations (including investment projects and policy based operations), as well as project management, preferably in a multilateral development finance institution; at least four (4) years of which should be focused on developing countries, preferably in Africa;
• Sound understanding of macroeconomics, fiscal policy and public budgeting issues in developing countries and demonstrable experience of the operational policies, procedures and practices of major bilateral or multilateral development agencies in Africa;
• Ability to apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment;
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
•  Knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish would be an added advantage.
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships with senior people, both internally & externally.
• Honesty and professional integrity.
• Competence in standard Microsoft Office applications, familiarity with SAP recommended.