Secretary General at African Development Bank - AfDB

 

THE BANK:

 

Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries).  The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas, all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; energy, agro-business, industrialisation, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa. The Bank is seeking to build a senior management team that will lead the successful implementation of this vision.

Duties and responsibilities

 

The Secretary-General reports directly to the President and supervises the General Secretariat which provides secretarial services to Boards of Governors and Boards of Directors. The Secretary-General is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the day-to-day functioning of the General Secretariat (SEGL) and other responsibilities which include but are not limited to the following:

 

1.    Providing advisory services to the President of the Bank and senior management on the one hand and ensures consensus building - formal and informal – with respect to Board matters.

 

2.    Providing administrative support and secretarial services to the Board of Directors, Governors of the African Development Bank and the African development Fund.

 

3.    Ensuring the coordination of statutory relations with the Governments of member countries and Boards of Governors.

 

4.    Directing and supervising activities relating to reproducing, publishing, storing and distributing of Bank’s internal documents.

 

5.    Ensuring management and safe-keeping of vital records and supervising utilization of the Bank’s seals.

 

6.    Verifying, controlling and ensuring the observance by the Bank Group, of obligations and rights stipulated in agreements and conventions signed with member States, Governments and International Organizations.

 

7.    Planning, directing and supervising the translation of all official documents and interpretation services for meetings of the Board of Governors, Directors and organizational units.

 

8.    Ensuring that efficient protocol and related support services are provided to the Bank’s elected officers, and other related administrative services to Bank staff. 

Selection Criteria

Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

 

1.    A minimum of a Master's degree or its equivalent in Political Science, Law, Corporate Governance, Business Administration, or related disciplines.

 

2.    A minimum of fifteen (15) years relevant and demonstrable experience acquired in corporate governance and or Board management or relevant areas. The last eight (08) years should be at a senior management level.

 

3.    Demonstrable understanding of corporate governance and protocol issues; and the role of Boards in multilateral development institutions and issues related to Board effectiveness.

 

4.    Experience in managing host country agreements and relations with governments and the diplomatic community.

 

5.    Excellent understanding of multilateral development institutions group policies, strategies and operational issues and the role of the Board and governors in these processes.

 

6.    Demonstrated ability to take prudent business risks and make effective, timely and well-determined decisions.

 

7.    Proven ability to build and lead motivated and committed teams across functional boundaries, and utilize talent and expertise of team members in a productive way.

 

8.    Strong managerial, interpersonal and communication skills; strong negotiating skills; ability to think strategically.

 

9.    Ability to listen and communicate effectively with oversight bodies such as Boards of Executive Directors and Governors and other senior management and government officials.

 

10. Ability to think strategically and design long-term plans and programs to develop staff competences in line with strategic priorities.

 

11. Ability to inspire, generate and sustain staff commitment and professional excellence.

 

12. Excellent negotiating skills and ability to communicate orally and write effectively in English and/or French, with a working knowledge of the other language.