Chief Rural Infrastructure/Irrigation Engineer at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/165
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL3
Position N°: 50093613

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Agriculture, Human, and Social Development’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy High 5s priority of “Feed Africa” and “Improve Quality of Life for the People of Africa”.
• The complex objectives are:
  • To develop, policy and strategy
  • Provide deep sector expertise to the Regions by gathering pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide sector expertise on complex transactions
  • Develop new financing instruments
  • The Vice President will act as the spoke person to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on aspects of “Feed Africa” and Improve Quality of Life for the People of Africa”.

The Hiring Department

• The Agriculture Finance and Rural Development Department works closely with the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department and the Regional Directorates to provide support for the delivery of Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa, 2016-2025.
• The core mandate of Agriculture Finance and Rural Development Department is to develop the strategy of the Bank related to agricultural and rural finance and rural development, represent the Bank with external stakeholders, provide sector expertise to the regions by gathering experts who can be consulted by operations and closing the financing gap for private sector-led development of agricultural value chains.
• The Department is to mobilize and deploy the required expertise; and, provide support the design and implementation of agricultural finance and rural development operations for key commodity value chains. 
• The Agriculture Finance and Rural Development Department is structured into two Divisions: 
  • Agriculture and Rural Finance Division
  • Rural Infrastructure Development Division.
• The Rural Infrastructure Development Division has the following deliverables:
  • High-quality and Innovative Instruments for Rural Infrastructure Integrated into Projects
  • Practical Implementation Arrangements with Key Implementing Partners
  • Knowledge Management of Rural Infrastructure Best Practices
  • Enabling Environment and Alliances with Key Stakeholders
  • Monitoring of Performance and Recommendations for Corrective Actions

The Position
The Chief Rural Infrastructure Engineer reports to the Division Manager - Rural Infrastructure Development. The main work objectives are:

• Support to an enabling environment for rural development for agricultural transformation, focused on development and upgrading for 18 key priority value chains articulated in the Feed Africa Strategy in targeted Agro-Ecologic Zones;
• Provide support and expertise to regional directorates on priority of rural infrastructure (roads, energy, water, storage facilities and markets) linking smallholder farmers to markets within the overall Bank infrastructure pipeline;
• Ensure adoption of social and environmental safeguards for rural infrastructure.
• Monitor and report on the implementation of the rural infrastructure instruments and their contribution to Feed Africa and action plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions
The Chief Rural Infrastructure Engineer under the oversight of  the Division Manager - Rural Infrastructure Development performs the following: 
The Technical Oversight:

• Implement the Action Plan for Rural Infrastructure Development for 2017 and the next 3 years, which includes innovative new products that take into consideration smallholder farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, women and youth, and that facilitate sustainable and integrated value chain development;
• Lead support to the Regional Directorates and country teams for masterplans, construction and rehabilitation of priority market infrastructure and irrigation infrastructure to enhance efficiency and yield in priority production areas for the 18 priority commodity value chains;
• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight for initiate climate resilient infrastructure, in particular to respond to the frequent and devastating climate change effects – drought and floods;
• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight for construction of  warehouses and related infrastructure in order to increase the number of licensed warehouses that can be used by African commodity exchanges;
• Lead the conceptualization and guide the implementation of rural market infrastructure and irrigation infrastructure for Agropoles and Agro-industrialization and other value chain development projects;
• Support economic and sector work to orient Agricultural Transformation in Africa intervention in the area of rural market infrastructure and irrigation infrastructure in Africa;
• Support Regional Member Countries and Task Managers in the identification, preparation and appraisal of rural market infrastructure and irrigation infrastructure for country operations;
• Enhance project implementation quality, timeliness and integrity through developing and implementing controls that minimize slippages;
• Develop and implementing performance monitoring and evaluation systems and reporting activities (including Key Performance Indicators) to enable transparent assessment of rural market infrastructure outcomes and impacts, both for internal and external circulation;
• Establish synergies between the rural market infrastructure and irrigation infrastructure and the Bank’s other flagship programmes for Agricultural Transformation in Africa: Agropoles and Agro-Industrial Zones;
• Maintain regular communication channels with stakeholders on progress and achievement of agriculture value chain financing operations as well as emerging constraints and opportunities;
• Establish and maintain strategic collaboration with relevant partners in the area of rural market infrastructure for the sector;
• Define and monitor a set of impact indicators particularly around development impact and job creation for women and youth;
• Formulate alliance strategy with actors along value chains with a particular focus on public private partnerships (at the country and continent level) to engage stakeholders in alignment of sustainable socio-economic development goals;
• Agree upon follow up arrangements for project designs and technical assistance for implementation upon consultation with concerned African Development Bank country offices;
• Supervise annual work plan budget preparation and follow its execution, and advise senior management on the budgetary and financial impacts of the division’s operations;
• Review all reports and papers prepared by the staff of the Division and give appropriate guidance;

People Management:

• Guide a team of professional level and support staff in providing efficient and high quality services that support the business. Set realistic performance goals and motivate team members to meet them, both for individual staff and for the team as whole;
• Assess the training needs of staff in the Regional Directorates and Country Offices, monitor and evaluate their performance, and recommend personnel actions to the Division Manager;
• Be a collaborative member of the Divisional Team, contribute and share expertise and input and foster a collegial environment.
• Build strong relationship management and understand the business needs to assist in developing practical and effective solutions;

Leadership:

• Manage the efficient use of the financial and human resources.  On the technical front the work requires analytical and strategic skills, as well as personal knowledge and practical experience in the main areas of Bank intervention.
• Ensure high-quality output within available resources, by making the best use of its human, financial and technological assets, and by monitoring and enforcing efficiency targets;
• Supervise complex project identification, preparation and appraisal for Bank Group financing and verify quality of the projects;

Corporate Communication:

• Ensure effective communication between the Management and staff of the Bank, the authorities of member countries, officials from other organizations;
• Monitor best practice in the field and, as appropriate, liaise with counterparts in other organization.

Performs other duties as assigned by immediate supervisor

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Agriculture, Agriculture Economics, Engineering, or closely related disciplines.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in the area of irrigation development in an international multilateral institution
• Strong irrigation experience
• Sound Experience with International Development Financing Institutions in developing countries including a satisfactory knowledge of their operational policies and procedures;
• Proven leadership in matters relating to rural development such as policy dialogue, technical review of reports and consultation with other financiers, among others.
• Ability to complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate innovative options and implement solutions.
• Good communication skills (clearly and concisely, in giving instructions) and ability to cooperate at work in a diverse multicultural environment;
• Ability to lead and guide staff team from different backgrounds and culture;
• Ability to implement appropriate training / teaching methods and procedures for learning and knowledge sharing within the team
• 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 applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable.