Senior Civil Society Officer at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/189
Location: Nigeria
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50093610

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 (i) to develop, policy and strategy; (ii) provide deep sector expertise to the Regions by gathering pools of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide sector expertise on complex transactions; (iii) develop new financing instruments; (iv) the VP will act as the spokesperson 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/Division

• The role of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department is to operationalize the Ten-Year Strategy High 5 priority of “Improve Quality of Life for the People of Africa” with focus on Gender, Women and Civil Society.
• The Gender, Women and Civil Society Department is designed to improve coherence and coordination across Complexes on Gender and Civil Society Organization issues.
• The department will ensure strategic priorities are reflected in resources allocation, enhanced monitoring and management of performance, and strengthening the focus on results.

The Position

• The Senior Civil Society Officer is responsible for monitoring & evaluation, capacity building, knowledge management and reporting issues on Civil Society Engagement in the Bank.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Monitor progress achieved on adopting participatory approaches and the extent of participation by stakeholders in Bank financed projects;
• Provide knowledge sharing on Civil Society Organizations -related issues;
• Coordinate provision of training for Bank staff in areas of participatory approaches and inclusive growth to development;
• Report to management on extent to which Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders were consulted throughout the project cycle, and were involved in project implementation focusing on Hi5s;
• Report on the extent to which Bank financed operations employ participatory approaches in country programming, projects and programs;
• Support Civil Society Organizations-related issues in the Regional Offices;
• Contribute to staff training;
• Assist to organize the Civil Society Forum at the Annual Meetings;
• Communicate with Civil Society Organizations on a regular basis and manage Bank’s overall engagement with civil society;
• Forge strategic partnerships between Bank and Civil Society Organizations focusing on delivering High 5s;
• Develop projects which integrate participatory approaches/methodologies for financing, such as flagship projects under selected High 5s or poverty alleviation projects;
• Operate and update Civil Society Organizations database for knowledge sharing and collaboration;
• Strengthen the Bank staff capacities on Civil Society Organizations engagement
• Disseminate information to Regional Officers and Civil Society Organization Focal Points on relevant matters of the advocacy and partnerships;
• Conduct reviews of project documents and report on civil society engagement in the process of development (appraisal reports, Country Strategy Paper and strategies);
• Provide support to Division in organizing functions and conferences;
• Provide support to organization of the Civil Society Organization Open days in Country Offices;
• Performs other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's Degree or its equivalent in in Social Development, Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, Economics or closely related disciplines;
• Have a minimum five (5) years of relevant experience in participation and civil society engagement, advocacy and policy dialogue skills.
• Demonstrate understanding of regional social issues, analysis and policy formulation; knowledge of the practices of major bilateral and multilateral partner development agencies in African countries is an added advantage.
• Experience and aptitude for multi-stakeholder training and facilitation, including the design, facilitation and delivery of participatory trainings and training-of-trainer workshops for adult learners;
• Familiarity with principles of organizational learning and development;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team; well organized, and able to prioritize multiple tasks, while driving results;
• Good communication skills and ability to build effective working relationships in a diverse multicultural environment;
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competences in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable.