Chief Finance Officer, Jobs for Youth In Africa at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/105/2
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL3
Position N°: 50065412

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 pools of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide sector expertise on complex transactions;
• Develop new financing instruments;
• 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 Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department leads the Bank’s support to Africa’s economic transformation by:
  • Developing and promoting the adoption of relevant policies and strategies;
  • Providing deep multi-sector expertise to the regional hubs by gathering pools of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide technical advice on complex transactions (Communities of Practice);
  • Developing new financing instruments; and,
  • Fostering strategic partnerships to leverage resources into the human and social development sector.
• The Jobs for Youth in Africa team spearheads the Bank wide Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy implementation coordination. It works in close collaboration with the two divisions of the Department i.e. The Education, Human Capital and Employment Division and the Public Health, Security and Nutrition Division as well as other relevant Bank departments.

The Position
The Chief Finance Officer will be part of the team responsible for the day to day management of the implementation of the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy to:

• Provide sound advice to the jobs team coordinator on how best to mobilize external non-core resources from donors.
• Lead and manage the implementation of the special fund aimed at supporting the jobs for youth activities in Africa.
• Position the Jobs for Youth in Africa vis-a-vis donors and develop specific fund raising strategies and approaches towards donors, foundations, international financial institutions, development finance institutions, etc.
• Identify and conduct analysis and assessments of the partners’ landscape and recommend viable partnerships potential.
• Develop effective financial management tools and systems to enhance coordination, track commitments and opportunities with partners.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the general supervision of the Director Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development, the Chief Finance Officer shall perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Advise the Jobs Team Coordinator on the mobilization of core resources through in-depth analysis of donor-specific engagement and trends in Africa, political and economic developments, aid policies, practices and budget allocations of specific donor countries and factoring in the overall resource context.
• Lead the establishment and the monitoring of a special investment fund for the implementation of the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy.
• Support the development of resource mobilization action plans tailored to specific donors; provide strategic advice and policy recommendations with a view to positioning Jobs for Youth in Africa
• Identify and develop opportunities for non-core resource mobilization and advise the Jobs Team on appropriate strategies and approaches to seize them.
• Advise and support Jobs for Youth in Africa in establishing strategic approaches for positioning for improved and sustained partnerships and for resource mobilization, including with International Financial Institutions, foundations and other private and newly emerging funding sources, as well as on changes in the donor context.
• Develop specific donor fund-raising strategies and approaches.
• Develop and conduct competitive landscape analysis of partners, their priorities and characterization of their relationships/partnerships.
• Develop appropriate tools and systems to enhance coordination, track commitments and opportunities with partners (donor database, pipeline management system, etc.) and evaluation of partnership supported programs.
• Provide overall support on the relationship with critical partners including in the negotiation of any agreements.
• Perform 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 Business Administration, Finance, Social Sciences, Economics or related field;
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience at the international level involving resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder projects and partnership development;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage;
• Extensive experience in research and policy-level analysis;
• Experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of partnership programs;
• Ability to develop innovative and creative approaches to improve performance and create additional benefits for the Bank and its clients;
• Good knowledge of working environment to the resolution of problems and identify solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization;
• Demonstrated leadership effectiveness and supervisory ability to achieve defined objectives in international contexts;
• Experience in team management with focus in Africa would be a major advantage;
• 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.