Programme Assistant at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/381
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: GS7
Position N°: 50001419

The Complex

• The President plans, supervises and manages the business of the Bank Group. Under the direction of the Boards of Directors, the President conducts the business of the Bank and the African Development Fund and manages operations and activities in accordance with the Agreements establishing the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund.
• The President supervises several Departments and Divisions including Office of the President; Independent Development Evaluation Department; Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department; Compliance Review and Mediation Department; Secretariat to the Sanctions Appeals Board; Administrative Tribunal; Office of the Auditor General; Group Risk Management Function Directorate; General Counsel and Legal Services Department; Communication and External Relations Department; Ethics Office and Office of the Secretary General & Secretariat General.

The Hiring Department/Division

• The role of the Banks' Office of the Secretary General and the Secretariat General is to facilitate the delivery of the objectives of the Bank's Ten Year Strategy, High 5s, and Development and Business Delivery Model by enhancing the decision-making process of the governance organs and forging better working relationships with the shareholders and host countries of the Bank.
• The Secretary General and the Secretariat General comprises:
  • The Office of the Secretary General which has the additional responsibility of managing the Records Management and Archives Section and the Corporate Governance Policy and Shareholder Relations Section;
  • A Board Affairs and Proceedings Division;
  • A Protocol, Privileges and Immunities Division; and (iv) a Conferences and Meetings Division.
• The main functions of the Board Affairs and Proceedings Division (PSEG.1) are the following:
  • Prepare the work programmes, the agenda and the Board and Committee meeting schedules;
  • Organise the meetings of the Boards and their committees, and provide secretariat services;
  • Provide secretariat services to the Boards of Governors and their subsidiary organs, and manage the relationships between these Boards and senior management;
  • Ensure the monitoring of the implementation of board decisions by the organisational units concerned; and
  • Provide administrative and support services to the members of elected officials, and also as regards recruitment for their offices; and
  • Conserve and safeguard the Bank’s institutional memory.

The Position
Within the General Secretariat, the role of the Programme Assistant is to:

• Assist in implementing the Division’s work programme, including technical support in specific areas, such as assigning codes in the SAP system to loans and grants approved by the Boards of Directors and Senior Management, managing the database for all Board approvals, IT support, editorial contributions, detailed follow-up of all Board approvals.
• Pool, verify and insert updated information in the Executive Director’s portal (E-Board).
• Contribute to inputting and finalising the quarterly work programme of the Boards of Directors and preparing indicative statistics on the Boards of Directors’ work volume.
• In conjunction with the other complexes concerned, monitor compliance with deadlines for distribution of documents to the Boards of Directors.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Chief Programme and Quality Control Coordinator; and the direction of the Division Manager, the Programme Assistant shall perform the following:

• Create in the SAP system (production) all codes for loans and grants approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors; this will involve direct coordination with all project Task Managers of the various departments concerned;
• Follow up all pending matters relating to SAP data entry by the different Bank complexes, with a view to alerting the Task Managers concerned by email, with copy to all other interested parties, if data entry is incomplete;
• Produce, post on the new Board portal (E-Board) and continually update information relating to the Boards’ activities;
• Prepare a comprehensive list of approvals by the Bank’s Board of Directors;
• Prepare the department’s PowerPoint presentations for the Board of Directors and the different committees;
• Monitor document distribution deadlines as prescribed by the Board of Directors, and contribute to updating the Boards of the Directors’ quarterly work programme;
• Contribute to updating the matrix for follow-up of Board of Directors’ recommendations;
• As necessary, liaise with CHIS on matters relating to SAP and other information technology aspects, especially for the processing and monitoring of documents issued by Boards of Directors;
• Carry out any other tasks requested by the Section Head or Division Manager. 

Selection Criteria
Including Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Hold at least a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Management, Development, Communication, IT or any related disciplines.
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in a major financial institution and/or multilateral development bank or comparable institution.
• Private-sector experience would be an added advantage.
• Sound knowledge of the activities of the Boards of Directors and of the functioning of the Secretariat General would be an additional asset.
• Good writing and strong interpersonal skills would be an advantage.
• Sound research and analytical skills and the ability to process information rapidly.
• Confirmed client service skills, good organisational skills, ability to multi-task.
• Ability to work with attention to detail, effective member of a versatile and multi-cultural work team;
• Complete knowledge of the programmes, operations, policies and procedure of the Bank would be an additional asset.
• Ability to communicate effectively in either written and spoken English or French with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Proficiency in standard Microsoft software (Word, Excel, Access, Power Point); knowledge of SAP would be a plus.