Coordinator, Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/107/2
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL2
Position N°: 50064842

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 pool 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 Coordinator, Jobs For Youth In Africa, reports to the Director Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department.
• The Coordinator is responsible for providing leadership and supervising the staff activities of the Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative, and for supporting the related initiatives in the department.

The main work objectives are:

• Lead the Bank’s policy and strategic work on youth employment to ensure that operations which are identified, developed and executed by the regional hubs effectively implement the Bank’s relevant sector policies and strategies;
• Contribute to forge strong strategic partnerships with multilateral and bilateral organizations and regional organizations to leverage resources and support business development in regional hubs in the area of youth employment and social protection, and to support VP’s role as the Bank’s spokesperson to external audiences;
• Support the development and implementation of innovative financing mechanisms, as well as technical and management approaches to promote access to employment and entrepreneurship across regional member countries, including through public-private partnerships, and improvement of the overall governance of these sectors;
• Enhance knowledge management and provide technical guidance/advisory services and expertise to regional hubs;
• Foster coherence of the Bank’s action in youth employment and entrepreneurship across regions; and
• Foster an environment that stimulates and rewards innovation, creativity and accountability for results, and motivate staff to contribute to delivering significant developmental impact for Africa’s growth.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Coordinator manages the staff of the Jobs for Youth in Africa and plans, organizes, supervises and directs the work to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the results assigned to the Jobs for Youth in Africa. Specifically, the Coordinator, under the oversight of the Director, Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development performs the following:

• Leads, supervises and carries out the strategic direction of the Jobs for Youth in Africa; evaluate its performance; promote and organize team work among the staff of Jobs for Youth in Africa to achieve its objectives.
• Foster collaboration and ensure synergies with the two divisions of the Department.
• Determine and manage the human and financial resource requirements of the Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy; participate in the selection of staff, provide management support to the staff and facilitates their full performance in technical work; identify the staff's training and career development needs; prepare their periodic performance evaluations;
• Oversee the programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative, including preparation of budgets, reporting on performance; recruit staff, taking due account institutional values; manage, guide, develop and train staff of department
• Prepare and implement Jobs for Youth in Africa’s work program, determine priorities and allocate resources for the timely delivery of outputs; foster teamwork and communication among Jobs for Youth in Africa staff and across organizational boundaries; manage the activities undertaken; and ensure that the Key Performance Indicators set for the Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy are met.
• Participate in and/or chairs meetings for Jobs for Youth in Africa, the Department, Inter-Departmental Working Groups, donor and partner meetings related to the Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy, as well as other meetings related to Jobs for Youth in Africa;
• Provide expertise and leadership in the development and review of Bank Group's policies, rules, regulations, norms and standards especially related to youth employment and entrepreneurship; and ensure their implementation; promote and ensure the professional quality of the documents produced by the Jobs for Youth in Africa staff;
• Provide advice to the Director on issues related to youth employment and ensure preparation of Jobs for Youth in Africa-related documents for presentation to the Board;
• Develop and maintain cooperation and co-financing relations with the other development agencies and organizations; may lead important and sensitive missions to the member countries and partner organizations and agencies; may represent the Bank Group in major international conferences and meetings on employment and human capital development;
• Oversee the preparation of Economic and Sector Work to contribute evidence for the design of the Bank’s relevant policies, strategies and guidelines.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in either Economy, Labor Economy, Development Economics or closely related disciplines.
• Have a minimum of eight (8) years of extensive and progressive experience in an internationally recognized financial or development institution. Out of these, three (3) years should be in managerial roles with proven knowledge of operational policies, rules, procedures and practices of the Bank or comparable institution.
• Strong experience of employment and entrepreneurship related issues, especially for youth.
• Operational experience of preparing and managing development projects.
• Experience in employment issues, and policy support in developing countries including in Africa.
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Familiarity with the work of other multilateral and bilateral development institutions is a plus.
• Recognised as a leader with deep knowledge of youth employment issues in Africa, with a focus on research and policy, particularly related to youth employment or social protection; and ability to analyse and evaluate critical matters pertaining to a broad spectrum of youth employment and social protection issues and provide policy advice.
• Experience in planning, organising, managing and coordinating the activities of similar units and supervising Division’s staff, organising teams, and providing managerial support.
• Experience in delivering high quality operational products and services (economic analyses, research advice, sector studies and reviews).
• Proven leadership and team building skills; results oriented and ability to work in a multicultural environment.
• Good listener with demonstrated ability and win support for ideas as well as make effective and timely decisions.
• 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.