Director, Governance and Public Financial Management at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/452
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: EL5
Position N°: 50092396

The Complex

• The Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the Vice-President for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex’.
• The ECVP is responsible for providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical works to inform operational policy; systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.
• The ECVP will inspire, generate and provide direct support to the President and Senior Management of the Bank on a broad range of technical and management issues within the broad remit of economic, finance, public financial governance, management and social economics.

The Hiring Department

• The Governance and Public Financial Management Coordination Department (ECGF) as part of the ECVP Complex, based at the Headquarters in Abidjan, is responsible for coordination of operationalization of the Bank’s governance policy, strategy and programmes, including lending and non-lending work.
• The ECGF works in collaboration with the Development Research, African Development Institute, and Statistics Experts, in the ECVP, ensuring that the Bank’s substantive technical engagement with key policy and strategy processes in the area of governance and public management are properly coordinated; and that the Bank’s interventions in Regional Member Countries, through program based operations/ budget support and institutional strengthening projects promote effective and accountable governance and public financial management.

The Position

• The Director for the ECGF is the head of the department and serves as the coordinating and substantive technical anchor for the Bank’s engagement with key policy and strategy processes and the delivery of operations in the area of economic governance and public finance management, internally and externally.
• The Director is also responsible for overall reporting on the Banks governance work and results.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the Chief Economist and Vice President, the Director - ECGF will perform the following:
Sector Strategy and Programming:

• lead the assessment of the African Development Bank Governance Strategic Framework and Action Plan 2014-2018 and the preparation of the Bank’s new Economic Governance strategy;
• Lead the preparation the Departmental annual work program and budget and ensure timely delivery and quality assurance;
• Lead or participate in the review of policies, strategies, procedure and guidelines for Bank’s intervention in the area of governance and public financial management (PFM) and related activities;
• Contribute to the development of appropriate strategies for intervening strengthening governance and PFM systems in line with Country Strategy Papers or Regional Integration Strategy Paper and related documents.
• Lead the development and delivery of a work programme of economic and sector work (ESWs), research papers and policy papers;
• Advise the Chief Economist / Vice-President on strategic options and approaches to improve program delivery and implementation.

Leadership and Management:

• Ensure the strategic staffing of ECGF
• Lead and manage the department and ensure the team is high-performing, well-motivated and committed to the success of the Bank;
• Lead, plan, and manage the activities and work programme of the department with appropriate delegation of day-to-day activities;
• Ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness of the department in achieving the Bank’s strategic imperatives and the management of change.
• Provide technical and managerial leadership to staff in the definition and realisation of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the department;
• Ensure the appropriate design and execution of the department’s programmatic contribution to the Governance Strategy;
• Ensure effective budget resources management with the objective of cost saving;
• Support the Bank’s regional integration efforts through the development and execution of major regional, transformative infrastructure and development projects to attain the Bank’s High 5s;
• Strengthen the human and institutional capacities of countries, and deepen the capacity of the Bank to become the thought leader on knowledge products and advisory services to countries;
• Build strong teams within the department and foster the highest levels of ethics, fiduciary responsibility and professionalism to protect and enhance the reputation of the Bank.

Business Development:

• Manage the delivery of the Governance lending programme for member countries in accordance with Bank policies and procedures;
• Through close collaboration with the Regional Directorates, Sector Complexes, support countries in the development of country strategy papers and regional integration strategies that will drive country ownership and accelerated delivery on all “high-five” priorities of the Bank;
• In partnership with the Director General for each region, develop business, together with the Regional teams, manage selected client relationships, and ensure high level of client satisfaction;
• Drive the development of a robust pipeline of public and private projects, programs and analytical work through identification and preparation activities;
• Drive the development and delivery of transformational projects for the region and the continent;
• Lead the Department’s contribution to policy dialogue with governments to advance policy and institutional reforms in the areas of Planning, Programming, Governance, Regulations, asset management/maintenance, and Private Sector Participation;
• Lead and drive the Department’s contribution to policy dialogue with Government Officials in the area of Economic Governance;
• Spearhead regional business development and investment, driving resource mobilization across the countries under their remit and significantly growing the business of the Bank;
• Develop critical resources and the technical capability necessary for sourcing and originating bankable projects. This will include collaboration with the private sector on projects with regional social impacts;
• Execute and manage a diversified pipeline of investments in the area of Governance and Public Financial Management, to meet the Bank’s impact and profitability targets;
• Identify direct investment opportunities for possible Bank financing and build up ECGF project pipeline;
• Identify and secure co-financing opportunities, organization of joint promotional activities, etc.);
• Select projects to be appraised for Management and Board consideration;
• Supervise all stages of the project origination part of the project cycle;
• Head multi-disciplinary teams comprising investment officers, economists, engineers and lawyers to identify; design, and appraise projects
• Promote and ensure programmatic linkages between the work of the division and that of other Bank sectors, as required under the Governance Strategy;

Building Relationships and Using Influence:

• Lead the Department’s contribution in the creation of networks and partnerships for Economic Governance;
• Build strong relationships with regional and local private businesses, RECs, UN organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners and Government officials to develop investment opportunities and to ramp up co-financing;
• Coordinate the Bank’s relationships with institutions involved in the provision of budget support as well as institutional support for enhanced Governance and PFM (exchange of information on policies, operational experience, identification, preparation and appraisal).

Performance Management:

• Execute staff performance management, including work performance appraisal, assessment of staff potential and training and development needs;
• Foster an environment that stimulates and rewards performance, initiative and innovation, and encourage continuous learning, open communication and teamwork.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Economics, Public administration, Governance or related fields.
• Have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in governance, public sector management, policy formulation, revenue management, public expenditure or related areas. Out of these, five (5) years must be in managerial positions.
• Strong experience in the design and delivery of operations (including investment projects and policy based operations), as well as project management.
• In-depth understanding of governance and public management issues, including strong background in Africa and/or countries in transition.
• Familiarity with operational policies and programming practices of multilateral organisation.
• International experience working in development in several countries.
• Private sector experience is an added advantage.
• Sound understanding of macroeconomics, fiscal policy and public budgeting issues in developing countries and demonstrable experience of the operational policies, procedures and practices of major bilateral or multilateral organisations in Africa.
• Have robust analytical skills and the ability to write and produce high quality technical reports.
• Proven ability to conduct research, analyze and produce reports. Publications on topics related governance would be an added advantage.
• Strong operational experience and ability to contribute to strategic thinking and to integrate strategies and policies into Bank programmes/projects.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead teams.
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues in the work place in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues.
• Strong leadership skills including the ability to mentor, coach and to work effectively in a matrix management environment, both as a team leader and team member.
• Innovation and creativity.
• Communication.
• Client orientation.
• Problem solving.
• Team working and relationships.
• Operational effectiveness.
• Proven ability to build and lead a team of motivated staff, and utilize the talents and expertise of team members in a productive way.
• Capacity to initiate and manage innovation and drive change.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a working knowledge of the other. Knowledge of Arabic or Portuguese would be an added advantage.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint).
• Experience in the use of SAP is advantageous.