Chief Country Economist, Southern African Region, ECCE0 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50001061
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Position Grade: PL3

The Complex
The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the Vice-President for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex’. The Complex 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 Position

• The Chief Country Economist for Southern African Region will focus on macroeconomic work to deepen country knowledge and policy dialogue, preparation of Economic Sector Works and lead/participate in the preparation of Country Strategy Papers and related products.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Director, Country Economics Department and the Lead Economist for Southern Africa, the Chief Country Economist for Southern Africa Region will:

• Analyse the economic and financial situations of assigned Regional Member Countries, using internal and external information sources, and determine the implications for the programming and updating of Bank Group operations such as defined in the Country Strategy Papers.
• Examine the impact of Bank Group operations, in the countries concerned, of regional economic integration programmes and make recommendations on the role of the Bank Group in assisting regional integration initiatives.
• Participate in the policy dialogue with Government authorities and development partners.
• Prepare economic and Sector Work and papers on relevant economic and financial issues in the development process and other country economic tasks such as the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), the Country Risk Rating (CRR)  and the Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA) exercises.
• Contribute to the identification, preparation, evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of macroeconomic programmes.
• Prepare Country Diagnostic Notes and Regional Diagnostic Notes to inform the preparation of Country Strategy Papers and Regional Integration strategy Papers.
• Maintain effective communication with the sector departments and other relevant units in the Bank to ensure a coordinated approach in the preparation of knowledge products in the assigned countries.
• Participate in Country Portfolio Reviews.
• Participate in the preparation and monitor implementation of measures under budget support operations.
• Participate in aid coordination activities with bilateral and multilateral donors, with emphasis on promoting the co-financing of projects and programmes.
• Participate in the preparation of the department’s budget and in the recruitment of consultants; prepare annual and triennial lending programmes and briefs on economic reform and institutional support programmes.
• Provide background research papers on a variety of economic topics for management discussions, decision meetings, corporate reporting, flagship publications, and client-facing interactions. 
• Participate in the preparation of the pipeline and lending programs
• Develop and build client relations at levels and plays a promotional role in generating new business for the Bank.
• Provide guidance to junior staff as required.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master's Degree in Economics and other relevant fields and related disciplines;
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience in an International Organization, working on African Development Issues and country strategy papers preparation;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Good grasp of the developing countries issues, and solid experience in macroeconomic management issues and the economics of development - understands policymaking processes and able to synthetize operationally relevant recommendations/lessons.
• Solid technical and quantitative skills as an applied development macroeconomist and a proven record in delivering high quality and technically sophisticated analytical work.
• Very good knowledge of portfolio management and demonstrated knowledge of economics and analytical skills
• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation, as well as effective teamwork skills, strong integrative skills and ability to work effectively across sectors.
• Very strong client orientation and undertaking relationship management at senior level.
• Strong experience in policy dialogue, as well as fragility assessment knowledge and skills.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills and ability to deliver results on time.
• Problem solving capabilities coupled to innovation skills and change management.
• Drive for results – able to take personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results.
• Participate in the preparation of the pipeline and lending programs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in French or English, with a good working knowledge of Spanish.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications.