Chief Human Capital Development Economist at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50069332
Position Grade: PL3

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 (i) to develop policy and strategy; (ii) provide deep sector expertise to the Regions by gathering pools of subject matter experts who can be consulted to provide sector expertise on complex transactions; and (iii) develop new financing instruments. The Vice President will function as the spokesperson to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on aspects of “Feed Africa” and Improve Quality of Life for the People.

The Hiring Department

• The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department, within the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, spearheads the achievement of the High 5s on “Improving the Quality of Life of People in Africa” and contributes to the other High 5s. 
• The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD), within the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex (AHVP) contributes to the achievement of the High 5-5 “Improving the Quality of Life of the People of Africa” and contributes to the other High 5s through the Bank’s three strategic work streams
• The Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (SQHIA) 2022-2030
• The Skills for Employability and Productivity in Africa Action Plan and
• The Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy 2016-2025.
• The Department has four regional sector operations:
  • West Africa and Nigeria (AHHD0_RDGW_RDNG),
  • East Africa (AHHD
  • Sothern Africa (AHHD
  • North and Central Africa (AHHD 3).

The Position

• The Chief Human Capital Development Economist will support the implementation of the Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy 2016 – 2025, its Skills for Employability and Productivity in Africa (SEPA) Action Plan (2021-2025) and the subsequent Action Plan for Skills and Jobs for Youth under the Bank’s new Ten-Year Strategy 2026 – 20233, and specifically its cross-cutting investment priorities on youth and women. The Chief Human Capital Development Economist will contribute to the implementation of the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System (YJSMS) across all the Bank’s public and private sector investment operations. At regional and country level, the incumbent will identify, design and support the implementation of policies, programs and projects in higher and tertiary education and skills development; entrepreneurship, job creation and small enterprise especially for young people and women; as well as quality health infrastructure in West Africa and Nigeria. In this role, the incumbent will work under the supervision of the Sector Manager for West Africa and Nigeria who reports to the Director, Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department. The incumbent’s main responsibilities include:
• Conduct technical and sectoral studies for the preparation of Country Diagnostic Notes and Country Strategy Plans (CSPs) with Human Capital as a priority in West Africa and Nigeria.
• Providing technical expertise and guidance on the Bank’s strategic positioning and comparative advantage in human capital development and support the development of a strong pipeline in Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) aligned with the goals of the JfYA, SEPA Action Plan, SQHIA and Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan.
• Develop a lending and pipeline program for the delivery and co-financing of bankable human capital development projects to meet the Africa Development Fund (ADF) and CSP priority project delivery commitments.
• Support country managers as a deep sector expert on human capital development, providing technical assistance and policy advice to Regional Member Countries.
• Supervise and manage the portfolio of human capital operations as approved by the Board, ensuring portfolio quality key performance indicators are met each year.
• Support high level missions, preparation of senior management briefs and implementation of special initiatives as may be assigned by the sector and country managers.

Key Functions
Under the supervision of the Sector Manager, West Africa and Nigeria, working together with units in the Bank’s ecosystem, the incumbent’s duties include:

• Take the lead in the Bank's assessment of social and macroeconomic developments, monitoring structural reforms and policy dialogue regarding relevant and quality skills development, creating decent jobs for youth and investing in quality health infrastructure.
• Support the Bank’s country dialogue and business development missions under the leadership of sector and country managers.
• Plan and manage economic sector work to effectively contribute to Country Diagnostic Notes and Country Strategy Plans (CSPs) for business development dialogue on human capital projects.
• Contribute to the midterm and end of term Country Strategy Paper (CSP) Completion Reports and Country Portfolio Performance Reviews (CPPR).
• Plan, conduct supervision mission and deal with human capital development project management issues to meet the Bank’s key performance indicators on portfolio management.
• Contribute to audits and progress review meetings for the indicative operating program (IOP), lending program and active portfolio management.
• Facilitate strategic, technical assistance and co-financing partnerships with multilateral development banks and other cooperating partners to increase the scale and impact of Bank projects.
• Asist in coordinate the human capital task mangers in West Africa and Nigeria.
• Identify and nurture strategic partnerships with multilateral and bilateral donors to support human capital development.
• Undertake any other duties as may be assigned by the Sector Manager, Director and Director Generals for West Africa and Nigeria.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a master’s degree in economics, business management, social development or related fields.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years relevant professional experience in program/project design and implementation in the areas of technical vocational education and skills development, enterprise development and health infrastructure investments.
• Previous experience working in multilateral financial institutions or similar large organizations, and performing such roles as project preparing, appraising, supervising, or implementing donor funded projects.
• Proven planning and organizational skills, with ability to think strategically and rapidly analyse and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusions and recommendations.
• Strong research/analytical skills in one of the following areas: skills development and youth employment development policy formulation, project management, or donors’ coordination, with ability to strategically and rapidly analyse and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusions and
  recommendation.
• Ability to understand complex problems in education, skills development, youth employment, gender, population, and poverty related aspects, to identify key issues and recommend pragmatic solutions.
• Strong understanding of multi-sector approaches and gaps in education, skills development, youth employment, gender, population and poverty related aspects and social development.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in preparing, evaluating, and managing the implementation of donor-funded projects.
• Knowledge of the practices of major bilateral and multilateral agencies, development partners in the country will be an asset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in French. A working knowledge of English would be an added advantage.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable.